We all want to put on great events and see attendees happy with the event experience that they receive, but if we don’t make enough revenue then this years event will be considered a failure and next years event won’t take place. So what can we consider to increase our revenue?
1) Pay less for event ticketing
Many event organizers sell tickets using a long established market leading platform. From our research, these ticketing systems can be charging you 3 or 4 times the cost of recent market entrants.
2) Promote your event on social media
If you already have a following on social media then regularly promoting your event through that channel is one way to advertise your event for free. Of course you may get better results using paid advertising on social media but you would need to consider the increased cost.
3) Find a cheaper venue
Before you dismiss this point, if you always use the same venue every year, how long ago was it that you made inquiries in the local area to see if you could get a better deal? Venues come and go. There maybe be a new one with a price tag to suit you.
4) Engage sponsors
If your event brings in a lot of people, or it is a good quality event that makes people feel good then there will be 3rd party companies that will want to be associated with your event. This can be a win-win if the sponsor brings cash to subsidize your event costs and also brings the energy of their own brand to your event too.
5) Reduce ticket payment fees
Getting your attendees to buy tickets is only the start of the ticket revenue journey. Before you receive that money in your bank account you may need to deduct fees paid to the payment provider that helps get the money into your account. The old established ticketing companies have their own networks for this and charge their own fees, newer alternatives use PayPal and Stripe payment processors. Look carefully at the fees they charge and see if you can get yourself a better deal.
6) Social influencer endorsements
More niche than a general celebrity, online social influencers have a specialist subject in which their followers really listen to their opinions and take actions. Could you find out who the influencers are for your event niche and get an influencer to mention the event or even attend the event?
7) List swap with other event organizers
Who runs another event where the attendees might also be interested in your event? It could be a similar event in a different location or totally different local event that achieves a similar attendee experience. Would the organizer be prepared to swap attendee lists with you? You would both increase the number of people you can reach with your marketing.
8) Sell other products at the online ticketing checkout
Don’t restrict your online sales to tickets only. People who love your event will want to buy merchandise online when they buy their tickets. If you have nothing to sell, then consider selling food or drink vouchers online that would allow you to predict sales volumes and reduce waste on the day.
9) Increase ticket prices
I know, it seems like an answer from a text-book. As an event organizer you are walking a fine line between low ticket cost with large numbers of attendees versus high ticket cost with low numbers of attendees. Despite this, how long has it been since you bench marked your ticket price against similar events in the same area or even identical events further away? Is there room for a little increase?
10) Offer “Early Bird” or “last minute” ticket discounts
Sell more tickets by discounting the ticket price early. You could even consider selling tickets earlier than usual at your discounted price. Remember that you should be able to restrict the number of discounted tickets sold, you don’t want to sell the whole event at a discount! Then, if you have capacity in the last days before the event starts you can issue new “last minute” coupons to help sell the event to capacity.
11) Target customers that came to your event before
People who attended last time are likely to be the best people to promote your event to again this time. A little nudge with a reminder of how good an experience they had last time could get them back online buying tickets.
12) Target customers that came to a similar event your ran
If you have ever run another event that went well, include them in your promotion. It won’t be a big leap for them to equate that the same organizing team will lead to a similar event experience for them.
13) Add quality side events that will attract more people
Can you add something within your event that would get people talking? You could invite a celebrity, offer a workshop or put on a display.
14) Run a competition with your ticket holders
Could you increase interest in your event by offering a prize to the ‘nth’ person to buy a ticket? Or could you enter the first 1000 ticket buyers into a free raffle? What if you held a competition for the best photo from last years event?
15) Sell vendor pitches (concessions) for your events
You and your team maybe operating at full capacity running the event and can’t imagine putting anything else on, then how about inviting 3rd parties to pay for the right to sell their goods at your event?
16) Increase the length of the event
Is your venue regularly at full capacity? Could you put the event on for another day? Are there groups of people who are unable to come due to the timing of the event, are there enough people to hold a special day for them? Could you additionally run the event on a working day at a reduced entrance price?
17) Include otherwise overlooked communities
Would your event appeal to other audiences if it was more accessible to them? Could you add side events to make it more attractive to younger people? Are there ways you could open it up to help older or infirm people attend too?
For event organizers, Coconut Tickets is an affordable and flexible online ticketing platform. It is an alternative to the market leading Eventbrite platform. Organizers pay a predictable monthly subscription.
Coconut Tickets makes it easy view who attended your event this year, who are new ticket buyers this year and who came last year but hasn’t bought a ticket yet this year.
Ticket revenue is paid directly into your own Stripe or PayPal account. There is no middle man and no per ticket fees.
Sell vendor pitches (concessions and vendor slots) online with Coconut Tickets. Choose between fixed price pitches or an online auction.
Follow the link here to learn more about Coconut Tickets.