Hosting an event is like putting together the pieces of a puzzle: everything has to fit just right for the finished product to look great. You’ve gotten your sponsors, procured materials for set-up, and sent out invitations to a hefty guest list. But there is something missing from your upcoming event.

For any public event, promotion and advertising are important components. Without promotion, even those who RSVPed and said they would show up may decide to opt out for a more favorable gathering, especially if there is no buzz about your event or party.

The question is, then, what is the best way to promote an event?

Most people have a limited amount of money to spend on advertising, and require a maximum return on their investment. Here are some ways to quickly and easily promote your upcoming event, without breaking the piggy bank.

Go Postal

Print posters and flyers to promote your next event. Put them up around your local event area, or anywhere around town that you can. Choose from hundreds of different templates for specific types of events, or create a custom poster or flyer that is perfect for that one-time special event.

Find out which local businesses will allow you to post your flyers on their community boards. Look up the law in your local area to find out if you can post flyers in places with high pedestrian traffic. For example, bus and train stops are great places hang posters that will catch commuters’ eyes and get them thinking about your event.

Promote your Sponsors

Want an easy way to pay homage to those generous sponsors who’ve given you the means to put on your fabulous event? Upload their logos onto your posters and flyers. Every time someone looks at a poster or flyer, they will be able to instantly recognize the sponsors and can begin to associate them with your event.

It’s easier than it sounds. Many of the templates available for printing posters and flyers already have areas dedicated to uploading images. They’re perfect for sponsor logos. All you have to do is request an image from each sponsor. And there’s no doubt each sponsor will be excited about the prospect of extra publicity for their companies, in addition to the guarantee that more people will hear about and attend your event.

Big, Bold, Better Publicity is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

In many ways, it seems like budgets are getting tighter and tighter these days. Business owners everywhere are searching for more cost-efficient ways to promote and advertise their services to a wider range of consumers. The race to attract as many people to your business as possible, and by any means necessary, is on. What small business owners want to know is, where do they fit in?

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to build a great client base. What you do have to do, is spend time strategically planning out how to reach your potential customers. There is no denying that we live in a digital world, but rest assured, print advertising is still very much alive and well. In fact, printing flyers is one of the cheapest ways to market your business today.

Template for Success

There are literally hundreds of colorful and unique templates you can choose from to print flyers and posters for your business. It all comes down to deciding what images are desirable to use in marketing your business and its services.

A new nightclub owner might choose to include the image of a dancer on his flyers, while a sports bar owner would more likely choose something like the image of a football player or a goal post. Businesses will want to choose colors and pictures that catch people’s eyes and make them want to see or learn more about what’s advertised.

Cater to Your Needs

If you have something more specific in mind for your flyer or poster, and you’ve spent time dreaming about your ideal business image, try printing custom posters and flyers that are made just for you.

What’s more, you can upload the logos and images of your partners and affiliated businesses right onto your flyer. That way, when you post your flyers in areas where lots of potential customers will see them, they will also be able to see your partner’s images, all on one convenient flyer.

For small businesses with small budgets, these posters and flyers are as low-cost and high-quality as they come. Start printing for as little as $1.04 per flyer. Depending on what city or town your business is in, you will want to research the best places to legally post your flyers. Once you have this information, the possibilities for reaching potential customers are endless.

Big Benefits for Small Businesses is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

You’ve just been invited to sell your products at a local outdoor venue that has booked the show of the year. Great! But when you’re actually at the show, how will you get the attendees to buy your items? If you’re at a music concert, not by calling out to them, as they probably won’t be able to hear you.

Even if you’re at a trade show or an outdoor market and all your items are neatly displayed before you, all the commotion between the customers and the other businesses trying to get their attention can result in people completely missing your booth.

What’s the Best Way to Get Noticed?

Outdoor banners are one of the top marketing techniques available, and they are showing up everywhere in places you find high volumes of people. In a scenario where people are pressed for time and are bombarded by an almost endless amount of things to spend their money on, like a trade show or outdoor market, putting banners up around your booth is an easy way to catch people’s eyes.

Your products sell themselves, so the key to increased sales in your book is getting people to come to your booth. Print custom-made, giant posters, banners, or signs with your company name and logo right on them. Choose from unlimited colors, and, with state-of-the-art inkjet printing technology, enjoy the beautiful results.

The Value of Branding Your Image

Printing custom banners for display at an outdoor show can also help you brand your business image. Are people having trouble associating your company name or logo with the business services you provide? What better way to mesh the two together than to present them as one on a unique banner!

Many businesses are currently looking for ways to cut costs. Outdoor banners are printed on waterproof vinyl and are extremely durable, so that you can reuse them time, and time again. In addition, all posters are printed with UV stable ink, which last 3-5 years. That’s a long time and a lot of use from one print job.

Attract people to your booth at the next outdoor event you attend with custom banners and posters printed specifically to your liking. Banners (and some posters) come with grommets for easy and secure set up that allows you to do your job without having to worry about how they look. Concentrate on networking and selling products, while your unique banners and posters attract the attention for you.

Come Rain or Shine: Keep Your Business above Water is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Job fair season is rapidly approaching, and employers are amping up their recruiting departments to go out there and tap into the resources at hand. The goal is to seek out the best of the best. Employers tend to look for top-notch candidates who exhibit specific characteristics that will help them succeed in a particular position.

Employers have their choice when it comes to job fairs. Choosing the right job fairs to attend is an important task, especially with regard to the type of candidates that recruiters will be meeting and interviewing. Even if an employer has spent time planning out which job fairs to attend, it is still crucial to attract the cream of the crop within each fair.

How to Attract Attention

The easiest way to attract people’s attention at a job fair is to present them with something that they can’t forget. It’s either that, or mastering the art of first impressions (I’d choose the former, but that’s just me). Now what’s more visually stunning than a large, colorful, custom-made banner?

Printing large format posters, banners and signs are great ways to promote awareness for a particular employer in a situation where so many other employers are vying for that attention. When it comes to poster sizes, bigger really is better. The bigger the poster, the more opportunity the business will have to catch the eye of potential employees.

Employees are Consumers Too

Don’t forget that potential employees are consumers too: they may initially be attracted to a business much in the same way any other consumer would be. Rather than using neutral tones, print a banner with the company logo in vivid, bold colors and see how fast people line up to be interviewed.

These banners, posters and signs are all custom-made to fit what each customer wants and needs, and satisfaction is guaranteed or the order will be reprinted. Choose from an unlimited amount of colors; the full Pantone PMS spectrum is up for grabs!

Banners and large format posters can be printed up to 1440 DPI for absolutely amazing color matches, vibrant images and sharp lines. Vinyl banners come with grommets for easy, on-the-spot hanging, so there’s no need to waste time setting up at the fair. Envision the company logo, bright and brilliant, on a massive banner attracting the best talent that job fair has to offer. Now that’s a great reason to print!

Calling All Employers! is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Frank Murdock hopes he can help raise $3,000 for his favorite local charity.

The long-term fundraising goal is $10,000 over the next two years. In the short term, they hope to raise $3,000 to get started.

The group has held successful fundraisers in the past, but they have also experienced some fundraising disappointments, so it’s important that they get this one right. Murdoch plans to offer the board his own pitch for a music and cultural festival, dubbed “The Diversity of Community and Communication.” He likes the theme of diversity because the program addresses “the diverse ways in which to provide information to all of us equally.” The theme would allow him to “incorporate multiple things from the community to our advantage and still press our agenda: more inclusive inclusion of persons with disabilities into the community.”

