Block Lists: Keeping Staff, Family and Repeat Winners Out of the Draw

Imagine announcing your giveaway winner, only for followers to notice it's your cousin. Or your employee. Or the same person who won last month. Even if the draw was completely random, it looks bad, and you'll spend the next few days explaining.

The fix is simple: decide in advance who isn't eligible, say so in your rules, and use the block list to keep those accounts out of the draw.

What the block list does

The block list lets you name specific accounts to exclude from a draw. When you load comments and pick a winner, those accounts aren't included, however many times they commented. Every remaining eligible entry has an equal chance.

The block list is available on the Silver plan and above.

Who usually goes on it

You and your team

Your own business accounts, personal accounts of the owners, and anyone who works for you. Staff often comment on giveaway posts to support them, which is great, but they shouldn't be eligible to win.

Close family and household members

This one feels awkward but matters. A family member winning is the classic way a giveaway starts to look rigged. Many businesses exclude immediate family and anyone living in the same household as staff.

Partners and co-hosts

If you're running a joint giveaway with another brand or an influencer, exclude their accounts and team too. It's worth agreeing on this with your partner before you launch.

Recent winners

If you run giveaways often, the same people may enter every time, and occasionally the same person wins twice. That's how randomness works, but it can still frustrate others. Some businesses choose a rule like "winners from the past three months aren't eligible." If you do, put it in your rules and add those accounts to the block list.

Accounts that broke the rules

If an account was disqualified previously for clearly breaking your published rules, for example by impersonating you, you might exclude it from future giveaways. Your rules should say you reserve the right to do this.

Put it in writing first

The block list is a tool for applying your rules, not for making new ones on the day. Before you post, add an eligibility line to your full rules:

"Not open to employees of [business], their immediate families or household members, or winners of our giveaways in the past 90 days."

If you add someone to the block list who isn't covered by your rules, you're excluding them for reasons nobody else knew about. That's the kind of thing that erodes trust if it ever comes out. Eligibility rules vary by place and by platform; this is general guidance, not legal advice, so check what applies to you.

Keep a running list

Rather than rebuilding your block list from memory each time, keep a simple document with:

• Your business and personal accounts on every platform you use
• Current staff accounts
• Family and household accounts that are excluded
• Recent winners and the date they won, if you have a cool-down rule
• Any accounts excluded for breaking rules, with a note on why

Update it whenever staff change or a new giveaway ends. Then copy the relevant names into the block list each time you draw. Remember that people may use different usernames on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, so record each one.

Block list and other settings

The block list works alongside the other draw settings:

• The duplicate filter gives each person one entry.
• The hashtag filter counts only comments with your required hashtag.
• Bonus entries give extra chances to named accounts, such as subscribers, if your rules allow it.
• The block list removes named accounts entirely.

Together, they let your draw reflect your rules precisely. You decide who's eligible; the random pick decides who wins.

What if a blocked person wins anyway?

If you forget to add someone and they're picked, don't quietly swap them out. Check your rules. If they're clearly ineligible, explain briefly and move to your first substitute, which is why it's always worth drawing substitutes at the same time as your winner. A short, honest note such as "Our original pick was a team member's account, which isn't eligible under our rules, so the prize goes to our first substitute" is far better than a mysterious change.

Telling your followers

You don't need to list blocked accounts publicly, but mentioning the rule helps. In your announcement, something like "Picked at random from all eligible entries; staff and recent winners excluded, as stated in our rules" shows you take fairness seriously. Sharing the winner certificate alongside it gives people something concrete to look at.

The short version

• Decide who's ineligible before you post, and write it into the rules.
• Keep a running list of staff, family, partners and recent winners.
• Use the block list to apply it consistently.
• Draw substitutes in case something slips through.

The block list is included on Silver, Gold and Platinum. See the plans or start your giveaway.