How do you organise and plan a raffle?
What are the things you need to help you before you begin your raffle? Here is a collection of the most common questions asked. When you are ready to purchase or would like to browse our other products then please visit our home page.
» Where do you start when planning a raffle?
» Where can I find raffle prizes?
» Where can I get raffle tickets printed?
» Can you print your own raffle tickets?
» How many raffle tickets should I buy?
» How can I maximise raffle ticket sales?
» What makes a raffle successful?
» What are the legal requirements for running a raffle in the UK?
Where do you start when planning a raffle?
Running a raffle can be quite easy if you plan well. So firstly, it's best to work out what your budget is, find out where you can source your prizes from, ring your local council for authority if required and speak to your friendly raffle ticket printer about getting those tickets printed.
We have been producing raffle tickets now for over 20 years and have first hand experience of selling as part of our team helps out with the local PTA. So if you are feeling overwhelmed then give us a call and we can take the pressure off.
Where can I find raffle prizes?
If you are finding it difficult raising money for a cash prize then why not try your local community? After all, it's usually in their best interest as they will get some free promotion. For example, The local restaurant or pub can offer a gift voucher or free dinner, local salons can offer a free hair appointment. In fact any type of voucher from a local business is a win win as it's a prize for you, and a potential new customer for them.
You can reach out to people via social networks to offer prizes in return for special mentions on your next newsletter or even mention on the ticket itself. People are often more generous than you expect so don't be afraid to ask. After all, it's for a good cause!
How many prizes is normal?
In our experience the 2 most common prize methods that sell the most tickets are…
Create a huge first prize that is almost 2 good to miss out on. For example, a giant cash prize or TV or car if you are holding a big raffle. A mega prize creates the fear of missing out as the risk to reward ratio is so high.
However most raffles are not this huge and so our favourite way is to offer maybe 1 cash prize and then as many small prizes as you can. More prizes means more ticket sales as the probability of winning something becomes greater which makes it an easier sale for you. For example, if you have managed to get 20-30 or so small prizes from local businesses on top of a couple of larger top prizes and are selling 1000 tickets in books of 5, then the buyer has a pretty good chance of winning something and so feels less like pot luck.
Where can I get raffle tickets printed?
The best place to buy your custom raffle tickets is here at Stubbs Tickets. We go through the whole production process with you from start to finish to make sure your tickets are exactly how you want. Our service is friendly and fast, the product is top quality and the prices are great.
Can you print your own raffle tickets?
Yes you can, however the process is quite fiddly on a desktop printer and will more often than not cause you more pain and cost in the long run with ink and paper costs being so high. If you were only requiring a hundred or so tickets then it might be just bearable, but you will first need to source the perforated paper and hope that your printer can handle it.
In our experience, it's more expensive to try to do it yourself than to have the tickets printed by the professionals, plus the end results are much better and give your fundraiser a more professional look which helps you sell more. Take the hassle out of the raffle.
How many raffle tickets should I buy?
If you have no past experience to go by then a good measure would be to count how many people you think you are going to sell to, (pupils at the school, members of your club, current event tickets sold for the fair etc) and multiply it by your book size. That way you will have enough books to sell to everyone.
So for eg, A primary school with 200 pupils x 5 tickets is 1,000 tickets, then maybe order a few hundred more just in case other family members want to get involved (Grandparents always love to chip in). It's more costly to underestimate and then go through the process of buying further tickets than it is to over do it and have a few hundred left over.
How can I maximise raffle ticket sales?
Promotion!
We have an entire section dedicated to questions about promotion but the idea is to exhaust as many avenues as you can. Social media, Posters, Flyers, emails, newsletters and so on. Make sure you mention why you are needing to raise money on your promotional material, what will happen if you don't. What did you manage to do with the funds raised from your last raffle?
What also helps is to have a long list of prizes or a 1 big prize that people might find irresistible. However, with raffles most participants are happy just to be giving money to a local cause.
What makes a raffle successful?
Planning and Promotion. The most successful raffles are always the ones which have been planned and well thought out in advance, and then promoted using all the available resources.
Planning
1. Set your raffle date. Give yourself at least 2-3 months.
2. If you require a licence then don't hesitate to get it. The number isn't required on the ticket but the authority name you are registered with is.
3. Source your prizes, go to local businesses and get them to commit to some vouchers or even cash.
Promotion
1. Get to the printers, get those raffle tickets, flyers and posters printed. It doesn't matter if you don't have all the details. Just include your best prizes sourced so far and say that there are many more.
2. Set up an online web page (we do a nice one for free) to help promote your raffle much easier to your social media, email lists and newsletters.
3. Hand out those flyers to all the local shops and businesses that donated prizes.
There is plenty more involved, however if you concentrate on these steps the rest should follow.
What are the legal requirements for running a raffle in the UK?
The previous section guides you through the legal requirements for running a raffle in the UK.
What's involved in promoting a raffle in the UK?
A great question that can't be answered in a sentence, so please see our full guide on promoting a raffle.