How to run an online raffle for free in 5 minutes

Paper raffles still work. But they are a pain: print the sheet, write numbers by hand, lose the sheet, deal with the person who swears their number was already marked. With a smartphone and instant payment, you can build a professional raffle in 5 minutes and start selling the same day.

This guide covers the shortest path from zero to first sale. No credit card, no subscription, no Photoshop.

What you need before you start

Three things. Grab them before you open anything else:

1. A prize photo (vertical, good light, clean background)
2. Your payment key (PIX in Brazil, your local equivalent elsewhere)
3. A draw date ("June 15" or "when all numbers are sold" both work)

That is genuinely all. Start the timer.

Step 1: open the app (30 seconds)

Download My Raffle from Google Play or the App Store, or open it in the browser at myraffle.app. Sign in with Google or Apple. No password to create, no email to confirm, no card required.

The free tier covers raffles up to 200 numbers, which fits most first raffles comfortably.

Step 2: create the raffle (1 minute)

Tap + or New raffle and fill in four fields:

• Title: what is being raffled ("iPhone 15 raffle", "Charity basket for Ana")
• Number count: 50, 100, 200, 500. If you are not sure, start with 100.
• Price per number: what each ticket costs
• Payment key: paste the key that receives the money

Step 3: upload the prize photo (1 minute)

Go to the prize tab and add the image you saved earlier. If there are multiple prizes (1st, 2nd, 3rd), add one photo each.

Vertical photos work better on WhatsApp: they show in full in the preview. Horizontal shots lose half the frame to the crop. If the photo is dark or blurry, retake it with natural light. It does not have to be studio quality, it just has to read clearly on a phone screen.

Step 4: pick a template and review the art (1 minute)

Every raffle starts with a default template. You can swap with one tap. Templates come with colors, fonts and layout already chosen to read well on a phone.

Do not get stuck picking. Choose the cleanest one and move on. You can swap later without losing any data.

Before generating, confirm three things:

• Draw date is visible
• Payment key shows clearly
• Title is not cropped at the edges

Tap generate art and the image is ready in the right resolution for WhatsApp.

Step 5: share it (30 seconds)

Tap Share. The native WhatsApp share sheet opens, pick a contact or group, send. The first person can already buy a number.

For a quick push, send to:

• 3 family groups
• 2 work groups
• Your status, so every contact sees it

Within 30 minutes you usually get the first sale.

Online vs paper: what actually changes

The 4 mistakes that stall a first raffle

Beginners trip on the same points. Avoid them upfront:

1. Vague prize. "A grocery basket" sells less than "Basket with 25 items, $70 value." The more specific, the more clicks.
2. No fixed date. A raffle without a draw date feels suspicious. Even "when everything sells" is better than silence.
3. Wrong price. Too expensive and it stalls. Too cheap and the profit is smaller than the work deserves. How much to charge per raffle number has a table for this.
4. Sharing the art only once. A raffle that grows is one that keeps showing up. Resend the updated art to the same groups every 5 to 10 sales.

After the 5 minutes

The raffle is running, but you are not done. First 24 hours:

• Confirm each payment as it arrives and mark the number in the app
• Resend the updated art to the same groups after every 5 to 10 sales
• Reply fast: someone who waits 6 hours for an answer usually gives up
• Chase reserved numbers that did not pay within 24 hours

Ready?

The 5 minutes start when you open the app. Everything before (prize photo, payment key, draw date) is prep that fits in a phone note.

No ritual needed. Create, share, sell. By your tenth raffle you will be done in 2 minutes, because you just duplicate an old one and swap the prize.