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

“Our ticketprinting.com experience was very good. I was impressed by the quality, speed, and ease of ordering… We got several compliments from the venue, other bands, and guests by the quality and professional look of the printed materials. It definitely made us look legit and like we knew what we were doing even though we didn’t.”

~Austin Jansen

On Saturday, July 16, Vacaville’s First Country Music Festival was held at The Elmira Cabin in Elmira California. Acts included  48 Straight, the Jesse Woodside Band, the Taryn Cross, and the Amber Snider Band. Free mechanical bull rides , dancing lessons, catered barbecue and drink specials were a part of the night’s festivities.

To promote Country at the Cabin, the organizers chose collateral from the Natural Riffs collection on Ticketprinting.com. The design features an acoustic guitar against a sepia background with stage lights, invoking the feeling of a country music venue. Natural Riffs collateral has space for logos and photos of performers and the text is customizable.

I recently caught up with Austin Jansen, promoter for the event and drummer for the Jesse Woodside Band.

I asked Austin about the role his organization played in organizing Country at the Cabin. “My organization is an event promotion company. We organize/plan music, fundraising, and special events based around music. The particular event we ordered products from you was a first (hopefully) annual country music festival held locally to our organization.”

How did Austin and the other organizers promote the event?  They relied on more than one method to get the word  out. ” We distributed our tickets between the bands, the venue, our Facebook page, a radio ad, an online tickets sales site, and several local businesses. We pre-sold most of our tickets through our bands and the majority of our tickets were sold at the door the night of the event.” Austin explained. ” We started selling our tickets 2 weeks before the event and started our radio ad 1 week prior due to budget limitations.”

What might he do differently next time, and what advice would he offer to others hosting similar events? ” If I could do it again I would start the radio ad 1 month prior as well as selling tickets earlier. Next year we hope to have a larger headliner and charge more for the event.”

What was the highlight of Country at the Cabin? ” The highlight of our event was how busy it got. We were concerned with low pre-sale figures that event attendance might be low,  but we packed the house!

“My band had the largest crowd, and they were completely involved and loved us! My band also played the best we have ever played. Everything actually went pretty smooth.”

Country at the Cabin sounds like it turned out to be a great event! We definitely look forward to hearing about it when it comes around again next year!

Event of the Week: Country at the Cabin is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

When your guests are ready for a fun day or night out, they dress the part. A reggae festival brings with it comfortable ensembles, bright colors and dance ready wear. For a fair or carnival, good shoes for walking and a T-shirt you don’t mind getting a little grease from an elephant ear on are more appropriate. A symphony concert might command something more refined, a tie or an elegant gown. And, the accessory that goes with all of them? A custom DuPont Tyvek® wristband!

You Don’t Have to Leave Fashion Behind

When planning your opus event, you don’t have to leave fashion behind! Event Wristbands can be customized to fit any occasion and any audience. Whether your guests walk in straight from the streets or all dressed up as haute elites, you can design and print custom paper bracelets to fit their style and serve your purpose.

For your reggae crowd, go bright with festival wristbands in a variety of colors. Red, yellow, and green wrist bands are the perfect way to show off a little Rasta pride and allow you to manage your crowd effectively, while staying in the groove of the event.

Fairs and carnivals can benefit, too. Manage admission to special events and rides with festive carnival wristbands and make it easier than ever to keep your event secure without sacrificing any of the fun.

You can keep it understated for your fashion forward crowd. Custom wristbands in complementary colors, ensure their outfits won’t clash with the collateral and help you maintain an orderly and dignified event.

Make Art of Wristbands

Of course, you can choose to print Event Wristbands in just one color or you can add your own design, making them one of a kind and even more coveted by your fashionistas! There is room for your own unique image. Imagine your stylish logo or event branding gracing the wrists of hundreds or thousands of guests!

Green is the New Black

If your guests are style conscious, they’ll appreciate the fact that Tyvek® is recyclable. Green is definitely in this season, so show off your commitment to environmental sustainability by giving your guests the option to reduce waste and recycle when they depart the venue.