Murdoch envisions an event showcasing a diversity of cultures, especially in regards to food and music. If his idea is approved by the organization, he will then pitch his idea to various sponsors.

“The first thing I’ll do,” he explains, “is pitch my idea about diversity and equality… then talk about the richness of diversity in the community appealing to their cultural backgrounds and appreciation for food.” He would also discuss how the proposed program could create “more access [for recipients] for everything from cultural awareness events to important governmental practices and then into their pockets: sales and advertising.”

To create a diversity of music, Murdoch would like to approach a diversity of artists. With help from others in the organization, he has complied a list of acts he hopes will agree to perform, including Acadian musician Nellie Harrington, indie group The Wooden Wings, classic rockers Strazza & Company, blues musician Dege Legg, rockabilly group The Howdies, Cajun rock and rap artist Michael Juan Nunez, zydeco groups Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha-Chas, Curley Taylor, and Rosie Ledet, and Southern Creole Blues group Henry Gray and the Cats. In addition, he hopes to showcase “an interactive act in between set-ups and breakdowns,” including belly dancers from long-time supporters, Desert Shadows, Oasis Bellydance Studio, and Trybe Habibi Bizarre.

In order to arrange for a prize draw, Murdoch wants to approach local restaurants, to showcase the diversity of food in the community including Cajun, Creole, Asian, Italian, Mexican, and Middle-eastern cuisine. He knows that many businesses “are happy to provide a thirty-dollar gift certificate to promote their restaurant at the gig,” and adds that he could further help his sponsors by providing them with additional publicity. If his pitch goes forward, “several weeks before [the event] people see four thousand fliers around the city and residential areas to inform people that there is going to be an event and who is sponsoring it.”

Murdoch advises those hoping to pitch a similar music festival to think about reaching the broadest possible audience. Of course, you want to create something new and different. Figure out who your crowd is, and then “appeal to that crowd’s mental and emotional aspects that will get them to help you out.”

Planting the Seeds: Frank Murdock Hears a Need is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Nancy Salas-Herrera teaches art and literature at Peace and Education Coalition, Second Chance Campus

Salas-Herrera’s love of teaching originated, she believes, in eight grade, when Ms. Rosemary Shedor at the Sacred Heart of Jesus asked her to teach a history lesson. She remembers, “I jumped at the opportunity!” and she “even threw in a pop quiz.” Then, she realized, “I knew I had to—not wanted, had to—get into teaching.” She wanted to “share, interpret, discuss, deconstruct…to inspire others.”

She describes her art classes as “organic and free,” including “touches of the traditional with a flavor of the unpredictable. I like to incorporate functional crafts, like paper lanterns and loom knitting, and multicultural art from around the world.” To imbue her students with a sense of ownership, she requires them to evaluate and critique their own work, with the help of a guiding rubric, and to defend the grade they feel they deserve.

As a literature teacher, she employs a decidedly interdisciplinary technique, bringing “art, food, film” into the lesson and using whatever methods she can think of to illuminate the subject. While teaching The Kite Runner, for instance, she invited an Afghani restaurateur to cater the class and speak about his homeland. The students also made and flew their own kites, researched the history of Afghanistan and, after they finished the book, watched the film. Other innovative lesson plans have included making papier-mâché helmets for Beowulf, hosting a costumed medieval feast for Canterbury Tales, and evaluating their own homemade Rorschach tests when they read “Flowers for Algernon.”

The Chicago Teacher’s Union provides all CPS teachers with a one hundred dollar stipend, Salas-Herrera’s yearly supply budget.

Typically, her principal provides a ballpark figure regarding available funds for art and selects and purchases student text books. Salas-Herrera researches economical novel sets. “Many times,” she explains, “I get free supplemental materials from the web or swap with other teachers in order to save money.” To supplement her funding, she finds free materials on Craigslist; asks friends, family, and students to donate materials; or chooses projects that require “recyclables or natural objects” such as “branches and sand.” But, to do the project she had in mind for this quarter, she needed markers.

Last year’s markers were done for: old, dried up, and unacceptable. Salas-Herrera required $186 for new markers, to complete a large poster project, as well as teach future lessons in which she wants to “introduce Seurat and pointillism, and pigment dispersion.”

The principal of Peace and Education Coalition, Second Chance Campus encouraged teachers to try a website called DonorsChoose to raise additional funds, and Salas-Herrera was further encouraged in this by the endorsement of other teachers, in addition to such personalities as Ophrah Winfrey and her “darling” Stephen Colbert (to whom she adds: “Mr. Colbert, I have another project brewing. Won’t you please, please help me?”). She found the site “easy to use” and its staff “quick to respond to questions.” She adds, “I like that they are honest [about] how and where the funds are being applied to satisfy the request.” To that end, she created her own DonorsChoose project, “Craving for Crayola Markers.”

Kids and Markers: A Brilliant Combination

Her students were encouraged to spread the word, and Salas-Herrera publicized the project on her own Facebook page. In short order, several patrons of the arts donated the money and she soon had her new materials. “It was a wonderful feeling,” she recalls. “People still believe in art education.” She will “definitely” be using DonorsChoose again.

The students at Peace and Education Coalition, Second Chance Campus face challenges that many high schoolers will never know. They may be culturally limited because they are “are afraid or reluctant to venture out of their neighborhoods,” and they often cope with “financial difficulties, run-ins with the law, drug/alcohol abuse, lots of peer pressure, and teen pregnancy.” Some of them are “struggling learners” who require assistance from special education teachers. Often, their emotional issues come to the fore of the classroom, resulting in “disruptions” and student who “shut down” until Salas-Herrera must talk to them individually to “get to the root of the matter, as much as they allow me to know. Sometimes, they just need to cool and calm themselves down before they can approach the daily lesson.”

It’s a challenging atmosphere, and while the work can be difficult, Salas-Herrera says it’s “awesome that I am teaching right by my old neighborhood, the Back of the Yards. I am grateful that I am giving back to the community where I was born and raised.” Alternative schools, she feels, often get a bad rap, but she wants the world to know that, “these kids are not bad. Most them just made some bad choices, but…aren’t we all flawed at some point in time? I commend them for trying to make it right and graduating with a high school diploma. I think it  is an excellent step onto the right path!”

Sketching out a Brighter Future: Nancy Salas-Herrera Makes Her Mark is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

According to his website, robertmac.com, “Robert Mac is a comedy creator, collaborator, connoisseur, and critic,” as well as “the thinking man’s non-thinking man.” A rare breed, he is a stand-up comedian who doesn’t resort to profanity, misogyny, or chest-beating, and still made the Entertainment Business Journal’s list of top one hundred comedians. How does he define his act? That’s “the hardest part of the job,” he says. “How can I tell you what my act is when I can only see it through me-colored glasses? Other people say it’s smart, clever, silly, cerebral.”

Robert Mac performs at Laff's Comedy Cafe, Tucson, AZ. Photo courtesy of Alan J Fullmer and Wikimedia Commons

Daily, he battles the dichotomy of the life of an intelligent stand-up performer. “I put a lot of thought into my material,” he says. One the one hand, while “it’s easy to make people laugh…it’s much more rewarding to make them think and keep them guessing.” On the other hand, his experience is that his job involves, “mostly performing for drunks.” The club scene seems to be about “free comedy and expensive drinks, which devalues the comedy. It’s really backward in many ways. The club owners make their money on booze, so they offer cheap or free comedy to get drinkers into the clubs.”

