The Don’ts Of Planning Sports Events

• Don’t overlook the minute details of the health and safety of your team members, volunteers, and participants involved. 
• Don’t invest in substandard equipment that might hamper the experience of athletes and event attendees. Think of it as an investment for future events. 
• Don’t overshoot your budget unless you’re expecting guaranteed returns. 
• Don’t get into lop-sided deals that will avalanche into a nightmare during the event day. Sports events can get tricky with a high volume of sponsors, food vendors, and equipment on board. Read twice before signing on the dotted line.
• Don’t burn yourself with all the planning and organizing. Sports events can be a huge task so make sure you delegate all the tasks equally for quicker turnaround time.
• Don’t forget to go over our event day checklist to avoid the last-minute hassles. 

The Do’s Of Planning Sports Events

• Do plan well in advance to start creating and promoting your events. 
• Do choose your indoor and outdoor sports venues smartly. 
• Do create your events through our event ticketing platform for a targeted marketing approach. 
• Do create a contingency plan for when you expect tempers to start flying all over the place. 
• Do work with local establishments and sponsors to boost your event offerings and co-branded visibility. 
• Do invite your local press to cover your event. 
• Do make full use of our Virtual Box Office by creating a General Admissions style of event to maximize revenue with the open-for-all style of entry.

Now, that you have the do’s and don’ts out of the way, see how USC Rip City used Yapsody to grow their community-based basketball association. 

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Burning Man

Burning Man is a multiverse that happens annually in the Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada. The event gets its name from the symbolic burning of their effigy called “The Man”. It is a 9-day art extravaganza organized by the Burning Man Project which started off as a non-profit organization in 2014. This huge gathering is an annual exploration of art through communal efforts, radical self-expression, and participation in the middle of the desert. Life-changing, as cited by many of its attendees. 

Olympics

Inspired by the Olympics festival held in Ancient Greece, the Olympic Games is a global sporting event featuring winter and summer sports with athletes participating from all over the world. A culmination of different sporting events evokes a global spirit of participation, support, and solidarity. For those lucky enough to be the nation hosting an Olympic event, make sure you attend it. 

Coachella 

With headliners such as Snoop Dogg, Beyonce, and Daft Punk, Coachella is a multi-genre art and music festival happening in the Colorado Desert, California. It is one of the largest and most profitable fests which has celebrities and attendees from all over the world. Apart from pulling in a very niche crowd, Coachella is quite the trendsetter when it comes to fashion owing to the eclectic apparel choices of its attendees.  

Grand Prix 

Inaugurated in 1950, The Formula One World Championship is truly a pinnacle in the world of motorsports. A typical F1 season consists of a series of races known as Grand Prix which takes place over different circuits all over the world. Watching it on the telly and watch it happen live are two different thrills altogether.  Your commitment to motorsport is truly rewarded when you witness the bleeding edge technology of the cars and the skills of the drivers live. 

FIFA World Cup 

If you’ve supported your school football team or played football in the rain, you’re aware of the raw energy that runs with it. Nerve-wracking moments filled with passion-filled moments of euphoria when your team scores a goal is a feeling next to none. Now, imagine supporting your tea in an international stadium instead of watching it on the telly.

These events are a once in a lifetime experience that will be etched in your memories forever.
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Oktoberfest 

One of the party animals and foodies, Oktoberfest in Munich is the world’s largest beer and food festival with over 6 million people attending it every year. Rooted deep in Bavarian culture, this 16-18 day folk festival consumes over 8 million liters of beer. Oktoberfest also offers a variety of traditional foods, amusement rides, side stalls, and games. This must-see fest begins in September and ends on the first Sunday of October, so pour yourself a pint and start planning. 

Cannes Film Festival 

Cannes Film Festival has an image of being a high profile film festival held in France. They preview new films and documentaries of all genres before being released for worldwide audiences. If you’re a fashionista, you can make this a destination visit as Cannes offers a lot in terms of high-end boutiques, private hotel beaches, and wine tasting. 

Halloween 

Halloween is one of those events which has been highly publicized through American pop culture. The infamous “Trick-Or-Treat” rituals, costume parties, pumpkin carving, horror movie marathons add to spooky spirit. October 31st has become a global celebration of sorts for people to explore their spooky side. You’ll find countless Halloween events nearby hosting pub crawls, costume parties, and horror movie nights.  