Function and Form

Tyvek® wristbands for events aren’t just the sought after ornament of your fashion forward guests. They also serve a number of important functions during your big occasion. From security to crowd control, they help your event run smoothly from start to finish.

Not only do they help you to identify who should be at the venue, they allow you to make sure the right guests are in the right places. A coveted backstage visit or special event can be managed quickly and easily, simply by checking the color of your guests’ admission wristbands. If you’re serving drinks, bar wristbands help to make sure that younger guests are not able to imbibe. For added security, you can include sequential numbering or a holographic design in order ensuring authenticity.

Style on a Dime

You don’t have to break the bank in order to print custom wristbands for your event. Inexpensive Tyvek® wristbands can be designed and printed online. Order them in bulk and you may qualify for an added discount. You’ll have revenue left over to buy that fancy outfit you were planning to wear to your successful event!

Make It Stylish! is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Food-lovers are an ample and diverse crowd with diverse dietary needs. There are vegans, vegetarians, diabetics, carnivores, those needing gluten-free foods, Paleolithic, or kosher diets. Some people are allergic to dairy, while others will only eat cruelty-free animal products, raw foods, or grass-fed beef. This summer, millions of people with a common interest in food and radically different tastes will flock to food festivals all over the country. Customized, color-coded wristbands can increase the efficiency and safety of your event.

All you need to do is determine which categories of dietary restrictions are most likely to be represented at your event, then be sure that your vendors tag their offerings with the same visual color-code as your Event Wristbands. Here’s how.

* Decide on Your Color-Coding: Once you’ve settled on your categories, assign each one a color. For instance, you may choose red for meat-eaters, green for vegans, and so forth. Be sure to consider ease of use for the staff and participants at the festival. You should distribute the coded list that corresponds to color and significant to vendors and staff in advance, so they can become familiar with it. Be sure to print out extra wristbands, so that vendors can attach the correct colors to sample dishes or menus, allowing your guests to know at a glance if the food is right for them.

* Have Fun with the Design: For each wristband, in addition to the color-coding, you may also include a graphic that shows the wearer’s dietary needs. For a vegan, you may include a graphic of fresh veggies, while a vegetarian who eats dairy may have the veggies with an egg. Meat-eaters’ wristband may have an animal, and so forth. Have fun with his aspect of the design and your Event Wristbands, with some simple printing, become engaging to the wearer. Most people are proud of their dietary choices and consider them part of their identity, so a meat-eater may proudly display a bracelet with a cow on it, while the vegan will be equally happy to show off their carrot design, providing your festival more free publicity.

* The 21 and Over Crowd: No matter what you decide upon for your final design, if you will serve alcoholic beverages, you need a fast way of identifying whether the wearer is 21 years of age or over. Something as simple as a square that may be stamped or checked on the wristband can show alcohol vendors that the wearer is of legal age, proving that they were carded upon entrance into the event. Or, you can distribute a second wristband with a radically different design and color for easy identification.

* Keep It Simple: A multi-level system of Event Wristbands works best when it is simple, allowing vendors and staff to identify distinctions at a glance. Imagine how grateful a vegan will be if someone is able to shout, “Hey, do you really want to eat that? It’s fried in lard!” upon glimpsing the green bracelet around their wrist and the chimichanga in their hand. Fortunately, once you’ve created your color-coded system, it’s easy to order and print your wristbands online. A little bit of advance thought will make your event that much more successful, and your patrons will be grateful. No one will have to quiz busy food-prep workers about ingredients. Nobody will have to stand in line hungry while someone else quizzes busy food-prep workers.

* Adding Advertising: In any case, your Event Wristbands will serve another purpose: advertisement. Adding the logo of your company, sponsor, or organization provides added exposure for the event and the group. People will be wearing your wristband throughout the day and perhaps into the following day. Choose a waterproof DuPont Tyvek wristband, to guard against weather and hand-washing and let that paper bracelet do its work as long as it hangs around. No matter how small the space, don’t forget to add that extra advertisement.

