Selling event tickets? Here are 10 Key things you need to know!

Ticket sales are considered as a crucial factor to define the success of any event. Even those event pros find themselves in a challenging situation when it comes to increasing ticket sales. Technology can make or break any business, but if you follow the right approach, there sure stands a chance of having a full house come event day. A few simple yet underutilized tips will help channelize your approach while selling tickets.

Start early promotions – begin promoting and selling 3-4 months before the decided date, specifying hints but not complete details. Eventually, you could offer early bird discounts favoring past attendees and members who have subscribed. This not only creates the need for urgency but could also work as an incentive for more people to get involved.

Promotions could begin using the location as the main selling point. Highlighting popular landmarks, main attractions for outstation attendees, close by bars, would inculcate a level of interest in the customer. At times, the location of the event leaves an image on the customer’s mind about the atmosphere of the event and the kind of attendees.

Create a mobile friendly website – 60% of the customer’s time is spent online through a mobile device compared to a combination of 40% through laptops and desktops.
Chances that a customer will revisit your site or purchase directly is if he or she is given a user-friendly approach. Sites that are mobile friendly and optimized to fit each screen size perfectly stand a 74% chance of a visitor returning to that website.

Research shows that 61% visitors would leave the site midway if the site is not mobile friendly. Easy visibility and navigation is the requirement these days. Develop a responsive website that will resize optimally depending on the device being used.

Simplify the process – Not only should the purchase process be easy and fast, but it should also be concise and clear. Defining the most important aspects of your event with a call to action would be the simplest and most efficient way to convert the site visit to a sale. Hidden costs, registering, verifying emails could lead to drop-offs.

A good SEO will help direct visitors to your website, but if your site has a long loading time, a low rank for mobile friendliness or a lengthy purchase flow, one should not expect the conversion. Data reveals that 57% customers will drop off midway if they have to wait for more than three seconds for a page to load.

Focus on SEO – search accounts for nearly 10% of your ticket sales. Over 83% of the traffic from search engines comes from SEO. If managed well, search engine optimization will rank your website or event page on the top of any search regardless of the keywords or phrases a customer would use in his search.

Including timelines and location on the front of the event, description enhances chances of better visibility in the search. SEO traffic has no costs involved, and thus direct conversions mean a high ROI for this channel.

There is so much seasonality in searches, location-based search engines guide the customer of a particular happening within the specific location and timeline. Your website’s domain authority is also a decisive factor in listing your result on the top of any search.

Privileged pricing to maximize sales – There’s almost nothing more important to your event’s bottom line than your pricing strategy. The idea is to achieve figures, not numbers.
Discounts have to be offered at the right time in the right way failing which the same could lead to a dip in the graph. Discounts should be based on loyalty, quantity, time. Specialized packages for some tickets could be priced higher.

Meanwhile, use data analytics to calculate your conversion rate. Keep track of unique page visitors and the actual buyers. This will help you calculate the ROI of your marketing spend on each channel used depending on which you could select your desired method of marketing.

More than 40% of companies do not measure their ROI objectively which is a major drawback for any business.

Use influencers network – your speakers’/ performers’ social media accounts could serve as a platform for ticket selling. With their large following, promoting the event on their social media or a guest post could work wonders. Their broad appeal and the significant following should be utilized effectively.

Each social media channel works differently but optimizing each channel will lead to an awareness apparently leading to sales. You could also involve others to sell your event. Bloggers, colleagues, corporate tie-ups, affiliates or event sponsors. 10-15% of the ticket sales are expected to come through social media channels. Ticket deals and free tickets on contests could be an option if you have crossed your break even.

Image Credit Dan Matutina via behance

Use visuals – Research states that 650% more engagement is seen with visuals than text posts. When potential customers can see the visuals, they understand the event better and is more likely to make a buying decision.

Most importantly, your visual could be easily shared. The share button will advertently lead to more traffic. Offering instant information of your event through live chat on your website would also act as a perfect pitch to solve any unanswered questions.

Target past attendees – Send bulk mailers or personal notes to your previous event attendees informing them of the forthcoming event.
26% is the average open rate for emails, and so a precise subject line is a must. Deadlines in the text should be a part parcel of the mailer. Loyalty discounts, promo codes or specialized packages for the upcoming event could be a good way to acknowledge their commitment.
If you have a tie up with technology partners, your event could be promoted to the audience with similar interests and purchases as per analytics.

Remarketing – Gone are the traditional ways to search information. It is now all about brand recognition. Retarget your site visitor with remarketing ads. These simple, low-cost campaigns will remind the visitor to stop delaying and start purchasing.

Remarketing should target only visitors that have not converted to your sales but have spent a good amount of time on your site; which would otherwise be unfavorable for your marketing spend. Remarketing campaigns have a slightly higher conversion rate compared to other search campaigns offering a 25% lower CPC (Cost Per Click). You could also have an option for an exit pop up which is a call to action for the visitors who are to exit page. Your call to action should be creative and influential which results in a purchase. Discounts, limited time offer, promo codes are some examples to display for a call to action.

Last minute selling – everyone expects a sold out event. Direct reaching out to customers through mobile marketing could be a great way to reach out to thousands of people telling them about the event which they could have missed online.

Identifying companies and communities and offering them employee or member packages would also be a good way to sell off the extra tickets a week before the event.

An excellent brand recall will help you capture more customers. Remember, selling tickets is an art that one needs to master. Want to know how Explara can help you sell your event tickets better? Request a demo today.