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How to Select Winners

This feature available on All Plans except where noted

Overview

When a contest entry period is over, use the Random Entry Picker to select the winner(s).

Getting There

  1. Go to the Entries Manager by opening the Manage drop-down menu then selecting Entries.
  2. Filter your entries using the Filter by... options on the left side.
  3. Select the Actions button at the top of the page.
  4. Select Pick Random Entries/Winner(s).

By default, the Random Entry Picker is set up to choose one winner. For many contests, you may find that all you need to do is click Submit & Close in order to choose a winner.

Step 1: Filter Entries

Filtering entries allows you to narrow down your entries to the exact group from which you want to pick your winner. To start your filtering, just use the fields on the left of the Entries Manager. For an in-depth breakdown of each type of filtering you can do, check out the Filtering section of the Entries Manager help doc. Here's how you'd filter down to just a specific list or lists:

  1. In the filtering options, click to open the Lists section, then click Select Lists.
  2. Check the box or boxes next to the list(s) that you want to have included in your random drawing, then click the blue Select button.
  3. You should see the name of the list appear in the Lists filter on the left. If you want to remove a list from the filter, click the X icon to the left of the list name.
  4. At this point, on the right you'll see only the entries from the list you selected. These will be the entries from which you'll select your winner.

This example only narrows entries down by list, but you can use any of the other filtering methods to create your pool. Only entries that exactly match ALL the values you choose for filtering will be selected for your pool.

Step 2: Exclude Entries (if applicable)

If your campaign has Fraud Filters enabled, you don't want someone with a fraudulent entry to win. Additionally, if someone was already a winner for this contest and you don't want to them to win additional prizes, you can exclude them. 

Here's how to exclude these entries: 

  1. In the filtering section of the Entries Manager, click to open the labels section. 
  2. Type in the label(s) that were given to the fraudulent entries or previous winners (i.e., the label of "winner") in the Exclude Entries field. 
  3. Now, all entries with the label(s) will be excluded. 

 

Note: Fraud Filter is available for Elite plan.

 

Step 3: Choose Options

Now that you have established the pool of entries from which you'll be selecting your winner, you'll want to open the Random Entry Picker and set it up to pick an entry to your exact specifications.

  1. Click the Actions button at the top.
  2. Select the Pick Random Entries/Winner(s) option from the drop-down.
  3. Use the fields and checkboxes to narrow down entry selection:
    • Number of entries to pick - Enter the exact number of entries you want to select. The default is one.
    • Labels to apply to picked entries - To keep track of which entry was selected, the system will add a label to the entry for you. The default will be picked [today's date], but you can remove that (click the X to the right of the label name) and add anything you'd like.
    • Give extra weight to entries with votes/points - By default, each entry has one chance to be picked. Checking this option gives each entry an additional chance to win for each vote/point it has received. This option is most useful when you are using a combination of voting and luck to choose winners, or when you are using the Refer-a-Friend option. If you leave this unchecked, entries will be chosen without regard to their points/votes.

  4. Click the blue Submit & Close button to select your winner.

 

Step 4: Delivery

Once you've clicked Submit & Close on the picker, you'll see a message about the entry being selected, and once that's done you'll see a notification that says Picked entries ready. Click View to see your selected entries right there in the Entries Manager.

The way the Entries Manager will display your winner is by using another filter - the label that you set up during the process of using the Random Entry Picker. You'll see where that label is listed on the left, and the winning entry (or entries) will be displayed on the right.

Contacting the Winner

After the Random Entry Picker makes its selection, it's up to you to contact the winner, let them know they've won, and tell them how to pick up the prize. To get the details of your selected entry, hover over the entry and then click the View Details button.


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