It may seem like a radical idea, but people are more concerned with their diets than ever. Give your guests what they want by color-coding your wristbands for dietary restrictions at your next food festival!

Picky Eaters: Event Wristbands for Food Festivals is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

            From print to radio, from television to the internet, the medium for selling event tickets seems to be ever evolving. While the internet appears to be the frontier of the future, the focus has shifted from traditional web advertising. Promoting your event tickets through a web site is still essential, yes, but now it’s a part of a larger movement, that of social media marketing.

            Aside from being fairly easy to implement, social media marketing is also extremely inexpensive.  No matter the cost, though, you want to get a return on your investment, be it money or time. Here are a few aspects to focus on when using social media marketing to sell your event tickets:

·      Frequency

·      Interaction

·      Quantity vs. Quality

·      Integration

These four items are key to being successful as you jump into the world of social media.

Like Clockwork

            Part of the appeal of using social media platforms for marketing is the frequency with which you can send out your message. Web users are constantly looking for new information, and sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter allow you to give them that information. You need to mention your event tickets as frequently as possible, so your promotion doesn’t get lost in the constant information stream.

            Remember, all news is important in the social media world.  If you’ve just designed your event tickets, mention it online. Even if you’ve just started considering what your event tickets should look like, bring that up. Frequent updates engage your audience and make the process more personal, no matter how tiny the detail might be.           

A Part of the Team

            The internet allows you to interact with your audience like no other medium and social media sites take this to the next level.  That germ of an idea for the design of your event tickets? See what your audience thinks. Invite them into the process. You don’t have to listen to their suggestions; you just have to ask for them. The simple act of listening to your audience will draw them in.

            Get them talking. Allow comments on your posts on sites like Blogger and WordPress. Create a posting board. Encourage discussion on every aspect of your event, from the aforementioned event tickets to reviews afterwards. Getting them to come back for updates is great, but getting them to come back because they want to interact is even better.

Playing the Odds

            When promoting your event tickets online, try to cast as wide of a net as possible. Networking can spread like wildfire, as one connections links you to another who links you to another and so on. Your target demographic for event tickets is simply your first audience, but they are certainly not your last. Once you connect with them, you can expect your message to spread.

            If you’re creating compelling content about your event tickets, your updates will get passed along from person to person, and suddenly a link to your site is popping up everywhere. This makes up your expanded audience, those who end up visiting your site and investigating your event tickets because they saw a link somewhere.

            It’s the grapevine of the 21^st century!

Headquarters

            It is absolutely essential that, while promoting your event tickets, you have all of your online interactions point back to your web site. Your latest status update may be interesting enough to gain you new fans, but unless they are following you back to your web site, it won’t translate into event ticket sales.

            The process works both ways. It easier than ever to imbed your social media updates into your web site. You want to make sure that anyone who comes to your site directly can also follow you through other sites. Once they add you as a friend or a follower, they indirectly become a part of your marketing team!

            Social media marketing is a cost effective, high traffic way of selling more of your event tickets. With just a little bit of time and effort, you can receive a big return on your small investment!

How to Make Virtual Friends and Influence People is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

            They’re trophies.

            I don’t know who it was that originally taught me to do it.  I’m not even sure I was aware of the tradition until I’d already been to a few shows and disregarded what was left of my concert tickets.  But at some point, I realized those stubs had value, and that they were part of a long standing concert going tradition, a tradition that’s important to keep in mind when printing event tickets of your own.

CD Display Case

            The stub from a concert ticket is a piece of personal history and, as such, needs a place to be put on display, a way of cherishing and remembering that concert for years to come.  The advent of CDs, or more specifically CD cases, gave people the perfect place to put those event tickets.

