Announcing Your Winners

First and foremost, after you’ve chosen your giveaway winners on your entries tab, you have the ability to display the winners on the widget by clicking the ‘Display the winners on the widget’ checkbox on the giveaway’s entries tab. Up to this point, the winners that you’ve selected cannot be seen by anyone other than those that have access to your Rafflecopter dashboard. When this button is selected, your winner’s first name and last initial will be displayed on the widget.

Note: Rafflecopter is a sweepstakes app, meaning winners to a Rafflecopter giveaway were meant to be chosen at random. If you want to run a raffle (where money is collected as an entry) or a contest with Rafflecopter software, that's not what Rafflecopter was designed for. In order for your winners to be displayed on the widget, they’ll have to be chosen randomly through the ‘add a random winner’ button.

Once the winner is displayed on your widget, let your fans know that the winners have been announced. If you promoted your giveaway on Facebook and Twitter, tell your Facebook fans and Twitter followers that the winners have been announced and link them to the widget.

When you post winners to the widget and make the announcement, include the winner’s first name and last initial as well. And like any post you create, use a CTA, whether that action is to have people visit a URL, or to help you congratulate the winners.

Alternatively, you can also announce your winners by emailing your entrants. If you decide to go the email route, be sure that you’ve included in your terms and conditions that by entering the giveaway, they’re aware you’ll be contacting them. You’ll want to make sure your email stays within the guidelines set by the CAN-SPAM act, which is in place to protect consumers from receiving unsolicited marketing emails.

Consolation prize

Announcing the winner over social media or email? You might run into a comment or two from those who are upset they weren’t one of the lucky chosen winners. When you make your announcement, consider offering a consolation prize to take the edge off. That could be a coupon code, a sneak peek at an upcoming product, a link to a new giveaway that’s just starting or a promise that another giveaway is around the corner.

Next: Learn best practices surrounding mailing prizes to your winners