---
title: "Choose who wins a prize at your event | Ticket Fairy Guides"
description: "Give out a prize with no target on it: name the buyer you already know won, or draw winners at random from every buyer who has paid, then confirm what the draw came up with."
canonical: "https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/choose-who-wins-a-prize-at-your-event"
---

1. [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/)
2. [Guides](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides)
3. [Offer prizes your fans can win at your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/offer-prizes-your-fans-can-win)
4. Choose who wins a prize at your event

Referral marketing

# Choose who wins a prize at your event

Some prizes cannot be worked out from your ticket sales. Best costume, the answer to a question you asked on stage, a name out of a hat: you decide who won, so Ticket Fairy waits for you. There are two ways to choose the winner, and both end with the same win on your winners list.

You're deciding who won a prize with no target on it, as part of offering prizes at your event. You can return to the complete prizes guide once the winners are on your list. [Offer prizes your fans can win at your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/offer-prizes-your-fans-can-win)

Takes:  7 minutes

- [Open the Prizes tab](#step-1)
- [Find the prize you judge yourself](#step-2)
- [Choose how the winner is decided](#step-3)
- [Name the winner you already know](#step-4)
- [Draw the winner instead](#step-5)
- [Give the prizes to the buyers who came up](#step-6)
- [Find the win on your winners list](#step-7)

## Before you start

- You have an owner or admin role for the event. For a prize that runs across a brand's events you need an owner or admin role for the brand instead.
- The prize is one you judge yourself. On **Add a prize** that is the **You pick the winner yourself** answer to who earns it, and its card reads "Whoever you choose".
- You still have one of the prize left to give. The card says how many are left where you set a limit.

1. ## Open the Prizes tab

   Open your event, select **Rewards** and open the **Prizes** tab.

   **Note:** The cash back your buyers earn for selling tickets sits at the top, and the prizes you offer sit under it.

   ![The Prizes tab of Rewards for an event, with the referral cash-back ladder above the prizes on offer and what each one takes to win](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-prizes--prize-list.png)    
   *Rewards, Prizes. The menu on each card carries what you can do with that prize.*
2. ## Find the prize you judge yourself

   Find the card that reads "Whoever you choose" and open the menu on it.

   **Note:** A prize with a target on it is awarded for you the moment a buyer reaches it, and a prize a pack of friends wins is decided a different way. Neither has the two menu entries below.
3. ## Choose how the winner is decided

   Select either **Pick the winner** or **Draw a winner** from that menu.

   - **Pick the winner**: For a winner you already know, such as the best costume you judged at the door. You search your buyers by name and name that person yourself.
   - **Draw a winner**: For a winner nobody knows yet. Ticket Fairy draws at random from every buyer who has paid, and you read the names before the prizes are given out.
   **Note:** Both ways end with the same win on your winners list, and both email the winner. They differ only in who decides.
4. ## Name the winner you already know

   Select **Pick the winner**, enter part of the person's name or email address in **Who won it?**, choose them from the list, then select **Give them the prize**.

   **Note:** Only buyers who have bought from you are offered, and a buyer who already holds this prize stays on the list marked **Already picked**. **Why they won (optional)** is kept with the win for your team to read.

   ![The Pick the winner dialog, with a searched name, two matching buyers to choose between, an optional note about why they won, and the button that gives the prize](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-prizes--pick-winner.png)    
   *Pick the winner, with two buyers matching what was entered.*
5. ## Draw the winner instead

   Select **Draw a winner**, enter **How many winners do you want?**, then select **Draw**.

   **Note:** Every buyer who has paid for a ticket on this event goes in once, apart from those who already hold this prize. The draw takes longer on a larger event, and you can leave the dialog open while it runs.

   ![The Draw a winner dialog after a draw, with the number of winners asked for, how many buyers were in the draw, the two names it came up with, and the buttons to draw again or give the prizes out](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-prizes--draw-winner.png)    
   *Draw a winner, with the two names the draw came up with and nothing given out yet.*
6. ## Give the prizes to the buyers who came up

   Read the names and how many buyers were in the draw, then select **Give them the prizes**. Nobody has won anything until you do.