But Mac is committed to this life, and has been for some time. He remembers, as a child, listening to a Steve Martin routine and thinking, “Do people do that as a job?” His first foray into stand-up took place around 1992. He provided some written material for a friend to perform at a local club’s open mic night. “When he did my material on stage, and got laughs, I felt betrayed in a way,” Mac remembers. “I wanted those laughs. After much cajoling, he finally pushed me onstage and my first set was a hit. I was hooked.”

Almost twenty years later, he performs regularly, an iconoclast in an industry where many performers are seeking to reach an audience that is “there to do shots and whoop it up.” By contrast, Mac plays well to a “bright and attentive” audience. Where is his base? He reports, “I do well with people with glasses,” and that he can judge how successful his set has been by how well he feels when he’s done. “If I’m having fun,” he says, “they’re having fun.” His favorite shows, naturally, are “the ones where they are in the palm of my hand the whole time and they let me run the show.”

What else could a comedian ask for? Reportedly, “a few more television appearances.” But he’d settle for the ability to “make a comfortable living as a comedian . . . and I’m making my way toward that.”

Mac uses social networks to share the news about upcoming performances, including Facebook to direct his fans to hyperlinks where they can purchase tickets or make reservations for upcoming shows. Fans can watch clips of his performances on his YouTube channel. He sells CDs and digital downloads online (and hopes to offer more merchandise in the near future), and even writes an occasional blog called Comedy DNA, discussing humor. In terms of weird publicity stunts, however, he rates this article as “probably the unusualest,” thing he has ever done.

Humor, of course, is subjective. “There’s funny in everything,” Mac says, “but it takes a lot to make me laugh. I think I need to be caught off-guard. Today I laughed out loud, literally, watching my friend Myq Kaplan perform on Letterman—funny, smart stuff.”

Dry Humor: Robert Mac Explains the Stand-Up Racket is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

What do you know about QR codes?

You’ve probably seen these distinctive, randomly-checkered, black and white squares on advertisements in magazines and other print publicity. Anyone with a smart phone can scan them in an instant, and be transported to a sponsor’s web page for more information.

How does that help your raise more money for your school?

What if that QR code sent students, parents, and other potential donors to a website where they could instantly purchase tickets to an upcoming dance, theatrical performance, fundraising event. What if that site allowed them to make an instant online donation? What if you could do it all at an affordable price?

By combining the power of QR codes with the convenience of our TicketRiver online box office, we’ve created a reliable tool for your school. TicketRiver helps you collect money, whether you’re selling tickets or just asking for charitable donations to support the arts, athletics, the building fund, or any other program that requires cash.

It’s Elementary

We know you’re busy, and that’s why we’ve made the process as streamlined as possible. You can start with a call to our friendly customer support staff at 888.771.0809 and tell them you’d like some QR Code Posters. While you’re setting up your page on TicketRiver (totally free, really easy), they’ll help get your Posters started. You can send our designers any image you’d like to use, have a custom design created just for you, or even choose a combination, like a custom design that incorporates your school logo.

We won’t print or ship your posters until you’re satisfied with the proof, so there’s no risk. When you receive them, the unique QR code will feature prominently in the image, letting everyone know that they can instantly buy tickets or send money with their smart phones.

Time to Shine

Just hang your Posters around the school or wherever you suspect your supporters may lurk. Wherever you go, whatever you do, those QR codes keep working for you, so you can sell tickets or collect donations literally any time, utilizing zero human resources. No one has to sell tickets, collect money, count change, or answer questions. Your TicketRiver page does it all for you!

If you’re looking for a way to move your fundraising campaign into the twenty-first century, capitalize on your students’ love of technology, or raise more money while committing fewer resources to the cause, QR Code Posters are smart way to achieve your goals!

Isn’t It Time Your School Fundraiser Went High-Tech? is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

What if your publicity posters could sell theater tickets for you?

I don’t mean in a metaphorical way: of course, great PR helps you sell tickets. I mean, what if the posters literally sold the tickets, to people who saw them, while they were standing there admiring the posters? What if the moment your patrons saw your advertisement, one feature of that ad was that it would instantly allow them to buy tickets to your upcoming show?

That’s what QR Code Posters from TicketPrinting.com do.

QR codes, those little black and white squares that appear more and more often in our visual environment, allow users to connect directly to websites. Anyone with a smart phone can instantly scan the code and be taken to a page where further information awaits them.

Box Office Bliss

But our QR Code Posters go even further. They don’t just take your patrons to any website; they direct them to your performance’s actual event page at TicketRiver, our online box office. With just a few clicks, your audience can purchase tickets to the upcoming show, without having to walk away from your advertisement, without the possibility that their desire to attend will slip their minds. It’s an instant-gratification ticket sales.

Setting up your event on TicketRiver is fast and easy; the process takes about five minutes and is as simple as entering data into a webform. As long as you have a title and description for your event, along with the time, the location, and the ticket prices, you can get started. The website does the rest: sells seats and collects payments.

Getting your QR Code Posters is even simpler, because our Customer Support staff and talented designers do the work for you. All you have to do is place your order by calling 888.771.0809. You can send us any design you’d like, or let our graphic artists create a custom design for you. We’ll generate the QR code that links to your show and send you a proof for your approval before we start printing.

Waiting in the Wings?

If you’ve been toying with the idea of updating your box office, transitioning to online ticket sales, or just want to add another convenient way for your patrons to get their seats, these QR Code Posters really pull their own weight. They do all the work of your ordinary print publicity, with the powerful bonus of actually selling those seats for you.

It just doesn’t get any simpler than this. Purchase Posters. Sell tickets.

Do Nothing. Sell Tickets. is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Security these days can be complicated and expensive. Looking for a way to identify people that won’t take up all of your time? Look no further, one solution is here. And not only is it easy to handle, it won’t break your budget, either.

Personalized Name Tags

Whether you have a group of VIPs to keep an eye on, an entire convention to attend to, or a school to run, security is one of the biggest issues on the books. One way to identify people easily is to print personalized name tags (or event badges) for each person to wear. Each person can wear their name tag while attending an event, arriving at work or going to school, showing others who they are and that they belong on site.

Individual Codes

As an added security measure, you have the option of printing a unique number or barcode on each event badge. Especially in cases where there are a very large number of people around on a daily basis or many attendees at an event, this added layer of security can be useful and informative.

Unique Logos

Print unique logos on your event badges to add even more specialized security to an event, worksite or school. Include almost any design that you can send in a standard file format. Use specific logos to help identify different groups of people, or differentiate between companies at a convention by printing the company logo for each attendee to wear.

Important Details

There may be more information than simply a name or logo that you want to include on a name tag. Any information that can help to identify people quickly and easily can be printed on the event badge. If it can be included in a CSV file, you can include it on an event badge. For example, to print event badges for added school security, add an identifier of either “staff” or “student” to help recognize separate each group.

Event badges are an easy and fast way to add an extra layer of security to any event, site or school. They can be worn clipped right on the front of a uniform, or they can be hung around the neck with a lanyard that can be printed to include a logo as well. Print information on both sides of the event badge to utilize the full space available, or make them double sided so that important information will always be prominently displayed.

Easy Street: One Way to Simplify Security is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Your fans love your music.

Your fans want to see you perform live.

Your fans have smart phones.

Your fans have lives.

