On WPBeginner's 4th birthday, we hosted the largest WordPress giveaway ever, raising $25,000 to build a school thanks to generous sponsors and enthusiastic participants. Many readers asked how to replicate this on their own sites. Giveaways excel at boosting engagement, rewarding loyal audiences, and amplifying your brand. In this expert guide, we'll show you how to run a giveaway on WordPress with Rafflecopter, drawing from our real-world experience.
Rafflecopter offers a straightforward platform to create, manage, and track giveaways effortlessly. Participants enter with just a few clicks, while you assign tasks like social shares, comments, or email sign-ups for entries. These actions promote your site organically and sustain interest—no coding or plugins required.
Start by signing up for a free Rafflecopter account (paid plans unlock extras like no branding and advanced features). At WPBeginner, we use the Business plan for its viral tools, but the free version suits beginners perfectly.
From the dashboard, click +New Giveaway.
Fill out the form: Add a title for internal organization, list prizes (embed images or details in your WordPress post for free accounts), and select entry methods.
Enable Refer a friend (Business accounts only). Click Add an option for tasks like:
Free account options:
Paid account extras:
Set start/end dates (we recommend 7-10 days for optimal participation), add terms & conditions, and save.
Click Get Widget for embed code. In WordPress, create a post/page, switch to Text/HTML editor, and paste it.
Refresh if needed—Visual editor users must switch first.
Edits in Rafflecopter update automatically—no WordPress republishing required.
Success hinges on visibility. We used site-wide floating bars, emailed subscribers, shared on social media, rallied friends, and added floating share bars to giveaway posts.
Rafflecopter handles 99% of giveaways seamlessly (most have <10 prizes). Our 200+ prize event revealed limits: no bulk winner selection (manual clicks needed for fairness), no direct winner exports (we built spreadsheets manually). For smaller contests, these aren't issues. We hope for future bulk tools.
This guide empowers you to launch viral giveaways on WordPress. Follow WPBeginner on Twitter and Facebook for more giveaways and tutorials. Questions? Comment below.
