How to Sell Out an Event (25 Best Ways That Really Work)

If you want to know how to sell our an event, this article is really going to help.

It reveals some of the best ways and very insightful tips to help you sell out just about any event.

 

Importance

In November of 2016, the 7th largest event in the history of the United States happened in Chicago, Illinois.

Over 5 million people were involved, and it was a parade.

The purpose of the parade? It was the celebration of the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series.

Some events sell themselves such as this event that happened in Chicago.

That is because, in 2016, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series and ended their drought of 108 years since the last time they won the World Series was in 1908.

Unfortunately, for most events, they don’t sell themselves and it takes a lot of hard work, planning, and following through on a variety of strategies to be successful.

In opening up the box office let us look at some of those strategies to secure a successful event.

 

 

25 Best Ways to Sell Out an Event

 

1. Know SEO

One effective method or strategy to promote your event is to utilize search engine optimization.

This is also known as SEO, and it helps individuals who are using the internet to find your event when they conduct searches.

Search engine optimization utilizes powerful keywords on your web page or landing page so that when individuals are searching for this event or participants in this event, they will be directed to your site.

 

2. Utilize Influencers

Influencers have a strong and influential presence on various social media platforms.

You can possibly engage their influence on their followers by asking if they would talk up the event on their various platforms.

In return, they would receive a few free tickets for themselves and some of their close friends to attend.

 

3. Use Social Media Platforms

It is also important not to neglect your own social media presence or your company’s social media presence by talking about the event.

You could offer promotions such as tickets to the event, possible backstage passes if it is a concert or other added incentives that would be available.

In order to be eligible for the special incentives, tickets would need to have been purchased and the selected individuals can be selected from a drawing.

 

4. Use Blogs

It is important to utilize any blogging sites that individuals or you have that can promote the event as well.

The same strategy of incentives and selecting a lucky ticket holder through a drawing could be promoted.

 

5. Use E-mails

If you have accumulated a number of emails from past events, or through current promotional strategies, it is important to utilize these emails if the individual has given you permission to contact them.

A strategy that can be utilized is to start the email process by teasing the email recipient of an event that is coming and promises to be a significant calendar event.

With each additional email, more information can be shared which can serve to increase the excitement of the event to the possible attendee.

 

6. Use Newsletters

Newsletters are another good option as it relates to sharing news and updates about the upcoming event.

You can provide updates on an ongoing basis and devote more column space to your newsletter as the event approaches.

It is also important to talk about any giveaways, how ticket sales are going, the excitement swirling around the event, etc to increase the excitement and anticipation of the event.

Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words so any pictures surrounding the event or past pictures, if the event is an annual occurrence, would be appropriate.

 

7. Video Teasers

It is also important to release video teasers.

The video teasers can be short clips of how the event is building momentum.

The clip could feature a recognizable individual who is encouraging others not to miss the event of the year.

Upbeat music is always exciting, quick pulses of video in rapid succession are also effective, etc.

 

8. Ad In Signature

It is also important to remember that anything that is distributed to your customer base should include a reminder of the event that is coming up.

It is never a good idea to waste any opportunity or any space that would be available to promote the event.

This would include anything embedded into your signature when emails are sent out.

 

9. Event Listing Site

Many local communities print out weekly community event calendars as to what is happening in the community.

Often, a listing of events is free as the purpose of the publication is to promote the community and events.

Also See: How to Earn Money Partying & Starting a Party Rental Business

 

10. Facebook

Don’t forget to use the power of Facebook to promote your event and continue to keep the “buzz” going.

You could post pictures and provide continual updates and always invite your followers to post comments and return to your page for more information.

 

 

11. Website

Another integral piece of the promotion strategy and formula for success is to have an engaging website.

The website could be a stand-alone site specifically devoted to the event or if affiliated with an organization, a special section on the website would be in order.

Also, a link providing an opportunity to order tickets is also important.

 

12. Other E-mail Databases

There is strength in numbers and therefore a possibility of expanding your outreach and promoting the event would be to utilize other email databases.

For example, if promoting a bike marathon contact a local bicycle vendor and ask if they wouldn’t mind utilizing their email list to promote the event.

The benefit to them would be a mention of their sponsorship and therefore the advertising that they would receive and perhaps customers gained through their support.

 

13. Organization

A critical component to the success of any event is organization.

The organization is paramount whether the event is a huge endeavor or just something on a smaller scale.

The organization would include the recruitment of individuals to help to support the event and take on leadership roles to promote the event.

Some of those leadership roles could include:

• Venue
• Email marketing
• Media
• Volunteers
• Ticket Sales
• Social Media
• Etc.

If it is a significantly large event, then the leadership roles could take on these individual components or if the event is smaller in scale, the rules and responsibilities could be combined.

 

14. Podcasts

Another way to build excitement for the event is to utilize your podcast.

The podcast could be a monologue or also could be a conversation between two individuals about the upcoming event.

The focus of the podcast would be to share about the event, what could be expected by attending, what the value would be to the person attending, possibly the value to the community, etc.

 

15. Newspapers

Don’t forget to utilize newspapers in your area.

You could ask a local beat reporter to conduct an interview about the upcoming event and make it an interesting story with a variety of twists.

