How to select winners
Use the Random Entry Picker in the Entries Manager to draw one or more winners at random from your filtered entries. Every draw is random, even when you weight it by votes, so it can't be used to give a prize to the entry with the most votes. On a Free plan it can only draw from entries within your plan's allowance.
Before you start
- The draw is always random. Each entry in your filtered pool has the same chance, unless you turn on extra weight for votes or points.
- Extra weight is not "most votes wins". It makes an entry with more votes more likely to be drawn, but the entry with the most votes can still lose. If the top-voted entry should win, don't use the picker. Sort your entries by most votes and take the top one.
- On a Free plan, the picker only draws from entries within your plan's stored-entry allowance. Your oldest entries stay visible, and the newest are hidden, so they can't be picked. They are still stored, and they all reappear if you subscribe.
- Pick winners after your entry period ends. Entries that arrive after you draw aren't in the draw.
Pick winners with the Random Entry Picker
- Open the Entries Manager from Home or the Campaign Builder.
- Use the Filter by options on the right to narrow the pool to the entries that should be eligible, for example one list. Only entries that match all your filters are drawn from.
- To leave out earlier winners or entries your Entry Filter marked as suspicious, open Labels and type the label in Exclude Entries. Labels are saved in lower case, so "Winner" and "winner" are the same label.
- Click Actions, then Pick Random Entries/Winner(s).
- Set the options below.
- Click Submit & Close.
- When Picked entries ready appears, click View to see the winners in the Entries Manager.
Picker options
| Option | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Entries to Pick | How many winners to draw. The default is 1. | You have more than one prize. |
| Labels to Apply to Picked Entries | Adds a label to each picked entry. The default is "picked" followed by today's date. You can change or remove it. | You want to find the winners later, or exclude them from a future draw. Use the same label each time, such as "winner". |
| Give Extra Weight to Entries with Votes/Points | Makes entries with more votes more likely to be drawn. | Votes should work as extra chances in a prize draw. Leave it off for a pure random draw. |
What happens next
The picker adds your label to the entries it draws. It doesn't email anyone or announce a winner, so you can review the result before you contact anybody.
To contact a winner, hover over the picked entry and click View Details. Use the details there to tell them they've won and how to claim their prize.
To announce the winner with a video, see How to use Winner Reveal.
If something goes wrong
I can't see all my entries, or some entrants can't be picked. You're on a Free plan and some entries are beyond your plan's allowance. They are hidden, not deleted, and the newest are hidden first. Subscribe and they all reappear, then run the draw. See Where are the entries?.
The entry with the most votes didn't win. This is expected. Weighted draws are still random. For a "most votes wins" contest, sort your entries by most votes and take the top entry instead of using the picker.
A previous winner was picked again. The picker only leaves out entries whose label you listed in Exclude Entries. Give past winners a label such as "winner" when you pick them, then exclude that label next time.
The pool is smaller than I expected. Entries must match all of your filters. Remove a filter, then check the number of entries shown before you draw.
Related resources
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