organizing events on a zero budget
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
1/62
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
2/62
2
Ovanes Ovanessian
Welcome to the rst edition of Organizing Events on a Zero Budget.
My name is Ovanes and I’m the Co-founder of Weemss - a new gen-
eration event registration software.
This book is a collective effort from our team to bring you a deeper
understanding of what really makes events tick, as well as share
some advanced tips and tricks on organizing them. You may ask
why should you take advice from a company that develops event
registration software, even if it’s one as excellent as Weemss. The
answer is simple - all of us come with years of experience in event planning, organizing and mar-
keting. We love unique events that challenge our perceptions and we are weary of the ordinary. But
enough about us!
If you’re in the event business this book is for you. If you want to be in the event business this book is
also for you. If you want your company to be competitive and smart when organizing an event - this
book is denitely for you!
Organizing an event seems like an easy job only to those who’ve never had to do it. It can be a gru-
elling task for the unprepared, but it can also be a fun and exciting experience when you know how
to do it. Most of the material you’re going to read here can be applied in any situation regardless of
event budget, but we wanted to approach the task in the most difcult of scenarios, where we are
organizing an event without a single cent to spend - from zero.“
“Hello,
http://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbookhttp://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbook
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
3/62
3
ProTip #1
Ti for t rst pic of soli aic yo’r oi to ra i tis ook. Oc yo a t
ia for a t yo ill at to start orki o it as soo as possil, or as t Frc
say ‘l ASAP’! Starti lat is a coo istak tat ay t oraizrs t to ak. A
lat start is alays ry risky rarlss of yor t, so at to t tis ot of t
ay for proc. Yo ill tis to o of t ost alal pics of aic i
tis li of ork - prois.
From Zero to Event Superhero!
Organizing an event on a zero budget requires a lot more preparation, know-how and actual appli-
cation compared to what you already know about organizing an event. If you manage, or dare we say
when you manage to pull it o you’ll be a true event pro. Event if you’ve already organized a thousand
events, we still guarantee you’ll learn some new tricks!
Start With an Idea
For the purpose of this book we’ll assume you already have a basic idea for an event and we’ll help
you build on it. Our focus for this guide will be to organize that event on a zero budget, get you sell-
ing as many tickets as possible, and make sure you’re independent of any other sources of income.
Ready? Time to get busy!
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
4/62
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
5/62
5
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
6/62
6
Refining the Event Concept
1
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
7/62
7
you have an idea for an event and you want to be sure people will show interest and buy tickets for
it. The early developmental stage of the event is all about identifying these main aspects:
The Why, Who, Where, And When of the Event
Why are you organizing this event?
Organizing any event should always be based on the premise that someone out there needs such
an event and wants to attend one. So the rst question should always be - Is there a market for this
event? If the idea is relevant and interesting, chances are people will show up - the answer to the next
question should tell you if the event will actually sell.
Who is this event for?
It is really, really important to identify who your event is suitable for. This is key to understanding what
their expectations and needs are going to be. Solid knowledge of your target audience will be a ma-
jor factor at nearly every consequent stage of organizing and managing the event. Every true event
professional knows that people are the real measure of success, not prots, that is why we have
dedicated a whole chapter on ‘How to Know Your Event Audience and Why You Need to’ (Chapter 3).
Where will the event take place?
Choosing the venue can present the rst actual stumbling block on your way to organizing the event
on a zero budget. While not an insurmountable challenge, we still think it requires a more detailed
analysis and we’ll touch on the subject further in the book.
When will the event be held?
The date and the duration of the event are no trivial matters. First of all, make sure is that you’ve
given yourself enough time to actually organize the event. Then there are a few things you need to
consider when choosing a date for your event:
• are there any similar events on or around that date?
• can you negotiate for the venue to be free at that date and time?
• are the performers (speakers, artists, acts) that you’re inviting available in that period?
So
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
8/62
8
Event Content is Still King
Whether you’re organizing a concert, conference, or a social get-together, content is what’s going
to bring people aboard. It goes without saying that this is a key area you need to put a lot of eort
in. Your content will be the deciding factor when trying to negotiate partnerships, sponsorships, ca-
tering, media coverage, and so on. The stronger the content, the easier it will be to arrange the free
stu. Here are a few QuickTips that will always help when developing your content:
ProTip #2
T or ti yo sp o soli prparatio t ttr t rslts ar oi to , alays.
Ri a t polisi yor cocpt ill alays rslt i or sals, a ttr partic-
ipat xpric, asir cstor rttio a a xcllt ra ia. Popl at t
t ca alays tll if yo’ pt a fair aot of ort i oraizi it or if yo jst ci
to tro a qick t for so asy oy.
QuickTips• Have a consistent theme.
• Align the content with your audience.
• Your aim should be to exceed participant expectations.
• Extra exibility with the content when on a zero budget is a must.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
9/62
9
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
10/62
10
And and welcome to the first edition o Organizing Events on a Zero Budget. Tis book is a collective effortrom the Weemss team to bring you a deeper understanding o what really makes events tick, as well as sharesome advanced tips and tricks on organizing them. You may ask why should you take advice rom a companythat develops event registration sofware. Te answer is simple - most o our team comes with plenty o previ-ous working experience in event organizing, marketing, and working with people in a business environment.But enough about us!
I you’re in the event business this book is or you. I you want to be in the event business this book is also oryou. I you want your company to be competitive and smart in its operations when organizing an event - thisbook is definitely or you!
Organizing an event seems like an easy job only to those who’ve never had to do it. It can be a gruelling taskor the unprepared, but it can also be un and exciting when you and your team know how to do it. Most othe things you’re going to read here can be applied in any situation regardless o your event budget, but wewanted to approach the task in the most difficult o scenarios - where we are organizing an event without asingle cent to spend. We start rom zero.
From Zero to Event Heroes
Organizing an event on a zero budget requires a lot more preparation, know-how, and actual applicationcompared to organizing on a proper budget. I you manage, or dare we say when you manage, to pull it offyou’ll be a true event pro. And best o all - we guarantee you’ll learn some new tricks even i you’ve already
organized a thousand events.
Start With an Idea
For the purpose of this book we’ll assume you already have the basic idea for an event and we’ll help you build on it.
Our focus for this guide will be to organize that event on a zero budget and to make sure you sell as many tickets as
possible, so that you’re not dependent on any outside sources of income. Ready? Time to get busy!
Tese things combined should provide everything you need to know and understand your audience. Tat knowledge will
dictate what you do rom this point on and how you do it - rom generating event content and developing a marketing
strategy, to negotiating partnerships and even choosing the venue!