Do you love your fans? Show them a little love by making their lives a little bit easier. How? Make it simple for them to get tickets to your upcoming show the moment they see your print publicity. You can make the experience totally hassle-free for you and your fans with QR Code Posters advertising the gig. They actually sell tickets for you, so your fans don’t need to search around for the right link, stand in line at a ticket counter, or deal with any exorbitant ticket broker fees.

It’s So Easy

We’ve streamlined the process. First, we created an online box office at TicketRiver.com. In five minutes, you can register your show and set up an event page where your fans can find all your event details and purchase tickets. You can even sell different kinds of tickets—VIP Passes, 18-over, ½ price, whatever you like—to the same event. It’s fast and easy to create your page, complete with its own unique URL.

A Little Help from Your Friends

But that’s not all we’ve done for you. We’ll get your fans to the link in no time at all with a custom QR Code Poster. Whether you’ve got a design in mind or need one of our graphic artists to create an image that suits your particular needs, all you’ve got to do it is call our customer support at 888.771.0809. They’ll help get your order going. We’ll design your posters, generate your QR code, and send out a proof for your approval. We never print until you’re satisfied you’re getting exactly the Poster or Flyer you need.

Waiting Here for You

Wherever you hang your high-resolution QR Code Posters, your fans can scan the code with their smart phones. It will take them right to your TicketRiver event page where they can buy tickets right away.

TicketRiver sends users print-at-home tickets to save you time and money, but, if you still want to use paper tickets, you can order those too (at a discount for TicketRiver users) and mail them out, or hold them at will call.

It’s that easy! QR Code Posters are there for you, selling tickets night and day, from the moment you hang them until you sell out your event.

It’s just one more way to show your love to the people who support your music.

Show Them the Love is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

When you’re responsible for a group of kids that aren’t your own, it’s important to keep track of everyone. Parents can be very protective over their children, especially when the children are young. Even in today’s world with cell phones and all the extra security that goes along with them, it is still possible to gain a straggler who doesn’t belong to the group, or worse, lose track of a child that does belong.

Keep an Updated Roster

At a sports tournament, there can be a lot of kids running around from all over the state (or even the country if the tournament is national). Many different teams may gather to battle for first place, depending on what kind of tournament is in play. The first step necessary to keep track of your team is to keep an updated roster (or list of names) of everyone who needs to be accounted for.

Identify Each Person

During the tournament, it’s not possible to constantly call out the name of every kid on your team in order to make sure they are still there. Besides, that would be exhausting and, quite honestly, silly. What you can do instead is to print event badges that have each name printed clear as day, right on the badge. That way you can identify each kid almost instantly, just by glancing at their badge. On that note, some schools have already started to use event badges for added security at home base.

Check and Re-Check

Printing event badges for each child on your team to wear will help decrease the risk of losing track of any member of the team. You will also be able to quickly notice if someone who doesn’t belong joins the crew. They will, of course, be missing their unique badge. Event badges can be printed to include almost any unique design or logo. That means that even if another team of kids is wearing event badges to identify themselves, your team’s event badges will be printed specifically for only your school, division or town.

Print individual event badges to help keep track of your team amid the masses at a sports tournament. These name tags are versatile and made out of weather-resistant materials, which make them convenient to reuse for added security at the next tournament, too. The team even has options on how to wear them, either by using a bulldog clip or a lanyard. All in all, event badges are an easy way to boost security for the whole team.

3 Ways to Boost Security at Sports Tournaments is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

It’s that time of year again! As the holiday season approaches, everyone runs around like crazy trying to buy the right gifts, decorate their homes, make plans for relatives to visit, and get everything ready for that special time. It can be hectic to say the least, and at the end of the day we all try to remember that the holidays are first and foremost a time for family and sharing.

One of the most special things about the holidays is that we get to catch up and connect with family, near and far. But what if the whole family can’t make it to share those special times and get all the good gossip? Money is tight in many households across the nation these days, and not everyone can afford to see their loved ones, especially when we factor in rising travel costs.

How to Stay in Touch

There are plenty of unique ways to stay in touch loved ones that can’t make it to town for the holidays. Many people choose to print and send out personalized holiday cards to the family members and friends they can’t see. This is a great option to stay connected with those that can’t make it to visit.

Don’t Break My Budget

We all have a budget to watch, especially with the current economy. Even though you want to keep in touch with out-of-town family during the holidays, you don’t want to spend too much. Printing event programs as holiday cards is an easy solution. Event programs start at only $0.40 per program. They are printed in full color and can be custom designed so you can share your family memories in style and at a low cost.

You Have Options

You can choose to include almost anything in your family’s event program. Tell a story about the award-winning project that your son turned in for the school science fair, or recount the highlights from the last year so that relatives know what’s been going on with the family. Include plenty of recent pictures so that everyone can see how the kids are growing up more and more every day.

Design Your Own

Work with expert graphic designers to create a unique design for your holiday event program that fits your specific wants and needs. Don’t worry if you have a lot of stories to share or a big family to show off, because event programs can be printed anywhere between 4-64 pages long. Beautifully laid out and professionally done, event programs are a great way to share your family memories this season.

‘Tis the Season: 1 Easy Way to Share Family Memories is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

The Right Choice for a Nonprofit: Sharing Ideas for Success

The tickets we purchased were reasonably priced and very professional looking, which was great for our small not-for-profit group. 

~ Britt C. Menchhofer, R.S., Northwest Ohio Environmental Health Association Planning Committee

The Ohio Environmental Health Association (OEHA) works as a state association, but has four district planning committees that provide education for environmental health professionals and advocates for the profession.  Each OEHA district plans its own events throughout the year.

The Northwest planning committee organizes an “education conference each fall that is offered to local sanitarians (specialists in sanitary science and public health) and other environmental health professionals and industry workers.” Attendees are able to network with other members in environmental health fields, and they are provided with opportunities to earn educational credits.

“In the past our district has had a raffle where prizes were available and tickets were purchased by attendees and placed into the buckets for the prizes. Prizes were usually items donated by individuals and businesses for the event. In the past few years, it has been harder to get businesses to donate prizes for the raffle,” Brad told me.

For that reason, the Northwest Planning Committee needed to rethink its fundraising strategy. It looked to the Northeast Planning Committee for advice.

A Reverse Raffle

“We decided this year to try a reverse raffle to raise more money and also be able to reach more people because the tickets could be sold prior to the event and to people other than attendees. Our Northeast district has a reverse raffle and gave us the details on their raffle.”

The Northwest district learned from the Northeast’s district’s success and adopted its fundraising strategy.

In the most common version of a reverse raffle, tickets are sold as they would be in a regular raffle, but the goal is to not have your ticket drawn. Instead, tickets are drawn in a reverse order. The losers are the ones that are drawn early, and the winners are the remaining tickets. For this raffle, the grand prize was $500, and $25 for every twenty-five tickets sold.

The money from this reverse raffle went to the George Eagle scholarship fund. “The scholarship fund aims to provide one graduate and one undergraduate scholarship each year for individuals studying a field of Environmental Health.”

Everyone is Responsible

In order for the reverse raffle to work, all the planning committee members needed to be on board. Each was asked to sell at least ten tickets each. “The tickets were marketed through email and mailings related to our conference. Asking people face to face is one of the best marketing strategies.” The organization employed both digital and physical mediums in order to reach its intended audience and did not downplay the importance of word of mouth sales.

Unfortunately, some of the tickets were not sold, and the fundraiser fell a little short of its goal, but, “[We] were still able to give a significant amount back to the scholarship fund,” Brad explained. And for that reason, “the event was a success.”

