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Low Ticket Sales? 5 Last-Minute Promotions to Pack the House

Event-Promotion-Selling-TicketsWhat do you do when your event is just days away, but you still haven’t sold enough tickets? Don’t panic. There are plenty of last-minute promotions you can do to help boost sales.

Here’s five great ideas:

1. Email Your List

This is the perfect opportunity to use your incredibly valuable email list. These are people who know and like your events. Many may already be attending, but there’s a good chance a decent portion haven’t bought tickets yet. Send out an email to let your list know the event is happening and ask that they pass it on to friends.

Don’t just send one email and call it good. Re-send the same email to those who didn’t open it the first time. Use words that convince the attendee to buy tickets, such as, “the clock is ticking on your tickets; don’t miss your chance to see So-and-So perform.”

You don’t have to lie. If there are loads of tickets left, use a phrase like “limited quantities available.”

2. Hype It on Social

With the same language you used in your email, use your social media to hype the event. You could even post it with a video. Use Slidely or another service to create a short promo video (very easy) and use it in a paid Facebook campaign for events.

Don’t forget to link to your ticket page.

Pro tip: Ask your close friends and family to help hype your event on their social media. Only do this occasionally, because you don’t want to become THAT person.

3. Post Your Event on Community Boards

It may seem like a waste of time, but posting on community boards can help you sell those last few tickets. People look for things to do in all kinds of places. Post your event to NextDoor, Craigslist, and any other community forums you can find.

4. Contact Influencers and Bloggers

It’s probably too last to get listed in a major printed publications, but bloggers and influencers have the ability to post a few days before. Do your research and make sure that your event is a good match for the audience.

Pro Tip: To incentivize them to write, offer a couple free tickets to give away on their website.

5. Paper the House

If the event you’re putting on is something that you absolutely need to be full for some reason—for instance, to impress sponsors, or for a live recording—don’t hesitate to paper the house. Papering the house is just a fancy way of saying, “give the rest of your tickets away for free.” If the tickets are going to go to waste anyway, why not put some bodies in the seats?

Give stacks of tickets to hotel concierges, baristas and servers. Keep a stack on you at all times and give them away to anyone you feel might be interested. These people could potentially become faithful followers.

Pro Tip: Contact us if you’d like bulk tickets printed ahead of time.

Want one-on-one, completely free, promotion help from experts? Email our promo team.

Event Tips >

The Event Organizer’s Guide to Facebook Live

FacebookLive_forEventsFacebook Live can boost event attendance, grow your contacts and engage followers. According to HubSpot, Live videos experience three times the engagement of traditional videos.

It is a powerful tool for event marketing. So why aren’t more event organizers going live?

There’s the shaky camera angles, dull footage, unreliable Wi-Fi and the possibility of capturing something that went woefully “wrong” during the event. It’s embarrassing if done poorly and the possibility of your brand making the Top 10 Social Media Mishaps of the Year goes up.

But don’t let that scare you. Use this guide to going Live.

Before You Facebook Live…

Test out Live on your personal account, a test account or by changing the settings on your video to “only me.”

Make sure your venue will have a reliable wireless connection.

Use a tripod or a selfie stick. If you go Live spur-of-the-moment, brace yourself against a post or tree and hold that hand steady.

Only use Live if you plan to record for at least 10 minutes. The longer your video, the more people will interact with and “react” to it.

Don’t waste a Live video on snoozefests—awkward interviews, dry presentations, fuzzy, glitch videos. Remember, the first rule of content is quality matters. If it’s not up to par, just don’t do it.

Get close. Sit in the press box or in the front row. Before you start your Live video, assess the lighting—does it seem dark and blurry? Can you barely see the stage? Whatever you see now, will likely look worse in the video.

How to Use Facebook Live

Optional: Write a status update that you will do Live coverage of your event at such-and-such time and date. If this is the first time you’re going Live, consider this carefully – the last thing you want to do is promote coverage that you can’t deliver because of a technical glitch.

Here’s an example: We’re broadcasting LIVE at 9:00 PST tomorrow. If you can’t be there in person, tune in to our Facebook to see our #giantbicyclefest.

Steps to going live:

  • Go to the News Feed and tap the red video icon. If you cannot see this graphic, your wireless is not strong enough to go live.
  • Allow Facebook access to both your microphone and your camera.
  • Write the description of your Live video. (You should already have it in mind. Use your event hashtag). Consider capitalizing LIVE so it stands out in notifications.
  • Make sure the camera is pointing the right way before you tap the Go Live button. You will see a 3…2…1 countdown.
  • You may not see many views at first, but then they will begin pouring in, indicated by the number next to the eyeball.
  • Say hi to your followers commenting on your post.
  • Add a silly filter, doodle or mask by tapping the magic wand at the top.

Got questions about going Live? Contact our promo department, they’re happy to consult you on your event promotions.

 

Event Tips >

How to Write Email Newsletters that Actually Get Opened

EmailNewsletterInvites-Hands-CoffeeEveryone who puts on events shares a terrible fear: what if no one shows up? If you do nothing to promote your event, it’s a real possibility. Email newsletters are a viable promotion channel, especially for those who have fan clubs and mailing lists. Yes, they take a little bit longer to create than the average social media post and (if you have a large mailing list) can be costly.