How to Know Your Event Audienceand Why You Need to
2
http://weemss.com/http://weemss.com/
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
11/62
11
can have the most brilliant idea for an event and still fail to sell it. That’s why it’s imperative that you
know who the audience for your event is. As we said earlier identifying your audience is key to under-
standing their expectations and needs. So how exactly do we do that?
Take a good look at your event!
Your event is in essence a product that you’re going to sell to people. Analyze that product and think
about how it will fulll a need or solve a problem for a potential customer. Who might be interested
and who may benet from attending your event?
Do your homework
Doing some research about any similar events can help you get information about your industry, the
current market and your competition. Such information is already out there and can easily be found
at no cost whatsoever.
Developing Audience Profiles
If you have a rough picture of what your potential audience is going to be, develop your event par-
ticipant prole, or proles if you feel the event’s going to have more than one audience. Here’s some
food for thought:
One
QuickTipsTo have a good understanding of your audience you need one more thing - identify where your
audience is and what they do. Do some brainstorming about which websites and blogs they are
likely to visit, which social networks do they frequent?
• What is important to these people?
• Do they have advanced knowledge on
your event’s topic(s)?
• What impresses them?
• How do they interact?
• Are they technical?
• Are they conservative or bohemian?
• What are their problems?
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
12/62
12
These things combined should provide everything you need to know and understand your audience.
That knowledge will dictate what you do from this point on and how you do it - from generating event
content and developing a marketing strategy, to negotiating partnerships and even choosing the
venue!
ProTip # 3
Yor ork is r o. t’s sstial to stay crrt o arkt a istry trs, yor
coptitio, a yor aic. mak sr yo kp track of sals, itractios, a or.
Tis lps yo s at participat prfrcs ar, as ll as otic trs, pattrs, a
possil aras of iprot. wss for xapl yo oitor statistics a ral-ti
rports o all ky lts of t t ristratio procss so yo ca ajst t at ay
ot if soti is rprfori!
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
13/62
13
How To Negotiate AnythingFor Your Event
3
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
14/62
14
really want to to learn how to create an event on a zero budget and make the most out of this book,
you need to adapt and change your usual approach to organizing. This section covers basic nego-
tiation skills and practical applications in getting venue, speakers, partners and sponsors on board.
Following on from the previous chapter, you should by now have a solid understanding of your event
audience. That particular mass of people you are gathering, your event audience, will also be inter-
esting to somebody other than yourself. If nobody nds your audience interesting, then you might
have problems and should go back to the very beginning of this book.
Understand the Value of Your Event
Pay attention because this is what a lot of people struggle with and can’t understand - the value oftheir event. Value will always be the basis of any negotiation, so it is essential to master this concept
for any event.
Consider what any marketing professional from any company would love to get their hands on. Apart
from a Porsche, it’s reaching more people with their product or service.
Your event will provide access to people, even more so, access to a guaranteed audience in a natural
setting. Knowing your audience well will mean you’ll actually know who to approach in your negotia-
tions. Convince them your audience is the right target for their product, service, and so on.
If you
QuickTipsStill unsure about your event’s value? You should probably work some more on your event
concept!
QuickTipsIf you think outside the box, instead of paying for products and services, you could actually get
paid.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
15/62
15
Learn to Negotiate
When working on a zero budget, your negotiation and communication skills are absolutely vital.
These skills come from practice, but if you don’t know anything about negotiation, make sure to learn
the basics.
Here are some QuickTips to prepare you for negotiation:
ProTip #4
T t cocpt, cott a t xpric it’s oi to or ar also part of t qa-
tio to rstai t tr al of yor t. ery spakr, prforr, partr,
pic of tcical qipt a so o, tat yo aa to t o oar ill icras t
t’s al a i yo stror footi for t xt otiatios.
QuickTips• Focus on the value of your event - your audience, the experience you’re providing, the event
concept and content.
• Talk less, listen more and ask questions: You may get a better proposal than you expected,
so don’t jump in at the rst chance.
• When negotiating you should always make it clear that you have other alternatives.
• Make sure you DO have other alternatives available otherwise you’re shooting yourself inthe foot by going all-in on a High Card.
• Play your cards close to your chest. Don’t reveal your options.
ProTip #5
f yor t as a cas, copais it a siilar CSR oal ay illi to participat.
Ty ay at to ali yor cas it tirs or jst tir prsoal a ost als.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
16/62
16
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
17/62
17
Know Your Options
You can get a product, service, or anything else for your event in one of three ways:
• Pay for it is not really an option at this stage of the event organizing. Further down the line you
might have some money from ticket sales, but not in this early phase.
• Barter and get it free. As they say, ask and you shall receive. Negotiate a barter deal where you
oer something in return for goods or services. Remember two things:
1. In many cases you using a service benets the provider of that service.
2. The value of your event as discussed in the previous paragraphs.
• Get paid for it. Think Hollywood movies and product placement. If you can manage this part, you
are a bad-a** event pro.
In terms of sponsorship, endorsement, partnership or in our case placement, the lm industry can
be similar to the event industry. General Motors for example paid good money to have a prominent
presence in Michael Bay’s Transformers series, because they understood that the movie’s audience
loves cars as well. There’s no reason why your audience shouldn’t be interesting to a brand, compa-
ny, or service out there. But the best part is when there’s good synergy between them it will make
your event an even better experience for your audience.
What Needs to be Negotiated
Now that you see your value, know your options and understand the basics of negotiation, you canstart negotiating anything for your event. Here are some helpful QuickTips to work with:
QuickTips
QuickTips
Venue
• Approach alternative, out of the box locations and avoid traditional congress centers and
venues. Be original and be exible.
• Be creative! For example, if you are organizing a conference for small business owners try
to approach a bank and use their conference room. They may want to product position
their small business loans!
Speakers
• Look for local speakers and save them and yourself transportation and accommodation
expenses.
• Target people interested to position themselves within your particular audience.
• Oer them the chance of free publicity (within your event) and positioning for their product or
service (within your audience).
• Entice them with non-monetary goodies.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
18/62
18
Everything Else...
You need to negotiate a few more things like catering (food/drinks/hostesses), technical equipment
(AV/lighting/stage), entertainment (artists/activities), goodies (prizes/swag). Again use the draw of
what your event is going to oer and the draw of your audience to arrange for these things at no cost.
Your Time is Valuable Too
You can negotiate practically anything, but keep in mind that time is money.
