5 Techniques For Selling More Concert Tickets in 2018

With competition in the live music industry now fiercer than ever before, and ticket sales up appreciably since 2016, artists are eager to get a piece of the live music pie. Here we look at some simple yet effective strategies for bumping up your ticket sales in 2016.

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Guest post by Bill Leigh of Eventbrite

This year the live music industry is busier — and more competitive — than ever before. According to Pollstar, total 2017 ticket sales is up 10% over 2016. Are you getting your piece of the pie?

Make sure you’re taking advantage of the latest proven techniques to sell more tickets. Here are some simple strategies that should be part of your ticket sales approach in 2018.

1. Make buying tickets as easy as possible

Some fans may be on the fence about attending your show. Don’t give them another reason to close their tab instead of buying.

Nearly 25% of music fans that reach your show’s ticketing page won’t complete a purchase if they’re required to make an account. And for every extra field in your ticket purchase form, 10% of buyers abandon the process.

So keep your purchase process simple. Follow this must-have checklist for your ticketing page:

• A “Buy Tickets” button visible at all times, even as visitors scroll
• The entire ticket purchase experience on just one page
• Fees visible upfront, so fans know exactly what to expect
• No required login

2. Promote shows on fans’ favorite sites and apps

The fans most likely to attend your shows are the ones actively looking for something to do. Make sure they find your shows by promoting them on the go-to sites and apps for live music fans, such as Spotify, Songkick, and Bandsintown, as well as social networks like Facebook and Instagram.

But don’t just post your event and risk fans dropping off when you redirect them to your ticketing page. Instead, you can sell tickets right on the site or app without pushing them to a separate ticketing page. Letting fans directly purchase tickets in whatever app or web page can double your sales. This tech will give you a competitive advantage now now, but fans will soon come to expect it.

3. Zero in on your best Facebook and Instagram advertising audiences  

Ad campaigns are the most effective when you’re targeting the right audience. You can create highly relevant audiences in Facebook’s Ad Manager. Once you create these audiences, you can also target them on Instagram.

Start with the audience that’s highly likely to buy tickets: fans who’ve attended a show at your venue already. To target this group, create a Custom Audience in Ad Manager by uploading your fans’ e-mail addresses. Facebook will match your data to existing users. Be sure to periodically update your Custom Audience with new data from future shows.

Then, to reach even more live music fans, create a Lookalike Audience, which Facebook generates by matching the interests and behaviors of your Custom Audience. Aiming your ads at both Custom and Lookalike Audiences will give you a potent audience mix.

4. Track your most successful marketing with UTM link tagging

UTM tags are one of the most powerful tools available to marketers. A UTM tag is a bit of code added to your links to help you track where ticket buyers’ behavior. It does this by specifying parameters such as where the buyer came from and via which marketing medium, such as banner ad or e-mail.

In Google Analytics, you’ll be able to identify which marketing channel, advertisement, or keywords are doing the best job selling tickets, so you can shift your investment accordingly.

To get started, you can use Google’s Campaign URL Builder to create links with UTM tags. To learn more about using UTM tags, see this detailed guide.

5. Use marketing pixels to track conversions — and advertise to customers who didn’t complete the purchase

A marketing pixel is a snippet of code or a 1×1 transparent image that lets you gather valuable information about your customer’s journey. Using pixels, you can measure ad campaign performance, track purchase conversions, and retarget customers who didn’t complete the ticket purchase.

There are few basic things to know before you get started with pixels:

• Where to find pixels: Pixel code is usually generated in the “segments” or “audiences” section of your ad platform manager. In Facebook Business Manager, it’s under “Tools.”
• How many pixels you need: Some platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and AdRoll, can do conversion and retargeting in a single pixel. Others require a separate retargeting pixel placed on your ticketing page, and conversion pixel on your order confirmation page.
• How to get it on your site: Copy the code generated into the header of your web page. Choose a partner like Eventbrite that makes it easy for you to embed a pixel on your ticketing page.

For more about retargeting and marketing pixels, see What’s A Marketing Pixel and Why Should You Care? and Getting Started with Tracking Pixels on the Eventbrite Help Center.

Get more up-to-date ticket selling strategies in The 10 Best Ways to Sell Out Your Event.