“Soulsearchin’films is a film and theater production company that acts as a platform for youth and young adults within our inner city communities who have a passion for theater arts to hone their skills, build their resumes as performers, and embrace the opportunity to showcase their talent as actors, singers, and dancers,” Dawn Blair told me, this past January, of her Oakland, California based production company.
Events can entertain. They can also transform communities. Ghetto Magnolia, performed early in 2012 was a “gospel stage play production,” Dawn said. “The purpose of the production was to provoke change within the lives of our inner city youth and young adults, through the message of its story line. It was not a fundraiser.”
The story follows Magnolia Brown, an aspiring gospel singer faced with “harsh realities of the ghetto and the redemptive power of God.”
“There was nothing that did not go as planned. The production was a total success,” Dawn said. “The best part of our event was actually seeing the audience enjoying the production as the story unfolded on stage. The turnout was tremendous, and the production was a hit!”
Getting the Good Word Out
In order to get the word out to attendees, Dawn and her team relied heavily on print collateral and word of mouth. They designed posters and flyers using TicketPrinting.com. The stage play was produced on a limited budget. The professionally printed collateral gave it an extra “Bling Factor.”
Relationship sales were also very important to the success of this event. Many tickets were sold in advance. Each cast member was tasked with pursuing advanced ticket sales. With thirty cast members, the ticket sales were sure to be a success. This allowed the cast members to interact with potential attendees as well as promote themselves as performers.
Every Event is Different
The team behind Ghetto Magnolia was pleased with its success. The event was highly attended. The cast, crew, and audience had a great time. For this event, print collateral played a central role, defining the tenor of the event and portraying a professional production.
Some events benefit from a spectrum of marketing efforts. Some will advertise through online social networks and event websites. Others will take to the airwaves, advertising over radio and television or doing the interview circuit. Others will rely solely on word of mouth.
Every event is different, and each event’s success is defined by its organizers and attendees.
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.
You may have sold out the event, but last year’s Christmas party got out of hand, and not in that good way, which leaves you with a bad headache and perhaps a bill for a few broken windows, along with the reputation as the organization selling the hottest ticket in town. It was merely a matter of poor planning. Selling plenty of tickets to the event was just not enough. Long before printing the event tickets, there are stages of preparation that ensure the perfect party.
• Book the venue
• Hire caterers
• Hire bartenders
• Book the entertainment
Seems simple enough, but each of these steps requires more forethought. Don’t just sign the first contract that comes along. When booking the venue, consider your needs. How many people can you reasonably expect to show up? How many can the venue accommodate? Don’t forget the unmentionable basics: will there be enough restrooms for all the guests? How about easy access to the outdoors for smokers? The fanciest ballroom in town will still flop if partygoers are packed in shoulder to shoulder with no room to move.
As for caterers and bartenders, be certain that you understand the terms of their contract. While you may be impressed by the quality of the food, it will do you little good if you didn’t realize that you were supposed to provide your own plates. The caterer may be happy to bring their own tables and chairs, or these may be provided by the venue, but if nobody brings tables and chairs, that can lead to disaster. Some party planners are chagrined to find that their very expensive caterer provides only plastic flatware. Communication is key. If you think your guests may find the bartender’s tip jar a little tacky, assure him or her that you will be tipping generously at the end of the night. Ask for what you want. Negotiate up front.
Discuss your expectations with the entertainment as well. Will the band be willing to play an extra set if the party runs long? If that’s a possibility, you probably want to set up the terms in advance. If you’re hiring a Santa Claus impersonator, be sure to get some references. It’s important to know that you’re truly hiring a professional who won’t let you, or your young guests, down.
Once you’ve settled on the basics, printing event tickets is a breeze. With the knowledge that your venue, food, drinks, and entertainment are planned, you can easily add the event’s highlights to a ticket template and begin selling with confidence: confidence that the entire night is well in hand.
When you shell out extra money to purchase event tickets to private receptions, you want get your money’s worth. Even if you’ve been given a free ticket, don’t waste it! Large conferences or conventions provide the opportunity to network with others in your industry, and you’re usually scrambling to meet with many people in a few days’ time. Whether you’re a successful executive on company expense account or a new entrepreneur trying to make your mark, you’ve probably learned that your best bet for rubbing shoulders with the right people is to attend a smaller function: the private reception afterward.
In many cases, you’re paying extra for special access, but the price of entry doesn’t guarantee success. Your actions and attitude when you enter the room determine how much you’re going to get out of the cost of admission.
How do you feel about the following statements?
• Networking means creating business friendships.
• Loyalty and passion lead to support in business.
