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SPARXO MAKES IT EASY TO ADD AN EVENT CALENDAR TO YOUR WEBSITE

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN

WHERE SHOULD YOU POST YOUR EVENT? EVENTBRITE, MEETUP, OR FACEBOOK?

A MEATING OF MINDS — HOW THIS COMPANY IS CHANGING THE WAY MEAT IS CONSUMED

LEARN WHAT TICKETING COMPANIES ARE HIDING – A COMPARISON

EVENT PROMOTER’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO EMAIL PROMOTIONS

HOW CREATIVE STARTUP LABS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT THEIR SECRET UNDERGROUND POP-UP EVENT USING SPARXO

HOW THE NIGHTWOOD SOCIETY TOOK CONTROL OF THEIR EVENT EXPERIENCE

NONPROFIT EVENTS: 5 REASONS YOU NEED MOBILE TICKETING

HOW THE HOLLAND DRAG SHOW SOLD OUT EVENT TICKETS DESPITE CRITICAL MAYOR

DATA SHOWS THESE NON-PROFIT EVENTS RASIE THE MOST MONEY

BRAND AMBASSADORS AND INFLUENCERS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

AN EVENT PLANNERS 10 SECRET TIPS TO HAVING A SUCCESSFUL EVENT

DATA SECURITY FOR EVENTS: 5 WAYS TO KEEP INFO SAFE

EVENT APPS – ALL HYPE OR WORTH EVERY PENNY

THE SECRET CODE FOR COMPELLING EVENT DESCRIPTIONS

2 Jan 2020

The Secret Code for Compelling Event Descriptions

Your event description is your pitch. It doesn’t just tell your attendees about your event, it tells your attendees why they should come to your event. People will glance at this description and decide if it appeals enough for them to attend, so it’s essential that your description is compelling. But how do you craft a compelling event description? We have 6 pointers to get you rolling.

Name of the Game

A great event name is the first step to getting people to actually read your event description. Great event names grab attention while communicating the gist of your event. A strong event name is not necessarily a summary of the event, but it captures the type of event and entices people to learn more. It should also be memorable and compelling enough to go on promotional materials. Some examples of strong event names:

-Free Shakespeare in the Park

-Happy Hour Silent Disco

-California Academy of Sciences Teen Night

-Exploratorium: Museum After Dark

Raise your Voice

Your event description doesn’t just tell attendees what will happen at your event, it tells them what your event will be like. The voice, or personality, of your event description, gives attendees a sense of your event’s personality. Will the event be a formal dinner? A casual meetup? An exciting trail run? The voice of your event description should match your event’s personality, so potential attendees can get a sense of what sort of atmosphere they can expect at the event.

How do you decide on what sort of voice to use in your event description? You can start by reading descriptions for similar events, getting a sense of their voice. Also, consider your attendees. What are they expecting to get out of the event? What experience would they like to have? Do they want a playful atmosphere or something more serious?

Above all else, your voice should be snappy. You have very few words to capture everything great your event has to offer. Every word needs to serve a purpose, giving key information and incentive to come. You don’t have room for any filler words. When writing and editing your description, strive to make it as lean as possible, cutting unnecessary words while still maintaining your description’s voice. You want to end up with a concise description that captures your event’s key details and personality.

It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It

Your event description needs:

-Date, time, and location

-Event purpose and activities

-Ticket price

-Appealing details

-Call to action

Once you have those elements, it all comes down to how you put them together. If you stuff your description full of filler words and numbers, leading with boring facts, your attendees will likely be overwhelmed and disinterested. But if you stress enticing details like well-known speakers at the event or the good the event does or even free food, your reader will be able to connect with the description.

You’ll want to paint a picture for your attendees with your most important and appealing details, not just throw facts at them. You can always add an FAQ to the bottom of your event description if you have more facts or figures. Not only would people prefer to see the benefits of attending before the time and cost, but reading about the reasons to attend first makes them more likely to accept that cost.

Reading the Room

Where will your description be read? The location of the event description can shape its format and content.

The description on your own website:

Event description on your website gives your extra control, allowing you to shape its format and presentation easily. You can include enticing media like videos and high definition images, as well as links and call-to-action like ticket checkout. Event description on your site is extra effective if your tickets are also sold directly from your site, allowing for direct conversions. You can use Sparxo to post your event description and sell tickets for your event directly from your website with no redirects – all for free! Sparxo lets you:

- - Import your guest lists and sales lists from other systems
  - aggregate all of your customer data in one place
  - Keep 100% of your ticket sales
  - White Label, greatly improves SEO and Brand

Event Description in Email:

An event description needs to stand out more than ever in a crowded inbox. You’ll want to use a short subject line, ideally under 60 characters, personalized with the recipient’s name. Including some value proposition and urgency (Free Shakespeare, Tickets Limited!) may increase the email’s open rate. Making a picture of your brand and company name visible from the inbox will also help, especially if the recipient has opened your emails in the past.

In the email, the event description should especially be concise and compelling. The description should still stress incentives and the appealing details upfront, but everything should lead to a call-to-action button. Put one of these call-to-action buttons at the top and bottom of your email, making finding it as easy as you can. On your website, potential attendees are likely already in your funnel, tickets always a few clicks away. But in email, your goal is to get them into your funnel by clicking your call-to-action button. Your description should entice attendees to attend your event and learn more about this event by clicking the call-to-action.

Event description on social media:

Social media event descriptions will likely be extra concise, as you have less space and less control than on your own website. You’ll also want to take advantage of social media graphics, using thumbnails that grab interest. Including pictures of people in your thumbnail, especially emotional and expressive people, have been shown to increase click rates. On Facebook, inviting all your friends to the event can increase event visibility, especially if you invite them with a personalized message, stressing how they personally can connect with the event. You may also want to consider employing social media advertisements for your event, which tend to be more reasonably priced and accessible than other paid event advertising. Just be due the ad targets people in the event’s area and target demographics.

Keywords Are Key

Crafting an event description is a key step in search engine optimization or SEO. You want your event description to be seen by as many people as possible, but also as many interested people as possible. Use keywords in your event description that people interested in your event might search for. Pick out a few keywords, like, and then be sure those keywords are featured prominently and often in your event description. If your own website is already optimized for similar keywords, using free software like Sparxo to put your event description and ticket sales on your own website could improve SEO for this event and future events

Go Easy on the Eyes

TLDR (too long didn’t read) is the kiss of death for event descriptions. But too long doesn’t just mean there are too many words – it means the paragraphs were too long, that your event description contains big blocks of text that nobody has time to comb through.

Don’t overwhelm your reader with text. Instead:

-Split description into sections

-Use bold headings

-Use bullet points instead of long paragraphs

-Restate the important details at the top and bottom

An easy-to-read event description means more of your description actually gets read, which means more attendees.