St. Patricks Day 

According to folklore, St. Patrick’s Day marks the death of Ireland’s fifth-century patron saint who introduced Christianity to the Irish. It is known locally as Paddy’s Day which is a religious festival for feasting with family and friends. Leveraging advertisements from beer companies, Irish tourism has been boosted through this holiday. However, we suggest you head to Dublin for the full-blown local experience. 

Winterlude

If winter wonderlands fascinate you, then Canada is a must-visit. Snow-capped mountains, ice sculptures, snow slides, skiing, and snowboarding competitions await you at Ottawa. A hot favorite among couples, you can explore the magic from the end of January to mid-February. Start your day with a range of winter sports and wrap it up by the evening sitting in front of the fire, enjoying cocktails, and reconnecting with your loved one.  

Comic-Con

What started off as a non-profit as a showcase for local and international comic artists that drew no more than 300 attendees, is now a global convention. Comin-Con draws in over 130,000 people including new and upcoming artists from A-list to celebrities to our favorite cult icons. From movie premiers to parties, Comic-Con International has it all. Find the nearest city where Comin-Con events take place and let your love for comics, manga, sci-fi, and fantasy converge with fans from all over. 

Are you an event planner or a talent buyer looking for an online ticketing platform that promotes and generates revenue for your event? Check out Yapsody.

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Planning
Be it a Football tournament or a local baseball match you’re hosting, planning is the only way for you to make your sports event successful. Create an event checklist with tasks like budget, date, venue, the sport you want to host. Coordinate with the participants well in advance about the dates and their availability. Arrange the supplies for the event like medals, trophies and refreshments for the team players. Depending on the budget and the number of attendees you expect at the event, set up a realistic ticket price. All you need to do next is to finalize your event ticketing partner.

Opt for the Right Online Ticketing System
When you organize a sports event, we understand there’s a multitude of activities to handle. Selecting the right event ticketing system that’ll save you time makes a lot of sense. Our ticketing system will not only save you time but help in multiple ways to save money. In fact, you can sell tickets online for free with our “Pass on Fee” feature. Create your next marathon event in German, Spanish or French or 15 prominent languages. Apart from multiple languages, we also support 170+ currencies. Receive the payments directly in your bank account through our multiple payment gateways.

The Virtual Box Office
Create your event easily with our virtual box office. Set up your payment gateway, your preferred language and your currency. This feature gives you single-click access to the event wizard, real-time sales analytics and reporting, inventory management and a lot more. It can be a very handy tool if you’re planning a series of events or a sports week with multiple events planned for each day. Creating each event from scratch can be time-consuming. Using the virtual box office, you can copy your existing event and simply make changes to it.

Create your Online Ticket Store
Once you sign up with Yapsody, you get access to our “Virtual Box Office”. Using the box office you can create your online ticket store with your own subdomain. Personalize your store your way with your brand designs, creative images and brand logo. Make sure to add external links to your social media pages. Add a proper description of your event with timings and the exact location of the event.

Select the Seating Arrangement
Are you planning a marathon or a stadium event? Depending on the type of event, you can select either the reserved seating option or the general admission for your attendees. If it’s a reserved seating event, you can let your attendees book their tickets well in advance. From VIP tickets to a standard day pass, you can create unlimited categories of tickets with our event ticketing system.

Use Offers
Roll out irresistible offers to sell tickets quickly. Early bird offers, group discounts and buy one and get one free are some of the offers you can roll out to your attendees through social media. While they enjoy your offers, you can enjoy our steal deals and get a flat 25% off on your ticketing fees. Check out our offers page to see all the offers.

Set up the Ticket Price
After planning the budget, venue and the size of attendees, you probably have an estimate of how much you can spend. Add an extra margin to cover the contingency and set up your ticket price. Consider the expenses while setting up the ticket price. You can also add the ticketing fee to the cost of the tickets which is a minimum amount and make event ticketing free. Read our blog on how to price your event in 3 simple steps to understand pricing techniques.

Ticket Customization
Whether it’s a baseball event or a badminton tournament, customize your tickets according to the sport. Let’s say, you’re organizing a basketball tournament for your city. Incorporate team logos on your ticket. You can use an image of popular basketball players aiming the loop with the ball. Personalize them with the attendees’ names.

Promote your Event
Sports events can get an amazing response when they are promoted well in advance. Get all the fitness freaks to your marathon event by directly promoting your event through our virtual box office. You can either share it on your social media profiles or ask us to post it on our social media profiles, which you can share. You can also use our premium event listing feature to post your sports events on our site for free. Sell your tickets faster by getting featured on our blogs. We give them a “Buy Tickets” link that directs them to your online store so they can instantly book the tickets for the sports arena.

