Write a commentLocal mum of three, Sarah Drainey from Co. Armagh has recently launched Pretty Little Prizes – a new competition website offering users the chance to win designer brands, beauty treatments, local products, and luxury breaks.
Sarah commented, "Like most other girls during the lockdown, I spent what little spare time I had browsing online and adding all those things I would love to my shopping basket. Of course, I then deleted most of them! – it was just for something to do. I also noticed more and more competition websites cropping up. However, the prizes were always cars, beer kegs, and the same kind of thing!
"That's when I had the idea to set up a competition offering prizes that interested women and the LGBTQ community. Those who enter must always have a fair chance of winning – so I've restricted the number of tickets for any prize to 125. People think I'm crazy, and that selling more tickets with a smaller ticket price is better. That's what everyone else does. Time will tell if I've made the right decision!
"Like everything, it's taken much more work than I ever imagined to build my website, develop the Pretty Little Prizes brand, and sort out the legal side of things, etc.
"Doing the live draws on Facebook is also well beyond my comfort zone. However, I think the draws are getting better. I'm not as nervous as the weeks go on and more people are tuning in and buying tickets, so that's all I can hope for.
"I've also discovered that many people aren't crazy about a competition website – which, in all honesty, I've found disappointing. However, I'm confident what I'm doing can genuinely add a lot of value to the local community. My approach is unique, the prizes are all excellent, and I'll continue to do my best to spread the word about some of the fantastic local brands and businesses out there. If I can make it a success, I've every intention of helping out local charities and community initiatives in the future.
"The response so far has been excellent. It's early days – I hope people can see it as the bit of fun it's intended to be. Most tickets are less than a price of a cup of coffee, so all we have to do now is spread the word and let the market decide".
Pretty Little Prizes draws are hosted weekly by Sarah live on Facebook.
Check out the site at WWW.PRETTYLITTLEPRIZES.CO.UK or the Facebook page at PRETTYLITTLEPRIZES