In some cases paying for services or goods can come out cheaper than negotiating. You should:
1. Estimate the time you are likely to spend negotiating for a good or service;
2. Estimate the cost of that good or service.
What’s the result? Calculate and make the right choices. For example, negotiating free water for a
half-day event for 50 people may not be worth the eort and man hours involved. If you are orga -
nizing a multiple day event for 500 people, the time invested to negotiate the bottled water may be
worth it.
ProTip #6
work it irsity stts or rct raats o ill lp for fr i xca for
profssioal xpric (si, io iti, coicatio tc...). Attract oltrs for
t ay of t t, ty ill also ai alal ork xpric.
QuickTipsMedia Partners
• Look for small, local and specialized media suited for your event.
• Oer them free tickets.
• Oer exclusive content, interviews.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
19/62
19
Create a Websitefor Your Event
4
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
20/62
20
probably already know that having a website and an online registration form for your event is a ne-
cessity today. Since the purpose of this book is to give you new food for thought we’re going to focus
on key design aspects that will increase the number of registrations for the event.
#1 Make it easy to navigate and read
This is basically another way of us saying you should apply the KISS principle. KISS stands for ‘Keep
It Simple, Stupid’ and is a design principle that states simplicity as the key goal when creating some-
thing. Follow these QuickTips and you should be ok:
#2 Make sure it loads fast
In all fairness this should’ve been a ProTip. Visitor satisfaction decreases the longer it takes for your
event page to load. That’s the conclusion from data analysis conducted by search engine giants Bing
and Google. So while most web designers tend to focus on everything else, you should be optimizing
your event page for speed.
You
QuickTips
QuickTips
• Try to view the site from the visitor’s perspective. Is it easy to nd the information you need?
Is the font too large or too small?
• Avoid clutter at all costs. By clutter we mean too many things gathered in a single area of
the page.
• Don’t put too many buttons and needless navigation. You want people to register, not to
get lost, frustrated and leave.
• Test your event website from dierent devices. Just because it loads fast on your oce
computer, does not guarantee it would load fast on mine.
http://velocityconf.com/velocity2009/public/schedule/detail/8523http://velocityconf.com/velocity2009/public/schedule/detail/8523http://velocityconf.com/velocity2009/public/schedule/detail/8523http://velocityconf.com/velocity2009/public/schedule/detail/8523
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
21/62
21
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
22/62
22
#3 Keep the important bits separate
In your case the important bits are the information about the event, the date and time of the event,
the venue address, and of course the registration form. Keeping them separate allows the visitor
to ‘chew’ the information better and you also avoid that clutter we mentioned a few paragraphs up.
#4 Add a CTA (Call-to-Action)
The CTA is used to push website visitors towards some action. In your case that action is registering
for your event so the Call-to-Action should take them straight to the registration form. There’s no
rule of thumb for what size, phrase, or style works best, just make sure your CTA appears as a button
and not plain text. Here’s a few QuickTips to help you make a great Call-to-Action on your event
webpage:
QuickTips• Keep the text short, clear and simple. For example ‘Buy tickets’ or ‘Register now’ are excel-
lent CTA buttons.
• Make sure your CTA button grabs the attention of the visitor. This is usually done by using a
contrasting color, or by placing a border around it to make it more distinct.
• Keep it above the fold. The fold is the area of your website that comes after scrolling down.
Research shows people care about what comes rst and as long as there’s a visual ly engag-
ing element it will perform miracles for your registration numbers.
#5 Limit the number of actions
Your event page has one function above all and that is to convert visitors to registrants. That’s why we
recommend limiting the number of actions the visitor can perform to as few as possible - preferably
one! Provide visitors with the information they need to make a decision and then add the registra -
tion form. Combined with the ‘Register now’ button on top of the page you have an event webpage
optimized for conversion.
ProTip #7
Rct stis i trt sr aior ral a otical irc i t ay a sr
itracts it t fro a oil ic a fro a sktop or laptop. f yo is to
cort all of ts itractios to actios - r t pottial yr actally ristrs for
yor t, yo st proi t optial sr xpric irrspcti of tr ty’r is
si a sktop coptr, sartpo or talt.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
23/62
23
One Site to Fit Them All
Are you familiar with the term ‘responsive design’ or as some people like to call it ‘mobile-friendly’ de-
sign? It means providing the optimal user experience irrespective of whether the potential customeris using a desktop computer, smartphone, tablet, or whatever mobile device they come up with next.
Day by day, the number of devices, plat-
forms, and browsers that need to work
with your site grows. Responsive web
design represents a fundamental shift in
how we’ll build websites for the decade
to come.
Jerey Veen, author of "The Art and Science of Web Design" and ex-leader of Google’s apps UX (User Experience) team
QuickTipsResponsive web design oers the way forward. How quickly you adapt and deliver a quality
mobile experience will determine how competitive you are.
Create Your Event Page With Weemss
Our excellent Event Webpage creator is optimized for maximum eect and helps you make a site for
your event in just a few minutes. It’s 100% responsive and looks great across all devices. Registration
forms built with the software are also entirely responsive and can even be integrated on your very
own site as easily as you would embed a YouTube video. This will enable your visitors to register for
your event from any mobile or personal computer device. Remember that interacting with the webon phones and tablets is not the same as on a desktop computer.
WordPress is Your Friend
It’s always best to create your own website. We highly recommend WordPress for that. Apart from
paid themes and plugins the service is free, it’s customizable and easy to use. A good many of their
free themes are also responsive so you can create a fast and mobile-friendly website for your event
at no cost.
“
http://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbookhttp://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbook
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
24/62
24
Spreading the Word Without Spending a Dime
5
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
25/62
25
is all about reach and you want to reach as many people as possible. You want to get them talking
about your event and at no expense! Zero-budget style, right? Let’s see if it can be done.
Publicity
QuickTipsYes, it can.
For Traditional and Online Media Partners
In Chapter 4 ‘How to Negotiate Anything for Your Event’ we discussed how to get partners on board
and by this point you should have certain media outlets that are partnering with you for your event.
Presumably you are giving them something extra that non-partner media will not be receiving. In
return you can ask for something extra as well. In addition to the publication of press releases, inter-
views and other promotional materials, ask the media outlets you are partnering with for:
• Permanent or periodic presence in their publications (online and oine)
• Place your organization’s or event’s logo as their partner
• Ad space
• Publish some promotional materials for the event
• Permanent or periodic presence in their newsletter or bulletin
• Presence at one or more of their events if they have any - booth or stand, make a short presen-
tation during a session break, prize draw (the prize being tickets to your event), etc.