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER BLOG POST ARTICLES:

SPARXO MAKES IT EASY TO ADD AN EVENT CALENDAR TO YOUR WEBSITE

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN

WHERE SHOULD YOU POST YOUR EVENT? EVENTBRITE, MEETUP, OR FACEBOOK?

A MEATING OF MINDS — HOW THIS COMPANY IS CHANGING THE WAY MEAT IS CONSUMED

LEARN WHAT TICKETING COMPANIES ARE HIDING – A COMPARISON

EVENT PROMOTER’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO EMAIL PROMOTIONS

HOW CREATIVE STARTUP LABS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT THEIR SECRET UNDERGROUND POP-UP EVENT USING SPARXO

HOW THE NIGHTWOOD SOCIETY TOOK CONTROL OF THEIR EVENT EXPERIENCE

NONPROFIT EVENTS: 5 REASONS YOU NEED MOBILE TICKETING

HOW THE HOLLAND DRAG SHOW SOLD OUT EVENT TICKETS DESPITE CRITICAL MAYOR

DATA SHOWS THESE NON-PROFIT EVENTS RASIE THE MOST MONEY

BRAND AMBASSADORS AND INFLUENCERS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

AN EVENT PLANNERS 10 SECRET TIPS TO HAVING A SUCCESSFUL EVENT

DATA SECURITY FOR EVENTS: 5 WAYS TO KEEP INFO SAFE

EVENT APPS – ALL HYPE OR WORTH EVERY PENNY

27 Nov 2019

Event Apps – All Hype or Worth Every Penny

Apps are taking over the events world.

Everyone from a world-class event production agency to small local event management services providers are adopting various apps that help to plan various tasks, interact with attendees, and promote your brand.

However, there’s one question that many event planners often ask – do the most popular apps live up to the hype, or are they just technological fads that will go away in a few years?

Well, to answer that question, we decided to explore the subject of event apps and see which (if any) apps can be an actual improvement over organizing events the old-fashioned way.

Ready to get started? Then read on below.

APPs for Networking

As any event agency will tell you, networking plays a vital role in almost any business event, and so it’s not surprising that apps are offering to streamline the process and make it more effective.

Apps that are available today can make networking before, during, and after events much easier, seamlessly integrating with social media platforms and helping people connect and find colleagues that are relevant to them.

For instance, the Whoa app completely changes the way event attendees make plans – it allows planning attendance of various panels and sessions according to their chosen focus.

It also provides bios and social media links for the speakers and participants, which makes it much easier to connect with the right people and know exactly how to get the most out of every event.

For those organizing events themselves, Attendify offers the option to create their own private social network where attendees can post updates, share photos, and communicate with one another.

APPs for Conferences

Another popular category of apps that are used by event management services providers in the UK and beyond are conference apps.

These apps also cover similar aspects to those discussed in the previous section, but they are uniquely designed to suit the needs of conference organizers and attendees.

It allows attendees to plan their itinerary quickly, learn more about the speakers and participants, network with others, and even discuss various aspects of the events with their peers on the app itself.

Apps like these are designed to help attendees get the best possible experience from the event, so any event production agency is naturally interested in using these tools to make that happen.

Some apps, like Guidebook, even allow you to create a completely customized app experience for your event using their intuitive drag-and-drop system.

This allows you to remain on-brand and focus on the areas and functionality that you deem are the most important to your audience instead of having to rely on a generic layout that is the only option in some of the other apps.

APPs for Consumer Events

Finally, we need to go over apps that are designed to fit the needs of consumer events such as festivals or public gatherings.

As you probably know, today’s consumers expect brands to offer personalized experiences that are catered to the individual’s needs and preferences.

With the help of a few apps, you can do just that, allowing attendees to plan ahead and make the most of their time, participating in the activities that they deem the most worthwhile.

You can even customize the apps to send push notifications so that the person is reminded where an artist or speaker that they want to see is about to perform.

These types of apps can work for a range of consumer events, including music or art festivals, food festivals, or even gatherings related to a particular event.

In the end, these apps help visitors get the most out of their experience, which is the goal that every event planner tries to achieve anyway. The difference with apps is that a lot of the processes can be automated, freeing up the time of the event’s staff to focus on more productive tasks.

Apps like Sparxo even offer convenient branding and advertising opportunities, which gives you more flexibility to not only promote your own events and company but also strike deals with partners, increasing your revenue in the process.

Final Verdict: Are Event Apps Here to Stay?

Now that we’ve gone over some of the most popular uses of event apps, we need to reach a final conclusion – are event apps worth using and will they become even more prominent in the future?

Well, at this point, you probably know what the answer is.

Event apps make the lives of the attendees easier by offering various features, helping them get the most out of their time, and providing useful information about speakers, performances, activities, and people that the attendees may be interested in connecting with.

But even more so, they help event planners increase the satisfaction levels of their guests, as well as free up time it would otherwise take guiding the guests in person for more productive activities.

Apps help streamline a lot of the processes that were previously harder to control – by providing people with information and also giving them a platform to communicate and connect, these apps will continue to be on the rise, as more event companies see the value of getting their events into the mobile devices of the attendees.

If you want your attendees to start reaping the benefits of using apps, you need to figure out which ones work best for the types of events you want to put together or consult with a professional event production agency on how to get the most out of what today’s app technology has to offer.

About Sparxo

There are many details to take care of when planning an event. Sparxo is the platform for you. You will need to provide information about the event, like what type of venue it is, how many attendees you expect, and if alcohol will be served. If your organization runs several events, multiple event coverage is also available. Sparxo enables you to enter event registration and ticketing on to any website with no other brand or logos, produce media-rich pages to assist with your brand and selling efforts, offers a straightforward guest arrival app and permits you to possess all of your information, therefore, you’ll be able to track your progress. There are not any layer levels of access to options. everybody has full access to all options.

Author Bio
Sarah Hill is a content writer at Seven Events Ltd – an event agency in Birmingham, offering event production and conference organising services in the UK. She started her career in the events industry almost a decade ago as time progressed she became an avid event blogger sharing her insight on corporate event planning.

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER BLOG POST ARTICLES:

SPARXO MAKES IT EASY TO ADD AN EVENT CALENDAR TO YOUR WEBSITE

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN

WHERE SHOULD YOU POST YOUR EVENT? EVENTBRITE, MEETUP, OR FACEBOOK?

