Almost everyone you know has at least one thing in common today: we are all trying to earn enough money to keep ourselves above water, and hopefully put a bit extra in the piggy bank for that upcoming holiday on the beach.

Summer is almost upon us, but how are you going raise enough funds to get through the season without breaking your budget or going completely mental?

Worry not, because you’re not alone. Many organisations are in the same boat, floating down the same dreary river. Whether you’re part of a start-up non-profit or you work for a large corporate entity, you’re likely searching for the fastest way to earn extra money for your purpose.

Always a Celebration

No matter what your purpose is (your business could be anything from a software company to a tea distributor), you can truly benefit from raising funds by selling Event Tickets. Do you normally hold parties for your employees’ milestone birthdays and the like? Invite their significant others and start selling Event Tickets. After all, the cake and decorations weren’t free, were they?

It’s quite lovely to have parties to attend in the summertime, and your neighbours are already filling up their calendars with events, so start planning your party at once, and don’t miss out on the golden opportunity of the sunniest season.

If you’re worried about offending, don’t! No need to charge much at all. Event Tickets are reasonable, and you can print them online in a snap. Choose from hundreds of unique ticket templates that have all the beautiful design-work complete and ready to go, all you’re left to do is print and distribute.

Five Star Fundraising

If you’re an individual or not-for-profit business trying to raise money for a specific purpose or cause, you may run into some obstacles along the way. Without the generosity of sponsors, you likely won’t get far, no matter how important your cause is.
The best way to attract new supporters and new sponsors is to hold an event. Selling Event Tickets makes your event seem popular and fun. If you have to purchase a ticket, then not just any old Joe will show up!

Especially if you choose a bright and colorful design for your ticket, your chances for high ticket sales and a successful fundraising campaign will increase exponentially. Summer won’t wait, so you shouldn’t either – start printing Event Tickets today!

Whether you are organising your first event or your fiftieth, selling enough tickets to make the planning worth your while can be a major concern. Fundraisers ought to run in the black, and galas ought to be well enough attended to make the evening feel, well, like a gala. Playing to an empty house or club is bound to be hard on an artist. For that reason, it’s important that you, the organiser, be willing to reach out to your customers or audience in order to convince them to purchase event tickets.

Paper and Smart Phones

Hanging Posters and Flyers in relevant places is one way to reach out, and it’s important not to overlook the power of print advertising. Consider this: if you are trying to reach a group that spends a lot of time online and depends on their smart phones, you can draw traffic to your website by adding a QR Code to your Posters. It’s a fast and easy way to bring together the physical world and the virtual one, and to spread your message by speaking to your customers on their own terms. A QR Code link to information on your event, or even a virtual box office where people can instantly purchase tickets, can really increase sales.

But there are times when you’ll want to reach out more personally, to more influential people. Sometimes a friendly email or phone call will yield amazing results. Getting the right people to back your event is another way to jump start sales. Calling or emailing people with a lot of cachet who may convince others to support you is a fine idea.

Timing is Everything

If you think it appropriate, a well-timed text message can also help. Consider a Friday night event. Perhaps you haven’t done as much advertising as you wanted to, but you have access to a list of numbers for those who might be interested in your show. A text message sent in the afternoon might influence someone’s plans for the evening.

Communication can be whatever you choose, but, with the proper message, in the proper medium, at the proper time, you can extend your reach and let your voice be heard!

Event promotion can be tricky. How does one ensure the message reaches its intended audience, and once it has arrived, who’s to say that it makes a mark in a world crowded with information? Your potential guests are bombarded with marketing messages every day, meaning that the vast majority of that data flies in under their radar, typically right into the rubbish bin.

Only the most interesting, exciting, and typically costly standard promotions will make a mark.

However, some businesses have discovered an inexpensive way to increase customer confidence, share details, and boost sales: the word of other customers.

