Why I buy lottery tickets -- and why you should care

Lisa -- great message. Sell hopes and dreams. (People buy lawns... not grass seed.)

Kelly:

Typical IM'er -- buy a product and then you don't even open it.

Cheers,
Becky

Recently I did think about my lottery ticket purchases. Same numbers played for over the last 20 years. Hope! Yes! Never give up!
Another thought crossed my mind as well. I am also determined to make this thing work as well. Even if I did win the lottery I would still keep plugging away until I got it! How about you?

Hi Lisa,

I realise your main point is about selling hope in your copy, and I agree. I'm also not criticising - everyone has the right to do things their own way.

But for me, I came from a childhood surrounded by 'lack' mentality, entitlement attitude and defeatism, so when I decided to become an entrepreneur, I had to work hard to overcome that conditioning and take responsibility for my own wealth.

Therefore, I felt that if I were to have that hope myself, that I might win a lot of money, (even if it was 0.0001% of my thoughts) then I couldn't say to myself honestly that I was 100% determined to achieve all of my aims purely through my own hands and work.

To me, lottery ticket purchasers still have an element of the consumer mindset, and when I come across that queue in the shop I wish that they could empower themselves to have 100% belief in their own ability to earn whatever they want in life.

I have also found that whenever wealth is gained without work and endeavour, it is always squandered. So it makes me think, 'what's the point?'

My entrepreneurial beginnings were also founded in home-study training by Robert G Allen, who espouses the 'every dollar is the seed of a money tree' principle - and I sincerely believe that, and also believe that what keeps most people down is not understanding this, and hence their squandering of their 'spare' change on frivolous things.

Not criticising, just presenting my opposing opinion which is that the lottery mentality is damaging to your entrepreneurial mindset.

It could be simple advertising. The higher the jackpot goes, the more publicity the lotto gets... and that results in more ticket sales.

Otherwise, it's "out of sight, out of mind." You don't read all about the lottery when the jackpot is at it's lowest level, so plenty of folks don't even think of buying a ticket. But jack it up to $30 million, $100 million, etc... and it's all over the news, people are buzzing about it at the cafe, etc.

Whatever it is, they can do it 3 times as much.

My comment was based on the mathematics of a fair wager. The precise odds of winning the entire jackpot are well known. By definition, then, so are the odds of losing.

For a $1 wager (which is how I view buying a ticket), a fair wager is created when the jackpot equals the odds of winning. In the Florida Lotto lottery, that point is approximately $23 million. When the jackpot is over that amount, you have a fair or better wager. For the Powerball, that number is approximately $195 million.

Most forms of gambling can be reduced to mathematics.

As for your original question, it's all a matter of scale.

Those are the stats? "Many lottery winners WISH." Those are hardly stats. These, on the other hand, ARE stats:

Camelot Group Plc, operator of The UK National Lottery, has released
the first ever major survey of National Lottery winners to discover
what effect the lottery really has on happiness, lifestyles and
relationships.

The survey gives a uniquely historic insight into the lives of Lottery
winners over the last five years. I have summarized the article.

55% - are happier after winning
43% - no affect on happiness
2% - are less happy

"The happiness of the winner is not affected by the size of his or her
win."

Of the 55% of winners who are happier:
65% - claimed the reasons are improved financial security and fewer
worries
23% - say they can buy what they want and that life is a lot easier.

There are no negative effects on family life or friendships:

95% - remained married after winning
100% - who were living with a partner prior to their win (but not
married), are still in the same relationship (whether now married or
not)

Increased happiness of winners' families is dependent on the size of
their relative's win.

58% of winners of 250k or more state that their family is happier.
37% of winners of 250k or less state that their family is happier.

The main reason for improved family happiness is increased financial
security (34%).

83% - have given some of their winnings to their family.

Of these:
66% - have given money to their siblings
57% - have given money to their children
51% - have given money to their parents.

"The findings also indicate that the larger the win, the more likely
that the winner's family will ask for money."

17% - of families asked for winnings from winners of 50k- 250k,
29% - of families asked for winnings from winners of 2m+.

=======
Friends
=======

90% of winners who already had a best friend before winning are still
best friends with the same person.

Generosity:
Men give money to three friends.
Women give money to one friend.


==========
Lifestyles
==========

The lifestyles of many Lottery winners have changed significantly.

40% increased contributions to charity.
19% of winners went on holiday abroad for the first time.
12% of winners have still not been abroad.
7% of winners say a caravan is one of their major purchases.
<40% of winners have moved since their win.


Of those who have moved:
75% now live in detached houses.

"Most of those who have moved have not moved far - an average of nine
miles."

26% of winners of large amounts often own more than one home and
25% of those own a property abroad.

10% of winners have switched to private medical care.
1% has had plastic surgery.
3% have moved their children from state schools to private schools.

84% of winners have not taken up any new hobbies since their win.
12% of winners have joined health clubs.
32% of all winners state they have gained weight since their win.
14% lost weight.

44% of their winnings were spent after 5 years


====================
Food Shopping Habits
====================

37% of winners still buy supermarket own brands, regardless of the
size of the win.
4% claim to have switched from buying supermarket brands to individual
brands.


====
Work
====

48% of winners who were in regular work before their win are
still in the same job.
27% of winners of elevated amounts are still in the same job.
56% of winners of more than 1m have given up work.
15% have started a new job since their win.
45% of those have started their own business.


"Winning the Lottery appears to have very little impact on the
winners' perception of their social class or their political
persuasion."

52% of winners of 2m+ consider themselves to be working class,
compared with 60% before their win.

88% of lottery winners still participate in the lottery every week.
2% have stopped playing altogether.

Source: Nettime
<nettime> Winning in the lottery is good for you

Buying hope, developing the wealth mindset and making money are not mutually exclusive theories.

If they were, this message thread wouldn't even exist because I wouldn't know anything about the WF.

Plus, I'd be busy watching TV waiting for my lottery number to be drawn rather than growing an already successful business into an even more successful one.

And finally, let's not lose track of the point of this thread. It's about selling people hope. As good marketers you shouldn't be looking for ways to attack people's hope; you should be building it up, right?

Because after all, if you're not selling hope then you're just selling product. And that's a lot harder sale.