Most visitors to an auction or raffle site leave without bidding or buying, and many who do buy once never come back. Engagement features give people a reason to return between the lots they care about. This guide covers the features that work, what each one costs you, and how they're set up in PrizeX, which bundles all of them.
Daily streak bonus
A daily bonus pays a few coins for logging in and claiming, and pays more for each day in a row. In PrizeX's Daily Bonus:
- A 7-day streak. You set the reward for each day of the week-long streak, so day 7 can be worth noticeably more than day 1.
- Missing a day resets the streak to day 1.
- Where it shows: as a card on the Earn page and on its own Daily Bonus page. The admin shows each customer's current and longest streak.
Keep the amounts small. The habit of coming back is the point, not the coins.
Referrals: fixed bonuses with a daily cap
Referrals turn customers into your marketing. Every edition of BidKing, RaffKing and PrizeX includes them:
- Two triggers. The referrer earns a fixed coin bonus when someone they referred signs up, and another when that person buys coins.
- A daily cap. Each referrer's referral earnings per day are capped at a limit you set, so nobody can farm unlimited bonuses with fake sign-ups. A payout that would go over the cap is cut down to what's left.
- Multi-level referrals (BidKing Plus and Pro, RaffKing and PrizeX) also pay people further up the chain, each level at its own rate.
Earn games
PrizeX's Earn page offers spin wheels, scratch cards, a slot game and HTML5 arcade games, with prizes of coins, coupons, lottery tickets or shop products. For each game you set:
- A daily play limit per customer.
- Whether a play is free or costs coins.
For engagement, keep them free to play. A free daily spin brings people back without asking for money. Charging coins to play for a prize is a different thing: in many places a paid chance to win a prize is regulated as gambling, and you, as the operator, are responsible for any licence it needs. Check with a local lawyer before you charge for plays.
Notifications
Engagement features only work if people know about them. The platform has three channels:
- In-site notifications.
- Email: outbid and winning alerts, for example, and "notify me" emails when an upcoming auction goes live (BidKing Plus and Pro, PrizeX).
- Browser push notifications, once you configure them.
Use them sparingly. A reminder that a streak is about to reset is useful. Three promotional pushes a day get you switched off.
The cost of giving coins away
Coins aren't free money. You set what one coin is worth, and customers can spend bonus coins on bids, tickets and boxes just like coins they paid for. Every coin you give away has a cost.
- Work out a monthly budget. Daily bonus × active users × 30, plus expected referral bonuses (the daily cap limits these), plus game prizes.
- Watch withdrawals. If your site lets customers cash out their wallet (wallet withdrawals in BidKing Pro and PrizeX), bonus coins can become real money leaving the business. Consider keeping bonuses small, and check whether your terms should treat bonus coins differently.
- Check abuse. Multi-account farming is the usual leak. The referral daily cap helps, and the fraud settings can automatically ban accounts once too many share one device.
Treat these features as marketing spend with a budget, and review them monthly. None of them should be promoted to customers as a way to earn an income.
Common questions
What engagement features work for auction and raffle sites?
A daily login streak, referral bonuses with a daily cap, free-to-play reward games, and well-timed notifications. Each gives people a reason to return between the lots they care about.
How do I stop referral bonus abuse?
Set a daily cap on each referrer's referral earnings. In BidKing, RaffKing and PrizeX, a payout that would go over the cap is cut down to what's left of it. The fraud settings can also automatically ban accounts once too many share one device.
Are reward games gambling?
Free-to-play games with prizes are generally treated differently from paid ones. Charging to play for a prize can be regulated as gambling in many places. The operator is responsible, so check with a local lawyer before charging for plays.
Which WowCodes product includes the daily bonus and games?
PrizeX bundles Daily Bonus and the Earn games. Referrals are in every edition of BidKing, RaffKing and PrizeX.