Are you looking for a way to sell tickets online without any hidden fees? If so, you’re in luck! In this blog post, we will discuss how to do just that. Selling tickets online can be a great way to drum up business for your company, but added service fees can eat into your profits. Luckily, there is a way to sell your tickets without having to pay any hidden fees. So, what are you waiting for? Read on for tips on how to sell your tickets online without any fees!
Online Tickets, No Fees
When it comes to selling tickets online, there are a few different ways to do so. You can use a site like Ticketmaster, which will charge you a fee for every transaction. Alternately, you could use a site like Eventbrite, which also charges ticket fees. While these sites are popular and easy to use, there is a significantly better alternative available to crafty business owners.
The best way to offer tickets online without any fees is to use your own website. This can be a little more work than using third party ticket sites, but can help you avoid steep transaction fees that can add up to tens of thousands of dollars every year.
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Website Based Ticketing System
Website based ticketing systems vary based on the system used to build your site. Not every website is built the same, so you’ll need to find a system that integrates with your existing website. Otherwise you’ll need to redesign your website to accommodate the new ticketing system, which can be time consuming and expensive.
608 Media specializes in WordPress sites, so we building ticketing systems for sites built using that content management system. Since WordPress is so popular, there are tons of options available for on-site ticketing systems.
Convenient Guest Check-In
Be sure the solution you use offers convenient guest check-in. Our ticketing system has the option to check guests in using the QR code on their tickets. This makes it easy and fast for your staff to get guests into the event, without having to fumble around with tickets and will call lists. After scanning each ticket, your attendee roster will update automatically. This helps your staff save time and provide a better experience to your guests.
Guest Information Collection
Another important aspect to consider is guest information collection. You’ll want to be sure that the tickets you sell online include all of the information you need from your guests. This could include name, email address, phone number, and mailing address. With this information, you’ll be able to market future events to your attendees and keep them updated on what’s going on with your company.
Thankfully our WordPress ticketing system allows us to create custom information fields for your tickets. This is a great feature if you need to collect unique information for a music festival such as t-shirt size and color preferences. The options are limitless, so you can be sure you’re collecting the information you need from your guests.
Case Study: Cafe Coda Madison
To give you an idea of how our WordPress ticketing system works in the real world, let’s take a look at Cafe Coda Madison. They are a jazz club based in Madison, WI and they are one of 608 Media’s customers. At the start of the covid 19 pandemic, 608 Media helped setup an on-site ticketing system for them and to date it has saved them nearly $6000.
Using Third Party Ticket Sites
Before working with 608 Media, Cafe Coda was utilizing Brown Paper Tickets for their concert tickets. Brown Paper Tickets charges a $0.99 fee + a 5%processing fee for every ticket sold, which can really add up over time, especially for businesses like Cafe Coda that sells concert tickets to multiple shows per week. Considering the average ticket price at Cafe Coda is $20, the Brown Paper Ticket’s fee was equal to 20% of the face value of the concert tickets.
The Service Fees Blues
Cafe Coda realized they were losing a significant amount of money to service charges and they were looking for a way to keep more of their ticket sales revenue. Money was tight at the time since the covid 19 pandemic hit businesses like Cafe Coda particularly hard.
After realizing this was a significant problem for their business, Cafe Coda decided to reach out to 608 Media. Our team helped them start explore options that could integrate with their existing site. We quickly realized that they were using WordPress and we were able to find a tickets system that could integrate with their site without a significant redesign or expense.
Choosing an Alternative
At our teams recommendation, Cafe Coda decided to switch their ticketing system to an on-site integrated system. The ticketing system we choose for them was Tickets Plus, which is a tickets system built specifically for WordPress sites. This system allowed Cafe Coda to keep all of their ticket sales revenue, without any service fees.
Although Tickets Plus wasn’t the only tickets system we considered for Cafe Coda, it was the best option for their business. It allowed for a quick setup and provided a number of features that their team wanted including:
– On-site ticketing
– Guest information collection
– Custom information fields
– Easy to use interface
A Year in Review
Since we helped Cafe Coda switch to an on-site ticketing system, they’ve completed over 1200 ticket orders. They’ve also been able to keep 100% of their ticket sales revenue. In the first year, this switch saved them nearly $5000 in service fees.
For businesses like Cafe Coda, on-site ticketing is the way to go. Not only will you save money in service fees, but you’ll also have more control over your tickets and guest information. If you’re interested in learning more about on-site ticketing systems for your small business or venue, be sure to contact our team. We would be happy to answer your questions or assist your team in setting up your on-site ticketing system!
Frequently Asked Questions
Now that we have covered the basics and advantages of on-site tickets, let’s answer some frequently asked questions.
Do on-site ticketing systems work for more than just concert tickets?
This on-site system works for concert tickets, sports tickets, theater tickets, and much more! If the event you are thinking of can use tickets, then this system can work for you.
Are fees based on the ticket price?
The system mentioned in our case study charges a $200 annual fee, but otherwise there are no recurring costs associated with using the software including service fees or service charges. That being said, credit card processing fees still apply to anything paid for with a credit card.
Will my events still appear on Google?
Yes! Your events can still appear on Google and other search engines. This is a great way to help market your events and electronic tickets. In fact, as part of our setup we can help you configure your tickets to appear on search engines like Google automatically when you create a new event.
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Do I need to create a new event listing for each concert?
Often times this is a requirement, but there is additional software available that can help automate the process of creating recurring events. Our recommendation is to create each event individually to avoid accidentally listing an event automatically that may need to be canceled or postponed.
What if someone buys tickets from my website and then changes their mind?
No problem! With on-site tickets you can easily refund tickets directly from your website. There is no need to contact a third party or visit your integrated credit card processor account. Simply log in to your tickets system, find the order, and process the refund immediately.
How do I get started?
To get started, decide whether or not your team can setup an on-site ticketing system in-house. Most companies don’t have someone who is comfortable setting up such as system, so we recommend working with website design or development team. This will prevent you from making unintentional mistakes that could break your website or create headaches for your customers.
Need Help Building a Ticketing System for Your Business?
If you’re in the market for a new ticketing system that doesn’t charge any fees, be sure to contact our team for help! We offer affordable WordPress design & support including on-site ticketing systems. Keep more of your ticket revenue by working with us!
In addition to ticketing systems, our team offers a variety of on-demand digital marketing services including search engine optimization, paid advertisements, & even video production. We are dedicated to helping small businesses grow online!