But a well-designed and well-written newsletter is worth the effort. Increase your open rates and get those RSVPs pouring in. Here’s how:

Grow Your Email List

  • To have a newsletter in the first place, you need a list of email addresses. Check legal requirements in your state for what constitutes spam and follow those rules.
  • At events and trade shows, have a sign-up sheet for your newsletter or a fishbowl for attendees to drop business cards.
  • Place the newsletter sign-up box in the footer of your website’s homepage and if possible, on your Facebook page. Tell potential subscribers what to expect from the list and how often you will email.
  • Include sharing buttons in your invites. That way, your subscribers can easily forward it to friends, which they are more likely to do if there are incentives, such as ticket discounts.
  • If you’re a musician or show producer, give your email subscribers the VIP treatment. Send exclusive access to new music and/or special pricing. DIY Musician recommends that you trade newsletters with another artist or band to grow your list.

Increase Newsletter Open Rates

Confession: my personal email inbox has 2,000 emails and most of those are promotional newsletters. ‘Inbox Zero’ is a losing battle. To get a newsletter invite opened in an inbox as stuffed as mine, you need to use clever copywriting.

  • Include the words, ‘You’re Invited’ in the subject line. It’s clear, simple, direct, and intriguing.
  • Personalize your newsletter invites. According to Campaign Monitor, emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened.
  • Write something clever, irresistible, the kind of subject line that begs you to open the email.

Not Like This:

GET TICKETS NOW!!!!
Hurry! Discounted Tickets Inside
Don’t Miss This Event This Saturday at 9:00 PM in Everett

Avoid all-caps, exclamation points, and writing that fails to describe what’s inside. Don’t use words that trigger spam filters, such as “free,” “clearance,” and “guarantee.”

More Like This:

Pssst… Your Friends Are Going to This
RSVP for Our Best Show This Year
We Don’t Have Jetpacks. We Do Have This…

Take Us to the Shiny Details

Jim Nelson once said, “Never open a book with weather.”

The equivalent for event promoters and copywriters: “Never open your newsletter with a big block of text that has nothing to do with your event.”

Opening lines matter. It’s 2017, age of the flea-size attention span. Make the most important details stand out. Get right to the time, location, cost, and other key details such as parking and transportation. Include a prominent call-to-action button that takes the potential attendee right to the page to buy tickets.

Share your advice. Comment below with your email invite tips and techniques.

Event Tips >

The Event Organizer’s Guide to Instagram

Instagram_Birds-EventOrganizersWhen it comes to Instagram, event organizers have it easy. By nature, events are interesting and photogenic—ideal subjects for this visual platform. The creativity is endless: focus your phone camera on the stage or the crowd, feature dressed-to-kill festival attendees, publish short videos of a rehearsal or head backstage for pics of performers getting all glammed up.

Who Uses Instagram
Millennial users are flocking to Instagram (90% of users are under 35).  This generation responds to authenticity and prefers to spend money on experiences rather than material goods.

In other words, Instagram is a useful marketing tool for reaching an event-going audience. So yes, if you’re an event organizer, Instagram is worth investing time in. And it’s growing fast. According to Brandwatch.com, use has doubled in the last two years.

What to Post
Whatever you do, be real. While it’s OK to post your event flyer once in awhile, to gain followers, keep most of your content non-promotional.

corn-peppers-grillUpdate no more than once a day, no less than once a month. If you update too often, you’ll clog your followers’ feeds. Think of social media as one big party—if you talk too much, people will back away slowly. If you don’t talk enough, you’re the awkward, forgotten-about one in the corner (been there).

According to BufferSocial, “Major brands post an average of 1.5 times per day to Instagram. There’s no drop-off in engagement for posting more, provided you can keep up the rate of posting.” That said, once-to-twice a week is a good, manageable posting schedule. Monday and Thursday are the days with the most user engagement.

If you don’t have “enough” going on to post regularly, show off your personality. Create a #throwbackthursday once in awhile, or post your crew in zany holiday costumes. Or give a behind-the-scenes tour of your sponsor’s facilities.

To encourage engagement, make visual contests—if you’re hosting a pop-up dinner at a mystery locale for example, zoom in on one detail of the venue and have attendees guess where it is. Or have a caption contest, where you ask your followers to caption your pics.

Always ask your attendees’ permission before you take/use their photo.

Instagram’s new “Story” feature works similar to Snapchat – share stories with your followers using images that disappear after 24 hours. Use Story to capture your event’s “essence” on the day-of or to give a sneak preview of your event.

Make Every Shot Count

instagrambpt

Did you know we’re on Instagram? Follow us, we’re goofballs.

Don’t settle for bad lighting or grainy pics from far away. Consider getting a DLSR to create high-quality images.

But phone photography doesn’t mean bad photography. For the love of Leibovitz: Get close. Fill the frame. Change your perspective. Strive for a clean, uncluttered background. Remember the composition rule of thirds (don’t place your subject directly in the center).

If you’re shooting outdoors, target “magic” hour, (aka nature’s photoshop)–the hour before sunset or sunrise, when light is soft.

Instagram isn’t just photography; it’s design. Consult a designer about using filters, collages or creating graphics. Start with an overall vision of what you want your account to express and the type of pictures you want to feature. All black and white? All with the same, super-flattering “Valencia” filter?

Consistency goes a long way in attracting followers.

Instagram Ads
Instagram allows sponsored ads—photo ads, short video ads and swipe-through image carousels. Consider an ad to boost event registration—the cost varies if you’re paying per impression (CPM) (view, likes, comments) or click (CPC). Instagram ads can be useful if you’re trying to lead potential attendees to your event registration page. Just like with Facebook ad targeting, you can target by location, demographics, interests or actions.

Photo credit: photo of birds, Amanda Halm; photo of grilled corn and peppers @FoodInField

Event Tips >