Some of those twists could include:

• Human interest story
• The uniqueness of the event
• Benefits to the community
• And more

 

16. Magazines

In your community, there may also be magazines that are locally published that highlight certain members of the community, events that are happening, and other featured items depending upon their focus and purpose of publishing.

 

17. Referral Program

Similar to affiliate advertising, you could offer a promotion in which an individual is provided a discount to the event if a person purchases a ticket, and this came as a result of a referral.

The individual encouraging others to attend would be given a code and if that code is used by another person to sign up for the event, then the individual who made the referral would be given a discount.

 

18. Group Discounts

Another option to attract large groups of people to the event is by providing group discounts.

To be eligible for a group discount would require a minimum of a number of individuals who sign up and register for the event and then as part of that group discount would receive that reduction in price.

 

19. Mailings

An old-school method of getting the word out about an event that may still be effective is by utilizing mailings.

If the event is significant, you could always employ a direct mail firm or simply use your own database of addresses.

Another option would be to send out mailings to specific individuals who are influencers and ask them if they would promote the event on your behalf and offer them special perks in doing so.

 

20. Presentations

There are many organizations in your community that is looking for guest speakers and for those speakers to talk about interesting topics.

You could call service clubs in your community (Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Soroptimists, etc.) and ask if you could make a presentation.

Part of the enjoyment of the speaking event could be the giving away of door prizes with a lucky individual with two tickets to the event.

 

21. Flyers

Flyers are old school but still can be effective.

The flyers should be well-done and perhaps printed on eye-catching paper.

In the afternoon you and perhaps some volunteers could go to different business locations and seek permission to display the flyers.

Information on the flyers should include:

• Name of the event
• Special features
• Cost
• Appropriate web addresses and social media platforms
• Where the event will be held
• Date
• Why people should attend
• Contact number

 

22. Early Bird Pricing

A way to build momentum is through early ticket sales.

This can be accomplished by offering, up to a certain period of time, a reduction in ticket prices by a small percentage.

This early bird pricing will help to get the ball rolling in tickets and you can market the momentum of the event by talking about early interest.

 

23. Passes

If the event happens to be a conference or an activity that can be segmented out, consideration would be the selling of passes to accommodate schedules.

For example, if the event is a 2-day seminar but individuals can only attend one day or a portion of the one day’s activities, you could offer a reduced price or a pass just for those portions of the seminar that the individual could attend.

 

24. Discounts

Remember that some individuals or members of a group may not have the resources needed to attend the event.

For those special groups, you could offer discounts.

Examples could include:

• Military discount
• Senior’s discount
• Service personnel in the city (fire, police, EMT, etc.)

 

25. Word of Mouth

Of course, the best advertising is word of mouth.

Encourage those who are involved or have received their tickets to tell others about their involvement, the purchase of tickets, their excitement level, etc.

They can do this through their social media platforms, at the workplace, telling their friends directly, etc.

 

Personal Story

When working for a not-for-profit one of the key responsibilities that fell under my job description was the handling of special events.

Special events were an integral part of our revenue stream and gaining funding for our services.

One of the special events that we were involved with was a golf tournament which was held annually every September.

Starting in May/June, we began the process of promoting the event.

Part of that promotion included the gaining of sponsors, getting donations for giveaways, strategizing on new ways that we could get corporate sponsors and players to play, etc.

It was a pretty intense process and we pulled all of the stops.

A significant part of our promotion strategy was:

• The creation of collateral or promotional material
• Securing the venue
• Engaging with a golf pro
• Sending out emails
• Text messages
• A presence on our website
• Recruitment of volunteers to help promote the event,
• More

Despite the fact that we were limited on how many golfers we could have out on the course, it always seemed that each year was better and better.

When old players were lost new players were found as well as new sponsors and other added features to increase our revenue.

 

Selling Out Events FAQs

 

What Are Some Other Important Elements in Successfully Selling Out an Event?

Some of the behind-the-scenes activities that need to be addressed include:

• Securing the venue
• Insurance
• Security
• Parking
• Feeding the volunteers

 

What is the Most Important Action to Take as It Relates to Trying to Sell Out an Event?

The most important step to take as it relates to trying to sell out the event is through marketing the event and informing as many people as possible.

An equally important step is what takes place after the event and that is conducted through a debriefing.

Through a debriefing, it is important to gather everyone together to find out what worked and what didn’t work, learn from those efforts, and leverage that learning for the next event.

 

You Can Do It

You have planned an event, and everything is lined up and ready to go.

Now is just a matter of getting the word out knowing that there will be interested individuals if they know what the event is about and are willing to attend.

By incorporating all of the tools that you have at your disposal, organizing all those that have indicated that they wish to be part of the success of the event, and following through on your plan of action, the event will be a success and will sell out.

 

Conclusion

Regardless of whether the event that you are involved with is a music concert, a lecture, an event to raise money for charity, etc., there are those individuals who are interested.

The only gap between selling out at an event and not selling out is the gap represented by people who don’t know what is happening.

Therefore, the key to selling out an event is getting the word out which can be accomplished by marketing, advertising, and one on one encounters with others to promote the event.