A MEATING OF MINDS — HOW THIS COMPANY IS CHANGING THE WAY MEAT IS CONSUMED

LEARN WHAT TICKETING COMPANIES ARE HIDING – A COMPARISON

EVENT PROMOTER’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO EMAIL PROMOTIONS

HOW CREATIVE STARTUP LABS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT THEIR SECRET UNDERGROUND POP-UP EVENT USING SPARXO

HOW THE NIGHTWOOD SOCIETY TOOK CONTROL OF THEIR EVENT EXPERIENCE

NONPROFIT EVENTS: 5 REASONS YOU NEED MOBILE TICKETING

HOW THE HOLLAND DRAG SHOW SOLD OUT EVENT TICKETS DESPITE CRITICAL MAYOR

DATA SHOWS THESE NON-PROFIT EVENTS RASIE THE MOST MONEY

BRAND AMBASSADORS AND INFLUENCERS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

AN EVENT PLANNERS 10 SECRET TIPS TO HAVING A SUCCESSFUL EVENT

DATA SECURITY FOR EVENTS: 5 WAYS TO KEEP INFO SAFE

25 Nov 2019

Data Security for Events: 5 Strategies to Keep Inf...

Today, technology means everything, and it’s no different for nonprofit event planners. While technology can streamline the entire process, there are several security implications that come with it.

From payment information to mailing addresses, there are a number of reasons why hackers would want to steal your data. Because of this, nonprofits have no choice but to expand their event planning efforts for the online community.

Whenever we engage with the internet today, and especially when it includes payment processing or data entry, it usually involves multiple parties. In other words, both guests and planners need to be aware that the security of their processes relies on a configuration of various elements, not just one.

Data security starts with your nonprofit. Lead by example and implement extra security measures; don’t just tell users what they need to do.

Unfortunately, if your potential guests don’t know that their data is protected, they won’t register in the first place. Then, your team will miss its fundraising goals by a longshot.

In order to protect your sensitive event data, follow these effective practices:

Invest in authentication tools.
Use a secure registration platform.
Constantly stay updated.
Restrict access to data.
Be prepared for a breach.

More likely than not, most of your supporters spend ample time online. To reach them, you need to leverage technology. Unless you take the appropriate security measures, your event data will be vulnerable to cybercriminals. If you’re ready to start protecting your event data, let’s dive in!

Invest in authentication tools.

When it comes to any online platform, you should implement some sort of authentication tool. This is especially true when handling sensitive data for events. Doing the bare minimum isn’t safe anymore, so take a proactive approach to security.

These days, traditional login credentials (i.e. a username and password) are no longer enough. Instead, you’ll need to implement an extra layer of protection. That’s where multi-factor authentication comes into play!

Multi-factor authentication, also commonly referred to as two-factor authentication, ensures that your users are who they say they are. When implemented into your tech plan, guests will enter a few key identifiers:

The username and password which they created to register for your event
A uniquely generated passcode that’s sent to their phone, email, or authenticator app

User authentication has been around since 2011, but many event platforms still don’t leverage this secure tech.

As technology evolves, so do authentication platforms. For instance, passwordless options are available now, too. Plus, they’re just as secure as two-factor authentication! Password-free login can be anything from a generated email with an encrypted code to fingerprint scanning. Each has a unique process, but all put an end to the forgotten password conundrum.

To learn more about this unique twist on authentication, visit Swoop’s passwordless authentication guide.

The bottom line: Put up every barrier between hackers and your sensitive event data that you can. User authentication is a powerful first step.

2. Use a secure registration platform.

As a professional event planner, executing events flawlessly is nearly impossible. However, you’ll get much closer to accomplishing this with a comprehensive registration and ticketing platform. You’re bound to increase your registration numbers if you make your registration form as visible and accessible as possible.

However, you need to leverage a secure registration platform. Otherwise, your private event data will be vulnerable to cybercriminals. When researching your next platform, keep an eye out for these key security features:

Encryption. Since you’ll be handling sensitive payment data, find a platform that encrypts that data. In other words, it should scramble the data and store it in a way that’s useless to unauthorized users.

Secure integration. There’s more to an event than just registration. Because of this, you’ll need to leverage other software solutions such as event planning and marketing platforms. However, make sure those integrations are secure!

Check-in badges. A comprehensive registration platform will feature badge scanning for guests to check in. Not only is this more secure, but it’s also quicker than traditional check-in methods.

When selecting event software, ensure that it promises a secure experience for all parties involved. There are a number of safety features to consider in your registration platform. These are just a few baseline requirements to keep in mind.

The bottom line: Not only should you leverage user authentication on your own website, but you should also invest in secure event technology that features encryption, secure integrations, and check-in badges.

Need actionable tips for planning outside of your event tech? Check out our Ultimate Event Planning Checklist!

3. Constantly stay updated.

As technology advances, so do hackers’ techniques. To combat this, software providers consistently release updates that specifically target any gaps in security.

To keep up, your event management team should constantly update software. In fact, consider enabling auto-updates. This ensures that you never miss one of these vital updates. From ticketing software to your event website platform, ensure your tech is always up-to-date! All it takes is one slip up and your entire database can wind up in the wrong hands.

However, staying updated has more than one interpretation. Rather than just updating your technology, stay on top of the best digital practices, too!

In addition to authentication tools and secure event tech, there’s a number of other security precautions to take. For instance, you should:

Use a firewall. This is a barrier that protects your system from harmful software encountered online.

Install anti-malware software. This will protect your system from all types of malicious software.

- Use secure, unique passwords. Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts.

Exercise caution with public Wi-Fi networks. Sometimes, hackers disguise their Wi-Fi by naming it after a nearby business.

Once you’ve compiled a list of best security practices, share any useful information you learn with your event guests.

The bottom line: By constantly updating your software, you stay one step ahead of hackers. Stay on top of the best security practices and share them with your event guests, too!

4. Restrict access to data.

It may come as a surprise that your staff is just as likely to create security gaps as your event guests are. Because of this, you should restrict access to data both externally and internally.

To jump-start this protective strategy, try the following:

Require passwords for all accounts. Without passwords, anyone could access staff members’ or attendees’ emails and private data. Then, hackers have a direct route to other data as well.

Limit accessibility settings. For instance, attendees shouldn’t be able to see anyone’s information but their own. As for employees, they shouldn’t be able to see private guest data such as payment information. Make sure to adjust the settings on a user-by-user basis.

Enforce password requirements. This means enforcing special characters, a minimum number of characters, a mixture of letters and numbers, and so on. Otherwise, users will create easily-guessed passwords that aren’t secure.

Provide passcodes for events. When hosting a private event, have registrants use a passcode to log into your event app or website. Then, share that passcode with a specific list of people. This will limit public access to information such as event location, time, and so on.

Anyone who has access to private event data is responsible for keeping that information private. However, in the event that a breach does occur, your company or nonprofit will instantaneously take the fall, making your event go viral for the wrong reasons.

The bottom line: Not everyone should have access to your event data. Restricting access can be anything from editing accessibility settings to enforcing password alternatives.

5. Be prepared for a breach.

Although you can implement a billion safety features, there’s still a strong likelihood that your data will be hacked. Because of this, you’ll need to put a cyberattack plan in place.

