Why action-entry draws work
A prize draw turns attention you would have paid for into an audience you keep. The mechanic is simple. The reason it works is worth understanding before you build your first one.
How the model works
Someone enters your draw by giving their email. That is the free entry, and it is all anyone has to do. From there they can earn extra entries by completing actions you choose: following your Instagram, subscribing on YouTube, sharing the draw with a friend. Each action is worth a number of entries you set. The more they do, the better their odds.
There is no payment and no donation. Entry is always free, which keeps the draw outside UK lottery rules and inside advertising and data-protection rules. That distinction matters, and the platform is built around keeping you on the right side of it.
The difference that matters
A paid ad buys you a view and then the view is gone. An action-entry draw asks for a follow, a subscribe or a share in exchange for a chance to win. You keep the follower, the subscriber and the email long after the draw ends. You are not renting attention. You are building an audience.
Why entries are weighted
The draw is not one entry per person. Someone who followed you on three platforms and referred two friends has earned more entries than someone who just gave their email, so they have a proportionally better chance of winning. This is fair, it is explained in your terms, and it is the engine that makes the actions worth completing. People do more when doing more improves their odds.
When you draw a winner, the platform picks at random but weighted by entries earned. A clear record of how the winner was selected is produced automatically, which you will read more about in the guide on drawing a winner.
The formula behind every good draw
The result of a draw comes down to four things, in this order:
The platform builds the page for you and keeps it compliant, so two of the four are handled. Your job is the other two: a prize people genuinely want, and getting it in front of the right audience. Those are the two guides to read most closely, because that is where draws are won or lost.
What a realistic first draw looks like
A first draw is as much about learning your numbers as it is about the result. You will see your entry rate, how many people completed bonus actions, and where entries came from. That data tells you what to change for the next one. Draws compound: the audience you build in draw one is the audience you start draw two with.
Treat the first as a baseline, not a verdict. The brands that do well run them regularly and improve each time.
Before you build
You bring the audience and run the marketing. The platform does not send traffic to your draw. That is by design: only you can reach your email list and your followers, and that is exactly the audience worth growing. Keep that in mind as you read on.