Outdoor Events & Advance Ticket Sales

A few days ago I had a brief discussion with a client hosting an upcoming conference. We talked about some ideas to generate additional attendee sign ups before their sign up deadline. When you mention the word deadline to someone, thoughts of pressure usually follow. It is very easy to think “I don’t want to pressure my list to take action before a deadline. If they want to attend they’ll buy or sign up on their own.” There are ways to get people to act before a deadline without pressure. In today’s crazy world of distractions every other second, a friendly reminder usually doesn’t hurt. In a few cases I’ve seen simple reminders make a big difference in promoting an event. 

Don’t Sales Pitch Them to Death
I’m not a big fan of sales pitching people to death or pressuring someone to buy. Some people use the “OMG! Buy Now before the World Ends!” rant. The previous approach tends to be a turn off.  There is a better way, it's called the friendly reminder.  Instead of using pressure, try something like this: “Hello this is to reminder you (insert something interesting or a good story) . . .” You'll be surprised by the response.

Real World Example
Here is an example of the friendly reminder. Last month I was involved in an event promotion campaign with an air show client. Part of the campaign included promoting discounted tickets to be purchased by a certain date. The first time around only a few people bought tickets before the deadline.  It was clearly stated on the web site when the promotion ended.  An email was sent a week before reminding people on the list.  The client then decided to extend the deadline to encourage additional ticket sales. The second time around we decided to send a 48 and 24 hour reminder email. There was a significant increase in ticket sales between the first and second deadlines. 

Next time a deadline for your event approaches try to think of creative ways to get people to act before a deadline. An extra push, or two, maybe three, does more good than bad. The important part is in your approach and messaging. Keep it interesting for them.

Want to get more great info? Check out the articles below:

• Why Well Planned Events Fail
• How to Get Them To Your Event
  
• Getting Them to Buy Tickets Early
• Turn Your Event Into an Experience
• Leveraging Your Sponsor's Digital Resources

• The Event Promotion System
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