Get the word out and sell more tickets to your event! It's no joke, selling tickets can seem like a challenge at times. Don't panic though, we're here to help! One of the hardest parts of selling tickets is making sure people know your event is even happening. How do you get the word out and sell tickets? Here are our best tips to help you market your event.

‍Promote, promote, promote

Social media

Word of mouth is the best way to get people at your event and social media is a great start. Hashtags especially are a great way to make it easy for people to get more information about your event after seeing someone post about it on social media platforms. Keep in mind if someone clicks on your hashtag, they'll want to quickly scan other posts to be able to find the link to your event page, basic information about your event, and a good idea of who else is going.

Target influencers

If you can get a few influential people excited about your event, they can help you sell a lot more tickets. Try sending a few personalised invites to people you want at your event. Show them how they would benefit from attending. To make it easy for them to share, type up a few posts that include the event page URL and event hashtag that they can easily copy and paste and post to their networks.

Get press

First, figure out who you want to write or talk about your event tickets to. What does your target audience read, or do they listen to radio more? Do they like newspapers, blogs, radio stations? Maybe it's worth seeing if you can be added to a list of weekly or monthly events happening in your city or town. Once you narrow down the specific media outlets you want to cover your event, find out the individuals covering topics similar to yours -- these are the people you're going to actually contact.

Then, write your own story around the event using the 5 W's: who, what, when, where, and why. Or, at least create a fact sheet for your event using the same criteria. This will give the author a clear guideline of what they should write about - making their jobs easier, and more likely they will actually write about your upcoming event.

When sending your pitch, take the time to make it personalised, like you actually read and enjoy the other pieces they have written. If you do not get a response, wait a few days to a week to email them again asking if they received your original email. Getting press can take some time, so you want to start early, even a few months before your event.

Paid advertisements

If you have a little bit of money to spend, try some Facebook ads. You can target the people you want to attend your event and spend just a few dollars a day. If you have a mailing list of people who've attended previous events, Facebook has a cool tool called Lookalike Audiences. Upload the mailing list, and Facebook will display your ad to people with similar likes and interests.

Offline

Everyone talks about what you can do online, but don't forget about offline opportunities. Try printing and hanging eye-catching and informative flyers in places that will reach your target market. In addition to a brief description of your event, be sure to include the location, date and time, ticket prices (advance and door price), URL to purchase event tickets online, and any age or other restrictions.

In real life

This one may sound obvious, but talk about your event to the people you know! Don't assume the people you meet in person have read about your event online. Another option is to talk to people at other, similar events. We don't recommend treating other events as an opportunity to advertise your event, but we definitely can encourage you to invite people in one-on-one conversations.

Your event page

Convincing people to visit your event page is only half the battle. You'll also want them to purchase tickets, right? Creating an easy-to-navigate, beautiful event page helps showcase your event and get people excited about it! Even if you're not a computer whiz or a professional photographer, you can still create something for ticket sales that is more than just a transaction.

Sometimes images are better than words

Use hi-res photos that give people an idea of what to expect at your event. We've found it looks best if the image does not contain any text, these images aren't a flyer, they should be of people! People having fun, people learning, inside or outside - whatever matches your event. By scanning one image for a second, people will know more about your event than reading paragraphs of text.

Have a descriptive About Tab

Since your images don't have any text, you're going to want to fill in that About Tab for your online ticket sales! This tab is where you describe your event and describe what people will get out of coming to your event. Make sure you clearly write all the practical details your event goers may need to know about the event like age and ticket restrictions, complicated building entry, if there's parking and whether there's food.

Convey value in the ticket price

It can be tough figuring out how much to charge for a ticket, or to even charge at all. Everyone's event goal is different as far as making money or just breaking even, but one thing to keep in mind is the event goer has to see the value in purchasing your ticket. Too inexpensive ticket prices and people may not think the event isn't worth their time. Too expensive and people may think it's not worth their money. There is a sweet spot, though!‍

Get out there and sell those tickets!

After your event page is live, don't assume everyone knows about it. Keep on talking and advertising right up until your event starts (unless it sells out in advance, then good on you!) Remember that hashtag you created? Make sure you use it while posting during your event and make it known to event goers so they use it, too. This will create buzz during and after your event to encourage attendees to get excited for your next one!