Event of the Week: OEHA Reverse Raffle is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

In today’s economy, the unemployment rate is very high. Job seekers may attend one, two, or many job fairs in hopes of meeting potential employers and making key connections that can help them attain employment. Companies who are hiring are also interested in attending job fairs to help narrow their search among the unemployed masses.

One of the key issues at hand for any job fair, is how to keep it organized. Employers and job seekers alike won’t want to waste time wandering around trying to figure out who’s who and what’s what. In fact, disorganization of this kind may discourage both employers and job seekers from going to the next job fair, no matter who hosts it.

How to Keep a Job Fair Organized

Job fairs can be pretty chaotic. In order to maximize the potential to meet as many people as possible in a fixed period of time, one must have a game plan. A great way to assist both the employer and job seeker in their time-constrained search is to label each attendee in some way.

There are many different ways to label job fair attendees so that they can recognize each other (whether employer or potential employee). One of the easiest ways to do this is to print event badges that can be worn by each person at the event.

The Key to Success

Print event badges for job fair attendees, and add some control to the chaos that normally surrounds these kinds of events. This will be a favor to both the employers and the job seekers as they will be able to identify each other much more easily than if they weren’t labeled.

Job fair attendees will be impressed with the degree of organization that accompanies to use of the event badges. Imagine each person being able to tell who the other is simple by glancing at their badge. Event badges are not only convenient to use, they’re also easy to make.

It’s Just That Easy

Event badges come in two types. Economy Event Badges are full color and can be worn in a clear vinyl holder with a lanyard, or in a clear plastic holder with a bulldog clip. VIP Event Badges are made of waterproof and tear-proof plastic, and can be worn just like the Economy Badges.

Print the name and company (if applicable) of each job fair attendee on an event badge and help eliminate the chaos among the masses. Any job fair will run more smoothly with event badges to help both job seekers and employers identify each other quickly and easily.

How to Organize Chaos is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

In order to film a TV show or a movie, you need a crew of people to do a long list of various jobs. From the production staff to the office crew, there may be a lot of people who are on set to get the work done. It can be difficult to recognize all the faces running around and remember everyone’s names, especially with consideration to the constant flux of newcomers that may stream in from day to day.

Whether you’re a manager, supervisor, or an assistant on the crew, you’ll want to have a way to identify others easily. And others should be able to tell who you are, too. There are a number of methods to use for clear and fast identification, but there’s one in particular that’s easy, convenient, and cost efficient to boot.

Why Identify the Crew?

No matter how good someone may be at remembering names and faces, it’s easy to let one slip once in a while. The last thing anyone wants to do is to forget an important person’s name, and thus risk running into an embarrassing situation (or perhaps even losing their job). A great way to prevent this is to print event badges for each person on the crew to wear when they’re on the set.

How to Identify the Crew

Printing event badges for each crew member to wear allows everyone to identify each other at a glance. Not only are there options for what to print on the actual badge, but there are also two distinct types of event badges to choose from. The choice will likely depend on the needs and status of the person who will be wearing it.

Make the Right Decision

Identify the crew with event badges that can be printed with each member’s name, a unique design, or any other information that can be provided in a CSV file. There are even options for how the event badge can be worn. Economy Event Badges can be worn in a clear plastic holder with a bulldog clip, or in a clear vinyl holder with a lanyard and clip.

If the lanyard option is chosen, the company logo can be printed right on it as well. This gives the whole badge the appeal of a useful, professional item that everyone can benefit from.

Every crew member will feel more secure when they are able to recognize each other by looking at their badges.

What to do When You Don’t Know the Crew is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

The ticket legitimizes our event; it makes it look special with a specific date and time and the incorporation of our photos & logos on the ticket as well.

~Paul Komorowski, Seaway Window

Custom printed tickets can mean so much more than “Admit One!” Take, for example, the case of Seaway Window, a  replacement window company in Northwest Pennsylvania.  In the business for over 50 years, Seaway is always looking for new and interesting ways to expose its products to customers.

To show off its process and products to its customers, Seaway Window invites them onto the factory floor. “Our Event is an Open House. We open our factory for tours of one of our production lines showing how a double hung window is made. The purpose is to get people to come to the factory and see how our windows are made, thus making them confident in choosing our company for their replacement window project,” Paul told me.

For the factory tour, Seaway uses the General Concert Ticket. This ticket can be printed in several flashy colors. It has space for event information as well as custom images.

For the factory tour that took place on October 8^th, the Seaway team chose orange as a background color and included images of the factory and the company logo. Besides featuring a detachable stub and individual numbering, the ticket has discount information printed on its opposite side, which can be a handy reference for customers attending the event.

“We do not charge people to come to our event; it is free. We use the tickets to legitimize the event. Plus if they go through the factory tour, the tour guide will sign the back of the ticket for a discount applied to their project.”

For Seaway the ticket serves as a valuable form of advertising. It gets customers through the door and helps to incentivize customers to purchase replacement windows through them.

How does Seaway keep the public informed about its factory tours? “We use a multi-media approach. We use TV, radio, signage, print, direct mail, newspaper, and we use the ‘Open House’ ticket that I order from TicketPrinting.com to promote this event.” Seaway uses an all avenues approach. Rather than settling for one form of advertising, it utilizes a number of different outlets to build a buzz around its factory tours.

Paul urges others to, “Use a multi-media approach to drive people to your event.”

Those who attend the factory tour at Seagate have a good time, no matter how they learned about the event. “The best part of the event is the actual factory tour; people love to go though it,” Paul said.

Event of the Week: Seaway Window Factory Tour is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Charity Dance Event to Prevent Suicide

The tickets were really professional looking. I would definitely use the service again!

~Patricia Pupek, Event Organizer

On September 17th, the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention held a Zumbathon to raise money for their annual “Out of the Darkness” Community Walk held in early October. Zumba is a combination of Latin dance, music, and exercise. It is meant to be fun and motivational and provide a great workout. A Zumbathon is a charity event hosted by a licensed instructor or instructors.

According to Patricia Pupek, the fundraiser was a great success with,  “about 100 people, which is great, considering we put this together pretty quickly. The best part of the event was the enthusiasm of the people who attended, and the fact that we were able to get the word out about our organization to so many people.”

Raising awareness is one of the main goals of the organization. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is “the only national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research and education, and reaching out to people with mood disorders and those affected by suicide,” The AFSP hoped to raise $50,000 at the Community Walk event to fund a number of local initiatives. The Zumbathon helped put them on their way.

For the Zumbathon event, the AFSP chose the General Admission Concert Ticket. The colorful ticket had plenty of room for event information plus space for two logos. The images chosen included a life preserver and the Zumba emblem. This provided attendees with visual imagery to accompany the event. The ticket featured a detachable stub as well as individual numbering.

How did Patricia and her team sell tickets to their event? “We sold tickets by word of mouth, posters in our workplace, we posted our event on Facebook, and we had four Zumba instructors who all work at various gyms and health clubs in Western Mass. They promoted the event at the health clubs, put up signs everywhere.

“Also, I gave out a stack of tickets to each AFSP volunteer in our chapter and asked them to sell as many as they could.  Some people bought a ticket even though they knew they could not attend the Zumbathon, but wanted to give a donation.”

The AFSP really covered its bases with this event using every available resource. From sharing the news one on one, creating printed resources such as posters to relying on “ambassadors” to spread the word on the organizations behalf and utilizing social media, as well as professionally printing custom tickets, the AFSP was able to reach individuals in many different ways. In turn, it was able to raise the profile of the organization and the cause.