For Traditional and Online Media (non-Partners)
Create a targeted media list
Set your sights on local media outlets and get as local as possible. Journalists are after stories that
are important to the community they cover, so if your event is in South-East London look for media
based there. Create a list of the publications you have found and add the editors’ contacts.
Localize by industry too. Find media outlets that cover your particular industry or eld, or that of the
event and add those to your list as well. If you are organizing a gaming conference contact magazines
that review games and likely cover the gaming industry.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
26/62
26
To recap, focus your eorts on media that is:
Small Local Specialized
That is not to say you should avoid big media outlets, just tailor your message and focus more on the
ones above.
Prepare a Press Release like a PRo
Now that you have your list of media outlets you need to prepare an engaging Press Release. The
Press Release needs to sound worthwhile for the journalist to cover and also worthwhile for the au-
dience to read and engage.
There is a vast amount of Press Release guides online, whichever you pick just make sure you are
covering your PR basics, the ve W’s and one ‘H’:
Who is organizing the event?
What is the event about?
Where is it happening?
When is it happening?
Why is it important or interesting?
How is it relevant to the media outlet and audience?
Press Release Topics and Ideas
• Event Announcement
• New Session/Topic/Activity Announcement
• New Partner Onboard
• New Sponsor Onboard
• New Speaker or Performer Announcement
• Interview with a Speaker or Performer
• Prize Draw Announcement
• New Promotion or Oer Announcement (we’ve got more on that in chapter 9 ‘The Fine Art of
Selling Tickets For Your Event’)
• New Milestone Reached
QuickTipsRemember to draw a line between media partners and non-partners if you want to have a fruit-
ful relationship with your media partners. For any partnership to work it needs to be mutually
benecial for both parties.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
27/62
27
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
28/62
28
For Social Media and Content Marketing
You need to be present and very active on Social Media. Join conversations. Don’t just “like” and “fa-
vourite” other people’s comments, add a reply and make it more personal. Share useful information
with your audience, share useful articles from your blog. Thank people when they share your articles
and retweet them (Twitter). Of course all of this will go alongside the promotions, updates, press
releases and news coverage you will be publishing regularly.
Why Not Start a Blog?
Although it may seem dicult to organize and follow, try to have a schedule for your blog articles
and post regularly. A blog is only as good as its updates, so keep it active and publish articles at least
once a week.
Blog Topics and Ideas
• Any of the Press Release (news) topics above re-written in a more casual, everyday tone of voice
• An exciting new development in your industry
• Advice, how-to, useful tips, tricks or “hacks” article relating to your audience or industry
• An Interview with a speaker or performer from your event
• An Interview with someone from your team
• An Interview with a partner, sponsor or endorser
• Interview with a famous attendee from a previous edition of the event
• Give the audience a teaser about how awesome the event is going to be and why they should
rush to buy tickets.
• A whole story about a previous edition of the event
• Some o-topic banter that most will relate to, for example “5 Ways To Be Happier” (keep those
posts to a minimum otherwise you risk making the blog irrelevant)
QuickTipsWhatever the topic of the article, keep in mind that the main point of writing it is to attract at-
tendees and sell tickets. We talked about the importance of the Call-to-Action in the previous
chapter and you should denitely use them in your articles as well.
Needless to say all messages and blog articles should be shared immediately on all your social media
proles!
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
29/62
29
Twitter
Your Twitter prole should be a constantly updating conversation about your event, industry and
audience. Try and get personal too. Some QuickTips:
QuickTips• Reply to people and companies instead of just favoriting their Tweets.
• Engage new followers in a conversation instead of just “thanking” them for the “follow”.
• Join in and Start your own conversations. Ask questions and ask for opinions.
• @Tag organizations, people and partners when possible.
You need a unique #hashtag for your event, use it regularly and make sure you are tracking it. The
bigger the momentum, the higher the chance of your event going viral or at least reaching the in-tended audience.
QuickTips Journalists and editors are extremely active on Twitter, so, yes, be there, be active, @mention!
Facebook
Nearly all events, worldwide, are present on Facebook. Make sure you create a Facebook event for
your… event.
Here are some more QuickTips for your Facebook event:
QuickTips• Details. In the details section start with a link to your event’s website. If attendees need to
register elsewhere make sure you explain that clearly. Always add the necessary links.
• Add more hosts. Click Edit at the top right of the event and then add sponsor or partnernames in the Host eld.
• Add the Venue. If you want a map for your event, instead of typing a physical address, add
the venue in the Where eld.
• Sell Tickets. In the Tickets form add your Weemss event webpage or your own website
address.
• Event wall. Don’t tick the Only admins can post to the event wall option. You want everyone
to be active on the event page, organizers, sponsors and attendees.
• Use Tags. For an even greater opportunity for likes, shares and comments get the sponsors
involved. Tag sponsor companies, your event partners and speakers in your posts. Encour-
age their activity there.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
30/62
30
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
31/62
31
Note: “Like and Share this post to WIN a Free Pass” sound familiar? Well, it’s actually forbidden ac-
cording to Facebook rules. Don’t make the mistake of trying to force the visitor’s hand into sharing
information on their personal proles.
Instagram
If you have the time or sta (or volunteers!) engage in Instagram too.
Instagram, much like Twitter, is great for conversations with your audience. Here are some Quick-
Tips on what you can do using your unique event #hashtag:
QuickTips• Create a picture competition, showcase the participating entries and create engagement.
• Create hype with a behind-the-scenes look (pictures/video) into the event’s organization,team and set-up, or maybe even some goof.
ProTip #8
stara itrats it Facook a Tittr, aki it asir for yor aic to co-
ct it yo i ay of t torks ty ar acti o.
Whichever social network(s) you decide to use, make sure your content is:
• Visual (Pictures/Graphics/Video)
• Relevant to the event and event topic (at least 80% of the time)
• Useful or fun for your potential participants
• Positive rather than negative
• Engaging and encouraging conversation
Mass email marketing
Email marketing is a good way to generate more buzz around your event and even increase regis -
trations for it. Since we’re feeling particularly generous in this chapter here are even more excellent
QuickTips you should follow:
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
32/62
32
QuickTips• Test before you send! Really, testing is always important and if you can test something by all
means do so! Test on multiple devices.
• Again make it responsive. A lot of the people receiving your email will open it from their
mobile devices. You want them to be able to read it eortlessly, otherwise they probably
won’t read it at all. Test the email on a mobile device.
• Yes, add a Call-to-Action. Make sure it’s obvious, but not too obvious to the point where it
takes the whole screen of the mobile phone. Links are better CTAs in emails i f you’re going
the responsive route.