When you want the world to know how smashing your upcoming event is to be, rather than shouting the news yourself, seek out the testimony or review of someone who already knows your fine points. If your event is an annual one, ask previous participants to share a few words about how wonderful last year’s festivities were. Musical and theatrical events benefit from supporter reviews; sport event can make use of fan feedback.

One company that has made the most of this model is Amazon. Their sales are based very much on customer reviews. No one need advertise a book or product on Amazon; it is much simpler to rely on feedback from other customers. Potential new customers will take these reviews very seriously into account if they are unsure about a purchase.

Establish your presence online: there are many sites where you can set up a page or take control of an existing one. Search for websites that focus on local groups, community, and, most importantly, user feedback. Find those forums where users actively discuss local events, businesses, and products, set up an account, and become active yourself.

Whenever you have a positive interaction with a guest or customer, in person or online, ask them if they would be willing to write a review for you. Direct them to appropriate websites. Even if the response on this is very small, you only need a few good comments to get started and begin impressing others. With a little luck, others will find your page and leave comments without being asked.

Of course, it’s possible that you will receive negative comments, but this is a hidden blessing. Seeing those criticisms out in the open allows you to address them. You may even want to contact the unhappy person directly. In any event, if your positive feedback outweighs your negative feedback, it should be smooth sailing for your next event.

Now, be hospitable!

Prepare the shop: popular music played at a reasonable volume, food and drink (not too messy), and, of course, your lovely merchandise all set the stage for new sales. Open the doors and welcome customers with open arms.

Add some extra incentives. Perhaps you will print out some raffle tickets and offer one to everyone who attends your grand opening event. The winner will receive some free merchandise from your shop. If you plan to hold such a prize draw, be certain to advertise this fact in advance: print it on your posters, flyers, invitations, and event tickets.

Be available to answer questions. Be certain that your new employees are knowledgeable and create the atmosphere you wish to present. Most importantly: be friendly. Get to know your new customers. Let them see that you are interested in them and they will like you. Teach them to like you and they will more certain to think of you and your business just as soon as they need your products or services.

Once you’ve chosen the day that you’ll open for business, you can begin to publicise the occasion. Be bold! Send out press releases to local news sources regarding your launch party. Invite your neighbors. You can print little invitations and hand deliver them to other local businesses. Some people may allow you to leave a small stack of invitations near their register, so that their customers will see them, bring them home, and remember to attend your grand opening event. You can even print event tickets, which are easily passed out, and will remind guests to attend.

If you already have a logo designed, make the most of it by adding it to print products: not just the above-mentioned invitations and any business cards you may choose to print, but also to some lovely stickers, which you can have printed for very little money, but which will provide you a great amount of publicity.

Stickers may also be left near the register at cooperative local businesses. You can hire students to spread them even further. They may be stuck (with permission) in a variety of places, or your army of young people might be asked to simply distribute them on street corners to interested parties. Be sure that your new helpers are articulate and well-dressed. You will want them to make a good impression!

Whoever you hire to do advance publicity, they will need to be well-informed about your business. The day of your big launch party, the hours you will be open, and a good range of details about your products or services will all be subject to discussion. Make sure you make the best impression by choosing helpers who can make the best impression for you!

Next week: Your Big Launch Party

While you are working to remodel your space and build your inventory, don’t neglect to build your customer base. How is one to create customers prior to the opening of the shop? You must generate a sense of anticipation so that the neighborhood begins to looks forward to your opening day.

You may not have your sign prepared, but you can easily print up some posters showcasing some tantalizing tastes of the services or merchandise you will be offering. Hang these in the windows of your shop as you remodel, and determine whether other local businesses would be willing to let you hang posters and flyers.

Don’t forget to talk to your neighbors! Let other business owners and employees know what you are doing. Speak with enthusiasm and create some word of mouth advertising. When regular patrons of the local pub wonder aloud, “What are they doing next door?” the answer will be forthcoming even when you’re not there to answer.