• Emotional commitments generate more results than logical commitments.
Whether tickets to these events are, in fact, free, or only offered to a select few, or sold to the general public at prices excluding those who aren’t serious about their connections, private receptions tend to be more intimate events, offering greater access to VIPs. When you’re trying to build your networks, pitch ideas, or stay on top of events, the price of an event ticket for a private reception at a large conference is usually minimal compared to the payoff, if you know how to leave the right impression.
How are you going to make your mark?
You’re well-prepared with a stack of business cards in a neat carrying case, and you can speak eloquently about your project. But you don’t want to go in, throw those business cards around, and talk someone’s ear off about your big idea. Networking is about selling yourself. Don’t set yourself up for failure by starting with the attitude that it’s all business.
Consider two equally qualified candidates embarking on a job search. One prints out a hundred resumes and sends them to one hundred HR departments. The other approaches everyone he or she knows, discusses his or her skills, abilities, and objectives, and puts out the word: I’m looking for work. In most cases, the candidate who takes advantage of personal connections is going to get the greatest response. You simply get more interviews if you’ve been recommended by someone who knows you.
So, don’t buy a ticket to a private reception with the intention of dropping one hundred resumes into strangers’ laps. Drop the expectation that you will sell an idea or a product to the people you encounter. Instead, treat it like the party that it is, and use the opportunity to make real connections.
• Work the room.
• Introduce yourself to everyone; you never know who may be important to your work, or who can help you along.
• Don’t drink more than you can handle! Stay in control at all times.
• Establish yourself as an interesting and trustworthy contact.
• Help people find reasons to like and remember you.
• Remember: just because someone doesn’t have a job or an investment for you right now doesn’t mean they can’t be a valuable contact in the future.
If you give others a reason to invest in you personally, rather than your product, you don’t need to sell anything. When your colleagues know, trust, and like you, your product will sell itself. You don’t need to trumpet the merits of your ideas unless someone has a specific question. Just give people reasons to like you, and when they think of your area of expertise, they’ll think of you and recommend you to others, because they’re personally invested in you.
How can a sheet of paper bracelets help keep your event orderly?
Consider your event before you need Wristbands. Maybe it started as a simplegathering of friends and neighbors, a few barbecues or a shared potluck for a small donation, perhaps billed as a fundraiser for the local PTA because you wanted to do something good. It was so much fun, the next year, you did it again. More folks came. Eventually, your annual party evolved into a community event. That's when you started thinking big.
You and your peers decided to turn it into a real fundraiser to benefit your city's schools.Word got out. The venue was moved to a bigger location. Local vendors offered sponsorship. Restaurants catered. Bands got booked. Artists, and crafters and sellers of all kinds put up booths. Attendees even bought tickets. Maybe you realized they needed to wear event wristbands just so you could figure out who paid, or who was old enough to drink. What started out small grew, and now folks come from all over town to attend your yearly block party. If you haven’t started distributing Event Wristbands, now might be a good time to start.
When You're Ready To Enjoy Your Party as Much as Your Guests
Wouldn't it be nice to feel like you were still attending the small intimate gathering of the past? It's great to see a well-attended fundraiser, but you would like to spend less time directing and more time being at the event. When the occasion is well-organized, and the crowd is well-managed, even you can take some time to sit back, relax and enjoy the party, the ease of visual recognition provided by color coded wristbands can be the key.
How Do You Manage Your Growing Event?
When you expect a large number of guests, effective pre-planning can make a real difference. Managing the comings and goings of your attendees can take a lot of time and energy, so you'll want to keep this aspect of your event organized.
Begin when your guests arrive at the gate. Admission tickets are perfect for getting your guests in, but you may want a visible cue to ensure the right guests have access to the right events. Color wristbands are an excellent way to keep tabs on individuals once they make it into your venue. They allow volunteers or staff to immediately identify gatecrashers or underage drinkers. Wristbands just make it simple to determine who belongs where.
Who's Who at Your Event?
As attendees arrive, you can organize them using custom security wristbands. Admission wristbands allow security to easily identify whether individuals belong at your event. They make it easier for you to keep track of guests who may need to leave the venue, but want to return. Rather than holding onto ticket stubs that can get passed to others or getting a stamp that can easily be rubbed off, guests can merely show their wristbands to attendants.
If you are serving alcohol at your event, you can better manage sales by issuing bar wristbands to guests over twenty-one. This help keeps concession lines stay organized and move quickly.You can also use event wristbands to manage your VIP traffic in the same way. Instead of collecting passes to special events, attendants can simply check to see if guests have the correct color wristband.