Create a Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Have registrants sign a form that protects you legally in case there is a breach. Don’t allow them to sign up for your event otherwise. This ensures that they know what’s happening with their private data.

Regularly back up your data. Don’t risk having to start from scratch. Ensure backups are encrypted and stored offsite or in a cloud-based system. Then, test these backups to see if the information is still coherent.

Create an incident response plan. Your team’s natural instinct may be to freak out after a breach. To avoid this, make sure there’s a plan in place so that they know exactly what to do.

What to Do After a Breach Occurs

You’ve protected your data to the best of your ability, but a breach still occurs. What do you do next?

Well, you should have backed up all your data, so ensure that the copy is still intact. Then, follow these steps:

Alert the proper authorities. They may not be able to do anything, but you need the incident to be on the record.
Check your backup. See if that data is still intact and usable. That way, you know if you need to have participants register again. To entice guests to sign up again, make sure you have an engaging fundraising event planned (click here for inspiration!).
Be transparent. Let event registrants know what happened immediately. They’ll be worried (maybe even mad), but they’ll appreciate the honesty. Then, they can take the appropriate steps on their end.
Announce the steps you’re taking and the steps guests should take. While your team finds out what data was taken, registrants should change account passwords and report their payment information as stolen.

No matter how many security measures you implement, you can never fully prevent a breach. However, to grow event support, all you can do is be prepared and hope for the best.

Thankfully, embeddable tools have come a long way over the past decade, and you no longer have to make a choice between security and user experience. Creating a streamlined authentication process while using secure registration tools should help an organization cover all its bases.

Now that you know the ins and outs of event data security, don’t wait; start protecting your guests’ data today!

Author: John Killoran

John Killoran is an inventor, entrepreneur, and the Chairman of Clover Leaf Solutions, a national lab services company. He currently leads Clover Leaf’s investment in Swoop, an authentication service that eliminates the need for passwords on websites and apps.

Swoop launched in late 2018 and helps software providers upgrade their single or multi-factor login experience and shed obsolete passwords. With Swoop, instead of logging in, users “message in” with two taps: one to create a pre-addressed email and the second to send it. Authentication is secured by cryptographic keys inserted by the email server—infinitely more secure than a password. Swoop is now the authentication expert for teams that build everything from data analytics platforms to e-commerce apps.

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER BLOG POST ARTICLES:

SPARXO MAKES IT EASY TO ADD AN EVENT CALENDAR TO YOUR WEBSITE

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN

WHERE SHOULD YOU POST YOUR EVENT? EVENTBRITE, MEETUP, OR FACEBOOK?

A MEATING OF MINDS — HOW THIS COMPANY IS CHANGING THE WAY MEAT IS CONSUMED

LEARN WHAT TICKETING COMPANIES ARE HIDING – A COMPARISON

EVENT PROMOTER’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO EMAIL PROMOTIONS

HOW CREATIVE STARTUP LABS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT THEIR SECRET UNDERGROUND POP-UP EVENT USING SPARXO

HOW THE NIGHTWOOD SOCIETY TOOK CONTROL OF THEIR EVENT EXPERIENCE

NONPROFIT EVENTS: 5 REASONS YOU NEED MOBILE TICKETING

HOW THE HOLLAND DRAG SHOW SOLD OUT EVENT TICKETS DESPITE CRITICAL MAYOR

DATA SHOWS THESE NON-PROFIT EVENTS RASIE THE MOST MONEY

BRAND AMBASSADORS AND INFLUENCERS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

AN EVENT PLANNERS 10 SECRET TIPS TO HAVING A SUCCESSFUL EVENT

15 Nov 2019

An Event Planner’s 10 Secret Tips To Having ...

Introduction:

Behind every successful marketing event is an ingenious Event Planner with a bag of tricks. These are tried and tested tactics for increasing ticket sales and executing a flawless event.

Are you looking for secret tips to help make an upcoming event successful? Then, this eGuide is just what you need!

Plan well in advance

Depending on the size of your event you may want to start your planning six months in advance or just about a month in advance. The key is to be prepared. Trying to launch a successful event overnight can be incredibly difficult.

“Creating a truly memorable event is always a challenge. Whether it’s a tea party, music concert, community fair or even just a dinner at home: the key to an unforgettable event is careful planning and details, details, details.” – Chantal Williams, founder of Blossom & Co event management company in Orange County

So bring out your planners, checklists, address books, charts and anything else that will help you with the details. Plan for scenarios A, B and C. Set expectations with your vendors in advance so that you minimize last-minute changes. Get it all in order so that you have time for a dry run and any unexpected curveballs along the way.

Depending on the type of event you’re planning, you may want to keep the following in mind to make sure you cover all of your bases:

Event insurance
Disclaimers – video, photo, alcohol, age limitations
Security emergency plans
Water stations
Coat check
Bringing ATMs on site
Internet access
Starting cash banks
Flashlights, pepper spray or tasers for staff in case of emergencies

Enter your information below to receive the full eGuide for free!

We promise we don’t sell your information or abuse it.

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER BLOG POST ARTICLES:

SPARXO MAKES IT EASY TO ADD AN EVENT CALENDAR TO YOUR WEBSITE

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN

WHERE SHOULD YOU POST YOUR EVENT? EVENTBRITE, MEETUP, OR FACEBOOK?

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LEARN WHAT TICKETING COMPANIES ARE HIDING – A COMPARISON

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HOW CREATIVE STARTUP LABS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT THEIR SECRET UNDERGROUND POP-UP EVENT USING SPARXO

HOW THE NIGHTWOOD SOCIETY TOOK CONTROL OF THEIR EVENT EXPERIENCE

NONPROFIT EVENTS: 5 REASONS YOU NEED MOBILE TICKETING

HOW THE HOLLAND DRAG SHOW SOLD OUT EVENT TICKETS DESPITE CRITICAL MAYOR

DATA SHOWS THESE NON-PROFIT EVENTS RASIE THE MOST MONEY

BRAND AMBASSADORS AND INFLUENCERS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

6 Nov 2019

Brand Ambassadors and Influencers: What You Need t...

There are more ways than ever to market your event these days, but it can be hard to cut through the noise. Social media serves up a constant stream of possible events that you may have never heard of 20 years ago. How do you get your event to stand out?

The answer: Find a cheerleader! Brand ambassadors and influencers can help take your event from ho-hum to one of the premiere, can’t-miss events of the season.

Brand Ambassadors

A brand ambassador is a loyal customer or previous patron who is eager to help promote your brand simply because they love it. Nonprofits and any kind of fundraising event for the greater good are especially well-suited for brand ambassadors who are passionate about the cause, and for most people, simply retweeting or sharing an invite on Facebook is an easy way for them to show their support. The ideal brand ambassador does more, though, offering personal perspectives about why others should support you.