Sell Tickets Online
With the advancement in the events industry, there are still event presenters who stick to traditional methods of selling tickets. Manually booking tickets for a boxing championship or a local rugby tournament can take up a lot of time. It can also lead to fake tickets and duplicate entries. If you’re an event presenter still following the old methods, start your journey with Yapsody and see the difference in your sales numbers. Set up your account with Yapsody and sell your event in just 5 minutes.

Apart from selling tickets online, Yapsody also offers other features that make the ticketing process a breeze. Mobile apps, Google Analytics integration and MailChimp integrations are some of the features loved by our event presenters. Whether it’s a local tournament or a charity run, our tools will give you real-time data so you can alter your sales strategy as and when required. Don’t forget to use our promo codes while creating your event. Sign up Now!

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As we live in a tech-savvy world, there are several technology based methods that simplify your job of getting connected with your fans. It’s all about using the apt event technology and social technology to get the maximum out of the stocked up database.

Feedback Please

What is the best way to know about your fans likes and dislikes? ASK. Yes, asking them about their opinions, and seeking their valuable feedback help in discovering more about them. You shouldn’t hesitate to ask for their feedback – negative or positive; be open to them and see where and how you can implement them to give your fans a better and satisfactory experience.

 Be there on Social Media

We simply can’t do away with social media technology. It is here on this medium that you can get most of your fans, and understand them better. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram, they are out everywhere. So, creating proper social media tactics to capture these fans will be a wise thing to do. Make yourself available in real-time on this platform to interact with them and get their immediate responses. Always come up with new and interesting contents on your social channels to keep them hooked, and also to get an idea of their activity on social media.

Using WiFi and Mobile Apps

Setting up Wi-Fi routers at event venue can prove to be a useful source to collect data. With fast Wi-Fi network connection, you can generate a vast pool of data, which when analysed properly can yield great results for your business. Mobile application is another effective tool to gather and analyse data. Based on the data analysis, you can identify those who are genuinely interested in you and build your marketing strategies without wasting time and efforts.

Involving your fans

The whole idea is about turning your event attendees to loyal fans. And that’s only possible, when they feel to be a part of your event. Giving them a sense of involvement through many ways can go a long way in building a strong relationship. May be an opportunity to sing along or interact with the performer can create more personalized experiences for them. You can reward your most loyal fans with ticket discounts or free tickets to increase their engagement.

So, let’s get on to utilize these ideas to give your fans an enjoyable experience as, you know, they are your sales driving force.

The post How to Increase Fan Engagement For your Events in 2020 appeared first on Yapsody.

What’s your brand image?

Before you set on to use your fans as promoters, first analyse your brand personality. Does your brand have a voice of its own and do they connect with your fans? That’s the first question you should be asking yourself. People are most likely to follow and show interest in your event if they can relate to it. And how do we find it out? Well, you need to interact with them in a more subtle tone. Be genuine and don’t make any false promises because this will keep your fans away. Understand your loyalists thoroughly to know what clicks instantly with them. The more they get hooked to your brand, the more they are likely to carry out event promotions.

Who will be your brand promoters?

Your fan base may be strong but all of them are not and can’t be your promoters. So, it is necessary to identify your potential super promoters amongst your superfans. Not every fan who shares or likes your posts on social media is a brand promoter. Do proper research to determine them; check out who are most active on your page, and who regularly purchase your tickets. Listen to what they are saying about your brand, and identify amongst the many and connect with them because these fans can definitely boost your ticket sales.

Where are your fans visible the most?

Get to know where and how they are spreading a word about your event – on social media, through blog posts or email marketing? Put up only engaging and meaningful content on the platforms where they are most active. But what, you are not doing anything for them? The best way to encourage them is by rewarding. Giving them lucky coupons, free event tickets or formal invitation to your event party will definitely motivate them.

Making use of CRM

Bring out customer database stacked up in Customer Relationship Management and use these resources to get every detail about your customer. In addition to improving your business, CRM can aid in customer retention or woo new customers and clients. It is a useful system to make business strategy, gather customer information, to know what they want, to make event analytics and marketing efforts; in short to comprehend how the relationship between your company and customers is growing. A user-friendly option is Salesforce CRM application, which makes it easy for companies to connect with customers, clients and their business partners.

