5 Reasons Why Every Event Creator Should Use Discount Codes

Have you ever bought something online just because you had a discount code? We know the feeling — the satisfaction you get when you get a good deal and save some money. And if you know this feeling, then you also know how powerful a simple promo code can push people to buy more stuff.

While it's clear how discount codes benefit customers, let’s shift our focus to the event creators. If you’re organizing an event, there are many ways you can use discount codes to drive sales, track marketing efforts, and  even build a loyal community.

In this article, we’ll explore 8 effective ways to use discount codes to promote your event and maximize ticket sales!

Track your marketing performance 

If you’re promoting your event across multiple channels like social media, email newsletters, or influencers and partnerships, you need to measure which ones get you the most ticket sales. Why? So you know what to keep doing for future events. Lucky for you, discount codes can serve as tracking tools to figure that out.

Here’s how:

• Create unique discount codes and assign them to different marketing channels. For example:

• Analyze ticket sales to see which code generates the most purchases.
• Optimize your marketing budget by investing more in the highest-performing channels.

By tracking discount codes, you get clear insights into where your ticket sales are coming from, allowing you to refine your promotional strategy.

Build a loyal community

Communities are the backbone of many successful events. If someone has attended one of your events before, they’re more likely to return. Especially if they’re given an extra incentive.

Here are a few ways you can use discount codes to build loyalty:

• Send an email to your past attendees offering them an exclusive discount code to your upcoming event as a ‘thank you’ for their support.
• Share a special discount on social media to attendees who refer a friend to your event.
• Create a VIP club or community of repeat attendees and offer them early access to discounted tickets.

For instance, Retro Rave exports their guest list from Tix after every event, and sends them an exclusive discount code to their past attendees when they have another event coming up. 

Encourage early ticket sales

We’ve spoken to hundreds of event organizers, and one thing that many of them love is early ticket sales. It provides them with event revenue to aid their planning process, and gives them a good idea of how many attendees to plan for. A good way to promote this is by offering discounts. This creates urgency and encourages your attendees to buy tickets as soon as they’re available.

To do this, you can either:

• Offer a limited number of discounted tickets when you launch (e.g., First 100 tickets get 20% off with code EARLYBIRD20) 

OR

• Set a deadline for the early bird discount code to create some urgency.

Upsell & cross-promote your other events

If you host multiple events throughout the year, you can cross-promote and increase sales across different events with discount codes. With Tix, this is super simple.

All you have to do is create a discount code and link it to all or a few of your events listed on Tix. You can learn more about discount codes on Tix from our detailed guide.

Collaborate with sponsors & partners

Sponsors and media partners can help promote your event, and you can create unique discount codes for each of them to boost their engagement. For example, if your event is sponsored by a gym, you can share a discount code amongst their gym members to boost your sales, but also offer a great incentive for your sponsors.

Many people think that discount codes are just about giving away money. Well, if you made it to the end of this article, then you know they’re a smart tool that can help you not only sell more tickets but also create an engaged community of attendees who keep coming back for more.

Ready to try all of this out? Sign up for Tix today and start using discount codes the smart way!