Authenticity is key when it comes to brand ambassadors. Referrals and recommendations shouldn’t feel canned or like just another advertisement. Personal experience with the event or organization is going to be important. Stories rule when it comes to today’s marketing landscape, so you want someone who can share their story.

“A great brand ambassador can cut through the clutter and say things about your company and brand with more credibility than you can because they won’t make money as a result,” marketing professional Derek Netwon pointed out in an article in Entrepreneur.

Look for brand ambassadors who are already excited about your organization, event, or mission. It’s best if they’ve already had some experience with you. If you’re new and still trying to build up a following, offer a product or service for free as a way to draw in fans who will then share their enthusiasm with others. Offer a free class or a free ticket to an event and encourage attendees to share their experiences. Once you get a couple of people reporting on their experiences (hopefully good), the investment will be well worth it.

Be sure to also reward your brand ambassadors. Recognize them and thank them, and when possible, offer free goods. That will keep them coming back.

Employees As Brand Ambassadors

Hopefully, employees will feel passionate enough about your organization that they will be your biggest cheerleaders. They can be vital in helping to spread the word about an important event because they will have inside knowledge and will be more invested in its success. However, recruiting employees as brand ambassadors can be tricky because outsiders will question their authenticity. Employees who participate in social media campaigns should do so voluntarily and should identify their affiliation, otherwise, their authenticity will be questioned. Encourage insiders to share the message in their own words.

How To Find a Social Media Influencer

Do you know how books have blurbs from famous authors on the back to help sell the book? Influencers work in much the same way, except they can do even more to generate excitement about an event.

A social media influencer is someone who already has a platform. While big-name stars can make great influencers, you don’t have to think big to find an effective influencer. Popular bloggers within your niche are often one of the best ways to generate buzz because they’ve established themselves as authorities on the subject. Thought leaders and prominent writers in your industry can also be vital in getting your event the attention it needs.

Shama Hyder, CEO of the Marketing Zen Group and author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing, suggests using Twitter to find influencers. She recommends you first find people in the niche, then find out who they’re following. You ultimately want to find an influencer who

is active on Twitter (tweets more than once a day);
interacts with followers in a meaningful way – participates in conversations; and
posts engaging content (doesn’t just post what they had for breakfast).

You, or someone on your team, then become part of that influencer’s circle, interacts, and shares information that s/he might like, and will, hopefully not only retweet with their own message and encourage others to share. To find people who might be good influencers for an event in your area, check out localtweeps.com. It might take a while to find an influencer who will help promote your event, but the payoff is worth it.

Be Something To Cheer About

Finding a cheerleader to help promote your event requires your organization to present an image that has integrity. You need to promise what you deliver. It will be hard to get others excited about your event if you and others working on it aren’t excited, too. Creating an experience others will talk about is the first step, making it easier to recruit others. Once that’s done, putting in just a bit of extra effort in finding brand ambassadors and influencers can be just the boost your marketing campaign needs to help you stand out from the crowd and help make your event or experience one not to be missed.

For help planning your event, check out Sparxo’s Event Planning Checklist.

Using the latest tech to make it easier for you and your guests, Sparxo provides an easy-to-use online platform for selling tickets, managing your event, and staying in touch with your followers. And, unlike other ticketing platforms like Eventbrite or Ticketmaster, we won’t take huge portions of your ticket sales or promote competing events. Plus, Sparxo is committed to giving back – we donate part of our proceeds to nonprofits.

Get started with building your event here.

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER BLOG POST ARTICLES:

SPARXO MAKES IT EASY TO ADD AN EVENT CALENDAR TO YOUR WEBSITE

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN

WHERE SHOULD YOU POST YOUR EVENT? EVENTBRITE, MEETUP, OR FACEBOOK?

A MEATING OF MINDS — HOW THIS COMPANY IS CHANGING THE WAY MEAT IS CONSUMED

LEARN WHAT TICKETING COMPANIES ARE HIDING – A COMPARISON

EVENT PROMOTER’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO EMAIL PROMOTIONS

HOW CREATIVE STARTUP LABS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT THEIR SECRET UNDERGROUND POP-UP EVENT USING SPARXO

HOW THE NIGHTWOOD SOCIETY TOOK CONTROL OF THEIR EVENT EXPERIENCE

NONPROFIT EVENTS: 5 REASONS YOU NEED MOBILE TICKETING

HOW THE HOLLAND DRAG SHOW SOLD OUT EVENT TICKETS DESPITE CRITICAL MAYOR

DATA SHOWS THESE NON-PROFIT EVENTS RASIE THE MOST MONEY

1 Nov 2019

Special Event Insurance: Do You Need It?

While it’s probably not a part of organizing an event you want to think about, planning for the worst is vital for minimizing the financial impact of an accident or other unforeseen events to your business or organization. While most businesses and organizations carry a general liability policy, special event insurance is an add-on that can help protect your company in case of an unforeseen accident at your fundraiser, gala, concert, or other types of events.

Reasons to Get Special Event Insurance

General liability insurance may not cover the unique factors involved with special events. For nonprofits and other organizations, this can make them vulnerable. Heather Brown of The Nonprofit Insurance Program, an organization that helps nonprofits obtain insurance, warns, “Typically, these policies [gen liability insurance] only provide coverage and protection for normal daily operations.”

If you’re hosting an event where alcohol will be offered, your organization can be held liable for accidents that happen as a result of underage drinking or drinking to excess, which can lead to accidents. You can get special event insurance that specifically covers serving alcohol at the event.

What will you do if your star has to go in for surgery and can’t make your event? Cancellation insurance can help stem the losses.

Unfortunately, accidents happen. Gale-force winds may suddenly come up at your fun run fundraiser, causing a structure to collapse, possibly injuring participants. Special event insurance will help if any claims are filed against your organization for bodily injury or property damage.

If you’re renting from a venue, it may require it; make sure you read the contract carefully.

Where To Buy Special Event Insurance

Special event insurance must be obtained before the event and can be purchased from your insurance agent or company. You can also purchase it from a variety of online insurance vendors. You will need to provide information about the event, like what type of venue it is, how many attendees you expect, and if alcohol will be served. If your organization runs several events, multiple event coverage is also available.

How Much Will Special Event Coverage Cost?

The cost of special event coverage will vary by state, the number of participants and guests, type of event, and other factors. Here are just a few examples of some quotes. These are only examples; you should contact your insurance agent or investigate some possibilities on your own for your specific needs.

*Indoor auction, 150 participants, $250

*Fun run, 200 participants: approximately $300

*Outdoor concert, 500 guests, $450

Note: These are estimates provided by online insurance companies. Actual results may differ.

Experts say that special event insurance is vital for any organization that puts on events. When you consider the protection it gives your organization from a bigger financial impact due to circumstances out of your control, talking to your agent about whether this coverage is needed is an essential item on your event-planning to-do list.

