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 21st 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!
All across the country, parents who value education have stepped up for their children. Where funding is cut, PTAs and other concerned groups have begun organizing their own fundraising efforts and selling event tickets to carnivals, dances, fairs, athletic events, and any other gathering for which they see a high level of interest among the student body and a potential for ticket sales.
Yes, it’s sad that federal, state, and local governments can no longer afford the full cost of public schooling for every child in the nation, but empowered parents aren’t dwelling on those deficits. They’re hitting the streets and selling tickets to make up the difference.
Elementary
The youngest children clamor for all kinds of extracurricular activities and don’t need much advance notice to get excited for a fair or carnival. Some organization may have the cash to hire a professional carnival with a midway and rides, but others will find they get the same results with a home-grown event. Ask older kids and teens to work the games and sell treats. You can sell event tickets in advance or at the door, and you can offer different levels of event tickets, offering a certain number of games or snacks with each level of contribution.
Other kid-friendly party events are skating nights (your local rink will work with you to create the perfect fundraiser), book fairs (ask a local author to speak), sports days (organize childrens’ games or work with a local minor league to create a fundraising night), art parties, bicycle races, walk-a-thons, or musical events. Event Tickets for these events will go fast if you advertise properly. Getting popular teachers and parents to act as chaperons is another draw.
Middle School
Older kids, tweens, and younger teens like to do things for themselves, and events for this middle-aged group should be tailored to their new skills. You’ll sell more event tickets if you can organize something that allows them to feel like they’re taking charge of the party. Talent shows are an especially good choice for this age group, as it allows them to showcase their skills in music, acting, and other interests they may be gaining mastery over. Those who don’t wish to perform may be flattered to serve as stage managers or backstage coordinators. Kids will help you create programs, set up the venue, and sell event tickets if they or their friends are performing.
This is also a good age group for day trips. Factor in the cost of transportation, food, and other expenses and calculate how much money you would need to earn to make the trip worth your while as an organizer. A weekend trip to the beach is inexpensive, but generates high interest. Many museums offer free days or student discounts. If you live near a big city, a simple sightseeing bus tour is a huge draw for kids who crave their independence but still need adult supervision. You can sell event tickets to these events well in advance: get a few kids interested and everyone will want a ticket.
HighSchool
As children approach adulthood, they’ll be interested in more grown-up activities. The formal or semi-formal dance is a big deal for teenagers. Especially armed with the knowledge that the profit from every event ticket they buy will go back into their education, most teenagers anticipate such events and plan for them eagerly. Even an informal dance with a DJ or live band will help you sell event tickets and earn more money.
If there is a lot of musical talent in your school, a Battle of the Bands event is another great way to generate interest and sell event tickets. However, most teens aren’t too old for many children’s events. Try to run your own haunted house around Halloween, or hold a field day in the spring with silly events like a sack race or an egg roll. Your best bet is to ask students what kind of events they would prefer.
Teenagers can also take enough interest in their school finances to plan, organize, and execute their own fundraisers: washing cars or selling candy bars to pay for trips and other educational extras. The truly ambitious can learn about business while they earn more money. Some teens will go that extra mile and make baked goods or crafts that they can sell on their own, or in conjunction with other fundraising events.
Ready, Set, Print
Every age group can help you meet your fundraising goals. All you need to do it gauge your students. What event will inspire them to show up? How much can they afford to pay for an event ticket? Once you’ve figured out what, when, where, and how much, you can fill out a free ticket template, print out inexpensive event tickets with colorful designs, and start selling out your educational fundraising event.
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!
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 detailsand 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.
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!
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.
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.
Holidays provide the perfect occasion to host events. They give you a reason to gather folks together to celebrate. With a central theme to plan around, it's easy to come up with event ideas. Not only do holiday events and fundraisers help bring members of your organization together, they give individuals reason to pause and remember,get down and just have fun, or feel charitable and open their pockets. There are plenty to celebrate, so you'll never run out of reasons to host an event.
Deck the Halls!
Planning a promotional strategy for a holiday event can be a fun occasion for your entire organization. Your group has a chance to be creative and choose collateral that really fits the occasion. For big holidays like Christmas, Hanukah, Thanksgiving and Easter, you can print event tickets with the iconic images of the season. Deck your posters with boughs of holly, your flyers with dancing dreidels, your invitations with turkeys and maple leaves and your event tickets with bunnies and springtime blossoms.Just choosing and printing event tickets is enough to get your group in a festive mood and let that spirit of the holiday carry through to the whole event.
Smaller holidays like New Year's, Halloween and the Fourth of July are excellent days to hold big events, as well. They are fun and festive and party throwers and goers alike are in the mood to have a great time. For these kinds of celebrations you can print event tickets that are designed to up the celebratory mood of your guests and let them remember the occasion for years to come.
Seize the Day!
Sometimes you plan events to celebrate a certain holiday, and sometimes holidays give you a reason to celebrate. When you want to organize an event or fundraiser, seize the opportunity to plan it around a special day. There are many smaller holidays all year round. Choose one and go with it! Consider Cinco De Mayo, Super Bowl Sunday, Earth Day and St. Patrick's Day. All provide great themes to plan a party around. You can choose matching designs when you print event tickets and promotional materialsfor your event, and at the same time you can raise awareness about your organization.
Days to Remember
Of course, some holidays provide us all with reasons to reflect. You may gather your community togetheron Memorial Day or Pearl Harbor Day to pay homage to fallen soldiers. Or, you might host an event on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to remember and discuss diversity. When printing event tickets for these occasions, you may choose a design with a more somber or understated theme.
Planning the Right Promotion
One great thing about planning holiday themed events is that they already have a built in theme. You don't have to go too far to find ideas. You can plan your event promotion and manage your event ticket printing online. It's easy to customize your materials using an event ticket template. Simply choose the design, fill in your details and print your event tickets. You'll be on your way to the perfect promotion and the perfect holiday event.
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 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.