What advice does Patricia have for those planning a similar event?

“Start planning and marketing the event a couple of months ahead.  Use Facebook- it works!”

Event of the Week: Out of the Darkness Zumbathon is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

In a world where globalization increases day by day and consumers are offered more and more diverse ways to spend their cash than ever before, it can be a challenge to find new and exciting ways to stick out among the competition. There are many different ways to go about getting people’s attention, and an organization may choose to advertise a certain way in order to fit their specific needs.

It all depends on how an organization plans to retain lasting recognition. A strategic yet subtle way to stick out in people’s minds, whether they are potential investors, customers, future employees or one of the general public, is to print event programs. There are a number of different reasons an organization may have these printed.

1.     Show off to Visitors

If an organization has a large or impressive facility, one way to retain recognition among the competition is to print event programs. These can be easily handed out to visitors, and also serve as a keepsake that can be taken with them after their visit. In the case of a large facility, including a map can be useful and helpful as a kind of tour guide. Include pictures from local or remote facilities so visitors have an organized printed booklet with key highlights to admire and show to others as well.

2.     Investor Recognition

It may be important for a company that relies on investor funding to give credit where it is due. Attract other investors to your company by dedicating a portion of an event program to current investors. This way, current investors can feel confident and appreciated when they see their names listed, and future investors may be interested in hopes of getting their own names on that list. Whether hosting a convention, having a few guests in town or just attending the random visitor, showing people that your investors matter can be a key to gaining future funding.

3.     Healthy Environment

Many people who work full time may spend more time with their co-workers than with their families. Help create a friendly and healthy work environment by encouraging employees to get to know each other. Print and distribute event programs and include pictures, titles, organizational charts, bios, or any other kind of information that employees want to share with their co-workers. It can be beneficial to provide an introduction of sorts for new or more introverted employees, in order to help break the ice. Happy employees will likely spread the word about how great your organization is, helping you stand out among the competition even more.

First Impressions Last: 3 Ways to Stick Out Among the Competition is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

TicketPrinting.com gave us the ability to be professional, and offered us the tools we needed to make our event into a great one! Thank you for making our event a success!

~Charlotte Dunn, Co-Founder and President of Fighting For Damion

Just five months old, Damion Antonio Carbello has already touched countless lives. Born in May 2011, Damion was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), “a genetic disorder that is carried by 1 in 90 people and affects 1 in 2000. SMA is the number one genetic killer of toddlers and infants in the world.”

“Fighting For Damion is completely not for profit, and our sole goal is to help this little family with medical bills, and Damion’s needs, to make things just a little easier,” Charlotte Dunn, Co-founder and President of Fighting for Damion explained to me. She founded the organization with Vice President and Co-Founder Rachel Kessleski when they learned their dear friend’s son had been diagnosed with the disorder.

The organization’s most recent event was a benefit get together sponsored by Scale’s Grill and Deck Bar to raise money for Damion and also raise awareness of SMA. The group “held a Chinese auction, a 50/50 raffle, featured live entertainment and a dinner buffet. One hundred percent of the proceeds went to a secure account strictly for baby Damion.”

For the event, the organization chose the Blue and White General Admission Ticket, a simple but professional ticket with plenty of room for event information. The event ticket featured the details of the event on the front, as well as a logo and slogan on the back. The tickets were individually numbered and featured a detachable stub, which can be used to track attendees and keep account of the raffle.

“Because we are just starting out, we have set our goal very small and I am pleased to say we greatly exceeded it.” Charlotte told me.

To get the word out, Charlotte and her team relied heavily on Internet and radio advertising, “We advertised greatly on all social networks, and local radio stations. We also pre-sold the tickets that your company printed, which [were] a big hit! We also list every event and detail on our website, www.fightingfordamion.com.”

Some event planners choose to focus only on one method of advertising, which means they may reach only one audience. By using more than one channel of communication and reaching out to an online audience, as well as one that might hear about the event from a more traditional route, the team maximized its message and reached more potential attendees.

Another effective method that helped with ticket sales is offering a presale discount.  “We offered our tickets to anyone who would listen for $10 presale or $15 at the door. We advertised them the same way we advertised our event,” Charlotte said. “It worked very well in my opinion. If you can get the word out there on as many sources as you can, your event will sell itself.”

Though the weather didn’t cooperate, the event was still a success. “For me, the best part of the event was seeing everyone who came out having a good time for a great cause. Most of these people have no idea who this family is that they are helping, and yet they still come out to support and donate. It is truly amazing to see people put aside their busy life and help someone in need. ”

When you’re planning a fundraising event, a strong advertising and sales strategy will bring out many people who were unaware of your cause. You may find allies who come to believe just as passionately in your message as you do.

For those planning a similar event, Charlotte has this advice, “Plan ahead! Make sure all loose ends are tied a week prior to your event; it saves a lot of time and money. And remember to have lots of helping hands to help set up and break down!! That is truly the hardest part of any event.”

To donate to Fight For Damion visit FightingforDamion.com.

Event of the Week: Fighting for Damion is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Whether you’re a small business owner, a part-time sales rep, or run a charity auction, you need a convenient and attractive way to display the items you have for sale. These days, many people turn to the internet to display and sell their items, and there has been a recent decrease in the number of printed catalogs available for the perusal of consumers.

But there is still something to be said for printed catalogs. Even those that choose to create online catalogs often have a printed version as well. This way, if the customer requests a printed version specifically, they will be ready to send one without delay. And with fewer catalogs on the market today, you may have a better opportunity to display and sell your items in print, especially in a tight-knit community or small town setting.

Creative Display

Use a unique design to format your catalog and help to grab customers’ attention. Event program printers offer the advice of expert graphic designers to assist you in the creation of your catalog. They can be a great resource in helping to plan the organization and layout. Depending on what type of company you have or what kind of products or services you offer, you may want to format things a certain way in order to increase the value of the catalog as a marketing tool.

The List Goes on

Create a catalog that is concise and to the point, or put the full spectrum of your products on display with event programs. They can be anywhere between 4 and 64 pages long, giving you a lot of room to list products or a few pages to feature your best and brightest. It all depends on the needs of the company or organization from which the products are being sold.

Increase Capacity for Sales

If you live in a small town or close community, you know that news travels fast. Word of mouth can be one of the easiest and cheapest ways to market items as the customer does most of the work for you by telling their friends and recommending your products to them. It’s also one of the most credible forms of advertising as one does not tend to recommend items that aren’t worth their cost to a friend or neighbor. Create a unique printed catalog to send out to your small town or close community, and start getting the news out about your business. Once they see the attractive and organized event program catalog in their mailbox, people won’t be able to stop talking about your products.

Right in the Eye: One Way to Get Noticed is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

The average number of people who attend a national conference tends to be pretty high. With any conference, the goal of the meeting is for people to come together and meet, share ideas and have the opportunity to learn from one another. A great way to enhance attendees’ ability to do this is to print event programs and distribute them at registration.

1. Introduce the Subject

Give attendees a starting point by including an introductory message in the event program. Use this opportunity to introduce any special guest speakers, general agendas, or anything else you want people at the conference to know about in advance. This way, everyone who has registered will have that information already, before the conference even starts.

2. Lay Out the Schedule

Allow the conference attendees to plan their schedules out ahead of time by laying out the conference schedule for them in the event program. Not only will they know then at what time they need to start their day, but also when break times are scheduled and when the day will be concluded.