There are many details to take care of when planning an event. Let Sparxo help by being your online ticket provider. Using the latest tech to make it easier for you and your guests, Sparxo provides an easy-to-use online platform for selling tickets, managing your event, and staying in touch with your followers. And, unlike other ticketing platforms like Eventbrite or Ticketmaster, we won’t take huge portions of your ticket sales or promote competing events. Plus, Sparxo is committed to giving back – we donate part of our proceeds to nonprofits.

Get started with building your event here.

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER BLOG POST ARTICLES:

SPARXO MAKES IT EASY TO ADD AN EVENT CALENDAR TO YOUR WEBSITE

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN

WHERE SHOULD YOU POST YOUR EVENT? EVENTBRITE, MEETUP, OR FACEBOOK?

A MEATING OF MINDS — HOW THIS COMPANY IS CHANGING THE WAY MEAT IS CONSUMED

LEARN WHAT TICKETING COMPANIES ARE HIDING – A COMPARISON

EVENT PROMOTER’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO EMAIL PROMOTIONS

HOW CREATIVE STARTUP LABS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT THEIR SECRET UNDERGROUND POP-UP EVENT USING SPARXO

HOW THE NIGHTWOOD SOCIETY TOOK CONTROL OF THEIR EVENT EXPERIENCE

NONPROFIT EVENTS: 5 REASONS YOU NEED MOBILE TICKETING

HOW THE HOLLAND DRAG SHOW SOLD OUT EVENT TICKETS DESPITE CRITICAL MAYOR

DATA SHOWS THESE NON-PROFIT EVENTS RASIE THE MOST MONEY

8 Oct 2019

HOW TO INCREASE ATTENDANCE AT YOUR NON-PROFIT EVEN...

If an incredible event happens in a forest, and nobody attends, does it make a sound? An impact? Certainly not as much as it would have made with stellar attendance. You could plan the most incredible non-profit event imaginable, but with low attendance, you’re not going to meet your fundraising goals or spread your message of change. This makes non-profit events something of a numbers game. More attendees mean more donations and more support. Not only does low attendance means limited support, but it also fails to offer social proof for your events, making your brand seem lagging and unpopular. Good attendance is a barrier to entry, a requirement every event needs to meet for even planning to even matter. Okay, so attendance is important. But how do you get attendees non-profit event? Never fear, because Sparxo is going to share 4 ways to get more attendees to your non-profit events.

Supercharge Your Social Media

Our first stop: Social Media. But we’re not talking posts and emojis. No, we’re talking metrics and measurements, to not only raise awareness, but understand what can be improved, and how to optimize for awareness with data in mind. We know that writing long posts only to get no likes and five views can feel like shouting into the void. So let’s work smart, not just hard.

You’ll want to start by finding your core audience. Who has engaged with your posts already? What hashtags do they use? What are their interests? Find these core fans and consistently engage with their post. Taking it one step further, follow and interact with users these core fans follow and interact with. This way you can build an audience with similar interests. You’ll want to stay within a niche – stick to one to two relevant hashtags maximum, ideally with medium or low search traffic. You don’t want to be competing with the whole Twitterverse for views. With your posts, you’ll want to focus on telling a compelling story, not just facts on your organization. Try to attach names and faces to the work your non-profit does. This will connect with readers on a deeper level than bombarding them with simple statistics and details.

Next, find out when your followers and this core audience are the most active on the platform. Maybe they like to use Instagram before work and Facebook before bed, checking their email before work. Free tools like Audiense can show you exactly when your audience is on social media like Twitter, and MailChimp will allow you to see when your newsletter emails are opened. Once you know when to post, schedule your posts. Write them in advance, and use free tools like Hootsuite to post automatically. On Instagram, be sure to take advantage of the “Stories” feature, so that users can see your content when they view your profile, rather than depending on a finicky algorithm. Planning your posts this way, even if you only have a small audience, all of them will actually see your message. This can mean you actually get more eyes on your posts than big accounts who post willy nilly, they’re core audience not online when they are.

Last, give your audience an incentive to actually attend your events. Going from a screen to a live event can be a big jump for some. Many huge accounts fail with attendance because they offer no value proposition, just providing entertainment rather than an incentive to take action and come to an event. Stress the networking opportunities, the community, and experience at your events, not to mention the good they’ll be doing. You should also consider reaching out to influencers in your nonprofit’s niche to help you promote. Their endorsement could be enough to convince hesitant attendees to show up!

Tackle Ticketing

More ticket sales not only means more attendance but greater revenue for your non-profit. Tackling ticketing should be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, it will take a little brain work first. You’ll want to start by analyzing the data from your ticket and registration platform. Determine where your conversions are actually coming from, that way you can who to market to, which demographics to shoot for. Ticket Software like Sparxo offers you a complete array of ticketing analysis tools, allowing you to determine exactly who your attendees are so you can reach them. The real them, not just points on a graph.

Your next step will be to write the best copy description for your event that you can. Is it simple? Does it offer a clear, concise, value proposition for attendees? Check out this template for event descriptions.

Once you know exactly who your target attendee is, and you’ve written a killer description to reach them, you’ll want to look for ways to streamline the ticketing process. What’s the experience like for a potential attendee? Go through the ticketing process yourself on both mobile and desktop, taking note of how much time and effort it takes just to buy a ticket.

Finally, consider switching software. As an event planner, you’re looking for a free way to sell as many event tickets as possible and keep as much revenue as you can. However, most ticket sales software like Eventbrite or Ticketmaster take huge portions of sales, cost too much, promote competing events, and eclipse your own brand. You can use Sparxo to post your event and sell tickets for your event anywhere, letting you sell tickets online with no redirects – all for free!

Import your guest lists and sales lists from other systems
aggregate all of your customer data in one place
Keep 100% of your ticket sales
White Label, greatly improves SEO and Brand

Master Messaging

Create a responsive landing page for your event, optimized for mobile and desktop, including desktop, platforms is a powerful step toward master your messaging. We recommend putting your ticket funnel front and center, linked to a mailing list, along with a description of your event and eye-catching media. This way if potential-attendees can’t commit to buying a ticket right away, the funnel will squeeze their email. Your non-profit will then have the chance to build a relationship over email, your company’s message of change and story’s convincing email sign-ups to buy a ticket in the future.

Remember to optimize your page for SEO so interested parties can actually find your event. You can bet your bottom fundraising-dollar that people are searching for fun events in [city name]. You’ll want to want to make sure your event shows up. One way to enhance your SEO is to make sure your event page, ticketing page, and description are all in one place and hosted on your own site. Many ticketing software that claims direct integration (Looking at you, Eventbrite) redirect to their own website when customers buy their tickets. Others even host your description on their site, only with your event’s extension. Whitelabel software like Sparxo allows you to sell tickets directly from your site, with no redirects, meaning that all traffic you get will go to boosting your SEO, not your ticketing company’s SEO.

