Eventbrite. One of the best ticketing and registration management applications in the world.
By using it, you can make your event run smoothly and collate valuable customer/client information for the future. In addition, you’ll get an awesome looking event page and formidable marketing campaign on its feet.
But how do you use it for the best? And how much can you really get out of it?
Here, we get under the skin of the website and all of its features.
The Setup Process:
One of the greatest things about Eventbrite – and perhaps the thing that’s made it so popular as an event management tool – is how easy it is to use.
To get started, all you need to do is sign up for a free account and then create an event through the website or application. Once you’ve done that, the process is easy! Read on for further information:
Choose your ticket type: There are three basic options – free, paid, and donation – but you can also create custom ticket types after you’ve put your event page set up.
Details which you can customize include; price, availability, discounts/codes, when they’ll be on sale, who they’re visible to, tickets allowed per order, and descriptions for attendees.
Customise your event page: Eventbrite is packaged with powerful site creation software that allows you to either select a customisable page template from a list or create your own page with HTML.
You can also include options such as reserved seating, special rewards, and questionnaires. (this will help you get to know your guests – before they’ve even arrived)
Publish your event page: This is when you should start sharing it on social media. Let people know all the details about the upcoming event, and instruct them on the details of the registration process.
Track your sales: Eventbrite’s analytics tools will help with this.
Invitations:
If you’re going to be sending out invitations via email, you need to make sure you have a group of people you can send it to. You also need to be certain those people want to receive information about your event… because nobody likes spam!
Eventbrite also allows you to upload contacts from a number of different email clients, for example; cv and .txt files. Put together a comprehensive list of people who you believe will be interested and upload them to the site.
If you have a good mailing list, using the email function will help net you registrations to boost sales and attendance. Even better, Eventbrite will tell you exactly how successful your efforts were – because it tracks how many users registered as a result of the invitation you sent out.
Collecting Information:
Certain events require more information than simply name and email. You should never be afraid to implement custom fields into your event registration process that ask for pertinent details.
A breakfast networking event or lunch afternoon for example, may include meal choice options, while a fundraiser could collect data such as T-shirt sizes.
Eventbrite makes the process of inserting custom fields incredibly easy – you can attach certain fields to certain ticket types on your registration page. This means guests who choose one type of ticket will see a different set of questions from guests who choose another.
(Doing this will allow you to create VIP passes, for example; or to sell different tickets for different areas of a conference)
Public directory & Classifications:
You shouldn’t underestimate how much traffic you could bring in simply by making use of Eventbrite’s public directory. (Even if more people register via Facebook & Twitter)
Classify your event under the appropriate categories, and set up a blurb for the public directory listing. Appearance is everything here – the more professional your listing looks; the better.
Not only that, Eventbrite actually does a fairly decent job of SEO. What that means for you is that by submitting your event to Eventbrite’s public directory, you’re making it easier to locate through Google (and a host of other search engines, as well).
Tracking:
Speaking of search engines, you’re going to want to make full use of Google analytics in order to track your event – everything from visitors to bounce rate to the origin of your traffic.
This will go a long way towards helping with your marketing and promotion efforts, and best of all, it’s entirely free to use. Analytics isn’t the only tool you’ll want to implement, either.
You’ll also want to display your event Venue on Google Maps. Not only will this make it easier for people to find your event, but it’ll also help improve your rankings in search.
Design of Website and Event Pages:
Eventbrite makes it easy to set up a professional-looking registration page, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have an event page in addition to that. Having an additional landing page for your event can allow you to provide guests with more details about what you aim to do, while at the same time allowing for more traffic to reach you.
An event page that’s inviting, easily navigable, and pleasing to the eye is sure to attract more registrations than one that’s obtuse, ugly, or isn’t functional across all platforms.
Here are some additional ‘best practices’ for your event page’s design:
Keep It Simple: Make use of attention-grabbing teasers that consist of no more than one or two sentences, and keep whatever descriptive copy you put on your event page brief. People don’t want to read through a wall of text for the details of your event – they want the information as fast as you can possibly deliver it.
Get the Details Right: Before publishing your event page; it’s important you to double and triple check that all the information you’ve presented. Few things will deter potential guests more quickly than inconsistent information.
Freebies: There are few things people enjoy more than free stuff –and emphasising that you’re going to have a bunch of free stuff at your event is a great way to up your attendance.
Working Well On Mobile: With 60% of Internet access taking place primarily on mobile devices, there’s no longer any legitimate excuse for neglecting mobile as a platform. If your
event page doesn’t work on mobile devices, then you’re probably going to lose out on attendees.
Link to Main Website: Plenty of your prospective attendees are probably going to want to read a bit more information about your brand or firm before they commit to going to one of your events.
Provide a link on your events page that takes people back to your main website.
Event Details Page: Although you should definitely keep it as concise as possible; the more information you can offer your guests, the better. Details such as parking, refund policy, appropriate dress, and contact numbers for major event staff are all extremely important, and should not be neglected.
And Finally…
One last piece of advice before we wrap things up. As an event organiser, you’ve presumably got a team of passionate, hard-working individuals at your command.
Make use of them. Eventbrite allows you to create multiple users, each with its own set of permissions and privileges.
Use this to equip your team with the capacity to help you better plan your event.