• Keep your message brief! Anything above 3 or 4 sentences will not be read, or even have
negative eects, such as people at-out refusing to register for your event, unsubscribing,
adding your email to the spam lter, or all of these together at the same time.
• Add a personal touch. Personalise your messages so that the recipient feels as though
you’re reaching out to them alone.Try addressing them by their First Name only.
• But use the right language. Knowing your audience address them accordingly.
In chapter 8 ‘...And Some Supplementary Tools’ we’ll introduce you to some free tools to aid you in
the organization process. While wss can send automatic emails according to the tips we listed
above, it is limited to allow the sending of emails only to people who’ve already registered for your
event. That’s why one of the tools we’ve listed in chapter 8 is excellent for mass email marketing.
QuickTipsWeemss lets you export your attendee database from the event. Use the database for future
mass email marketing campaigns. Perhaps for the Second Edition of some hugely successful
event organized on a zero budget? *wink*
Mass emails are great for announcing your event. They’re also a great way to send out news about
exclusive oers and special promotional sales, because everybody loves good value. Just don’t over-
do it with the mass emails or else they might end up in the spam lter.
ProTip #9
Alays cck yor liks. Cck if ty ork, cck if ty la to r ty’r sppos to.
oli plicatios ak sr t liks ar prst t atrial ts plis a
tat ty ork! f tr ar o liks, or t liks ar’t fctioal yo ar crati a ati
xpric a rti yor oraizatio’s ia.
http://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbookhttp://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbook
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
33/62
33
Finding the Right ToolFor the Job
6
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
34/62
34
you’ve created a website for your event and hopefully Spread The Word Without Spending a Dime.
You are almost ready to start selling tickets for your event. Now you need to choose the right ticket-
ing and event registration solution and you can either:
• Develop such a solution internally through a risky trial and error. OR
• Use a trusted, existing event registration and ticketing solution.
The better choice for an organizer operating on a zero budget seems obvious, but ready-made event
registration solutions present another issue to deal with.
Ticketing and Event Registration Solutions are Quintessential and They Know it
Ticketing and event registration solutions know there’s a high demand for their services and so they
may try to impose rules and regulations that may be of questionable benet to the organizer. Some
solutions will collect all the money from the event sales and hold onto them until after the event.
Event participants may be required to register for the event through, with, or both through and with
the ticketing solution.
Oh, and they will eventually contact your customers with information and promotional oers from
other event organizers.
But wait, whose event is it anyway?
ProTip #10
wit lopts i t t tc istry tr ar o soltios for t oraizr
tat o’t o t traitioal rot. As sc ty i cosiraly or cotrol to t ora-
izr a lp t aitai a strt tir o ra, itot sacrici ay of t
fctioality xpct fro tat ki of sric.
5 Revolutionary Ways Weemss is Changing the Rules
How important is money to you?
Rhetorical question, obviously. Zero budget or not, you probably don’t appreciate someone else
holding the money from your event’s sales, even if it’s just temporary. Old-style ticketing and event
registration solutions hold on to funds from your ticket sales for up to a week after the event.
So
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
35/62
35
QuickTipsChoose an event registration and ticketing solution that also gives attendees freedom in avail-
able payment options. Weemss oers an armada of payment options, so your customers are
free to pay in any way they like, from cash to bitcoins.
What do you want visitors to see?
Some event registration and ticketing solutions out there are so heavily branded that by the end of
the registration process your participants are more familiar with their service and brand, than yours
and that of your event.
In order to strengthen your event’s brand and increase your recognition with the audience wss
has a registration form and ticket shop that integrate seamlessly into your website. Strengthen your
brand, don’t market someone else’s!
Where do you want participant information to end up?
A lot of online event registration solutions continue to require event attendees to register an account
with them or at least provide some personal information. That itself is no big deal until one goes
through the parts of the Privacy Policy that concern the use of Personal Data and realizes that the
ticketing and registration service will:
• Use your participants’ details for their own marketing purposes;
• Send promotional materials;
• Display o-site advertising content;
• Create spammy email campaigns;
• Share some of your attendees’ Personal Data with their aliates.
You’re the one organizing the event and you’re the only one who should retain all event and partic-
ipant data, that’s why Weemss gives you 100% data retention. We feel it’s important that you build
your own customer and event database with detailed information about the most prefered promo-
tional and special oers, ticket categories, payment methods, and so on. It’s a huge step towards
improving your business and organizing an even better follow-up event.
Who do you want in charge of your communication with attendees?
Old-style ticketing agencies act as a medium between you and the event participants. They commu-
nicate with your attendees and tow them to their own database for marketing purposes.
Meanwhile, organizers using Weemss receive money from ticket sales directly. Meaning you start
receiving money from your event as soon you start selling tickets for your event. It’s that simple.
http://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbookhttp://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbook
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
36/62
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
37/62
37
We know that you care about your attendees. You don’t want their inbox overowing with promo-
tional spam from other competing events.
Weemss lets you communicate with your clients directly - all communication sent goes straight to
the recipient from an email address you provide. This helps build a stronger relationship between
you and the individual attendee and makes it easier to retain them in the future.
QuickTipsDirect communication with your customers at every step of the way improves their trust in your
organization.
Important
Since this book tackles the task of organizing an event on a zero budget we feel obligated to let you
know that Weemss charges 2.5% of every ticket sold. The fee however is only applied when you’ve
made an actual sale and you pay only after you have received your money.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
38/62
38
...And SomeSupplementary Tools
7
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
39/62
39
on a zero budget requires you to be extra smart about your operations. While we’ve made sure to
add a ton of useful features in Weemss to help with team collaboration, streamlining the registration
management process, easy communication with participants, and so on, there’s still a number of
tools you should use to supplement your eorts.
Here is a list of tools we nd to be extremely budget-friendly while still providing excellent function-
ality.
Gmail and Google Drive
For le management, le sharing and team collaboration
Think of Google Drive with Gmail as your diary, desk, oce and HQ. With Gmail and Drive you are
able to store, share and collaborate on les, documents, appointments and activities. All of your work
can be neatly organized, should you wish it to be, accessible and editable 24/7, 365 days of the year
on any device.
Gmail and Google Drive comprise of Email, Calendar, a word processor (Google Docs), spreadsheet
application (Google Sheets), slide show app (Google Slides), survey creator (Google Forms), a draw-
ings and graphics app (Google Drawings) and there are hundreds of Google-made and third party
add-on applications, some of which are free. Google Drive starts o with 15 GB of storage.
Benets: Easier team communication, collaboration and more ecient le keeping.
QuickTipsSign up for Gmail and Google Drive for free. Google Apps for Work oer more features but there
is no free plan.
