Whether you’ve just left the sunny days of summer behind or the season is just around the corner, any time of year is a great time to put your picnic planning hat on! Family reunions, neighborhood get-to-know-yous, and big fundraisers for your favorite causes go perfectly against the backdrop of sunshine and comfort food.
With a little preparation and dedication, your picnic party will be a success. From picking the right venue, choosing a catering company, auditioning entertainment, managing transportation and crowd control, you’ve got some big decisions to make. Consider using event wristbands to help keep things simple.
If you’re expecting a large number of folks, charging for food or serving alcoholic drinks, you should consider managing your guests with Dupont Tyvek wristbands. These helpful accessories are great for single or multiple day events and make it easy for anyone working or volunteering to help manage the crowd. Instead of worrying whether the young guy by the concession booth should really be drinking that beer or if that unfamiliar looking group of folks chowing down on potato salad under the food tent really paid the admission fee, you can relax, knowing that everyone is right where they belong.
With event wristbands, you’ll be able to maintain the integrity of the event, ensuring everyone has fun in the sun! If you’re hosting a company picnic or family reunion, wristbands can help you easily identify members of your party when you throw your event at a venue open to the general public.
Get Active and Enjoy the Weather
Are you planning some activities at your picnic event? Perhaps a little three-legged race or game of volleyball? Everyone wants to join in on the fun. With event wristbands, guests can have a great time without worrying they’ll lose their proof of admission.
Tyvek wristbands fit snuggly around attendees’ wrists. They are made of a durable material that feels a little like paper and a little like plastic. They’re waterproof as well, so if you’re planning a beach or poolside picnic, wristbands are an excellent choice.
Whether you’re having an egg relay, a game of four-square or playing some softball after lunch, encourage your guests to join in! Their event wristbands will stay put, until they decide to take them off at the end of the day.
Buying event tickets has never been easier. From the Internet to overnight delivery, you can offer your audience multiple possibilities for purchasing tickets. Selling event tickets? Provide as many options to your potential audience as possible. The more user friendly you are, the more tickets you’ll sell.
Consider these three aspects when figuring out how you’re going to sell your tickets:
·Where – Physical sales may have decreased with the rise of the internet, but it’s still important to have a real world presence
·How – Can your audience buy online? Over the phone? In local businesses? At the box office the day of the show?
·Why – Determine the reasons your audience are buying these tickets so you can cater to them more efficiently
Location, Location, Location
No matter how great your event, people won’t always come to you. You have to go to the people. When dealing with the virtual world, it’s important to advertise on web sites that target your audience demographic. The Internet is a great way to attract attention, but you want to make sure it’s the kind of attention that’s going to help you sell more event tickets. You don’t want to waste time or money spreading the word to those who won’t listen, or risk losing patrons by advertising on the wrong sites.
The same can be said for real world locations as well. Your marketing plan should be backed by research that tells you exactly where your audience spends their time. If your event features a local attraction, consider making your tickets available for purchase at locally owned businesses instead of the chain stores. If it’s a concert, make sure you have a presence at music stores.
Make sure you cover all the bases, no matter how obvious. Say you’re putting on a performance by an Indian musician. Consider some way of making your event tickets available through Indian restaurants or markets that cater to ethnic food. Even if you can’t sell the tickets themselves, you can at least provide the information necessary for your audience to purchase them, like a phone number to call or a web site address.
Options
The “how” aspect of selling event tickets would seem pretty simple, particularly these days.Armed with a credit or debit card, your audience goes online, picks up the phone, or stands in line to get their tickets. But there are other options out there, and all of them will make it that easier for your customer.
Systems such as Paypal allow users to use their own online transaction service for their purchases. People often prefer to use such a service, as opposed to having to send their credit card information out over the Internet.
E-checks are also becoming more and more popular. Customers simply provide their routing and account numbers and the transactions works just like a check.
Consider the Reasons
It’s important to consider why someone is buying your event tickets and use that information to make their experience easier.
If your event is family oriented or your demographic includes people who buy multiple tickets at one time, consider offering group rates. Not only will this appeal to your audience, but it might encourage those single ticket buyers to invite their friends! Another good tactic for family events is reduced rates for children, with free admission for babies.
Group rates can be used for more than just multiple ticket orders; they’re also great for frequent events. If you plan on having a series of events on a regular basis, then selling event tickets for multiple dates at a discounted price can be a great incentive for your audience, and helps with advanced ticket sales.
Finally, nothing helps you stay connected with your potential audience like starting a mailing list. Both email lists and physical mailing lists let you stay in contact with those who are interested in your event, allowing you to let them know when the event tickets are going to be on sale well in advance.
Making the purchasing experience as user friendly as possible can be the key in making your event a success.
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!
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.
