Hey there, event planners! If you’re looking to sell tickets online, you’ll need a reliable ticketing system that makes the process a breeze. An online ticketing system is your all-in-one solution for selling tickets, managing attendees, and keeping track of your sales data.
Now, you might be thinking about using a third-party ticketing platform. While these can be convenient, they often come with some downsides.
- You might be unable to customize the system to match your event’s unique style.
- You could end up paying extra fees that cut into your profits.
- You won’t have full control over your customer data.
But what if you could build your own online ticketing system? Imagine having a system that’s tailored to your specific needs and aligns perfectly with your event goals. You’d avoid those pesky third-party fees and have total control over your customer data. And the best part? You’d have access to valuable sales insights and analytics that can help you make smart decisions.
So, where do you find a system like this?
Well, that’s where we come in! In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to build your own awesome online ticketing system using Event Tickets Plus. From setting up your ticketing pages to managing sales and attendees, we’ve got you covered!
Key components of an effective online ticketing system
Alright, so you’re ready to build your own online ticketing system. But what exactly makes a ticketing system great? Let’s break down the key components that will make your system a hit with both event organizers and attendees:
- Ticket creation and management: You’ll want a system that’s easy to use. This means being able to create different ticket types, set prices, and manage your ticket inventory without any hassle. Trust us, you don’t want to be stuck trying to figure out a complicated system when you’re already busy planning your event.
- User-friendly interface: Your ticketing system needs an interface that’s easy to navigate. Your attendees should be able to find and purchase tickets quickly and easily. If your system is confusing or hard to navigate, you might lose out on ticket sales.
- Payment integration: Your system should support multiple payment options. People like choices, so offer credit and debit cards, digital wallets, and popular payment gateways like PayPal or Stripe. This way, your attendees can pay the way they prefer.
- Reporting and analytics: Your ticketing system should give you access to ticket sales data so you can see what’s working and what’s not. This information can help you make smart decisions about your pricing, marketing, and more.
- Automatic notifications: A much-needed feature, automatic email confirmations, and follow-up messages to attendees keep them in the loop while saving you the time and hassle of sending them manually.
- Integration options: Your online ticketing system should play nicely with your existing event website and marketing tools. Look for a system that integrates seamlessly so you can keep everything running smoothly.
It’s worth noting that WordPress is an excellent option for setting up an event ticketing system. Its flexibility and wide range of plugins make it a top choice for many event organizers.
Crafting an online ticketing system with Event Tickets
Now that you know what makes a great online ticketing system, you might be wondering how to actually build one. If you’re using WordPress, Event Tickets Plus by The Events Calendar can be the perfect solution for creating a comprehensive ticketing system.
The free version of the plugin, Event Tickets for WordPress, is your go-to platform for buying and selling tickets for all kinds of events, from concerts and sports to theater and festivals. It’s super easy for your customers to use — just search for your event, compare prices, and grab your tickets. Plus, you get handy features like customizable tickets, sales and attendee reports, email confirmations, and top-notch customer support to make your experience smooth and enjoyable.
Event Tickets Plus takes it up a notch by offering exclusive perks such as customizable registration fields, QR code check-ins, and attendee-only content. While Event Tickets is perfect for standard ticketing needs, Event Tickets Plus caters to those looking for a more premium, tailored experience.
Here’s how!
Powerful ticket creation and management
With Event Tickets Plus, you can:
- Create and manage your tickets right from your WordPress dashboard. No more dealing with third-party websites or paying extra ticket processing fees. You’re in control of your ticketing process from start to finish.
- Add tickets and RSVPs to any event, page, or post on your site. With Event Tickets Plus, you can even add registration forms to your RSVPs. This is a great way to gather more information from your attendees, like dietary preferences or T-shirt sizes.
- Assign individual prices and stock levels to each ticket type, so you can offer different options like early bird pricing or VIP tickets. You can even add SKU codes to keep track of your inventory more easily.
- Use QR codes for event check-in. With the mobile app, you can scan QR codes right from your phone or tablet, making it super easy to manage event entry. No more dealing with printed tickets or guest lists!
A great example of how Event Tickets can streamline your ticketing process is the WordCamp US Pride Party. They used Event Tickets Plus to collect RSVP information from guests and add QR codes to their ticket confirmations. This process made it easy for attendees to check in using their mobile devices, and it saved the organizers a ton of time and hassle!
Flexible payment options
When it comes to payment options, Event Tickets has you covered. The free version of the plugin supports both PayPal and Stripe payment gateways through its free ecommerce solution, Tickets Commerce. You can accept payments without any additional fees, although if you choose to use Stripe, you’ll need to pay a small commission fee on transactions.