Asana
For staying on top of tasks and deadlines
With Asana team members can assign themselves and each other tasks with deadlines and commu-
nicate in-app regarding the progress. Needless to say the tasks can be edited, subtasks can be added
and deadlines can be changed. Use Asana to monitor how much team members have on their plate,
know when they are full, don’t be like your grandma!
Benets: Less emails, better work communication and task progress-tracking.
Working
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
40/62
40
Mailchimp
For outbound marketing
To keep everyone posted on new updates, such as a new speakers, partners or other changes sur-
rounding the event, you need to be sending out emails. Automation of this process is essential and
the most user-friendly, reasonably-priced service for us is Mailchimp.
Benets: Simple and fast mass emailing, AB testing of email eectiveness.
QuickTipsWith fewer than 2,000 subscribers, you can send up to 12,000 emails per month completely free
using Mailchimp’s Entrepreneur Edition.
QuickTipsHootsuite is free for up to 3 social proles (networks) with basic platform features.
ProTip #11
Yo ca also scl a s atoatic ails to yor t’s atts tro
wss. t’s asy a t ails ca prsoaliz it r ls, r ry rl is aically rplac it t corrct al for ac rcipit.
Hootsuite
For social media management
We all fall victim to the mindless scrolling in social media networks, multiply that by the various net-
works and you get a couple of lost hours a day, at the very least. With Hootsuite you can manage all
your social media proles in one place, schedule posts and monitor analytics for the eectiveness of
your campaigns.
Benets: Better organization and more ecient communication in social media.
QuickTipsAsana is free for teams of up to 15 people with unlimited projects and tasks.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
41/62
41
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
42/62
42
Google Analytics
Track Website or Event Webpage Trac
The Internet is a jungle and Google Analytics is the local tribesman guiding you through and helping
you to make sense of it all. Though the dashboard is not the fanciest, the software is incredibly pow-
erful and useful for nding out:
1. Who is visiting your website or event webpage;
2. Where they are coming from;
3. How they got here;
4. What they are doing.
By setting goals inside Analytics you can track specied conversion rates and measure eectiveness.
Benets: Understand your website’s trac, set conversion goals and track progress. wss also
has Analytics integration so you can track conversion rates for your event registrations.
Some advice for picking your own solution
In choosing what applications you want and need for your event, consider the following:
• Is the application easy to deploy?
• Is it easy to use or does it require additional training and services?
• Is it safe and secure? Is data encrypted, is it backed-up and what is the uptime?• Is product support oered?
• Does it work across all devices? Is it mobile-friendly?
• Last but not least, how much does it cost? Is it a one-o or a license based fee?
Make a checklist of your particular needs and demo or trial the solutions extensively before commit-
ting to a choice. If you are working within a team, invite other members in the selection, because they
will be using the applications too.
QuickTipsWhen checking reviews and articles pay attention to user discussions and comments more and
focus less on what is written in the media, obvious but worth mentioning.
http://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbookhttp://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbook
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
43/62
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
44/62
44
We are ever so close to the moment where you’re going to start selling tickets for your event. But
before that moment arrives you still have a bit of work to do.
In this chapter we’ll talk about the 3 key elements that will make or break your sales - the importance
of your pricing strategy, how to increase your conversion rates, and how to develop your promotional
sales oers like a true pro.
1. The importance of pricing
We are all used to the old sales trick of .99 pricing. This is called psychological pricing and although
we are well aware of it, fact is, it continues to be widely used and it works. While pricing an event is
harder since your “product” is an experience that is immeasurable, with the guidelines below you can
make any price easier to swallow.
The Basics
Start o with the average price at which you would like to sell your tickets and build all ticket catego-ries, special oers and discounts. If, for example, your average price is €200, you should price all your
tickets from €150 to €400 EUR. This should allow for discounts and special oers.
With an average price and pricing threshold in mind, have a look at these QuickTips when develop-
ing your pricing strategy:
We
QuickTipsOer at least 2 ticket categories, for example Silver and Gold. In fact, in a study by the Econo-
mist, people given three subscription options to the magazine were more likely to make a pur-chase decision, than when having just two available.
QuickTipsAlways have one very expensive ticket option that stands out, for example Platinum. Apart from
the chance of getting high rollers that want exclusivity interested, there is a hidden benet to
the high price option. If you add a high price option from the beginning, other prices will seem
much lower in comparison. This is called anchoring.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
45/62
45
QuickTipsAlways oer at least 3 time and/or quantity restricted tickets, for example Super Early Bird, Early
Bird and Standard. Make your prices dynamic but never lower the prices for the same event.
Those who bought a ticket 3 months before the event will be angry when they nd out they can
buy a cheaper ticket 1 week before the event.
QuickTipsApart from pricing you also need to provide as many payment options as possible. You don’t
want to lose potential participants at the sale process because you don’t cover the online pay-
ment method they are most comfortable using. In Weemss we have integrated an armada of
payment options, so your customers are free to pay in any way they like, from cash to bitcoins.
Now that we have the basics covered, have a look at some pricing tactics below, see what may work
for your event and grab it, while stocks last!
The Tactics
To make your price seem less, reduce the left digit by one count and complete the whole number
with a .98, .99 or .95. This is psychological or charm pricing and it works because we humans tend to
scan information rather than analyzing it in-depth. At rst glance we see 4,98 as demonstrably less
than 5,00.
Whether it sounds completely logical or totally ridiculous, according to rsarc numbers that are
longer to spell out seem larger too.
ProTip #12
Cosrs cosciosly prci tat tr is a positi rlatiosip t syllaic
lt a rical ait. otr ors €27.82 ic as 7 syllals ay pr-
ci as or “xpsi” ta €28.16 ic as 5 syllals. Tst yor pric to s o
lo it ‘sos’ a optiiz it.
• People also see prices written in a smaller font as being lower. A sty discovered that “present-
ing the lower sale prices in relatively small font resulted in more favorable value assessments
and greater purchase likelihood or choice than presenting the lower sale prices in relatively large
font.”.
• Instead of .99 psychological pricing you can round o the price and still make the total look like
less. For example €200 seems less than €199,99.00. Remove any unnecessary zeros and char-
acters from your price.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057740811001082http://production.wordpress.uconn.edu/businessmarketing/wp-content/uploads/sites/724/2014/08/size-does-matter.pdfhttp://production.wordpress.uconn.edu/businessmarketing/wp-content/uploads/sites/724/2014/08/size-does-matter.pdfhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057740811001082
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
46/62
46
• While you’re deleting the extra digits, delete the currency sign or wording too. According to a
sty conducted with restaurant menus, participants whose menus had no currency sign or
wording, on average, spent more for their lunch.
