Email is the workhorse of raffle promotion: it reaches the people most likely to buy, costs nothing, and its results compound as your list grows with every campaign. But most raffle emails fail the same way, burying the prize under paragraphs of preamble, or asking once at launch and going silent until the draw.
A raffle email campaign is a sequence, not a single send. Below are six ready-to-use templates covering the full arc from launch to final day, with subject lines and timing. Copy, personalise the bracketed fields, and schedule the lot before your raffle opens. For the emails that come after the draw, our raffle thank you email templates cover winners, non-winners and your full list.
The cadence at a glance
Launch day: early access to past supporters, then the announcement to everyone a day or two later. Mid-campaign: a prize spotlight and a milestone email, spaced roughly weekly. Final 72 hours: the last-chance email, then a short final-day reminder. Six sends over three to four weeks is assertive without being annoying, and every email should be short: one prize photo, one line of impact, one button.
Template 1: Early access for past supporters
Send this to previous raffle buyers and active supporters a day or two before the public launch. First access recognises them and front-loads your sales.
Subject lines: "First pick: our [year] raffle opens for you today" / "[First name], you get first access"
Hi [First Name],
Before we announce our [Raffle Name] to everyone, we wanted our closest supporters to get first pick.
This year's star prize: [Prize], plus [number] more prizes. Tickets are [price], or [bundle deal].
Every ticket helps [one line of impact].
[BUTTON: Get your tickets first]
The raffle opens to the public on [date], and the draw is on [draw date]. Thank you for being part of it from the start.
[Name], [Organisation]
Template 2: The launch announcement
Subject lines: "Win [star prize], and back [cause] doing it" / "Our [year] raffle is live"
Hi [First Name],
Our [Raffle Name] is officially open, and this year's prizes are worth the fuss:
Prize 1: [Prize] (valued at [value])Prize 2: [Prize]Prize 3: [Prize]
Tickets are [price], or [bundle deal]. Every dollar raised goes to [cause/project].
[BUTTON: Buy tickets]
The draw takes place on [draw date] and winners are notified instantly by email and SMS, so you do not need to be anywhere in particular to win.
[Name], [Organisation]
Template 3: The prize spotlight
Send mid-campaign, when sales typically sag. Pick the most photogenic prize, not necessarily the most valuable.
Subject lines: "A closer look at the [prize]" / "This could be yours for [ticket price]"
Hi [First Name],
We wanted to show you exactly what is up for grabs in our raffle.
[Photo]
[Two or three sentences selling the experience of the prize: where, what it includes, why it is special. Donated by a sponsor? Name and thank them here.]
Tickets are [price], or [bundle deal], and the draw is on [draw date].
[BUTTON: I want this]
[Name], [Organisation]
Template 4: The milestone email
Send when you cross a real threshold: half the tickets sold, or a meaningful share of your fundraising target.
Subject lines: "Over half our raffle tickets are gone" / "We are [X]% of the way, and counting"
Hi [First Name],
A quick update: [milestone, e.g. "more than half the tickets in our raffle have now been sold"]. Thank you to everyone who has jumped in already.
If you have been meaning to grab yours, [remaining number] tickets are left, and the draw is on [draw date].
Every ticket funds [one line of impact].
[BUTTON: Get your tickets]
[Name], [Organisation]
Template 5: The last-chance email
Send 48 hours before the close. This email typically outperforms every other send in the sequence, so do not soften it.
Subject lines: "Last chance: the draw is [day]" / "Final tickets for the [star prize]"
Hi [First Name],
The [Raffle Name] closes on [day] at [exact time], and then the winners are drawn.
Star prize: [Prize]. Tickets: [price], or [bundle deal]. [If capped: "Just [number] tickets remain."]
[BUTTON: Buy before the draw]
All proceeds go to [cause]. Winners are notified by email and SMS the moment the draw runs.
[Name], [Organisation]
Template 6: The final-day reminder
Short, sent the morning of the close. Brevity is the strategy: everyone on your list has seen the details by now.
Subject lines: "Draw tonight" / "[First name], doors close at [time]"
Hi [First Name],
Tonight at [time], we draw the winners. This is the last call for tickets.
[BUTTON: Get in before the draw]
Good luck, and thank you for backing [cause].
[Name], [Organisation]
Five rules for the whole sequence
- Prize in the subject line, impact in the body. The prize opens the email; the cause closes the sale.
- One button per email, always to the same place: your campaign page. Everything a buyer needs should be on that page, not in the email; our landing page best practices cover what it needs to do.
- Real numbers only. Milestones and remaining-ticket counts work because they are true. The mechanics of ethical urgency are covered in our countdown marketing guide.
- Mobile first. Most opens happen on phones; if the email needs pinching to read, it needs rewriting.
- Schedule everything at launch. The teams that execute the full sequence are the ones that queued it before the campaign started. Only the milestone email needs a live edit.
Put the sequence to work
Every template above points at one destination: a campaign page where buying takes a minute and tickets arrive instantly by email or SMS. Set yours up free on GalaBid's raffle platform, schedule your six emails, and let the sequence sell while you run the rest of the fundraiser.