Alternatively, you can avoid commission fees entirely and open up additional payment gateway options by upgrading to Event Tickets Plus and taking advantage of its WooCommerce integration!
The Optimism Company has the right idea! They use Event Tickets Plus to offer a variety of payment methods for their live online classes, making it easy for their attendees to pay in the way that’s most convenient for them.
Ticket insights
One of the best things about using Event Tickets for your online ticketing system is the ability to gain valuable insights into your ticket sales and attendees. The plugin provides powerful tools to generate sales and attendee reports, giving you a clear picture of how your events are performing.
With Event Tickets Plus, you can:
- Easily access event-related data that shows you how many tickets you’ve sold, which ticket types are most popular, and how your sales are trending over time. This information is incredibly useful for making informed decisions about your pricing, marketing, and event planning. Say you notice that a certain ticket type is consistently outselling others. This could be a sign that you need to adjust your pricing or offer more of that ticket type to meet demand.
- Get detailed insights into your attendees. You can see where your attendees are coming from, which age groups are most represented, and other key demographic information. This data can help you tailor your events to better meet the needs and preferences of your audience. Imagine being able to see that a large portion of your attendees are coming from a particular city or region. With this knowledge, you could consider hosting future events in that area or targeting your marketing efforts there to attract even more attendees.
The possibilities are endless when you have access to detailed ticket insights. With Event Tickets Plus, you can easily generate these reports and use the data to make smart, informed decisions about your events.
Customized email notifications
What if you want to take your event promotion and follow-up to the next level? Promoter makes it a breeze. This powerful add-on service to Event Tickets allows you to create customizable campaigns that automate touchpoints with your attendees.
With Promoter, you can create a series of emails that will be sent out to your attendees before and after your event. These emails can include important information like event reminders, directions to the venue, and post-event surveys.
And here’s the really cool part — all of the communication through Promoter can be personalized using dynamic data fields. This means you can include things like the attendee’s first name, ticket type, and even the price they paid for their ticket. This level of personalization helps create a more engaging and memorable experience for your attendees.
For example, let’s say you’re hosting a conference with multiple ticket types. With Promoter, you could create a campaign that sends out a different email to each ticket type, highlighting the specific benefits and experiences they can expect. This targeted approach can help build excitement and anticipation leading up to your event.
Powerful integrations
One of the best things about Event Tickets is that it’s part of The Events Calendar suite of event management plugins. This means you can use it as a simple online ticketing system or as part of a larger events management website. And the integration possibilities are pretty awesome!
If you’re already using The Events Calendar to manage your events, you’ll love how seamlessly Event Tickets fits into your workflow. You can create and manage your tickets right alongside your events, keeping everything organized and in one place.
But the integrations don’t stop there. Event Tickets also works with a ton of popular page builders and themes. If you’re looking for even more flexibility, check out Event Tickets Plus. It integrates with WooCommerce, giving you access to a wider range of payment options and better stock management tools. And if you’re selling virtual tickets, the Easy Digital Downloads integration makes the process a breeze.
For instance, here’s how Minding Your Mind uses The Events Calendar and Event Tickets Plus to handle tickets for their mental health education events. Both these plugins are compatible with the highly popular Elementor theme, which makes it easy to customize event page displays and make them look great. As you can see below, Minding Your Mind shows its events in a List View, and has packed the event pages with details, ticket links, and options to add events to your calendar.
Interested in doing something similar for your event management process? Explore our comprehensive step-by-step guide on selling tickets on WordPress easily with Event Tickets!
Start selling tickets today with Event Tickets
Considering all the benefits of creating your own online ticketing system — from having total control over your ticket creation, management, and sales to avoiding reliance on third-party platforms and maintaining ownership of your valuable customer data — we’re sure you can’t wait to start building your own!
In our (not so humble) opinion, Event Tickets Plus is hands down the best solution for WordPress users who want to build their own online ticketing system. With its user-friendly interface, flexible ticket creation options, and powerful management tools, you can start selling tickets on your own website in no time — no external infrastructure required.
Plus, with features like customizable email notifications, insightful sales and attendee reports, and seamless integrations with other popular WordPress plugins and themes, Event Tickets Plus has everything you need to create a successful online ticketing system that meets your unique needs and goals.
So what are you waiting for? Take control of your online ticket sales and start selling tickets today with Event Tickets!
The post Your Guide to Crafting an Online Ticketing System appeared first on The Events Calendar.