Some of these tactics may contradict each other, but this is normal. As with everything else you
should experiment, measure the results, update and improve.
Whichever and whatever pricing and tactics you decide to use, focus the attention on the benets for
your events’ participants. Every event is unique and brings value. Find what is unique and valuable
about your event and share it. Focus more on the experience for participants, rather than the cost,
savings or value for money. Inspire them to attend.
After all, the reason people attend events is for the experience!
2. The Importance of Conversion Triggers
The key to an eective event registration form is to engage your potential participant from the o.
The quicker you have their attention the more likely it is they will ll in the form and buy tickets for
your event. It’s well known that more than 85% of the information our brain receives is visual, which
means visual stimulation is one of the most powerful ways to improve conversion rates and event
sales.
ProTip #13
Cosrati sprs ak p t lar portio of alost ry cstor as. t
orl of oli arkti, tici a corai t cstor to ak a prcas is
st aci tro isal stils - txts a ias tat s t prsasio, otio,
trst (PeT) arkti approac, to stilat pottial yrs ito aki a prcas.
https://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/abstract-15048.htmlhttps://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/abstract-15048.html
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
47/62
47
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
48/62
48
Leading by example
Two of the best examples for persuasive design are Amazon.com and Booking.com. Take the Today’s
Deals section in Amazon. One of the main reasons it’s been hugely successful is the strategic use of
the persuasion, emotion, trust approach. ‘Ends in...’ end of sale notications and ‘... Claimed’ noti-cations, representing the number of people who have purchased an item from a ash sale, create
respectively emotion - the fear of missing out; and persuasion - implying scarcity increases demand.
Trust is inspired by allowing customers to add their own reviews of products they have purchased.
Amazon.com
Booking.com
Booking.com’s approach is highly successful as well. Most of the elements on their site are a combi-
nation of persuasion, emotion, and trust. Again they allow customers to write reviews and rate their
experiences. They have ‘Latest booking ...’ notications, showing the time since the last booking wasmade, they display the number of people who are currently looking at a specic hotel, and ‘This hotel
is likely to sell out soon’ notications when the number of available rooms is in short supply.
The end result for both of these behemoth websites, is that their visitors end up making a decision
more quickly and more condently.
To conform with all of these best practice marketing techniques we created the Conversion triggers
feature. It allows you to create automated notications on your registration form and increase your
sales considerably.
http://amazon.com/http://booking.com/http://booking.com/http://amazon.com/
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
49/62
49
‘Last tickets’ notification
Display a notication about the number of remaining tickets available. By showing that your tickets
are in limited supply you essentially increase the demand. This is always a strong persuasion element
and is particularly eective when combined with a good promotional sale oer - we’re going to touch
on the subject of these Special oers in part 3 of this chapter.
‘Sale ending soon!’ notification
The fear of missing out is a common driver of action for marketers and advertisers. Marking the ap-
proaching end of the ticket sale on your registration form uses the element of emotion. Time running
out creates urgency and leads to increased ticket sales.
‘Last order made’ notification
Provide social proof. Show the time since the most recent registration was made. Potential partici-
pants feel more at ease knowing that someone else has already registered for your event. It gener-
ates the element of trust and raises the chance the next person will register as well.
Crossing the price
Another very popular method for improving conversions is the crossed price. It is widely recognized
that the visitor often responds to better value. Once again Amazon and Booking.com are a good
reference on how this is utilized to great eect. They put the current price right next to the crossed
out original price. This allows the potential buyer to easily compare the old price and the new price.
In line with this, when creating your ticket categories, Weemss let’s you put an accent on your valuepropositions, by adding a crossed out price on your registration form for each category.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
50/62
50
ProTip #14
etici cstors to y as aro for ay yars o a t tciqs s
a ipro orti. Crati yor ristratio for it saility i i, is ot ar-
ly o to sr i sals ayor. To stay aa of t pack yo to cosir
prsasi si as a ky factor i icrasi yor t r. Corsio trirs a
CTAs ar a rat ay to a sc prsasi si lts to yor ristratio for. Sip or Lo i o a try t prsasio, otio, trst approac to sll or tickts it
wss!
3. The Importance of Special Offers
What’s a special oer exactly? Basically it’s any kind of sales promotion - discounts, coupons, freebies,prizes, etc. Special oers help attract new customers, retain previous event participants, and in many
cases help counteract the competition, thus increasing the number of registrations for your event.
What Makes an Offer ‘Special’
What makes a sale promotion ‘special’ is that delicate balance, where both your organization and the
potential customer benet from an actual purchase. There are 4 main aspects of a Special oer you
need to consider:
1. Dene a goal for your special oer. What do you want to achieve with your special oer? Nor-
mally you’d want to acquire new customers, reward your existing customers, or simply increase
your event revenue. Once you dene the goal you’re ready to decide on how to meet it.
2. Calculate its protability - as stated above you need to give good value, but without sacricing
protability margins. This is probably the most important part of creating the special oer. It re-
quires some calculations on your side to make sure the oer is healthy for your event revenue.
3. Make it attractive - when we say attractive we don’t mean ashy ‘SALE’ signs, although as we
already said in the previous part of this chapter, they do help. Your customers will always know a
good value oer when they see it. And they will always know a bad one! Your special oers should
never be in the latter category. If you have doubts that your oer isn’t attractive - it probably is
not good enough. Either rethink it or don’t make it at all. Just don’t make it too attractive to the
point where it becomes unprotable!
4. Give it some exclusivity - a special oer works best when it has an element of exclusivity. This is
achieved by limiting your oer in one way or another - making it a timed oer, setting a maximum
number of times it can be used, seasonal sales, returning customer promo codes, etc. Exclusivity
is always good!
Addressing these 4 aspects properly is key to making a great Special oer. There are a number of
ways you can utilize special oers for your event registration process so that it benets not only the
paying customer, but also your revenue.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
51/62
51
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
52/62
52
Special Offer Examples and How They Work
2-for-1 oers
2-for-1 oers are very popular as they are an excellent way to increase conversions and bring morepeople aboard. Unless you are certain to reach the maximum capacity for your event, you will de-
nitely want to consider this option. There’s nothing more sad than a half-empty (or half-full, if like us,
you like to look on the bright side of life) event hall. Keep in mind the 2-for-1 oer equates to a 50%
ticket discount, so if you don’t expect problems with low attendance numbers, that kind of discount
might be a bit high and you may want to go for a dierent Special oer type.