With a clear strategy, you can nurture your fans as your promoters. And believe it, they can do a lot for you.

The post Make Your Fans Your Brand Promoters In 4 Easy Steps appeared first on Yapsody.

By replacing ‘marketing’ with ‘efficacious marketing’. You can go crazy with your promotional activities,
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#1 A Pint With Old Friends 

A golden rule of event management is the 80/20 rule, which establishes that 80% of your business will come from 20% of the past attendees. Of course, it is important to reel in new attendees, but your old and faithful attendees deserve special treatment for two major reasons – one, because they are already aware of your brand and have shared an experience with you, it is a lot easier to get them to buy the tickets and two, because rewarding them and giving them incentives will mean that they’ll get the word out in their circles along with a positive feedback about your previous event, directly bringing in more audience. These free incentives could range from special discounts on event tickets to little gift hampers.

#2 Mentors Give You Perspective, Sponsors Give You Opportunities

Event marketing services come in forms other than financial support. It is perfectly alright to feel awkward while approaching your sponsors for promotions when they’re already paying you. Overcome this block that makes you think “sponsorship equals charity”. Remember, sponsors are paying you because you’re endorsing them, so it makes sense if you approach them as a part of your marketing strategy. Also, your sponsors will usually be big companies, so these event marketing strategies will expose you to a whole new audience.

#3 Invitees Become Investors

Now that you’ve gotten over that mind block with your sponsors, it shouldn’t be difficult to broadcast a similar message to your attendees. A lot of event presenters have been trying “referral schemes” to increase ticket sales because $29 for 2 always sounds better than $15 for 1. Your referral scheme can be something really unique to your brand, and it could have a two-way advantage for you – by increasing online ticket selling of events and promotion of your brand. For example, with every referral, you could give away free products of your company.

#4 Because No Feeling Is Better Than Feeling Special

Sometimes uniformity doesn’t work out, and the event industry stands witness to it. This business relies so much on customer satisfaction that you cannot turn them down. Often, you will come across attendees who would be willing to attend your event for one or two seminars, or people who would be wanting to attend but will have time and place constraints holding them back. For them, you could have different ticket categories so that they pay for what they’re interested in. Also, for a nominal amount, you offer live streaming or online feeds of the event for those who cannot be physically present. This will not just ensure more participation, but also cement you as a considerate and thoughtful planner.

#5 Give Them A Chance To “Earn” Their Tickets

Remember the tagline – “You don’t just buy a Bournville; you earn it.”
Though, in this case, your attendees may not have to buy the tickets in the first place. Social Media Marketing is a very, VERY powerful tool (which is why it is ALWAYS there on every marketing blog) and if all you’re doing on your social media accounts is posting content, then you’re not using it optimally. Build a more interactive platform by hosting contests on social media, and reward the winners with free tickets and goodies. And when you’re designing the contest, keep in mind that it’s not only aimed at branding but also building a rapport with your potential attendees.

#6 EVENT-CEPTION

The concept is very simple – have a smaller event a few days before your main event, wherein you could have glimpses of your main event to get people excited hyped. For example, if you have a big concert coming up, your band could go and perform a small gig at a café or a park where you are most likely to find your target audience. After you have their attention, you can inform them about the upcoming concert and set up a small registration desk for people to buy tickets right away (without really giving them a chance to change their minds after that big impression you’ve created).

#7 Less Is More

You can always use the ‘HURRY UP! ONLY 15 TICKETS LEFT!’ (and then the counter decrements to display 14) tactic for selling your last minute tickets. Awakening a sense of urgency always works when you’re trying to sell tickets to those who are doubtful. It’s a process that goes like this:
“Oh, I’m really not sure if I should be attending this event. They do have some good speakers, but is it really worth the time and money? I should call up Joey and ask if he’s going, too… ONLY 2 EVENT TICKETS LEFT?! *registers* *buys ticket* *checks out* Phew, that was close!”
You could install a countdown widget on your website and social media platforms, but NEVER lower your price because it is downright unfair to the attendees who bought your tickets way back at the standard rates. You will lose a lot of your faithful attendees if you make that one wrong move.

CONCLUSION

Of course, your ticket sales speak about your revenue, so it is important to try whatever you can do to maximize the online ticket selling of your event. But, overthinking might actually result in things going haywire. So, keep calm and trust these 7 marketing tactics for boosted sales, and don’t be scared to take risks. If you know of other methods that have worked for you, do share them with us in the comments below!

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