            The idea is a simple one: take a CD by the musical act you just saw, and place the ticket from that show in front of the CD insert.  If you see a musical act multiple times, then follow the same routine with multiple albums.  In some ways it becomes motivation to go to more shows in an effort to get a ticket stub for every album.  The ticket stubs serve to promote the next show without even trying!

The Digital Revolution

            A few years ago, I decided to make the big switch from CDs to a digital only music library.  I spent hours a day ripping my CDs into media files and then getting those CDs ready to sell.  But I had forgotten about one thing: my concert tickets!

            Without my convenient display cases, what was I supposed to do with all the concert tickets I’d accumulated over the years?  I couldn’t just get rid of them, not have all this time!

            It was then that I realized just how important custom concert tickets were.

The New Frontier of Stub Collecting

            Concert tickets are like snapshots of moments in life, so I figured I should treat them just like I would pictures and give them their own album or, better yet, incorporate them into my pre-existing photo albums.

            Putting them on display by themselves, though, really underscored how important the look of a concert ticket is.  A generic event ticket is fine for conveying information and still manages to induce nostalgia for shows gone by, but a custom printed ticket really stands out and makes those memories flood back even more vividly.

Make Your Tickets Memorable

This is essential when considering custom printed event tickets: make them memorable! With a wide variety of event ticket templates to choose from and the ability to personalize your event tickets, you can make sure that even the left over stubs are able to keep the memory of your event fresh in your audience’s memory.

            In the end, memorable event tickets can mean repeat business, and repeat business is good news!

The Second Life of Ticket Stubs is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Whether your school is putting on a fundraiser carnival and you want to get all the parents, teachers and students involved, or you're touring with your new band and want to see plenty of faces at the venue, you'll need to manage a campaign that will generate interest in your event. Throughout the course of your promotion, you might manage an online marketing plan, rely on word or mouth, or print event tickets, posters, flyers, invitations, and other promotional materials that raise your visibility.

Online marketing helps you reach a wider audience, share details and market event tickets. Buzz generated by friends, family and fans is  great for grassroots marketing, and physical collateral gives your event a real world presence. These promotional materials, especially event tickets, can be the most powerful tools in your marketing plan.

More than Just an Event Ticket

Take a moment to consider event tickets. Obviously, you'll need admission tickets to get folks through the turnstiles, but that's not their only use. Custom printed tickets can serve several important functions at your event.

Marketing Tools—When you design event tickets for your occasion, you have a choice. If you're thinking only of function, any tickets will do. However, the admission ticket may be your attendees first point of contact with your event. So much more can be included than a simple "admit one." Imagine how including formal branding and event details can raise profile of your event.

Crowd Management and Tracking Tools—Secure, numbered tickets with perforated stubs can be useful in the management of people into and out of your event and at particular venues within it. Custom tickets allow you to maintain the integrity of your event. Secure numbering and detachable stubs allows you to track the flow of guests into the gates. Selling Drink Tickets and custom passes, such as VIP passes, before the event allow you to manage concessions and activities quickly and safely. They allow you to keep cash exchanges more centralized and secure.

Raffle Management—A well designed ticket is essential for the management of a fundraising raffle.  It's important for your raffle tickets to not only contain important details, but they should also have secure numbering, detachable stubs and room for the guests' details, as well. These tickets aren't just meant to get guests through the gate. They're used to manage the entire lifecycle of the raffle. Event organizers can track ticket buyers through the numbering system, and the stubs are used for the raffle draw.

Door Prizes—Much like raffle tickets, a well designed admission ticket can be used to manage door prizes. Ticket sellers can hold onto stubs when guests come through the gate and announce winners throughout the event. This encourages folks to hold onto their custom event tickets throughout the occasion.

Memory Management—A great ticket might be the only souvenir a guest takes away from the occasion. Why not make it memorable? Strong imagery and branding will help the memory of your event to remain with your guests far into the future.