Additionally, Tyvek wristbands are durable, waterproof and hard to lose. They can't be wiped off like a stamp, and they are also recyclable, so when guests turn them in at the end of the day, you can feel good about choosing a sustainable material to help manage your event.
Enjoy Your Event
This year, spend less time directing guest traffic and more time being a part of it when you choose admission wristbands to help organize the crowd. It may be bigger than it was in the past, but it only means you have more opportunities to have a great time!
Are you part of the resurgence in the world’s most awesome sport? It’s time for you and all your roller derby gals to get competitive. You can offer public sporting events—your team versus other local rollers. Start planning, promoting, and selling event tickets for your bouts and let your jammers start lapping for the fans! It’s time to lace up your skates, squeeze into your campiest uniform, and get rolling.
Call it like it is: Your team moniker
Roller Derby teams need clever names. Puns reflecting your punk third-wave feminist roots are a sure draw for crowds and fans: the Sandra Day O’Clobbers, the Shevil Knevils, the Beauty School Knockouts, and the Rushin’ Rollettes. Be as violent as you like! Or, choose two words, say an adjective and a noun, that best encompass your team, like the Zany Fembots. Just make sure your name is intriguing and your fans feel like they’re in on the joke.
High noon: When to meet
When you’re ready to brawl, contact other roller derby teams in your area and decide which one your team will battle. You may be able to join a league and schedule a series of derbies. Can’t decide whom to meet first? Create your own raffle tickets and draw a name from a hat. Once you’ve decided upon whom, you need to figure out when. Pick a date and a time for your event. Consider days and times that would work best for the audience you are trying to attract. Audiences for roller derbies are diverse: from families to hipsters to teens, so your breadth should be vast, but conscious about your target audience. Families prefer daytime, weekend event. Teens may be available in the afternoon, after school, and twenty-somethings like to stay out late.
Meet me in the parking lot: Choose your venue:
If your city doesn’t already have a dedicated roller derby rink, you will to find need a venue that can satisfy the inherent needs of the sport. True roller derby typically requires a sports arena or a gymnasium, but you could also convert a large gallery or performance space. If you know of a space that often exhibits artwork or avant garde performance, you may persuade them to host your derby as a way to further the venue’s original intent. Perhaps a very large gallery that could accommodate a derby may choose to have your team battle another team in their space while highlighting related artwork such as photographs of Derby girls alongside your event. If the venue already has a box office or a way of handling ticket sales, that’s a bonus for you, as it makes it easier to sell event tickets.
Shout it out: Event promotion
Get your artists on the job. Your general promotion should be creative and intriguing. Collage-style designs featuring your team portrait or other relevant images can be distributed as postcards. Include the date and time, the venue, the ticket price, the names of the both teams, and information on where to get the tickets (don’t forget to include any relevant URLs). Take it to the streets and pass out the postcards in your derby garb to attract some attention. Hang posters in book shops, record stores, college campuses, and other local businesses. In addition to this, use your website and other networking tools such as Facebook to promote the event.
At the door: Get your event tickets right here
Have fun with these! Use your original promotional designs to create a unique custom ticket, or choose an online event ticket template. These can be printed on demand and are a good way to create the tickets for your event. Remember to include the same pertinent information you used on your postcard or promotional flyer: who, what, when, where, how much. Don’t forget web addresses or phone numbers where people can get more information. Consider creative ways to make those tickets your own! In designing your event tickets, you may include the logo for both teams or photos of the two teams. Individually numbered event tickets with perforated stubs help you keep track of attendance, control the venue, and increase security. Selling event tickets helps you realize some profit for your event, giving your team even more passion to have a great and memorable roller derby battle!
It's summer, and the sun is shining. The sky is a deep blue. It's warm, but a soft breeze keeps everyone cool and in a good mood. In the distance, there's the sound of live music, and close by, the rich smoky, aroma of food being cooked up on a grill. Children are playing while their parents watch on, and folks are mingling, getting to know one another and having a wonderful time.
Your organization is hosting a community barbecue and raffle, and you did your best to get everyone involved. All of your neighbors are there. Everyone bought a ticket. Some contributed money or meals, tables and tents or just their willing hands. Local church groups, police and firefighters, teachers and representatives showed up. Area vendors sponsored the event and even put up the funds to print event tickets and host a prize raffle.
You've been planning this event for a long time—networking with neighbors, pinning down dates, finding volunteers, designing and printing event tickets and promotional collateral—and as you stand back and reflect over all you've accomplished, you realize, there's a bit of an art to planning and pulling off a big event. You have a talent for it!