3. Offer Recognition

At a national conference, there will inevitably be a number of people to thank and give credit to. Don’t leave these important persons out, give them the credit they deserve by listing their names in the event program. List the sponsors of your conference, volunteers that have given their time to help, or donors that deserve special recognition so that their names will be seen by all of the attendees.

4. Generate Profit

The event program can be used as an opportunity for advertising. Generate profit by contacting potential companies who might be interested in getting their name out there at a national conference, and ask them if they would be interested in purchasing ad space in the event program. This is a great way to benefit both the advertiser and those who put on the conference, in that the advertiser will get their company name heard by a large number of people, while the conference will have extra revenue in order to purchase supplies and other necessary items.

5. Plan for the Future

The conference has already been planned for this year, but what about next year? Get your attendees ready for the upcoming year by printing information about it in the event program. This is a great opportunity to keep people coming back year after year, and may even help to create a sense of community within the conference.

Come Together, Right Now: 5 Way to Enhance Conferences is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Remember your high school yearbook? Every once in a while, though high school years are long since gone, you pull it out of the bookshelf and glance through it. You look at the pictures, the names, the lists of who was in what club, who had the best hair, and who was nominated for the most potential to succeed (yes, it should have been you, but that’s another story).

What if you could do that for the group you belong to now, as an adult? It would be folly to rely on memory alone to recount events throughout the year, or try to remember the names of all the members on a certain panel without some sort of cheat sheet. There’s a plethora of information you can utilize to share with the group as well, all you need is the right format to use.

Classy and Attractive

Make a modern yearbook look snazzy and appealing by printing event programs. With these booklets, you have the option of adding literally any design, and can even work with a graphic designer who will help you create a unique booklet that satisfies the needs and desires of everyone involved. One of the best things about these printed booklets is that they are full color and full bleed, which makes them look very professional and worthy of recognition.

Organized and Informative

Just like a high school yearbook, include pictures and names, bios, and other interesting information about members in your group in the event program. This way, people can look back at this booklet for years to come and view people’s faces and names without having to try to recall them with no help. You can even include information on donations or other important addresses that members should have on-hand and can take with them. Get a head start on planning your group outings and include a schedule of upcoming events for members of the group to discuss and look forward to.

Space and Strength

Event programs can be printed any length between 4 and 64 pages. That gives you the opportunity to include as much or as little information as you want to. Keep it short and sweet if you only have a couple of things to highlight to your group members, or make it detailed and comprehensive so that people can refer back to it time after time for important information. You can create lasting memories with a modern yearbook, and the event program is a contemporary way to do it.

The Modern Yearbook: Making Memories in Contemporary Style is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Festivals are a lot of fun, but they can sometimes be overwhelming. Many festivals today feature multiple days, several stages, and perhaps even more than one central location.

How does the modern-day festival-goer navigate the chaos in order to enjoy the most out of a festival? Well, that’s easy: use the event program.

You Are the Navigator

To maximize performance-watching potential and experience the biggest highlights at a festival, the most important thing to do is to use the map. The map will likely point out where each stage is, where the restrooms and food vendors are located, and may also list other important information such as the first-aid area or other places to get help. The map is one of the most useful items to be included in the event program.

The Line-up

Don’t miss the band that everyone has been talking about because of confusion over the time of the performance. Just reference the trusted schedule that can be laid out conveniently in the event program. It will likely reveal exactly who plays at what time, how long they will perform for, and what stage or location they will perform at. Keeping event program close at hand can help maximize the potential for entertainment.

Tell Me More

Those who attend festivals often want to know more about the band or performing artist they are watching. Many artists book festivals in hopes of attracting more fans, specifically new ones that may never have heard of them before. There may be additional information on the performing artists in the event brochure that you can read on the spot, take with you to learn about later, or show off to others. Just another reason your program is such a great festival companion.

Show Me the Money

Sponsors are a big part of putting on a festival. In many cases, the festival may not have come to fruition if the sponsors hadn’t been there to pony up the dough to purchase the appropriate resources. One of the best things about the event program is that it can also double as a list of the sponsors that will then get the recognition they deserve from the festival attendees. In addition to this, the event program can also be used as a kind of ad book, generating extra revenue that can be used to buy supplies, decorations, or even compensate a performer. All in all, event programs give your average festival-goer the opportunity to navigate the modern-day festival in an organized, intelligent and insightful way, while also providing a way to add extra revenue that benefits everyone involved.

The Festival-Goer’s Guide to Fun is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

“The tickets always show up promptly and add a touch of professionalism to the event. For most people maybe just a detail, but for me indicates a little added effort.”

~ David Reynolds, Blue Heron Productions

On September 16, The Crooked Still performed at the Hotel Colorado. The team behind this event was Blue Heron Productions, Inc. “a small company dedicated to the promotion of bluegrass, folk and other forms of acoustic music. Intimate concerts with outstanding artists,” Dave Reynolds explained to me. “This is not main stream music you hear much on TV or radio, and I have always felt it is underserved in the media and especially in the concert format. The Company really is just me. My wife handles the door, and I usually bribe my friends to become roadies and help. It is not a one person job. This is a sideline pursuit, as I am CPA in my real life.”

Blue Heron Productions, Inc. is dedicated to producing intimate concerts with outstanding artists. While it is not affiliated with the Hotel Colorado, many of the concerts take place at this beautiful venue. For the Crooked Still Event, “I used a room at the venue I have never used for the concert. It wonderfully small and intimate, but acoustically challenging. I went for audience sight line and gave up a little in the sound department, but it went very well all things considered. I prefer the high ceilings and ambiance of the Ballroom. The Hotel Colorado is on the National Historical Register.”

For Dave, “The sound quality is job number one, followed by a comfortable venue. I want the band to sound as good as it can, and I am very particular about it. These musicians are very talented and deserve being treated like the aspiring pros they are or will become.” You can visit YouTube for a taste of Crooked Still’s music.

For this event, Dave chose the All Purpose General Admission ticket, a simple but professional ticket that prominently features the band’s name as well as event information. The ticket is individually numbered and features a detachable stub, which allows organizers to keep track of attendees.

“To market the event,” Dave says, “I use posters, newspaper, radio, social media and email contacts, and anything else that I can think, given a limited budget. I am always looking for a more targeted approach. The younger bands see the benefit of Internet marketing and are generally better at it themselves too, which helps.” Bands are featured on the Blue Heron Productions, Inc. Website. They are also touted on the Facebook page for the venue. The bands themselves do their own promotion work as well.

Event of the Week: The Crooked Still at the Hotel Colorado is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Think back on the last couple of years of your life, and try to remember every event you have attended.

Impossible, right?

Consider the possibility of keeping event programs to help remind you of all those little details that, try as you might, you want to retain but mother nature’s aging process is unwilling to let you hold onto. What if they were all neatly printed and organized into a single, informative and aesthetically pleasing memento? Now that would make a great keepsake.