   **Note:** **Draw again** draws a different set of names, and Ticket Fairy keeps every draw, including the ones you replaced by drawing again. Closing the dialog gives nobody anything.
7. ## Find the win on your winners list

   Open **Influencers** and open the **Winners** tab. A new win is ready for you there, or sits as **Waiting on the winner** where the prize asks the winner a question first.

   **Note:** Select **Mark as delivered** once the prize is with them. **Cancel** takes back a win that should not stand and asks you why.

   ![The Winners tab of Influencers, with the four statuses as tabs and one row per win showing the winner, the prize and why they won](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-prizes--winners.png)    
   *Influencers, Winners. A win you named and a win you drew sit beside every other win.*

## Or have it done for you

Fai, your AI teammate, can check sales, update your event or change a ticket when you ask.

Fai can name the winner you tell her to, or draw winners for you. A draw gives nobody anything on its own: she tells you who came up and how many buyers were in the draw, then waits for you to say whether to give the prizes out.

### In your dashboard, with Fai

```
For this event, draw 2 winners for the prize Best costume on the night, tell me who came up and how many buyers were in the draw, then ask me before you give the prizes out
```

## Give out a prize that runs across a brand's events

A prize you set up on a brand is judged on the brand, so you choose its winner on the brand rather than on any one event.

1. ### Open the brand's Prizes tab

   Open your brand, select **Rewards**, open the **Prizes** tab and use the same two menu entries on the prize's card.

   **Note:** The brand's **Winners** page is where those wins land. A draw for a brand prize takes in every buyer who has paid on any of that brand's events, so it runs for longer.

Fai can draw for a brand prize and give the prizes out, the same as on an event. She tells you who came up and asks for your approval before they win.

### In your dashboard, with Fai

```
For the brand <BRAND NAME>, draw 1 winner for the prize <PRIZE NAME>, tell me who came up, then ask me before you give the prize out
```

## Ask each winner for what you need to send the prize

A prize you post needs an address, and a prize in a buyer's name needs the spelling they want. Ask on the prize itself and every winner answers the same questions, however you chose them.

1. ### Add the questions to the prize

   Open the prize from **Prizes**, select **Edit**, then add each question under **Ask winners for**.

   **Note:** A win on a prize that asks questions sits as **Waiting on the winner** until the winner answers, and is ready for you once they have.

Fai can add or change the questions a prize asks its winners. You see the questions before they are saved.

### In your dashboard, with Fai

```
On the prize <PRIZE NAME> for this event, ask each winner for their postal address and their t-shirt size
```

## Draw only from your members, or give members extra entries

If your brand sells memberships, a prize you judge yourself can be drawn only from buyers who are members, or give members more chances to win than other buyers. Buyers see on the prize that it is for members, or that members get extra entries.

1. ### Open the prize

   Open the prize from **Prizes** and select **Edit**.
2. ### Choose who goes into the draw

   Under **Who can win the draw**, keep **Everyone who bought a ticket**, or choose **Members only** or **Members of some tiers** and pick the **Tiers**.

   **Note:** A buyer goes into a members-only draw when they have paid for a ticket and are a member of your brand when you draw. A member whose renewal payment we are still trying again counts too, and a member whose membership has ended does not.
3. ### Give members extra entries

   Optional: Under **Extra entries for members**, choose from 1 to 5 entries for **All members**, or a number for each tier.

   **Note:** A buyer who is not a member always has one entry, so a member on 3 entries is three times as likely to come up. A number for one tier replaces the number for every tier, and each buyer wins once at most in a draw.
4. ### Save the prize

   Select **Save changes**. The next draw for the prize uses these settings, and each draw keeps the settings it ran with, so your team can see later why a buyer was in it.

Fai can make a prize draw only from your members, or from members of the tiers you name, and give members extra entries. She shows you the prize with the change and asks before she saves it, and when she draws she tells you how many buyers and entries were in it.

