How to Sell Tickets to Your Event with Ease: Tips for Nonprofits

Organizing an event can be all fun and games until you have to sell event tickets, i.e. convince people to take out their wallets and let loose some cash. Event organizers face numerous challenges when trying to sell event tickets, including convincing people to take out their wallets and let loose some cash.

This isn’t an easy feat by any means. And in all of this, people have to do a lot of planning to see if they can make it to the event.

To facilitate them, you have to make sure that you advertise your event way ahead of the day to give people ample time to make space in their calendars.

We also have a few other tips for nonprofits like you that can help you easily sell those tickets.

1. Define Your Target Audience

Defining your target audience is crucial for selling event tickets. Understanding who your ideal attendees are, what they’re interested in, and what motivates them to buy tickets will help you tailor your marketing efforts and increase ticket sales. To define your target audience, consider factors such as demographics, interests, behaviors, and pain points. Use social media analytics tools to gather data about your followers and create buyer personas to guide your marketing strategy.

2. Set Clear Event Goals and Objectives

Setting clear event goals and objectives is essential for measuring the success of your event ticket sales. Determine what you want to achieve with your event, such as selling a certain number of tickets, generating revenue, or increasing brand awareness. Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals to guide your marketing efforts and track your progress.

3. Plan Your Event Format

The first step in event ticketing is deciding the event format. From galas and online auctions to concerts and marathons, the options are diverse and exciting. After the pandemic, the world now has three options to choose from:

• Virtual
• Hybrid
• In-person events

Your choice of the event will depend on several factors. One key factor is the target audience. The audience you’re trying to reach and engage can help determine the most suitable event format.

For example, a charity auction might appeal to art enthusiasts and collectors, while a fun run could attract health-conscious individuals passionate about a cause.

Secondly, you need to factor in your organization’s resources and capabilities. Hosting a large-scale gala requires significant planning and financial investment, whereas a smaller community-based event might be more manageable.

Once you carefully consider your audience, resources, and goals, you will have a clear line of direction.

4. Develop an Engaging Event Concept

Developing an engaging event concept is critical for attracting attendees and selling event tickets. Create an event concept that resonates with your target audience, including a unique theme, engaging content, and interactive experiences. Use social media to promote your event concept and generate buzz around your event.

5. Design an Attractive Event Page

Designing an attractive event page is essential for selling event tickets online. Create an event page that is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and provides all the necessary event details. Use high-quality images, clear typography, and a prominent call-to-action (CTA) to encourage ticket sales. Ensure that your event page is optimized for mobile devices and provides a seamless user experience.

6. Set Your Ticket Price

Now comes the tricky part: setting a ticket price. But don’t worry, there’s a solution for everything. We have a few suggestions to help you set the right price:

• Assess your costs: Calculate the expenses associated with organizing the event, including venue, staff, marketing, and any special activities or entertainment. Ensure your ticket price covers these costs while leaving room for fundraising.
• Consider value perception: Strike a balance between affordability and perceived value. Offer various ticket tiers that cater to different budgets and provide added benefits to higher-priced tickets, such as exclusive access or VIP experiences.
• Competitive analysis: Research similar events in your area to gauge the pricing range. Make sure your ticket price aligns with the market while considering the uniqueness and impact of your event.

Consider the impact of online ticket sales on your pricing strategy to ensure you remain competitive and accessible.

7. Offer Early Bird Discounts

Early bird discounts can be a great way to sell your tickets way ahead of the event and with ease. Below are the benefits they bring:

• It creates a sense of urgency and entices potential attendees to act fast.
• Let’s face it, we all appreciate a good deal. This offer appeals to budget-conscious individuals who are on the lookout for value.
• People love being part of exclusive deals, which builds excitement for your event long before it takes place.
• When you sell tickets early, you can better predict attendance numbers and plan accordingly. The revenue generated from early bird ticket sales can help cover event costs, boost your budget, and fund additional event enhancements. Early bird discounts can help you sell more event tickets by incentivizing early purchases.

8. Use Social Media

In the digital age, you can’t ignore the importance of social media. You must use it to generate buzz around your event and get people excited about it. Keep pushing posts toward your target audience and potential ticket buyers so they retain the information.

Do ensure you’ve made sufficient touch points with them on socials, so by the time you start pushing the ticket sales, they take prompt action.

Think of visuals that catch the eye. Tell compelling stories, and write attention-grabbing captions because they work like a charm. Jump on relevant hashtags related to your cause and event to boost visibility.

9. Leverage Email Marketing for Event Ticket Sales

Leveraging email marketing is an effective way to sell event tickets. Build an email list of potential attendees and create targeted email campaigns to promote your event. Use email marketing automation tools to personalize your emails, create a sense of urgency, and encourage ticket sales. Offer exclusive discounts or promotions to your email subscribers to incentivize them to buy tickets.

10. Create a Sense of Urgency

Try the FOMO (fear of missing out) method; it works wonders. Communicate how many tickets are available to create a sense of urgency and prompt quicker purchases. One way to do so is to offer limited-time promotions. This encourages people to buy tickets sooner rather than later, knowing that they’ll save money or get a special deal.

Another way around it is to emphasize the importance of the event and the impact it will have on the community.

Use strong language (words like ‘today’ and ‘now’) and vivid imagery to convey the excitement and energy of the event.

You can also create a sense of exclusivity by limiting the number of tickets available or offering VIP packages. By making people feel like they’re part of something special, you can motivate them to act quickly and buy tickets before they sell out.

