How to Sell Tickets for an Online Event
Though much of the world has returned to in-person get togethers, online events remain a relevant and practical way to connect with audiences and communities around the world. But, getting people to sign up and tune in can be tricky.
Online event planners may face an uphill battle in reaching and recruiting event attendees, as well as dispelling preconceived notions that online events lack both entertainment and engagement. To help organizers work through these challenges, we offer the following advice:
Set up online registration for your virtual event
To sell tickets to any event, you need an eye-catching event website and a ticketing platform with trusted payment processing capabilities. Even if the event is free, a ticketing platform can help ease registration and manage attendee communications.
Fortunately, Ticketbud makes it easy and affordable to create both. That way your audience can learn about and register for your event all in one place, eliminating any barriers to completing registration.
And, setting up an event with Ticketbud does not require any knowledge of html or design. Use the intuitive page editor to plug in relevant event information. Then browse through the site’s all-inclusive toolkit to create unique ticket types, set timelines for registration, and link to your preferred payment processor (if paid event).
Once the event is live, use your Ticketbud URL to promote your event across your marketing channels. If you’re hosting a series or multiple events, consider creating an organization landing page through Ticketbud that directs others to your entire event calendar.
Promote across all communications channels
It’s not enough to have an event website. You also have to market and promote it in order for the world to see.
These days, the average person uses more than six social media platforms. So, being present on social media and keeping your messaging and marketing consistent across your channels will make it more likely that your audience will recognize and respond to your branding.
As you work to promote on social media, it’s important to tap into the network and followers held by any of your event partners, speakers, or sponsors. Use these connections and their channels to help elevate and expand your marketing efforts. You can do this by tagging them in relevant posts or by providing them with visual and written content to post organically.
Remember, the purpose of social media is to engage. So, be creative in ways that you can get people to interact with your content. The more people who interact with it, the wider your potential reach.
To tap into audiences who already know and trust you, it’s also important to build robust newsletter and email campaigns. These folks may be helpful in referring others to your event.
Offer incentives to sell more tickets
One of the most influential tactics to promoting sales is creating the idea of scarcity, or the idea that time or quantity is limited. According to Cornell psychology expert Michael Lynn, this tactic increases desirability in the product by making it feel more exclusive and valuable to the consumer.
Consider ways you can easily induce a sense of scarcity within your ticket sales or registration:
- Setting time limits on registration – Create a registration deadline and communicate it often across your channels to remind your audiences that time is running out.
- Offering discounts – Reward your loyal customers with exclusive savings, or entice newcomers to engage with you by providing discounts. Discounts may give people the push they need to complete their ticket sale.
You can manage both tactics with Ticketbud’s ticket editor, which allows you to create multiple ticket types, set and automate sales and registration timelines, and create discount codes and timed promotions for running exclusive sales.
Additionally, the tool also enables you to track the success of your sales tactics and marketing promotions through referral codes. These codes generate special links to your website so you can monitor what posts or campaigns are generating the most traffic to your site.
Research and select a ticketing software that makes sense for you
When choosing an event ticketing system, look for one that makes selling tickets as easy and secure as possible. A reliable event ticketing platform should provide useful tools such as:
- Event page builder and editor
- Online payment processing
- Customizable digital tickets
- Social media and advertising options
- Communication and messaging
- Detailed sales and customer reports
- Mobile friendly interface and check-in options