It Starts with an Idea
Any good event starts with a worthy idea. Perhaps you realized your local school needed money for its musicprogram or you saw your neighborhood playground could use some rehabilitation. Maybe bought an event ticket to attend a less successful event . The venue could have been too small or the raffle was poorly managed; maybe the organizers didn't print event ticketsthat kept the event secure. You realized with a little extra effort, you could pull off something better.
You began to do your research. You thought of the kind of event you wanted to host. You learned about venues. You looked at promotional materials online and browsed event ticket printing websites to find further inspiration. You simply talked to others about it, and realized you had a willing set of volunteers and attendees.
Using Your Resources
Once you decide to do it, planning a big event can be a challenge, but it's an opportunity to bring your community and its resources together. It can be refreshing, too, when you realize there are plenty of people who want to help. Let them!
Preparing the venue—If you're hosting a community event like a neighborhood barbecue, you can may want to have it in the form of a block party or host it at a local park or school. Make sure you have the proper permission, and recruit volunteers to help set up tables and cooking stations and bring supplies, as well as to take tickets or sell raffle tickets.
Rely on Donations when you can—Seeking donations is a good way to host a community event on a budget. Volunteers can donate anything from food to tableware to time. This is a great way to get everyone involved.
Get local vendors in on the action—If you have local businesses in your neighborhood, invite them. They'll get to know the community better, and attendees may be more likely to frequent them afterward. They might even donate a prize or help print eventtickets if you're hosting a raffle. You can also sell tickets at local businesses.
Promote It!
Your neighborhood event won't be a big success unless you take the time to properly advertise it. You want local attendees, so promote locally. Print event tickets and promotional materials that reflect the spirit of your community and provide all the important details. You can usually do this through an online vendor using an event ticket template.If you're holding a fundraising raffle, you'll want to be sure to find an event ticket printer who can provide securely numbered tickets, so that everything runs smoothly.
Enjoy your Event!
You've managed to bring your whole neighborhood together! Your family, friends and community members are having a great time! Have a great time with them!
Frank Zappa once said, " Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something." When you're selling event tickets for a fundraising event, you're also making a type of sculpture, bringing folks together into one place to work together for a common creative goal. Why not put music at its center? You could plan a small choral performance, a full-on music festival or perhaps the ultimate in participatory events: A battle of the bands!
Unite your community, listen to great local musicians, sell more tickets, raise funds for a cause, and share prizes. From beginning to end, picking a venue, guests judges, and prizes and even choosing and printing event tickets, a battle of the bands can take a lot of preparation. Many elements must be considered when planning this type of event, but the final product is well worth the effort.
Plan a safe and fun event for everyone—If you want to have a good time and raise funds for your cause, make sure you appeal to a broad audience. Plan a family friendly, safe event that everyone can enjoy. You'll want to print event tickets that reflect this and help to manage the flow of people into and out of your venue.
Create a clear set of rules for participants—Make sure the rules of the battle are clear beforehand. Let acts know what kind of music you would like to showcase. Will the winners be picked by judges or the audience? Will bands play one song or a short set? What prizes are winners eligible for?
Choose judges from the community—If you plan on having judges choose the winners, consider recruiting popular figures from the local music scene. When printing event tickets and other promotional materials, make sure to include this information, so you can further peak attendee interest.
What kinds of prizes will you offer?—Will you simply offer winners bragging rights or something more tangible like cash or other coveted rewards?
Will you rely on sponsors to help?—Sponsors can be a great resource when organizing your battle of the bands. They can help provide funding for equipment or the venue, advertise for your event or defray the cost of event ticket printing. If you're fundraising for a special cause like providing money for local school music programs, you may find sponsors lining up to help. You can add their logos to your event tickets for greater publicity.
Pick an appropriate venue—Once you're ready to host a battle of the bands, you'll want to choose a venue for your event. Make sure the space is the right size and will accommodate your equipment. Check to make sure that you have the right permits to host the event, if you need them.
Plan your promotion—Promote, promote, promote! With your initial planning done, it's time to get the word out, so that you can get your attendees together to rock out! The internet is a great resource for free promotion. Social networking and event planning sites help you to advertise and sell more tickets. Contact local radio stations about your cause and get your sponsors involved.
Pick promotional collateral and print event tickets that are well designed and reflect the nature of your event. Using an online event ticket printing site can make this easy. You can choose the type of collateral you would like to use, choose your designs and customize them using an event ticket template. Professional y printed event tickets can really raise the profile of your battle of the bands.
