The one rule
Same three facts, everywhere, repeatedly: the price, the headline prize, the draw date. Families do not act on the first mention. They act on the third, on payday, with the ticket book already in the school bag.
Hit every platform the school already has
- The school newsletter — still the heavyweight. Book your spot with the office for every issue between launch and draw. Ready-to-paste blurb below.
- The school app — whatever your school runs: Flexischools, School Bytes, Compass, Audiri. A push notification lands in every parent’s pocket; ask the office to schedule one at launch, one mid-run, one for last chance. Sunday evening beats Friday afternoon.
- Facebook — the school’s official page, the P&C page, and the unofficial parents’ group (that one sells the most tickets). A photo of the actual prize table outperforms any text post — wrap the hampers first, then get the camera out.
- Posters around the school — office window, canteen, the gate parents wait at, above the bubblers. Big price, big prize, big date. Laminate the gate one; it will rain.
- Assembly — a 30-second spot. Better: let a student draw a “practice” number to show how it works. The kids go home as your sales force.
Newsletter blurb — copy, paste, fill in
[EASTER RAFFLE — drawn Thursday 2 April at the Easter Hat Parade]
Tickets are $2 each or $40 for a book of 20, on sale now at the school office and at the gate every morning. First prize: [the big hamper]. Every ticket helps the P&C fund [the thing you are raising for]. Ticket books went home this week — spare books at the office.
Tickets are $2 each or $40 for a book of 20, on sale now at the school office and at the gate every morning. First prize: [the big hamper]. Every ticket helps the P&C fund [the thing you are raising for]. Ticket books went home this week — spare books at the office.
The cadence that sells the last books
- Launch week: newsletter + app notification + Facebook photo of the prize table.
- Mid-run: “Half the books are back — spares at the office.” Scarcity is honest here: books are numbered, you know exactly how many are out.
- Final days: “Last chance — drawn Thursday.” The app notification does its best work here.
- After the draw: post every winning number and first name. Public results are a NSW expectation, and nothing sells next raffle like winners the playground knows.
Let the numbers do the talking
Numbered books turn promotion into a game: “Book 14 is still out there — check the bottom of the school bag!” Because every book is signed out by range, you always know what is sold, what is missing, and when to post the “nearly sold out” message — with a straight face.