Putting on an event takes a lot of work, from choosing the right venue to getting the necessary insurance. All of this costs money, and in order to recoup some of that money and hopefully make a profit, you are going to need to sell tickets. With so many different events these days for people to choose from, it has never been harder to fill a concert hall or art gallery. Ticket sales take careful planning and the right use of both online and offline promotion.
To help guarantee a full turnout at your next event, here are useful ticket selling tips from the experts.
1. Sell the Tickets on Your Website
Whether you are a jazz poet or the manager of an acapella group, every performer and artist needs a great website to showcase their work, engage with fans, and, of course, sell tickets. Visitors to your website are there because they are already interested in what you do and so they are far more likely to buy tickets than someone who has never heard of you. You can offer tickets at a discounted price for website subscribers or for fans who buy more than one. Just make sure that your website has a secure payment platform so that customers know their financial details are safe when they buy things from your site. Make sure that your website is well-designed and has videos of your gigs or photos of your artwork to create a buzz amongst potential attendees.
2. Sell the Tickets on a Ticket Website
As well as selling tickets on your own website, you can also sell them on dedicated ticket websites. These sites will allow you to sell your tickets there for a cut of the price or an additional fee. There are benefits to the attendees as you can try rewarding ticket buyers with special discounts for bulk purchases or in an early bird sale. Many of these specialist ticket sites will also help you to market your event through data-driven digital marketing strategies which can seriously help your sales figures. They will also take care of the delivery so that you don’t need to worry about how you will get the tickets to the customers. Particularly if you are planning a large event, using a ticketing website is an absolute must.
3. Sell the Tickets at Your Other Events
The Internet isn’t the only place you can sell tickets and one place where you are guaranteed to be marketing to likely attendees is at one of your other events. If you are a new band with an upcoming show, making the tickets available at your other shows is a surefire way to guarantee some early sales. Fans who are having a great time at your gig are far more likely to buy a ticket for the next one if you sell them right there and then. Set up a stall with your band’s t-shirts and posters, and also sell early bird tickets for your upcoming gigs. You can even offer a loyalty discount for fans to thank them for coming to more than one performance.
4. Sell the Tickets on Facebook
The most effective kind of marketing is always targeted at those people who are most likely to buy your product or come to your event and selling your tickets directly to your Facebook followers is one easy way to guarantee this. Every band, artist, stand-up comedian, and interpretive dance group absolutely must have a great Facebook page to engage with fans, promote upcoming events and releases, and sell tickets. Start talking up the event a few weeks in advance, get a conversation going about what people are most looking forward to, and once you have got everyone interested, get those tickets up on sale. Facebook and other social media can really make or break new acts and knowing how to use it properly for promotion and sales are critical in today’s entertainment and art worlds.
Guaranteeing a great turnout at an event can be difficult but if you approach your sales plan systematically, you can make it a whole lot easier on yourself. It is so important that you assess all the possible marketing channels in order to reach out to potential event attendees. Knowing how to sell tickets on websites, social media, and to people in person will help you to reach everyone who may be interested in your event. Try these useful expert selling tips and you should see your ticket sales improve dramatically.