11. Make Your Event Fun

No matter how obvious it sounds, you need to know that no one likes attending boring events. So you can use these tips to make your event exciting:

• Include things like games, photo booths, contests, live demos or activities.
• Serve complimentary appetizers, desserts, or drinks. You can even do themed cocktails or snacks that tie into your cause or mission.
• Play upbeat music, use colorful lighting or decorations, and encourage people to dress up or follow a theme. 
• Post photos and videos from past events, share details about interactive elements or treats that will be offered, and spotlight your speakers.
• Have multiple speakers, panels, or presentations to keep things moving, and limit each section to 20 minutes or less.

12. Run Ads for Specific Locations

69% of adults in the United States use Facebook, and 37% use Instagram. By advertising on these platforms, you can reach many people in your target location.

When running ads, be sure to target your audience carefully. You can target people based on location, age, interests, etc. 

For example, if your event is a charity run, you can target people who are interested in fitness and running. This will ensure that your ads are seen by people who are most likely to be interested in your event.

Another way to target people in specific locations is to use local media outlets. Local newspapers, radio stations, and TV channels can be great ways to reach people in your community. 

31% of Americans still get their news from local TV news stations. If you advertise on these platforms, you have a chance to reach a local audience.

13. Offer Ticket Bundles

When you bundle the tickets, you can offer a discount to attendees and encourage them to bring friends or family members along. For example, you could offer a "buy one, get one free" deal or a package that includes tickets to multiple events. 

This not only increases ticket sales but also helps to build a sense of community around your nonprofit. Make sure to promote your ticket bundles on social media and your website, and consider partnering with other organizations to reach a wider audience. 

14. Sell Tickets Online

55% of millennials prefer to purchase event tickets online. By leveraging online platforms and ticketing services, you can effortlessly connect with this tech-savvy audience.

Online ticketing offers convenience to both you and your audience. With just a few clicks, they can secure their tickets from anywhere, anytime. Platforms like Stripe make it easy to collect event payments online, ensuring a secure and seamless transaction process.

This accessibility eliminates barriers such as long queues and limited operating hours, significantly boosting ticket sales.

Online ticketing platforms provide valuable data and insights, empowering nonprofits to understand their audience better.

By analyzing purchasing patterns and demographics, you can tailor your marketing strategies and create personalized experiences for attendees.

Going online streamlines administrative tasks and reduces manual effort. You can automate ticket distribution, track sales in real time, and easily manage capacity restrictions, saving time and resources.

15. Ensure Transparency

Millennials, known for their desire for authenticity and transparency, play a significant role in driving successful fundraising events. This is why ensuring transparency is crucial for nonprofits looking to sell event tickets easily.

• When you clearly communicate how the funds raised will be used, then you're more likely to attract the target attendees. 
• Be open and honest about event details, including ticket pricing, any additional fees, and what attendees can expect from the event experience.
• Millennials value social causes and are driven by the desire to make a positive difference. 
• When you demonstrate your genuine commitment to the cause and communicate the impact of your event. Then you're more likely to resonate with millennial audiences that make 84% of the people that donate to charities.

16. Measure Progress

As a savvy nonprofit navigating the modern landscape, it's crucial to adopt a data-driven approach to understand the effectiveness of your ticket-selling efforts. This is how measuring progress can help you sell event tickets with ease:

1. Use analytics tools to monitor website traffic, social media interactions, and email marketing metrics. This data reveals valuable insights about which platforms and campaigns generate the most buzz and drive ticket sales.
2. Measure the conversion rate at various stages of the ticket purchasing journey, from browsing to completing the transaction. This helps you identify any bottlenecks or areas that require improvement, allowing you to optimize your sales process for better results.
3. Gather feedback from attendees, both before and after the event. Use surveys and polls to gauge their satisfaction levels, understand their preferences, and uncover areas for enhancement. This information can guide your future ticket-selling strategies.
4. Establish Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals for ticket sales. Regularly assess your progress towards these goals and make necessary adjustments to your marketing and outreach tactics.

FAQs

Where is the best place to sell tickets?

If you're looking for the best place to sell tickets, then look no further than BetterWorld. We have a free, easy-to-use and customizable ticket tool that lets you raise funds by selling tickets online effortlessly.

How do I sell tickets to an event on WordPress?

These are the steps to sell event tickets on WordPress:

1. Install a WordPress event ticket plugin like Event Espresso, Event Tickets, or WP Event Manager.
2. Provide all the necessary details, such as event name, date, time, venue, and ticket prices.
3. Set up a ticket sales system for your events.
4. Display a list of your future events in the form of a calendar.
5. Manage ticket sales and display a list of your upcoming events.
6. Allow attendees to check in through barcode scanning.
7. Integrate with payment gateways like PayPal or Stripe to collect payments.
8. Use premium add-ons to access advanced features like e-ticket management and discount codes.
9. Test your registration process to ensure it's seamless and user-friendly.
10. Promote your event on social media and other channels to attract attendees.

Conclusion

• To boost ticket sales, making social media work for you is important. Build hype by writing engaging captions, using compelling visuals, or, even better, collaborating with influencers. These actions will help spread the word about your event and create excitement.
• Next, convenience should be a priority when you think about selling tickets. Use online platforms like BetterWorld and mobile apps to provide a seamless and user-friendly experience for attendees. 
• Offer early bird discounts or exclusive benefits to incentivize early ticket sales.
• To appeal to millennials, it is essential you align your event with their values. This demographic is passionate about supporting causes they believe in, so incorporating a cause-related element can increase their interest and engagement, eventually bringing in more sales.