The "Pick-a-winner" application lets you import a list of users from a CSV or text file and run a giveaway contest among them, selecting one or more winners at random. The application provides you with a certificate of validity confirming that the selection process was carried out entirely at random. It also gives you the opportunity to announce the winners on a microsite, and get an exclusive URL to publish the result. If your list includes the email addresses of the participants, you can use the 'Claim your prize' system to confirm their data and simplify the prize fulfillment process.

What you should know before starting:

• The "Pick-a-winner" app is available for accounts with an active plan, based on the number of entries included in the list. The limits on the number of entries included in the different plans are:
  • Basic plan (29€ / $29 month): limited to giveaways with a maximum of 5,000 entries.
  • Basic PRO plan (49€ / $49 month): limited to giveaways with a maximum of 100,000 entries.
  • Premium plan (149€ / $199 al mes): limited to giveaways with a maximum of 500,000 entries.
  • White Label (349€ / $399 al mes) and Corporate plans: limited to giveaways with a maximum of 1,000,000 entries.
• The Pick-a-winner app is limited to giveaways with a maximum of 1,000,000 entries. For giveaways with a larger number, contact our sales team via this link.
• The option to assign additional entries if identical records are detected is disabled for giveaways with more than 20,000 entries.

Here is a step-by-step guide to running this type of giveaway:

• Step 1. Access the Control Panel

• Step 2. Configure the basic features of the giveaway

• Step 3. Check the list of finalists and apply exclusions

• Step 4. Define the numbers of winners and alternates

• Step 5. Run a test and activate the giveaway

• Step 6. Prepare to announce the winners

• Step 7. Manage the winners and alternates

Step 1. Access the Control Panel

Access the Easypromos Control Panel via this link. If you are not a user yet, you have to create an account. Then you can access the Control Panel to create and manage your promotions.

Step 2. Configure the basic features of the giveaway

1. Click on the “Create new promotion” button to start setting it up.

2. Choose the “Pick-a-winner” option.

3. You will be presented with the contest setup screen. As a first step, you should select or create an organizing brand for your giveaway. This organizing brand is independent of any social network and works as a folder within your Easypromos account, in order to help organize the promotions that you create.

4. Once you have selected the organizing brand of the giveaway, choose where you would like to import the participants from:

• Enter manually: This option will allow you to "Copy and paste" the names of the participants of the draw, if for example you have them saved in a Word file or similar.
• Import from a file: You can use this option if you have the participants' details in a .CSV or .TXT file.

Select the file you're going to use, or copy and paste the information in the appropriate box. Click “Import”.

Please note: Once the file has been imported, it's not possible to modify or replace it. If you need to use another file or a modified version of the file, you should start over and create a new giveaway.

5. Once you've imported the data from the file, in Step 3 you will see the import options:

1. If the imported file has headers, activate this option and it will be easier for you to identify and manage the columns.

2. By default, information will be presented with the most suitable tabulation. Change the settings if the information is not separated by columns as it should be.

3. You can use the "Manage columns" option, which allows you to combine columns in the display field. For example, if the CSV file includes "NAME" and "SURNAME" columns, with the "Combine fields" option you will be able to show the full names of participants.

4. You can preview how the data is being imported. Not all the records are shown; you will only see a sample. The last entry on the list will be included, to give you an idea of the total number of rows/users.

5. Main field. This is the field used to identify the participant. It’s the one used for the random selection of the winners and for identifying duplicates. By default, the tool will present you with the field considered most suitable. We suggest you make it the 'email' field. Using the email field enables you to contact users easily and activate the "Claim Your Prize" system, in order to identify the winners and request further information from them.

6. Display field. This field will be used to publicly display the participants/winners.

Note: if you have a file that includes the fields 'name' and 'email', we recommend that you indicate the name as 'display field' and the email as 'main field'. Configure the giveaway by adjusting these options and clicking “Import” to start the winner selection process.

7. Field with number of entries. If you want to permit additional entries to the giveaway, you can include a column in your CSV file to indicate the number of additional entries for each participant on the list.

8. The tool will ask you how it should behave if it finds identical records in the main field. These can either be ignored or counted as additional entries. Note: This option is disabled in giveaways with more than 20,000 records.

This option allows to give additional participations to the users that appear in the list with several entries, and thus reward them with more possibilities of winning the draw. To do this, you should select the option "Give 1 extra participation for each record":

The system will then import the list and determine the number of entries with which each participant in the list will enter the draw.

