Are you struggling to generate ticket sales for your event? It’s frustrating when invest countless hours into planning an event, only to sell few tickets for it. If this sounds familiar, perhaps you should try the following tips to convert prospects into paid guests.
Target the Right Prospects
Arguably, one of the most important tips to increase conversions of ticket sales is to target the right prospects. Not everyone is going to be interested in attending your event — and that’s okay. By focusing your marketing efforts on individuals who are interested in your events, you’ll reap the benefits of a higher conversion rate. If your event caters towards millennials, for instance, you should focus your marketing towards this demographic. If your event caters to IT/Silicone Valley business types, you should focus on them.
Personalize Marketing Emails
Assuming you promote your events through email, you can boost conversion rates and increase ticket sales by personalizing your messages. According to a study cited by MarketingLand, personalized emails lead to 6 times more transactions than non-personalized emails. When a prospect sees his or her name on the email, they are more likely to open and read it, which means a higher chance of conversion.
Addressing prospects by name, however, is only one way to personalize your marketing emails. Check out our previous blog post here for more email personalization ideas.
Embrace Testimonials
Don’t underestimate the power of testimonials in your event marketing material. According to a 2013 B2B Content Marketing report, 89% of business to business (B2B) marketers view customer testimonials as the most effective content marketing tactic. It instills a higher level of trust and confidence in prospects, increasing the likelihood of them buying a ticket to your event. However, it’s a good idea to ask former guests for permission to use their messages as testimonials.
Follow-Up with Prospects
Just because a prospect doesn’t buy a ticket during your initial correspondence doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she is a lost sale. By following up with prospects, you can often change their mind. So, create a follow-up schedule outlining which prospects you need to contact and when.
Offer an Incentive
Lastly, consider offering prospects an incentive for buying a ticket to your event. If a prospect expresses interest in purchasing a ticket but doesn’t follow through with the checkout process, perhaps you can send him or her an email with a time-sensitive promotional discount. A 15% promo can help convert these prospects into paying guests.