### In your dashboard, with Fai

```
Make the prize <PRIZE NAME> on this event draw only from members of <BRAND NAME>, give Gold members 3 entries, and show me the prize before you save it
```

## Questions you might have

**Who goes into the draw?**

 Every buyer who has paid for a ticket on the event, or on any of the brand's events for a brand prize. Each buyer is in it once however many tickets they bought, and a buyer who already holds this prize is left out, including one whose win was called off. A prize for your members takes in only buyers who are members when you draw, and a member with extra entries is in it that many times.

**Can I draw again if I do not like the result?**

 Yes, as often as you want, and nobody has won anything until you give the prizes out. Every draw is kept, so your team can see how many times a prize was drawn, and the winners you settled on are on the winners list.

**How many winners can one draw take?**

 Up to 25, and never more than you have left of the prize. Where you limited the prize to three and have given one away, a draw takes up to two.

**The draw came up with fewer names than I asked for. Why?**

 There were fewer buyers in the draw than that. The dialog says how many it drew from, so you can give those winners their prizes, or wait until more buyers have paid and draw again.

**Why does it say nobody can win this prize yet?**

 Either no buyer has paid for a ticket yet, or every buyer who has already holds this prize. Either way, the draw waits until that changes.

**Does the winner know how they were chosen?**

 The email says they have won and what they won. It does not say whether you named them or drew them, so tell your buyers yourself where a draw is part of what you promised.

**Can I take a win back?**

 Select **Cancel** on the row in **Winners** and say why. The winner was emailed when they won, so tell them too; the canceled win and your reason stay in their history, and they cannot be picked or drawn for the same prize again.

**A team member took the last prize while I was reading my draw. What happens?**

 Ticket Fairy refuses to give the prizes out and tells you so, and nothing is half given: either every winner in the draw gets one or none of them does. Raise the limit on the prize, or draw again for what is left.

**Can a pack of friends be drawn?**

 No. A draw picks one buyer at a time, so a pack prize doesn't have either menu entry. Give a pack prize a target it can reach instead.

**Why did fewer buyers go into a members-only draw than I expected?**

 A members-only draw takes in members who have also paid for a ticket, and only while they are still members. A fan who joined but has not bought a ticket, or whose membership ended before you drew, is left out. The dialog says how many buyers were in the draw.

**Does a members-only prize stop me naming a winner who isn't a member?**

 No. The member settings decide who goes into a draw. When you name the winner yourself with **Pick the winner**, you can choose any buyer who has bought from you.

**Who can see the names in a draw?**

 Owners and admins on the event, or on the brand for a brand prize. Someone with the **Stats** or **Limited Stats** role can't open either entry or see any buyer's email address, and Ticket Fairy records each time someone views a draw.

## Still have a question?

Book a demo and we will answer it on a call, on your kind of event. Or create your account and see it for yourself.

   [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome)

No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required.

## Related guides

- [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/referral-marketing)
- [Offer prizes your fans can win at your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/offer-prizes-your-fans-can-win)
- [Reward buyers who bring friends to your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/reward-buyers-for-referrals)
- [Understand your event's referral results](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/read-your-referral-results)
- [Email your ticket buyers about your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/email-your-buyers)
- [Sell monthly and yearly memberships to your event fans](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-memberships-to-your-fans)
- [Choose how your buyers share your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/choose-how-your-buyers-share-your-event)
- [Every Ticket Fairy guide](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides)

## Do this on your own event

Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call.

  [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo)

## Sell tickets with Ticket Fairy

Start free with unlimited events and no monthly fee, and choose a paid plan when you need more.

- Set up your event in minutes
- Free events are free
- Fai, your AI teammate, is built in

 [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome)

No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required.

## See it on a call

Book a demo and we will show you how Ticket Fairy handles your kind of event.

 [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/referral-marketing)

### Tips for selling more tickets

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---

This page is on Ticket Fairy, a ticketing, marketing and operations platform for live events and the venues that host them: festivals, club nights, concerts, conferences and tours, and night clubs, beach clubs and concert venues. It grows revenue with fan rewards that turn an audience into a sales channel, and runs the money side with payments and payouts, Vault business banking, and working capital advanced against ticket sales. [How Ticket Fairy ticketing works](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing) · [Ticket Fairy for AI assistants](https://www.ticketfairy.com/llms.txt)