Note: In the next step, once you have imported the list, you'll be able to check the number of participants in the giveaway, which corresponds to the number of "unique" users of the list, and by clicking on the "View" button, you'll be able to review the list with the name of each participant along with the total number of participations with which they will enter the draw:

Once you have configured all these options according to the characteristics of your giveaway, click on the "Continue" button to start the selection of winners. 

Step 3. Check the list of finalists and apply exclusions

You’re on the page of the open giveaway. Beneath the title, you’ll find the number of participants and options for viewing the data in the list. From here, you’ll also be able to exclude participants from the giveaway or add them to your permanent blacklist. 

Select the 'Exclude blacklisted users' option if you want the exclusion to be applied.

Step 4. Define the number of winners and alternates

Next, indicate how many winners and how many alternate winners you want to select. We recommend that you always request alternate winners; this will ensure that administering the prize is easier and more efficient. Clicking on "Continue" will take you to the Test Page.

Do you want to give away different prizes?

With the option "Customize the prizes" you can create all the prizes you want to give away, and for each prize, you can define the number of winners you want to obtain. For example, you can have a first prize to give away some movie tickets with 2 winners, and a second prize of tickets for a concert with 2 other winners. Being two different prizes, this option will allow you to manage the number of winners you want to obtain for each type of prize, and at the time of publishing the winners, these will also be presented separately.

To manage the different prizes of your draw, click on "Customize the prizes". A pop-up will open where you can define the name and number of winners of each of the prizes:

Step 5. Activate the giveaway

Once you are ready to carry out the draw, the system will allow you to finish it in order to obtain the winners and alternates. In case you don't have a monthly plan, depending on the number of entries included in the list, the system will ask you to purchase one plan or another in order to activate it. Check the prices of the "Pick-a-winner app" here.

Once the purchase has been made, and just before carrying out the random draw, you'll have the opportunity to carry out various tests to see how the tool works.

When you are ready to finish the draw, click on the "Ready! Pick the winners" and the draw will be carried out randomly.

Finally, a window will open with a summary of the configuration of your giveaway, which you must confirm in order to continue with the process. In addition, you have the possibility to activate the option "View the random draw as an animated presentation", which will allow you to visualise the process of selection of winners and alternates in the form of an animated presentation, more visual and graphic. See examples.

Step 6. Prepare to announce the winners

Congratulations! The giveaway has been completed and you should now see a screen with the results. Now you can start thinking about announcing the winners and preparing to award the prizes. 

A. "Winners and Alternates" section:

Here you'll see the list of winners and alternates. You can manage the prize winners from this page, and change them if needed.

B. Notify the winners:

In this section you will find the option for directly notifying prizewinners (as long as you have their email addresses). To do so, follow the steps below:

1. Click on the envelope icon:

2. Draft the text that you wish your winner/s to receive. Now send it. When the winner/s have been notified, the icon will turn green:

Note: If you have activated the “Claim your prize” module, the default text of the email will lead to the “Claim your prize” URL.

C. "Winners publication" section:

In carrying out the contest, the tool will have generated two very important web addresses:

• Certificate of Validity. A certificate of validity has been produced, confirming that the contest took place just once and at random. The certificate can’t be modified and it uniquely identifies a specific contest. Share this URL when announcing the prizewinners, to ensure that participants can see the giveaway has been fair and transparent.
• Winners Page. A microsite displaying the winners and alternates has also been created, making it much easier for you to announce the results. You can customize this page to adapt it to your brand and needs.
• Show mode. This option allows you to present the results of a giveaway in an animated format to show the winners in a more fun way and add a point of surprise and fun to your draws. This option is only available with the Basic PRO plan or higher.

Click on "Edit" to customize the Winners Page to fit your needs:

These are the elements that you can customize:

D. "Claim your prize" section:

Do you want the winners to be able to confirm their details and claim their prize? You can set up and activate this section to aid in the prize-awarding process. This way, users who visit the Winners Page will be able to claim the prize on their screens, verifying their details and confirming that they're interested in receiving their reward. 

To enable it, click on the "Enable" button and follow the steps indicated in this tutorial to customize all module options. 

Step 7. Manage the winners and alternates

From the 'Winners and alternates' section you’ll be able to:

• See who has claimed their prizes and view the personal data they’ve provided.
• Manage the prizewinners, substituting them if necessary.
• Download all the information provided by prizewinners to a file.

If you follow these steps, your giveaway should go perfectly!