Winning Online Competitions – Everything You Need To Know

How Are Winners Selected For Zap-Made Competition Sites?

Zap competition sites host a variety of competitions, which means a variety of winners, and a variety of ways to win.

1. Prize Draws

Save the date! 

Except instead of a wedding invite, we’re talking about Prize Draw Day. 

Let us explain. 

A prize draw competition is set up with a pre-determined end date. People buy tickets in the lead up to this date, and it draws slowly nearer. 

Then—yay!— the big day. The one everyone’s looking forward to: the prize draw. 

Some brands choose to make a day of it and host this as a live event. You might even livestream the occasion so you can engage with people in a chatty, personable way and create hype around the draw. 

A random ticketing system determines the competition winner. It’s the virtual equivalent of picking a name out of a hat, or announcing the winning raffle tickets. 

It’s important that this system is genuinely random, which is why Zap’s sites use a special Reveal The Winner tool. This tool uses the Google Random Number Generator and is built into the competition site itself. What’s more, there’s no way anyone can tamper with it. 

Random results incoming! 

2. Instant Wins

Instant Wins: in which people win competitions INSTANTLY! What could be better? 

Newcomers to the industry are sometimes a bit confused by the concept of an Instant Win, because these competitions combine a prize draw with a different feature. But, never fear. We can explain. 

Like we mentioned before, there will also be one competition winner at the end, whose name is revealed in a prize draw. This closes the competition with a bang.

Usually, on the route to this momentous occasion, there will be a few smaller prizes, known as Instant Wins. 

With Instant Wins, you list a big bunch of prizes. Over the course of the competition’s open window, players can win these, one by one. Crucially, this win is revealed to them as soon as they purchase. It is, in other words, instant. 

The instant reveal can happen in a few ways. Scratch cards are a fan favourite. Players scratch the ticket to reveal ‘winner!’, or ‘better luck next time!’. For example, you can also flip a virtual coin with the results on either side. 

Types Of Online Competitions

Competition wins come in all shapes and sizes because competitions aren’t a one-size-fits-all deal. 

For example…

1. Gambling

A lot of people assume that online competitions are all related to gambling, but that isn’t the case. 

If competition sites play their cards right (see what we did there?), their games can be a separate category altogether. 

Betting and gambling are largely defined by an element of chance. That is, people will win the competition mostly because of luck. The real money they use to enter these competitions is staked on something that may or may not go in their favour. 

Slots and casino games are examples of games of chance. Sports betting requires a bit more skill — only because many people research which contenders are likely to win. But it does ultimately come down to luck of the day: there’s still an element of risk there. 

Bear in mind that, if your competition requires customers to spend money, or even suggests it as a possibility, it is still REAL MONEY gaming. It just isn’t gambling. There are ways to differentiate your games from gambling, if you wish…

2. Skill-Based Competitions

Online competitions which are free-to-enter aren’t defined as Real Money Gaming, nor gambling. That’s because, as we’re sure you’ve deduced, they don’t require real money to enter.

Often, these games will instead require an element of skill. 

For example, you might ask your Instagram followers for the best photo they can take of themselves and their pets. The competition winner is chosen based on the merit of their photograph.

3. Real Money And Free-To-Enter Competitions

Some online competitions combine the two options. We encourage our clients to take this route, as it enables a profit to be made, but it keeps your users safe, too.

This means that there has to be a viable option to take part entirely for free. This option has to be exactly as accessible as the paid option, with as much chance of winning the competition. 

These will also require an element of skill. For example, you might pop in a simple quiz question at the ‘add to basket’ page of your competition. Entrants must answer this in order to proceed to ticket purchase.

It’s the beeeeeest of both worlds.

How To Win On Competition Sites

Look, everyone wants to win competitions. Winning is a great feeling, and everyone likes prizes. But it wouldn’t be fun if everyone won everything. 

If you’re looking to rig the system, you’ve come to the wrong place. We’re all about fairness at Zap, and our clients’ competition winners are chosen entirely at random. Sorry-not-sorry!

But, is there a legitimate way to heighten your chances? 

Boost Your Chances With Strategy

The first thing to do is enter Instant Wins where you can. It’s not a case of ‘everyone’s a winner’, but statistically, you have a greater chance of winning something if there are lots of little prizes. 

Another tip is to set reminders. A lot of competitions work on a system of closing dates and prize windows. You don’t want to miss out because of simple mistakes like forgetting the deadline. 

Speaking of deadlines, it’s good to keep an eye on these, alongside the number of people who’ve entered. Most competition sites show how many tickets they’ve sold, or the percentage of spaces that have been snapped up. It figures that, the closer you get to the closing date, and the lower that percentage, the higher your chance of winning the competition.

Do People Win Competitions Online?

The short answer is ‘yes, people win competitions online all the time.’ Don’t believe us? 

Well, luckily for you, lots of competition brands share their winners’ stories on their sites and social media. 

Pst… Our clients are a great example of that. To give a few examples of just some of our wonderful competition sites:

• Click Competitions has a page on their site, dedicated to showcasing their competition winners
• So do Nitrous Competitions
• Lots of our clients post about winners on social media. See Ace Competitions’ Instagram page, for example

Win ‘em Over With Zap

Are you feeling like a winner? Course you are. At Zap, we know winners when we see them. 

If you’re looking to set up a competitions site of your own, and cultivate your own growing list of champions, we’ve got you covered. 

Contact us today and we can chat about your options.