Even huge events focusing on large issue such as hunger relief or cancer research can benefit from an active grassroots movement to aid a larger, national cause. It’s time to gather your local grassroots community! If you are starting such a community from scratch, call a town meeting that will give you an opportunity to gauge the importance of your movement within your community, as well as find volunteers who can help you get the ball rolling.
*You Got Your Goodwill Army, So Now What? Now that you have the support and muscle of people in your community, your grassroots effort may begin. With these people, begin to plan and create a fundraiser. Let them tell you what the community wants. Sell tickets to the event to raise money. Sell raffle tickets to generate even more money for your cause.
*Get Local Exposure: Utilize local media such as newspapers and radio stations to raise awareness of your cause and your event. Be sure to tell people in the community how they can attain a ticket to your fundraising event. Take notes to ensure that you say all that needs to be said via the media to get the word out about your cause and your fundraiser. Use statistics, even local statistics if you can get them, to further the cause. For example, if you are raising awareness about Diabetes and aim to have a fundraiser about it, be sure to cite stats such as how many people in the country have the disease, as well as a stat of how many people in your community are afflicted. The reality of statistics will give your grassroots movement a solid foundation and awake the cause within your community.
*You Got the Exposure, Begin Planning the Event: Much of the preliminary details such as where and when must be decided before you speak to the media. But there’s more to planning and implementing the details: food, entertainment, or speakers. Continuing to use the example of a grassroots movement for Diabetes, an appropriate speaker could be a local doctor or an artist or musician in the community. Often local authorities and celebrities will donate their time for a fundraiser. Put out calls in the community for appropriate speakers to perform or speak at your event.
*Event Tickets for Your Fundraiser: Research event ticket designs: choose the perfect ticket template and create your own tickets online for speed and convenience. After your tickets have been designed and printed, begin selling within your community. In addition to selling your event tickets to your friends, neighbors, and coworkers, pound the pavement and do some selling door to door. Continue to promote the event, reminding potential guests about to get tickets. Use poster, flyers, Internet forums, microblogging, social networks, and your website. It is easy to create a simple website that can be exclusive to your cause with news and a schedule of events at this fundraiser and others to come. The website can also function as a way to educate the community about your cause as well as keep a running tally on the money that has been raised.
*Don’t Stop When the Party’s Over: Your successful grassroots campaign has created a mobile army for your cause. Keep them mobilized. Encourage them to bring new and creative ideas to the table and run with them.
Say your event has become a tradition in your community. You can count on your base to buy event tickets and show up, but your basic audience has not changed in years. How do you increase your roster from the traditional and convince new people to buy tickets to your event? By altering even small aspects of a tried and true event, you can attract new audiences: From revising publicity materials and punching up promotional event tickets to adding a trendy spin or a popular attraction, open yourself to possibilities and watch your ticket sales soar.
*Get Out of the Box: Sometimes the best way to move beyond routine is to observe your standard operating procedure with a fresh set of eyes. Take inventory of what you have done over the years. Which elements have contributed to the success of the event? Is it the design used on event tickets and promotional materials? The entertainment? The venue? Then, consider how to use your old ideas in new ways, or update those options. Having trouble seeing with fresh eyes? Ask creative friends and guests for their opinion.
*Answers Into Action: After taking this inventory of what has worked and deciding how you’ll revise the event to attract a new audience, get started. Don’t wait! Spring into action as long before the event as you can. Allowing yourself plenty of planning time help ticket sales go smoothly and guards against mistakes that would detract, not attract, guests in the future.
*What Kind of Audience: Decide what type of audience you want and cater to their needs. If you want more children and young adults at your event, consider something like a Make a Sundae stand for your fundraiser. Teen volunteers can man the stand to help the young children. Many teens are looking for community service hours for their own extracurriculars, like the National Honors Society, and local teens are always a good resource to pull in a new audience. Often teens will buy Event Tickets if they know their friends will be there.
*Ho Hum to Electrifying: Small changes can add a great new dimension to your traditional event. Customizing an event ticket can be the first step in customizing an event. Other elements such as entertainment or food and drink being served at your event can further your success in attracting new audiences. If you have always had a spaghetti dinner fundraiser, try something just a little different, such as a Lasagna Dinner, adding a catchy title that ties the fundraiser to the organization being funded. Research trends and find out what foods people want to try and what music they want to hear.
*Spread the Word in Fresh Places: If you desire more elderly patrons to come to your event, print custom event tickets that can be raffled off at a local senior center. For more youthful participants advertise online, and at local high schools and colleges. A diverse audience will always give you a new audience, so cater your promotional materials and tickets to all facets of your community. Spreading a wide net in a variety of places will assist your event in attracting many different people to your event and make it a true and new success.
A Transformative Event