Have you ever held an event in your school, and you struggled to sell tickets? Or maybe you have a school event and are looking to sell more tickets? We understand how difficult it can be to sell out any event, let alone a school event.
Luckily, there are ways to increase event ticket sales using strategies that work. Read along as we discuss ways to make your school festival, carnival, concerts, graduations, fundraising, drama, sporting events, and other special school events live up to their ticket selling potential.
We have taken note of what works and what doesn’t to bring you this comprehensive list. Let’s get you selling tickets for your event, shall we?
Start Selling Tickets ASAP
The first mistake that event organizers make is starting to sell tickets when the event is just around the corner. We live in an era where people want to associate themselves with a product/service/brand at the earliest possible opportunity. Give yourself time to actively promote the sale.
How does this relate to school event tickets, you ask?
Well, it means you should start selling tickets as soon as you announce the event. And no, you don’t even need to have the event thoroughly planned. This is because, as soon as you make the announcement that there will be a school carnival, about a third of prospective attendees will want to grab a ticket immediately. If the event is annual, you may start selling the tickets after the current year’s event. Is it a first-time event? Make sure your ticketing software or whatever ticketing arrangement you’ve made is up and running before you even announce the event.
Go Mobile
With most people having access to smartphones, many of them use their mobile devices to shop. In fact, research has shown that mobile devices are the most popular way of making purchases.
With that in mind, why not sell your tickets on mobile? Besides the typical ticketing site, you could significantly boost your ticket sales through a mobile app or leverage a mobile-friendly site. It makes it easy for students and other attendees to grab tickets from the palm of their hands easily. While at it, ensure your ticketing software can correctly register ticket sales made from all your platforms in real-time. This will help you avoid hiccups like selling out the tickets on mobile but being slow on desktop.
Make the Tickets Scarce
Scarcity is a proven method of fueling sales. There is a catch, though; you have to be sincere about your claim. If you have 50 VIP tickets available, be truthful about it and use them sparingly. Low availability helps persuade those who are undecided to purchase the tickets rather than dilly dally and risk missing out. You can have limited early bird tickets or promise a front-row seat view to those who buy their tickets early.
Alternatively, you can also use your ticketing platform to inform users of how many tickets have already been sold to instill FOMO (fear of missing out). This tactic works wonders, especially with millennials who hate missing out on an exciting event that their friends are attending.
You can also create a time scarcity by adding a timer to when the ticket sale will come to a halt. This will influence potential prospects to grab their tickets as early as possible.
Leverage the Power of Social Media
Everyone knows that social media is a powerful tool, especially where young adults are concerned. Any event is social, so setting aside resources on the various social media sites can boost ticket sales for your school event.
You can start by editing your own event imagery to create special imagery featuring your guest speaker/performer/entertainer. We can assure you the guest will feel flattered and won’t hesitate to share it on their social media pages, increasing publicity for the event.
You can also share the images of attendees on social media (especially Instagram). They will be excited to tell their friends about it or share the post on their own social media pages, which will create more awareness for the event. Needless to say, you will want to be strategic about who you pick. Preferably, you want someone with a following. This could be the school band’s leader, the best actor, or the best performing student. For young adults, events are more fun when they know so-and-so is attending, generating more buzz.
Create Ticket Tiers
This one is an old trick in the book, but it works wonders. Create multiple ticket types (free, group of five, group of ten, VIP, etc.). This is one of the easiest ways to maximize your sales. Teenagers and young adults love attending events in cliques, and allowing them to purchase group tickets will incentivize them to buy.
While at it, make sure your ticketing platform is seamless to give the best user experience. This makes it easy for prospective attendees to purchase tickets with a few clicks.
Get your Ticket Price Right
No matter which tactic you use to boost your ticket sales, the ticket prices have to be realistic. If you set it too high, the students and other prospective attendees may not be willing to pay. Set prices too low, and you may not recover the costs. It is a balancing act at the end of which you have to settle for a minimum breakeven price that caters to all parties. This means you need to have a rough overview of the people that will attend and other associated expenses (food, drinks, catering, etc.).
Other things to consider include the guest performers. Does the event have that ‘wow’ factor? If it’s a school concert, for instance, do you have the best band in town? These questions will help you set the right ticket price and have people flocking to the event.
With the above tips in mind, it is now time for you to go sell out your event. Good luck!
If you’re looking for a ticketing partner, LeanStream can help you with ticket sales, e-commerce, and digital fundraising solutions. Contact us for more about how LeanStream can help you.