Example: Web Summit set a limited number of 2-for-1 tickets for this year’s edition of the event and
they sold out before their General Tickets even went on sale.
Free upgrade oers
This is a straight up oer that gives participants more value for their money, so as long as such an
upgrade doesn’t mean more expenses for your organization, by all means consider it a good option.
Especially when it’s not directly tied to an actual discount. There’s a whole lot of people who’d jump
at the chance to get a VIP pass for the conference, or watch the concert from the best seats in the
house, or receive a business ticket and all at the price of a regular ticket.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
53/62
53
Free t-shirt / book / anything
Everybody loves a freebie. Again an increased value proposition without an actual discount. Such an
oer can be a good motivator and trigger a purchase for those participants that are still in two minds
about registering for your event. This gets particularly budget-friendly when the freebies are provid-
ed by one of your event partners - you get more registrations, participants are happy with their gifts,
and the event partners get some extra publicity.
20% limited time oer
Percentage discounts for a limited time are always a very strong special oer. They generate urgency
in potential buyers and in most cases trigger a sale. The % o the price can be lower or higher than
the one suggested in this example, but 20% is generally considered to be just about right.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
54/62
54
10% volume discount
You should always keep an eye on what the average amount of tickets per order is. By creating a
Special oer that gives a discount for every order with more than the average number of tickets you
are essentially pushing towards increased order sizes and more sales. If for example you see people
tend to buy 2 tickets per order more often, you can create a 10% discount for 3 or more tickets.
Pre-launch oer
You can use a pre-launch oer before the start of the actual ticket sales. Ask your event website visi-
tors to subscribe to your newsletter if they are interested in attending. In return you will send them a
promotional code with a discount. As an added bonus these oers can be utilized to generate some
buzz around your event and peak the potential buyer’s interest in it.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
55/62
55
50 EUR voucher
One of the strongest performers from these examples. People often see discounts based on a set
amount as a form of credit and makes them want to use that credit on an actual purchase. Obviously
the set amount can vary according to the price of your tickets and as long as it’s an attractive oer,
the potential buyer will see amazing value in registering for your event.
Holiday sale oers
Holidays are always a good time to announce a promotional sale because the customer is hungry for
a good deal and essentially more willing to spend money. In many cases the savvy buyer will be wait-
ing for such a special oer to pop up on your site so they can register for your event at a better price.
Meeting their expectations will go a long way towards retaining these customers in the future, gener-
ating a positive vibe around the event, and improving your brand’s image. Be aware though, that this
kind of Special oer can be somewhat predictable and overusing it might cause your sales outside of
the promotional periods to suer, if your customers learn to anticipate them.
Unnished registrations oers
A powerful technique to bringing back people who didn’t complete the registration process for some
reason. In Weemss you have the option to export all unnished registrations for that very reason - so
you can contact anyone who didn’t go through the whole registration process and maybe oer them
the chance to do so at a reduced price. Send them a promo code with a 10% or 20% discount that’s
only active for the next 24 hours and convert them to event participants fast and easy.
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
56/62
56
Loyal Customer oers
This one obviously requires you to have a database of people who usually attend your events, which
you really, really should! A lot of event registration solutions out there don’t let you to retain all data
after an event. These databases are essential if you’re in the events business and helps build strong
relationships with your customers and with your event partners and sponsors. Then you can send
them a promo code with a ticket discount to show how much you value them.
ProTip #15
Crati a rat spcial or is itly ot rockt scic. hor it’s iportat to -
rsta tat tr ar ars to si prootioal sals itot a stratic approac.
A spcial or ill alays i oo al to t t participat, t oiosly tat o’t
cssarily a a oo pic of siss for yor oraizatio. hr ar so pottial
COnS yo to aar of for coi p it yor Spcial ors straty:
• risk of ali t t xpric
• cras protaility
• lor sals otsi of prootioal prios
• possiility of aai t ra
QuickTipsYou must set a clear goal, do the simple maths, consider your brand and its target audience and
always plan your Special oers carefully. Do this and your prots will skyrocket!
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
57/62
57
Your Event Sales Turbo-Charged by Weemss
Nearly every design decision and feature in Weemss works so that you can sell more tickets than
ever. Because our success is tied to yours the marketing features are based on the latest reports and
all the best-in-business techniques that lead to higher conversion rates. gt start it wss -
it’s free and it will change the way you create, promote, sell, and manage events!
http://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbookhttp://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbook
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
58/62
58
Closing words
9
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
59/62
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
60/62
60
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
61/62
61
Image Credits
1. Science lab logo - Loo ctor si y Frpik
2. Image page 5 - K Tari | So rits rsr
3. Image page 9 - Cristia wiir | So rits rsr4. Image page 16 - Jör Scrt | So rits rsr
5. mage page 21 - Pal Loi | So rits rsr
6. Image page 27 - mical Srs | So rits rsr
7. Image page 30 - bmcr | So rits rsr
8. Image page 36 - m Yasa | So rits rsr
9. Image page 41 - Sio | So rits rsr
10. Image page 47 - S.matis | So rits rsr
11. Image page 51 - maala Roslr | So rits rsr
12. Image page 47 - Akiasa haraa | So rits rsr
http://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/logohttps://www.flickr.com/photos/teegardin/6093699369/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/ch-weidinger/11431775113/https://www.flickr.com/photos/ch-weidinger/11431775113/https://www.flickr.com/photos/tinto/12239180354/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/lovine/5572607422/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/canonsnapper/14695373794/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/benmciver/5147520629/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/yashna13/9918187003/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/bourguiboeuf/14107204329/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/stoo57/7294073804/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/magdalenaroeseler/17135809161/https://www.flickr.com/photos/magdalenaroeseler/17135809161/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/rampx/16364052840/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/rampx/16364052840/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/magdalenaroeseler/17135809161/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/stoo57/7294073804/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/bourguiboeuf/14107204329/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/yashna13/9918187003/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/benmciver/5147520629/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/canonsnapper/14695373794/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/lovine/5572607422/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/tinto/12239180354/https://www.flickr.com/photos/ch-weidinger/11431775113/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/https://www.flickr.com/photos/teegardin/6093699369/http://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/logo
-
8/18/2019 Organizing Events on a Zero Budget
62/62
ft
Visit our blog
Get started
https://www.facebook.com/getweemsshttps://twitter.com/getweemsshttp://weemss.com/bloghttp://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbookhttp://weemss.com/?utm_source=zmbook&utm_medium=zmbook&utm_campaign=zmbookhttp://weemss.com/bloghttps://twitter.com/getweemsshttps://www.facebook.com/getweemss