Consider running pay-per-click social media ads, aimed at your target demographic nearby your event location. These social media ads are both more affordable than traditional billboards and banners, and pay-per-click, meaning you only pay if someone actually engages with the ad. If you’re on a truly tight budget, stick with low-cost guerilla marketing tactics, like chalk and flyers in high traffic areas. Get creative with your event’s messaging and you’ll get more attention! Check out some of these low-cost guerilla marketing campaigns for nonprofits.

Nail Networking

Event data seems to get better and better every year. Modern ticketing software like Sparxo can give you boatloads of data on your attendees the moment they purchase a ticket, or even if they just consider buying one! This means you can know your attendee’s demographics, background, and past of engagement with your non-profit. Not only will you be able to organize your networking, but you can come into interactions knowing what you might have in common with specific attendees, and how best to tailor a pitch to their interests. In addition to making fundraising more successful, this will personalize and improve the attendee experience, encouraging retention and greater attendance

You should always be following up with attendees after an event, with plenty of “Thank Yous,” memories from the events, and possibly a call to action. But one of the most neglected and most important components of a follow up is the ever-elusive post-event-survey. These can not only show you what’s working at events, but how to feature these positives, and fix flaws. This focus on feedback is key for building a loyal audience and retaining them. If you’ve been conducting surveys after your past events (which, again, you should be doing), you’ve probably gotten some negative feedback. It hurts, we get it. But these can often be some of the most valuable responses, as these dissatisfied attendees can exactly what your non-profit can improve on to deliver an even more incredible event next time. Look for trends in surveys, both what’s been done well and what’s been done less-than-well. If something tends to come up in review after review, brainstorm a solution with your team, and feature the change in your next newsletter. Not only will this let attendees know you’ve improved your events, but it also shows that you’re listening to your attendees and care about their experience. It’s a great way to boost retention and ultimately attendance at future events.

There you have it, four ways to boost your attendance. While anyone could improve attendance using these steps, very few actually would. It’s up to you to put in the time for your non-profit, even if it can feel like nobody is there to hear your event fall in the crowded forest of events. But follow these instructions and when you’re event drops, it won’t just make a sound – it’ll make an impact.

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER BLOG POST ARTICLES:

SPARXO MAKES IT EASY TO ADD AN EVENT CALENDAR TO YOUR WEBSITE

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN

WHERE SHOULD YOU POST YOUR EVENT? EVENTBRITE, MEETUP, OR FACEBOOK?

A MEATING OF MINDS — HOW THIS COMPANY IS CHANGING THE WAY MEAT IS CONSUMED

LEARN WHAT TICKETING COMPANIES ARE HIDING – A COMPARISON

EVENT PROMOTER’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO EMAIL PROMOTIONS

HOW CREATIVE STARTUP LABS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT THEIR SECRET UNDERGROUND POP-UP EVENT USING SPARXO

HOW THE NIGHTWOOD SOCIETY TOOK CONTROL OF THEIR EVENT EXPERIENCE

NONPROFIT EVENTS: 5 REASONS YOU NEED MOBILE TICKETING

HOW THE HOLLAND DRAG SHOW SOLD OUT EVENT TICKETS DESPITE CRITICAL MAYOR

DATA SHOWS THESE NON-PROFIT EVENTS RASIE THE MOST MONEY

29 Sep 2019

Best Event Ticketing Softwares 2019

Sparxo

Experienced event producers are looking for ticketing software with small ticket fees and big potential for branding and sales. Fortunately, Sparxo offers all the above. With Sparxo software, you can sell tickets directly on your site with no redirects and reasonable fees. Sparxo only charges $1 for tickets under $25, $2 for tickets priced between $25 and $50, and $3 for tickets $50 and above. That means their maximum fee caps at $3!*

While Sparxo charges an extra $0.30 is added to each additional ticket purchased in a bundle, the maximum Sparxo convenience fee is only $3.00 + 2.9% + 0.30* per ticket. This includes the Sparxo application fee and the credit card transaction fee. What’s more? With Sparxo, you also have the option to pass all fees passed to the customer. No credit card or sign up fees, no membership dues – you keep 100% of your ticket price.

While Sparxo’s simple pricing system makes it a strong choice for all demographics, its biggest draw seems to be with experienced event planners, who tend to be more concerned with their branding and attendee experience. Sparxo allows you to embed ticket sales on your website, design powerful splash pages, and discover who your returning customers are via smart guestlists. It’s also mobile compatible and intuitive for attendees. This means that all the event software you need is in one place and at one website, a major advantage for event producers who want to shape every aspect of the attendee experience.

Sparxo’s attendee registration does not redirect like Eventbrite and other well-known ticketing software. All traffic goes to your site and stays there, allowing you to shape every step of their experience. By using Sparxo to sell tickets directly from your site, you could decrease your bounce rate, increase retention, boost your SEO, and brand. With Sparxo, all event organizers have access to all features Sparxo offers.

At Sparxo, we understand that our event producers may have to deal with sudden cancelations or refunds. We get it. Just let us know and not only will the customer be refunded, but they’ll also get their Sparxo fees back too. And if you ever need to cancel or postpone? You pay no cancellation fees either. Plus, Sparxo offers customer service to every client even nonprofit organizations with free events. A Sparxo customer service representative is always available by chat on their website or email at contact@sparxo.com.

Real Customer Review: 5/5

“Pros: Sparxo is great to use for events – it’s easy to track guests as well as collaborate with fellow event co-organizers. The layout is very easy to learn and create events. I like the event splash page which personalizes your event and the app which allows you to easily check-in guests. Sparxo’s customer service is also excellent and they are very responsive if you have any questions.

Cons: …Some people are unaware of Sparxo – I have to explain what the company is.”

Eventbrite

Eventbrite is the Kraft Mc ‘N Cheese of ticketing software – it’s everywhere, convenient, and easy to get started, but may not be the best or most substantive choice for more experienced event producers.

Eventbrite’s Essentials package is 2% + $0.79 per ticket which limits you to one ticket type and their Professional package which is comparable to Sparxo’s offerings is 3.5% + $1.59. Only the Professional package allows users to sell tickets from their own site, get sales analytics, or sell different ticket types. Eventbrite’s gives you the option to either “absorb” your fees and pay them from ticketing revenue, or pass them on to your ticket buyers. The majority of event organizers who pass fees to their attendees pay nothing out of pocket to use Eventbrite, although attendees will be paying a higher ticket price to make that possible.

Although Eventbrite’s ‘Profesional’ plan claims direct integration to your website, most clients ultimately have their customers redirected to Eventbrite’s own website. Why? Well, unless you’re one of Eventbrite’s biggest clients (out of thousands!) or adhere perfectly to their long list of rules, Eventbrite will redirect leads from your website to your Eventbrite page. That means a higher bounce rate, lower retention, and far worse SEO. Sure, Eventbrite pages may be easy to find, but readers aren’t boosting your website’s traffic, their boosting Eventbrite’s. While this tradeoff can sometimes be acceptable if brand and SEO aren’t a priority, ultimately experienced Event producers who value their SEO would be wise to steer clear of Eventbrite.