Another smart choice involves an enticing peak through your windows as you remodel. After you’ve printed and hung your posters, use soap or another easily-washable material to cover most of the glass from the inside, but leave a clear circle at eye level (if you intend to appeal to children, leave two circles—one at the height of an adult’s head, and one closer to the ground) so that curious passers-by can watch the transformation and imagine themselves shopping in your space.

Next week: Advance Publicity

You may spend the entire year working to court donors and raise money. It’s possible that all your events are gala fundraisers with large budgets, resulting in large donations. You might even have a paid staff in charge of operations. But most charitable organisations also depend on volunteers to some extent. They may cover your front desk or man the telephones, canvas the streets or proofread your newsletter, and expect nothing in return.

Yet, you should still offer them something in return!

The Volunteer Appreciation Event is, by definition, less ostentatious than your typical fundraisers. Indeed, many volunteers will be upset if you waste too much money thanking them. But they have provided immeasurable help. Now is your chance to offer some thanks.

Help them to feel special by printing customised invitations for the event. You can even provide an event ticket to each volunteer, or, if you can afford for them to bring guests, provide two event tickets for each volunteer.

You can host the party in your own venue. It should be a comfortable sort of gathering. Offer enough hot tea, or even coffee, if your volunteers prefer, for everyone to feel welcome. An assortment of cakes and biscuits, or, if your volunteers don’t tend to indulge in sweets, fruits and vegetables, completes your simple spread. Whatever you choose to offer, you can print it right on the body of the event ticket so they know what to expect.

All you really need to offer is a cozy gathering where you can express your appreciation to this group. They will enjoy sitting and chatting in a quiet atmosphere, enjoying your refreshments, and feeling the impact they’ve made to your cause!

Even if you this tradition does not catch on, you can still help students celebrate their achievement with a graduation party for your accomplished teens. After all, anyone who makes it through their A levels deserves a party! Whether you hold it in a gymnasium or a pub, your students will enjoy a chance to relax after all their hard work!

And your school can earn a little money to cover the expense of the party and to tuck away for next year by selling tickets to the event. Simply book a popular local band or DJ, finances permitting, or else hire a teen with a loaded iPod to cover the music. Lay out some snacks and drink, clear the floor for dancing, and you’ve created a night they can remember forever.

Print your own event tickets with matching publicity posters to create a marketing strategy. Add to the excitement and the profits when you purchase matching raffle tickets for a prize draw to be held at the end of the party. The more interest you can raise, the more admission tickets you can sell, and the more money you can earn. Meanwhile, these young adults will be able to celebrate in a safe environment.

How can you increase your potential for success? By increasing your guests’ potential for enjoyment!

This is not a one-size solution. Your needs will vary based on your region, the age of your supporters, their particular interests, and may even change from year to year.

You will sell far more event tickets to an event that your community wants to attend due to the excitement factor than you will to one that your supporters attend out of a sense of duty. A high interest gala is in your best interest, and it is your responsibility to do your due diligence. If attendance has been falling off in recent years, it’s up to you to discover why.

Pick up the phone and ring those who are unafraid to speak their minds. Ask them if your annual gatherings have become stale. Ask them what activities they’d rather see.

And don’t stop with your tried and true supporters. If you are not attracting new members every year, your event is not reaching its full potential, and you are not selling as many tickets as you might. Brainstorm to identify new groups and reach out. Approach potential new members and learn what attracts them to an organisation. Update your organisation and your events and find your greatest financial success yet.

Featured organizations and events will receive all the free publicity they can pack into one blog post, including backlinks to your own websites and other events, plus a forum to share pictures, and perhaps some valuable incentives from UK Ticket Printing.

Don’t have an event to share just yet? You can still find plenty of great idea for something you might want to do in the future. Learn from others’ success! Or, learn from their failures. Keep up with current local trends and discover new ideas to invigorate your guests or reinvent your event. Are you invested in staying ahead of the pack and standing out? Learn what everyone else is doing so you can do something else.

We’ll be contacting customers in the upcoming months to find out more, but if you already have a story you’d like to share, just comment on this blog and you could be among the first customer profiles to be featured in this space.