Running Draws

Manual Draws Only

YetiRaffles uses manual draws - you control when to pick the winner. This gives you full control and transparency.

Accessing Draw Management

Go to YetiRaffles → Draw Management in your WordPress admin.

You'll see a list of all your competitions showing:

Total ticket slots
Number sold
Status (Active or Ended)
Action buttons

The Three Draw Types

1. Random Draw (Single Winner)

Picks one random winner from all tickets sold. Most common option.

When to use: Standard competitions with one main prize.

2. Random Draw (Multiple Winners)

Select multiple winners at once - 1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place, etc. You can pick up to 10 winners.

When to use: Competitions with runner-up prizes or multiple identical prizes.

3. Manual Selection

Type in a specific ticket number to declare as winner.

When to use: If you ran a physical draw elsewhere or need to pick a specific ticket.

Running a Draw - Step by Step

Pick Your Competition

Click Conduct Draw next to the competition you want to draw.
Check the Stats

The page shows total tickets sold and number of unique participants. Make sure it looks right.
Choose Draw Type

From the dropdown, select:
- Random Draw (1 Winner)
- Random Draw (Multiple Winners) - then specify how many
- Manual Selection - then type the ticket number
Add Notes (Optional)

Add any details you want - witnesses present, method used, etc. Good for transparency.
Run It

Click Conduct Draw Now. You'll get a popup asking to confirm - this can't be undone.
Done

Winner is selected, emails sent automatically, and everything gets saved to the draw history.

What Happens When You Run a Draw

The plugin automatically:

Randomly picks the winner(s) from sold tickets
Saves who won, when, and who ran the draw
Sends the winner an email with their ticket number
Sends you (admin) an email with winner details
Logs everything in the draw history

Viewing Draw History

Click View History next to any competition to see past draws.

The history shows:

When the draw happened
What type of draw it was
Who won (name, ticket number)
Which admin ran it
Any notes that were added

This creates a permanent record you can reference later.

Exporting Tickets

Click Export CSV to download a spreadsheet of all ticket holders for that competition.

The CSV includes:

Ticket number
Customer name, email, username
Order ID
When they bought it
If they won an instant prize
What prize (if instant winner)

Handy for record-keeping or if you want to run the draw externally.

All Ticket Holders Table

On the conduct draw page, there's a table showing every ticket holder:

You can see who bought which ticket numbers
Instant winners are marked with a star
Useful for double-checking before running the draw

Things to Know

Draws are permanent - you can't undo them once run
You can run multiple draws on the same competition if needed
Only completed orders count - pending/failed orders are excluded
Emails send automatically - check your email settings if they don't arrive

Before Running a Draw

Quick checklist:

Orders processed: Make sure all orders show as Completed or Processing
At least one ticket sold: You need tickets to draw from
Ready to announce: Once you run it, winner gets notified immediately
Check for disputes: Any payment chargebacks or issues to sort first?

Winner Notification Email

When someone wins, they automatically get an email with:

Congrats message
The competition name
Their winning ticket number
A note that you'll contact them about claiming the prize

You (admin) also get an email summary with the winner's details.

Need Help?

Questions about draws? Check the Troubleshooting page or FAQ.