One of Eventbrite’s lesser-known blemishes: they can promote your competition. When traffic is redirected to your Eventbrite page, potential attendees can see your event, sure, but they also see similar events, recommended by Eventbrite. Their on Eventbrite’s site, after all, not yours. And Eventbrite’s job is to promote all events, not just yours. This means traffic to your Eventbrite page may be seeing advertisements from competing events, potentially cutting your attendance and brand awareness. With Eventbrite, your customer data is shared with Eventbrite who does send email blasts to your customers on competitor events.

Eventbrite’s customer service can also be a problem, especially on a lower-paying plan, where users must slog through Eventbrite’s online help center. Only with the ‘Professional’ plan do you even get to call or email service representatives. Eventbrite’s service center has been known to be less than sympathetic to its customers, often erring against the customer and the client. If you were to purchase the wrong ticket or experience some technical difficulties, Eventbrite’s customer service would go out of their way to not help you, or at the very least charge you for the difference.

In short, Eventbrite is well-known and intuitive, an excellent choice for event producers just looking to slap together a simple event page as quick as possible. But because their fees are high and their web redirects cut into SEO, Eventbrite may not be such a strong choice for more experienced event producers.

Real Customer Reviews: 3/5

“Pros: Concise

Cons: Very limited flexibility… No customer support whatsoever.”

“I found it difficult to pull money back to our banks considering the large number of accounts and programs we have”

TicketSpice:

Ticketspisce seems to draw most of its users via their relatively low pricing, $0.99 commission per ticket. It’s affordable and it’s simple, sure. But in the end, you get what you pay for. Look a little below the surface and TicketSpice’s simple commission systems start to look a whole lot pricier.

TicketSpice charges that same $0.99 commission per the ticket no matter what, even for free tickets. That means if you have a free event, event planners still have to pay $0.99 commission per ticket sold to TicketSpice. The company further charges the event planner with a credit card processing fee for setting all that up. More sophisticated software like Eventbrite and Sparxo don’t charge either fee, free events selling tickets for free, with no surprise credit card or processing fees.

Hush-hush! TicketSpice also charges you 2 cents every time you and your event goers message each other. This can really add up when your event has a large crowd, meaning your eventgoers will either have to close their lips or event producers will have to open their wallets. TicketSpice’s low initial fee structure means they try very hard to sneak in these sorts of hidden fees, which can irk clients and attendees alike.

Ticketspice’s Achilles heel? The software itself. Sure, their system can be affordable, but a quick glance at their bugs and crashes and event producers can see why. With their latest update, TicketSpice 4.0, users were forced to create a whole new account just to use TicketSpice. This second-signup created a mess of confusion and doppelganger accounts, every new account having new usernames. Users had to message Ticketspice directly to “reserve” their old username. Messy and unorganized, Ticketspice didn’t invest in the time to integrate the new updates into their pre-existing system, which truly shows they do not care about their users.

Real Customer Reviews: 4/5

“Pros: Ticket spice offers a lot more flexibility in putting events together. We had a complex request for our ticketing and TicketSpice was able to help us with that solution

Cons: I believe its a relatively new company so they’re still figuring out the tech side.”

“Cheap, but you get what you pay for”

Purple Pass

On the surface, PurplePass doesn’t seem like an exceptional ticketing software at all, with 2.5% + $0.99 ticket costs, high credit card fees, and expensive wristband and color add-ons. However, PurplePass is one of the few ticketing software to go out of its way to offer personalization, competing with Sparxo for the “Whitelabel” spot. Unfortunately, Purplepass’s software still has a ways to go, as does its customer service. Its fees also run higher than many competitors who offer the same Whitelabel service.

Real Customer Reviews: 4/5

“Pros: The scanners were easy to use. Since most our staff have personal iphones it was easy to use. The reporting tools is awesome because it shows a breakdown of the sales and fees which is easy to read.

Cons: The app felt limited. If we wanted to scan we could only be on the “scanning mode”, if we had a walk-in attendee that needed to purchase a ticket we had to remember to change modes”

“Customer service lacking.”

TicketTailor

TicketTailor is a ticketing software gaining awareness, especially in the arts community for their unique $0.65 per ticket pricing, a simple but potentially costly fee. Tickettailor offers unlimited ticket sales at the same price point, with free tickets being free and a 20% charitable discount. This means that an event selling very few tickets at a high price point has a lot to gain from working with TicketTailor. A bigger event with lower-priced tickets? Not so much.

One of the biggest issues is with ticket tailor is a complete lack of branding. TicketTailor gives users a one-size-fits-all ticket design via their own website. While this can be fine for small musicians or performing arts events, any company with a brand could run into awareness issues using TicketTailor.

Real Customer Reviews: ⅘

“Pros: I really like the ease of use and how simple it is to set up a storefront for tickets. Super quick set up time and very accessible to manage and make quick edits if needed

Cons: I dislike the fact that we cannot customize the look of our tickets and rather are stuck with the default ‘QR’ coded squares that are the printable ‘tickets’. We would like to see something that allows us to be creative with the presentation of our tickets and make them feel like actual concert tickets”

“Wish I had more options on customizing the ticket page.”

If you’d like to try Sparxo after this review, you can get started absolutely free! No obligations. No fees. Just powerful software to help you deliver your killer events.

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER BLOG POST ARTICLES:

SPARXO MAKES IT EASY TO ADD AN EVENT CALENDAR TO YOUR WEBSITE

LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE WITH ATTENDANCE BREAKDOWN

WHERE SHOULD YOU POST YOUR EVENT? EVENTBRITE, MEETUP, OR FACEBOOK?

A MEATING OF MINDS — HOW THIS COMPANY IS CHANGING THE WAY MEAT IS CONSUMED

LEARN WHAT TICKETING COMPANIES ARE HIDING – A COMPARISON

EVENT PROMOTER’S ULTIMATE GUIDE TO EMAIL PROMOTIONS

HOW CREATIVE STARTUP LABS COMPLETELY SOLD OUT THEIR SECRET UNDERGROUND POP-UP EVENT USING SPARXO

HOW THE NIGHTWOOD SOCIETY TOOK CONTROL OF THEIR EVENT EXPERIENCE

NONPROFIT EVENTS: 5 REASONS YOU NEED MOBILE TICKETING

HOW THE HOLLAND DRAG SHOW SOLD OUT EVENT TICKETS DESPITE CRITICAL MAYOR

DATA SHOWS THESE NON-PROFIT EVENTS RASIE THE MOST MONEY