8 Ways to Sell More Tickets for Your Nonprofit’s Fundraising Event

Posted on November 8, 2021

The success of any fundraising event is gauged by the revenue generated by the event which solely depends on the number of attendees to the event. Whether it is an online event or an offline one, the number of people who attend the event determines its success. One of the chief focus areas for a fundraising event is ticket sales.

In a physical event, the nonprofit can sell tickets online or sell paper tickets to attendees through various channels. Selling tickets for virtual events is slightly different. You will need event management software that includes the ticketing feature.

Usually, nonprofits plan the event and send invites through emails, etc. to their regular donors to inform them about the event and urge them to purchase tickets for the same. Also, nonprofits create a buzz about the event through different social media channels to attract their audience for the event.

Nonprofits need to sell more tickets for the fundraising event and this is not an easy task! However, a little planning and strategic thinking can help maximize ticket sales for a fundraising event. Increasing ticket sales directly impacts the total amount of funds raised. Hence, ticket sales is an important area of focus for a fundraising event.

Here are 8 ways to sell more tickets for your nonprofit’s fundraising event:

1. Optimal Pricing of Tickets

The first step towards ticket sales is pricing your tickets right and incentivizing attendees. Make sure to price your tickets such that your attendees see value for money. Pricing tickets too high can discourage your audience and pricing it too low is likely to make your work a lot harder. Find an optimum price for the tickets to your event. This can be done by finding how other nonprofits have priced similar events. Make sure that you cover all the expenses incurred in planning the event while pricing the tickets.

2. Ticketing Tiers

Price tiers for tickets are an effective way to incentivize attendees to come to the event. Some commonly used ticketing tiers include Half-day tickets, early bird tickets, and VIP tickets. Offering discounts is also effective for boosting sales. However, for any kind of ticketing tier, the core price of the ticket must be optimal.

3. Start Selling your Tickets Early

You don’t have to wait until you mail the invitations to start selling the tickets. You can start selling the tickets even before that. You can ask your host committee to sell tickets to their network. Make sure that you set up your online ticket selling platform early so that you can make tickets available to your audience. You can also create excitement around ticket sales through early-bird discounts, etc.

4. Make it Easy to Buy Tickets

Do not have a complicated procedure for buying tickets for the event. Offer safe and secure platforms for purchasing tickets. Make it easy to buy tickets through methods like scanning QR codes for payment, etc.

5. Explain the Benefits of Attending the Event

Put yourself in the position of a potential attendee and think why would you attend the event? Prepare a promotional strategy that explains the benefits of attending the fundraising event for the attendees. You can highlight the purpose for which the funds are being raised. Explain why such causes need the support of the attendees.

You can also highlight the features of the event that will make it interesting for the attendees. For instance, you can call celebrity guests to speak at the event and advertise the name of the celebrity in the promotion. You can make the event interactive and highlight this aspect in your promotions.

You can promise attendees some surprise at the event.

6. Social Promotion

Social media has a wide reach and it is the fastest way to reach a large audience. So, create effective social media campaigns to promote your event through social media channels. You can direct the traffic to your website from where web visitors can easily buy their tickets.

7. Leverage Supporters Networks

One of the most effective ways of increasing ticket sales is leveraging the networks of your supporters. Encourage your donors, supporters, etc. to sell event tickets to their friends, colleagues, etc. This can be done before you start sending out the invitations. You can make the task easier by creating flyers or handouts about your event that your supporters can share with their network.

8. Make Sure to Follow-up

Many nonprofits stop after sending the invitations for the fundraising event! But, it is a good idea to follow up with your invitees to remind and push them to purchase the ticket. However, make sure that you are not a “pushy salesman” while reminding the invitees.

Here’s how the ticketing process for an online event works(for attendees)

• Potential attendees visit your branded ticketing page to purchase access to the date and time for the event. To gain access they will need to register and pay for the event. You can direct your audience to the branded page through social media channels, emails sent, etc.
• People who pay and buy access to the event will receive a unique code through which they can access the event.
• Attendees can enter the unique access code a few minutes before the event starts to enter the waiting room.
• When the event starts, all those in the waiting room will be able to join the event.

The entire process is streamlined through event management software. The platforms are beneficial for organizing both in-person and virtual events. There are several event management platforms available to choose from. Make sure that you evaluate the different platforms and choose the one the best meets the needs of your nonprofit.

How nonprofits can organize a Fundraising Event Using an Event Platform?

• You can host your event on YouTube, Zoom, Facebook, Vimeo, etc. The link for the event can be added to the event page.
• Those who are interested in attending the event will need to register and purchase a ticket for the event.
• You can send a code to the registered attendees through the platform.
• Registered attendees can join the live stream using the code.

Some event platforms facilitate customizing the event page with event details, the theme of the event, colors of your brand, logo, etc. You can promote your event through the event platform with email marketing, social media marketing, and more. Event platforms also provide valuable insights to track the effectiveness of promotional strategies, feedback about the event, and more!

While the needs and budget of each nonprofit vary for the selection of an event management platform, here are some common features to look for while selecting one:

• Customizable
• Easy to use
• Support for set up and maintenance
• Secure payment gateway
• Offer a seamless experience to your audience

It is recommended that you select a platform that supports different types of fundraising events so that you can organize different types of events with ease. It is beneficial to choose platforms that offer features for promotion and marketing. However, the choice of features would largely depend on your budget for the software.

One of the best event hosting platforms is iConnectx. This platform has all the features to support different types of fundraising events for nonprofits. iConnectx includes features that facilitate end-to-end event management from registration and ticket sales to tracking the success of the event.