1. It’s OK to Show Off – What does every proud parent do with their child’s honor roll report card? Put it up on the refrigerator, of course! The same opportunity is there with the event program. Display that spectacular opera you just attended or highlight your nephew’s lead role in the school play.
2. Who Sang That Solo? – Most people aren’t able to remember the names of everyone they saw in a play or a performance with more than one or two actors. Cue the event program. This convenient book makes a great reference for the performers and may include their parts, a bio, picture, or other specifics worth remembering about that magical night.
3.  I Like Your Style – Attract attention to an organization even after the event is long over, whether it is a conference, play, festival, or anything else people may look back on fondly. Print a unique logo or design on the event program cover so that anyone who glances at the souvenir will automatically take a gander at the company name.
4. The Ads Don’t Stop – While buying advertising space can be costly, it can also be very beneficial in generating customer revenue and can help bring exposure to the company. The ads in a souvenir like the event program work the same way. They help bring a company exposure that in this case doesn’t quit. Every time you show the event program off to someone new, you will both glance at the advertisements listed along with it.
5. Make your Mark – Perhaps the biggest reason why event programs make great souvenirs is that they have a special value to the keeper. Each individual’s experience of an event is subjective, and no one else can remember an event the exact same way you do. Every time you look at the event program, you will be reminded of how special that night was.

Forget Me Not: 5 Reasons 1 Program Is the Best Souvenir is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

When an artist performs at a large music festival, it’s not always guaranteed that everyone will recognize them. In fact, it’s almost guaranteed that some people attending the festival will not have even heard of that artist before.

Of course, it’s the same with the event and security staff that are hired to work at the festival. They may or may not recognize a number of the artists that were hired to perform. This creates a lot of room for error in the handling of logistics and management.

Who Did You Say You Were?

Realistically, there’s nothing worse than potentially alienating a performing artist who has drawn a large crowd because one of the hired staff members is unable to appropriately identify them. This can be remedied in a number of ways, however, some being far superior to others.

Here’s Your Sign

One of the easiest and fastest ways on the market right now to identify performing artists and other VIPs at a music festival is to use event badges. There are two different types that can be utilized, depending on what is needed for identification on the badge. The best thing about them is that they will show the event and security staff at the music festival exactly who the performing artist is, which will then dictate how they are to be treated.

VIP Only

A major issue at almost every music festival is VIP access. Most music festivals have it, and everyone who is anyone wants to get in. The performing artists at the festival may or may not want to hobnob with the masses during their down time. And if they do, it’s usually guaranteed that they will want to do it at their own rate, instead of being bombarded by people who liked their set or want an autograph.

Make It Easy on Everyone

Make it easy on yourself and your event and security staff by using event badges. Print VIP event badges that are waterproof and very durable, and ensure instant identification despite bad weather and exceptional wear (who are we kidding; performing artists can be pretty hard on things!). They’re also easy to put on or take off and are designed to be worn with a lanyard or a bulldog clip for versatile use. You can even put the event name or a logo right on the lanyard, making the badge useful and decorative.

How to Offer the VIP Treatment is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Attending a large convention is kind of like shrinking yourself down to bug-size and walking into an anthill. Not only are there thousands of others everywhere around you, they all have their own agenda and are going about their business as usual, each one with a specific task at hand. And the worst part: they all look alike.

It’s easy to get lost in the mix at a large convention. Maybe the vendor you are looking to do business with is on the other side of the convention center, leaving you to navigate through a few thousand people in an attempt to sift them out. Or what if you signed up at the last moment, and the convention managers put you in the corner, away from the swarms of potential customers piling around the main stands?

The best way to get your company name out there (and your name too!) at a convention is to use ID badges. They are a unique, durable and inexpensive way to identify your company amidst a crowd of others.

The Perks of Event Badges

• Economy Event Badges or VIP Event Badges available
• Made of thick paper or durable plastic
• Full color printing
• Include company logo or design your own badge
• Individually named
• Includes unique number or barcode
• Choice of clear vinyl holder with lanyard and clip or clear plastic holder with clip

The option to design your own event badge is especially convenient and interesting because you can design a badge that goes with the theme of the specific convention you are attending. You have the option to include not only your company logo, but also a one-of-a-kind design of your making that will help you and your company stand out among others. Also, if you choose the lanyard option for your ID badges, you can have the company logo printed on them too!

Of course, it would ultimately work best if everyone at the convention used event badges, but don’t let your company name get lost in the dust without the right identification. Check with the convention manager at your upcoming convention, and ask them what kind of unique event badges they use. You might end up giving the managers a great recommendation they can use to identify attendees quickly and easily, and you may even save them some money in the end.

I’d Be Lost Without You! is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

“The tickets were beautiful and added class to the event.”

~Denise Johnson, Event Coordinator, Mother of Honoree

On September 17, The Alex Johnson Memorial Concert was held to benefit the Mississippi County Literary Council.  The fundraiser included an artists’ reception, silent art auction, and a concert. It was held in memory of Alex Johnson, a student and a tutor at Northeast Arkansas College, where he volunteered for the literacy council. In 2009, Alex died in a car crash while traveling home from his college choir practice. He was 22.

Along with honoring the memory of her son, “the event was an effort to raise money for adult literacy in our county,” Denise told me.

In order to advertise the event “we used Facebook, posters, newspaper articles and ads.” The Facebook page for the event was frequently updated with information about the event. The page was a hub of information. Announcements were made when new art was donated for the auction. Information about the performers, The Reba Russell Band, Jo Jo Jefferies, and Lincoln Lane, were included. There were also links to interviews and articles that had been written in advance of the event.

Denise participated in interviews and a number of articles were posted online advertising the event.

For Denise the value of word of mouth advertising could not be overestimated. You can sell more tickets “one on one” than by advertising for patrons to go elsewhere and buy them.

For the ticket, the organizers chose the “Natural Riffs” design. This ticket features a warm color palette. An acoustic guitar and stage lights provide the backdrop for the event’s information. With sequential numbering and detachable stubs, these tickets help organizers keep track of sales and attendees.

The fundraiser was a success, ” Everything went very well.  [The] highlight of the event was song sung by a former Miss. Co. resident and sister of the honoree.” Denise said.

Event of the Week: The Alex Johnson Memorial Concert is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Nothing is worse than not being recognized at your own event.

Say what you will about someone forgetting your name or what company you work for, but when you hold an event, like a gathering of a group of members from a club for example, that last thing you want is the attendees forgetting that you are the one that put the whole thing together!

You Deserve That Credit

You earned it with all that hard work you put into the planning and organization. You’ve spent countless hours reserving the perfect spot, making the invitations, and coming up with fresh ideas about how to earn money for the cause you all support.

What Can Be Done About It?

• Include a 4 x 6 photo of yourself on the front of your invitations
• Print your name in bold, italics using size 72 font on your invitations
• Require your attendees to RSVP by tattooing your name on their hands, and sending you a picture of the tattoo as proof
• Use event/ID Badges to identify (most importantly) yourself and others at your event

Identify Yourself

Event/ID badges are a great way to identify you to others quickly and easily. You can have your name and title printed any way you want, right on the front, showing others that you indeed are the one who put on the event. That way, you can get all the credit due such a big responsibility and job well done.

Identify Others

Not only can you use ID badges at your event to identify yourself, you can use them just in case (oops!) you forget someone else’s name too! If that influential member who you’ve had lunch with once a year for the past few years walks up to you and his name just slipped your mind, you can simply glance at his badge, saving yourself from an embarrassing situation. If an important guest or someone of high status who wouldn’t normally attend an event like yours were to come, you would want everyone to know who they were and that they were a guest.

Wear it with Style

One of the things I really liked about the event badges was that they were so easy to wear. We had the option of clipping them to our shirts or pants, or we could use a lanyard to wear them around our necks.  I used a lanyard for mine, which I had ordered in the colors of our club with the membership logo printed right on them.  It looked great, and when I wore my badge, everyone knew I was responsible for putting on the event!

I Didn’t Recognize You without Your Badge! is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog