At a local fair last weekend, a pair of young boys approached me as I was talking to a fellow I knew from my gym.

“Buy a raffle ticket?” the bigger one said, waving a single ticket in my face.

“Um…” I replied.

“What’s it for?” my friend asked.

“For our school.”

But what would that ticket do for his school? The little chap couldn’t say. He didn’t know anything about the cause for which he was raising money. All he knew was the name of his school, but he couldn’t say whether they needed to raise funds for a new gym floor, to send the band to a competition or (as is the case with some schools) to purchase base essentials like paper and pencils!

“You can win $500!” the kid continued. “And the ticket is only $1!”

“But how many tickets do you think you’ll sell?” I asked. “How many did they print?”

The child didn’t know. And while $500 is a fair sum, the odds of winning depend only the number of tickets sold. For a cash raffle with a prize of $500, they would need to print at least 1000 raffle tickets and sell them all to make an appreciable profit. A “50-50″ cash raffle is the standard, although, by selling enough tickets, one could offer a large prize and still keep an even larger profit. In the case of a $500 50-50 cash raffle, that $1 ticket has a 1 in 1000 chance of winning.

But I couldn’t calculate the odds. I simply wasn’t given enough information to be moved by the child’s pitch, and these boys were old enough that there were no adults kept handily about to answer my questions. (Meaning, of course, that they were old enough that I wasn’t moved by the cuteness factor of their pitch, either.)

This underscores the need to prepare your sales team, whether they are seasoned professionals or 10 years old. Make a list of all the questions someone might conceivably ask about your raffle before you start selling booklets, and coach your crew to memorize the answers.

Needless to say, those kids didn’t sell me a raffle ticket that day.

{ 0 comments }

Time is of the essence.

Your fundraising needs may be extensive, and your schedule is important, but you must keep in mind the needs of your donors as well. If you intend to sell Raffle Tickets for multiple prize draws in 2011, it is in your best interest to stagger them out.

Our experienced correspondents note that constant requests for money, particularly in a sluggish economy, can be irksome for your supporters. You may need it quiet badly, but remember that your fans are also experiencing the economic downturn. If they are good enough to give money a few times a year, the last thing you want to do is alienate them with repeated solicitations that seem endless.

Instead, schedule your prize draws so that you are selling Raffle Tickets at particular times when you are most likely to have success. A big raffle at the end of the year is a good idea, as is one that corresponds with a large event you hold annually. If you hold too many raffle, however, you may trigger a compassionate burnout, where followers begin to resent your request. Rather than continual, small draws, combine your funds or your prizes to hold a few larger draws at fortuitous times throughout the year.

{ 0 comments }

Item 3 in our countdown to Christmas tips and hints for prize draw sales success is a combination of factors that can work on their own, or, when joined together, become a dynamic powerhouse for selling event tickets.

First, consider a large shop or department store where you know there will be increased foot traffic this month. If you represent a charitable organisation, or one that works for children, perhaps the owner will allow you to set up a table outside. This lets you bring your Raffle Tickets to your supporters, rather than forcing them to find you.

Second, man the booth carefully. If possible, have children or teenagers at the table, selling the tickets for you. Their pathos will improve sales. If your group represents a sport team, a band, a scouting group, or any club in which members can be identified by uniforms, make sure everyone wears their uniform!

Finally, if you can manage it, bring the prizes to the table. Set them up in an appealing arrangement. This raises interest levels in your prize draw and encourages people to purchase Raffle Tickets upon falling in love with your prizes!

{ 0 comments }

As the Christmas fundraising season hastens, we continue to advise you regarding the best ways to maximize your earning power and raise more money for charity than you’ve ever raised in the past. Foremost amongst the top tips for Raffle Ticket sales suggested by our professional correspondents is to have ones tickets stapled into booklets of 5 tickets each. If you print your own Raffle Tickets online, this should be a standard option, and adds very little to the cost of your order.

To what advantage? Stapled ticket booklets help make your prize draw a financial success by encouraging donors to purchase multiple tickets, rather than a single Raffle Ticket: one step toward multiplying your profits by 5! It’s simply a matter of convenience for you and for your supporters. Stapled booklets are simple to sell. You can encourage multiple sales by pricing tickets appropriately, and ensuring that the price of 5 tickets is an even number. Sell 1 ticket for 2 pounds and 5 for 10 and watch your profits soar!

Keep checking this blog as the winter progresses for more expert advice from fundraisers who have traveled this road before and know the best route to take.

{ 0 comments }

Has your organization begun planning your big Christmas prize draw? We’ve asked the experts for their top tips in aid of selling more Raffle Tickets this year, and might find yourself surprised to hear some of the best fundraising advice the Internet has to offer.

For instance, do you depend on a paid sales crew, or a group of dedicated volunteers? Have you not considered asking others to help? According to our most successful contacts, you’ll sell far more Raffle Tickets if you send stapled booklets to all members of your organisation. Consider the size of your mailing list. If each member receives 5 tickets to sell, how many additional sales would that create?

Include a letter asking each member to purchase the tickets themselves, or to sell those 5 tickets to friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues. It’s a small number, but it will truly add up. Just be sure that you provide a method for the home office to track these sales, so you can be assured that tickets entered in the prize draw have been bought.

{ 0 comments }

Here’s a novel suggestion for leveraging the power of Gift Certificate, Raffle Tickets, and charity events, which benefits both the not-for-profit charity and the for-profit sponsor! It’s a variation on the scaled prize draw, which I had discussed at length in the past.

This version can truly benefit both organisations:

• Increases brand awareness for both groups
• Garners good will for both groups
• Provides attendees with a value-added bonus
• Boosts traffic at the sponsor’s shop

It works best at a charity event sponsored by a brick-and-mortar shop. Here’s how you do it.

Inside the venue, set up a small display of prizes: merchandise from the sponsor’s shop. A volunteer should monitor these prizes and sell Raffle Tickets, perhaps for a pound each. Other volunteers can certainly move about the venue selling more Raffle Tickets, if you wish to push sales.

At the gate, all entrant receive a Gift Certificate, good for a free Raffle Ticket for, say £50 of merchandise at the sponsor’s shop. Here’s the key: the Gift Certificate can only be redeemed for a Raffle Ticket at the sponsor’s shop. Donors who attend the event must stop by the shop to benefit from the prize draw. If the display inside the venue is done properly, customers will be eager to visit the brick-and-mortar location to see more goods.

In the meantime, the first prize draw adds an extra element of festivities to the evening. Guests can examine the merchandise, purchase tickets, and await the draw. You can increase excitement by awarding prizes throughout the evening, continually reminding people that there is still time to buy more Raffle Tickets (save the most valuable prizes for last) and that they can visit the sponsor’s shop after the event to arrange for another Raffle Ticket!

{ 0 comments }

Did you ever stop to consider the people who purchase your Raffle Tickets, enter your prize draw, and support your organisation? I’ve identified eight types of customers:

Diehard fans support your organisation, no matter what. They’re always willing to help, and, provided you haven’t hit them up too many times in the last few months, they’ll buy some Raffle Tickets, just to help your cause.

Sometimes fans support your organisation in theory, and they’ll support you financially, if they like your prizes, and if your tickets don’t cost too much, and if they haven’t just bought a 3-D TV they need to pay off.

Obligated buyers may not care about your mission or your prizes. They’re buying Raffle Tickets because they know your sales team personally. The bigger and more gregarious your sales team, the more of these supporters you’ll have.

Gamblers like to take a chance. They’re not interested in the prize or even the odds so much as they care about taking a chance. They love possibilities, so remind them about the thrill of winning.

Prize lovers don’t want to hear about your goals. They just want to know whether you’re offering the gadget they desire (but can’t afford). They love MP3 players, new phones, and trucks. They’ll pay a little extra for a Raffle Ticket as long as you offer a great prize.

New supporters are future diehard fans. They love your charity; they’ve just never heard of it. Your sales team can bring them into the fold, turning them into loyal supporters, as they sell them Raffle Tickets.

Big spenders love buying things while others are watching. Catch a guy with a fat wallet and a pretty date and he’ll buy some Raffle Tickets just to prove that he can.

Miscellaneous buyers are those occasional, extra sales. They didn’t plan to buy a ticket, they didn’t really need a prize. You just caught them at the right time, in the right mood. They took a chance. And that’s why you sales team need to take more chances, too. The more people you approach, the more tickets you’ll sell.