Beyond “Admit One”: Different Uses for Event Tickets is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

My buddy’s band was just starting out. They’d practiced in his garage, played some family events, and gained a following after booking gigs at small clubs, usually as the opening act. They had fan pages on Facebook and MySpace and were growing their base. They’d recorded a couple CD singles to pass out to music-lovers, critics, local radio DJs, and others in the music industry and had just put together a full-length CD. They were ready to move on to the next level. They wanted to book and promote a live concert on their own terms—a CD release party—for their fans, and make it all about the music. They worked, begged, and borrowed to get the cash to invest in themselves. They would reserve a space, take care of their own publicity, and, they hoped, make their money back in sales: from the concert tickets, the T-shirts, band stickers, and posters, and, of course, selling their CDs.

It was a controversial decision, but they chose to handle their own ticket sales, including designing and printing their own event tickets online. That part was easy, since anyone can find an online ticket printer, choose a relevant design, and fill out a ticket template. The template even reminded them to add all the important details: who, what, when, and where. Some readers may be interested in their process:

When and Where

As with any event, they needed to consider the best time and place to have the concert, limited, of course, by the number of suitable local venues and available nights for shows. You must consider times and places that would give your band the best exposure and best turnout. If there is a festival or fair in the area where your concert will be, decide whether this would add or detract from your event ticket sales. Sometimes other events can assist you in securing a large turnout, or they may hinder turnout; these are factors that must be considered in choosing a time and a venue.

Printable: Your Customized Event Tickets

Once they chose the time and place and booked the space, they began to design event tickets for the concert. As I said, they used online event ticket templates to create their own unique custom tickets. You may want to add your band logo to the ticket in addition to the information about the concert, and many ticket templates let you upload an image right from your hard drive. You can also choose a design that signifies your musical genre: a saxophone for a jazz quartet, an electric guitar for a rock band. After the tickets are designed, you should be able to generate a ticket proof. Some companies will send you free samples of their tickets so you can check out the quality, but for the most part, the proof should show you exactly what your ticket will look like.

Price of Admission

You’ve got to take into account what concert tickets cost in your area, and my friends considered all their expenses in deciding on a ticket price, including factoring the cost of printing the tickets, reserving the venue, and the venue’s minimum bar guarantee (some clubs will ask you to pay extra if your fans do not spend a certain amount on drinks!). One the one hand, you’re an artist and you want to create something beautiful, but on the other hand, you need to make profit from the concert. The exposure you receive is important, but if you don’t break even, you can’t repay your investors or promote another show, so consider a reasonable amount for the tickets that will also result in a profit for the band. Selling merchandise—T-shirts, posters, and CDs—at the show should earn you money, too.

Distribution: Get the Tickets Out

Gather your friends, family, and fans and get the word-of-mouth network going. You can sell face to face, but you should also consider an online ticket sales application. My friends had great success with a new site called TicketRiver.com, where they could sell e-tickets at no cost to themselves. Use all your networking tools to advertise: website, email lists, Facebook and Myspace, music forums, newsletters, and blogs to promote your concert. Make sure everything knows where they can get the tickets to your concert. Distributing tickets via a local radio station along with local and indie record stores will also help you to reach out and attract the audience who most desire to attend your concert.

Let’s Put on a Show: Selling Concert Tickets is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Your promotional materials are the first word in a discussion between you and your guests, and your event tickets are part of the publicity. Tickets should contain any and all information you desire your participants to know: What, Where, When, and even a Why will not only help to attract your participants, but will function as a reminder to them to attend the event.

*  Event Ticket Design and Ticket Templates: Research event ticket designs and use an online ticket template to make your idea a reality. If your event has a logo, include it on the template, or use your sponsor’s logo. Don’t forget any pertinent information, such as your website or phone number, in addition to What, Where, When, and Why.

*  Creative Uses of Event Tickets: Depending on your event, you may or may not want to charge for the tickets. Free souvenir tickets may merely be a way to add a special dimension to your event and serve as a reminder to participants. Either way, event tickets add an element of exclusivity. Whether the ticket is purchased, raffled, or given away, you can’t get in without one.