{ 0 comments }

How will you help your supporters get away while you sell more Raffle Tickets??

The most popular types of prize draws are those awarding holidays and vehicles. Are you ready to capitalise on this information? Indeed, these are big-ticket items, but with proper preparation, you can organise and manage a big-ticket prize draw. It takes only some advance planning, some networking, and some hard work and you’ll be well on your way to selling more Raffle Tickets.

Some organisations have the funds or the connections to pull this sort of promotion together effortlessly, but most of us will need to think about it. Who do we know in a position to donate our large prizes? Travel agents? Collectors? Do you know the owners of a car dealership, a bed and breakfast, or a company that offers day trip adventures? Begin by making up lists. Don’t think merely of the people you know. Consider their friends as well. If someone in your organisation has a rich, philanthropist uncle or an old university chum who collects antique vehicles, put them on your list, too.

Now, create your pitch. In many cases, it’s helpful to write your script down first. Remember to include:

• You name
• The name of your organisation
• Your group’s mission statement
• The specific intention for the fund you will raise
• A specific donation request

Do your research. Find phone numbers and contact information for everyone you wish to reach. When you do reach them, speak politely but confidently. Don’t feel any shame in asking for a donation: you are working for a really worthy cause, and people will be happy to help you out! Consider how happy you’ll be when you’ve secured your large donations and can get down to the happy business of printing your own Raffle Tickets online. It will be easy to choose a design that reflects the nature of the prizes you offer, and those prizes will be spectacular.

{ 0 comments }

You can turn your prize draw into a complicated and multi-layered affair, or you can keep it simple. If you fancy an easy, breezy fundraiser that fills your coffers without filling your time, it’s time to get back to the basics. What do you need to hold a successful prize draw? Interesting prizes, effective Raffle Tickets, supporters to buy them, and a distribution method to sell them.

• Prizes: You know your supporters best. They may be willing to take a 50 p chance on a small prize: a new football, for instance, or a skein of yarn, or a gift certificate to a popular independent book shop. Perhaps they will pay money to gamble on the possibility of a free lunch with someone in your organisation, or a lesson on something your administration may teach.
• Raffle Tickets: So easy to print online! You choose the perfect design, enter your event details into a ticket template, and click on a few buttons. Your Raffle Tickets are professionally printed, with perforated stubs, lines to collect customer information, individual numbering, and other security features.
• Supporters: Get the word out, in your print or email newsletter, on websites and web forums, at local meetings and other brick-and-mortar events, through local media, and with printed Posters or Fliers. Don’t forget phone trees, word of mouth, and door to door sales.
• Distribution: Take advantage of one of many online sites that sell Raffle Tickets for you. If you already have a sales team, offer them extra prizes and let them do their job. Or, incentivise small children with appropriate rewards and let them sell. Sell Raffle Tickets on your own website, at meetings, or at summer festivals. Wherever people are, that’s where you should be selling Raffle Tickets.

{ 0 comments }

If low ticket sales have gotten you down, don’t give up! You can always sell more Raffle Tickets. You simply need to cast a wider net and reach a larger audience. How are you making the public aware of your organisation and the fabulous prizes you have to offer? Have you kept the news within a narrow circle, alerting only those who belong to the group, along, perhaps, with some family, friends, and neighbors?

Why not reach your entire community with some properly places print ads?

In many cases, you can inexpensively print Posters and Flyers with the same design as your favourite Raffle Ticket, and in many cases, these advertisements allow you to upload your own images. You can provide your sponsors with additional exposure, or add photographs of the prizes, or even honour men and women in your organisation by uploading .JPGs or other visual files right from your computer’s hard drive.

Sophisticated, lovely, or playful, there is a proper Poster for all of your prize draws. It’s simple to choose a matching design when you print your Raffle Tickets. You can print your Posters at the same time. You can also choose a different design, which may be brighter, more colourful, or more eye-catching than your Raffle Tickets.

Use your Poster or Flyer to include all the relevant information about your prize draw. You’ll have ample space to describe the organisation, the specific cause toward which the money will go, the prizes to be won, along with the date, time, and location of the draw. Of course, you will want to highlight where and how potential customers can purchase Raffle Tickets. Then hang your Posters where they are likely to see them: in shops, near bus benches, and anywhere else it is allowed.

{ 0 comments }