*  Proofread Again and Again: The last thing you want is to design, create, print, and distribute your tickets only to find an error after the fact. When you receive your proof, proofread diligently. Check for typos, misspellings, or wrong dates, and times. It is most helpful if more than one person is proofreading.

*  Distribution of Event Tickets: Again, the way in which you distribute your tickets depends on the event itself. If it is a fundraiser, you will want to charge for the tickets. If your intent is to attract a large volume of participants, even if the tickets are free, you still need to pay attention to distribution. If your event is to raise awareness about a problem in your community and sheer numbers will help to make change happen, pound the pavement and distribute tickets all around the community. If the event requires paid tickets for entry, decide where you can most effectively sell them. If your event is to raise money for a larger cause such as hunger in America, visit places that attract people who have money to donate as well as money to buy the tickets to the event.

*  To Raffle or Not to Raffle:  You can print separate raffle tickets, or the event tickets can also function as raffle tickets for door prizes at the actual event. The best event tickets are individually numbered on the body and stub of the ticket, so it’s easy to keep track.

You’ve put plenty of effort into publicity and promotion. Don’t overlook the role of the humble event ticket in your efforts to attract guests to your gathering!

Event Ticket Essentials: Getting the Most Out of Your Event Tickets is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog

Event Tickets: The Importance of Professional Event Collateral

When you're planning an event big or small, creating and printing professional promotional materials and event tickets are an essential part of the preparation process. You want to choose collateral and print event tickets that showcase your organization and your event. One place to start is by shopping for and creating your promotional materials online and customizing them with an event ticket template.

Well designed and promotional materials and event tickets can enhance your event immeasurably. Event Tickets provide essential details for your attendees, such as information about the organization, where and when the event will be held, including activities and entertainment that will occur. Professionally printing event tickets offers a number of advantages. Event tickets help you manage your admission queues and food and beverage lines. They allow you to make sure the right guests get into special events, and they are essential for fundraising raffles. Additionally, the design of your event collateral can help set the tone for your event, ensuring your guests remember it long after it is over.

Event Ticket Design Essentials

Are you planning on printing event tickets for your next big occasion? You'll want to make sure that they look good, and they include the right information.  There are several elements you should look for when filling out any event ticket templates.

Professional design—Make sure the design you choose fits your purpose. Your event tickets may provide your guests with their first glimpse of what's to come. If the event is a refined art opening, perhaps something elegant and understated is called for. If it's a school carnival, you'll want something colorful and kid friendly.

Space for your custom information—When you print event tickets, they should have enough space for the important details of your event. You'll want to let guests know some important things in this space: what the event is, when and where it's being held, who the special guests are, and if it's a fundraiser, for what cause or purpose you are raising the money for.

Remember to make sure your details are clear and concise while conveying the feel of your event. It's also important to proofread your text to make sure there aren't any misspellings and the details are correct. Your attendees will appreciate your attention to detail.

Space for your logos or photos—Some event ticket templates include space for your own custom photos and logos. This is a great place to brand the event with your organization's or sponsors' seal or to share images of your headlining act.

Secure numbering—When printing event tickets, it's imperative that they include secure, individual numbering. This allows you to track your ticket sales and better manage your attendees and food and beverage lines. Individual numbering is especially important when you are holding a raffle, as these numbers are used to identify the guests who purchase the winning tickets.

A detachable stub—A detachable or perforated stub allows you to manage admissions to a variety of activities at your event. They're an important part of any raffle, as you the winners tickets will need to match the stub from the draw. The detachable stub also lets your guests keep part of the ticket as a keepsake, while allowing you to track your ticket sales.

Now You're Ready to Print Event Tickets

Look for these basic elements listed above when working with event ticket printers to create, customize and print event tickets.  You will find it easier to track ticket sales and guests, and your event will benefit from your well thought out event ticket design.

Effective Event Ticket Design is a post from: TicketPrinting.com Blog