Winter athletics and activities are upon us, and spring will be here before we know it! In the fast-paced world of events, it's never too early to start planning. Now’s the time to strategize for winter sports, dances, and performing arts. Digital ticketing makes it easy to manage your winter events anytime, anywhere. Check out the tips in this guide to get set up for success this winter.
Follow the steps below to save time, increase revenue, and create meaningful experiences for your winter sports and activities.
Step 1: Decide What Events to Ticket
Most schools typically sell tickets for basketball games during the winter. Think about all the other athletics and activities you have during this time. Are there any others that could be ticketed?
Along with bringing communities together and fostering school spirit, events are prime opportunities to drive revenue for important programs. School events are a significant draw. People love them. Your fans want to support your school.
Winter activities are almost exclusively held indoors, so the ticketing process can be more streamlined. Setting up points of entry can be challenging at some outdoor events, but indoor facilities have clear entrances and exits. As the event host, this gives you a natural place to validate tickets before guests enter the event.
To start thinking about all the possibilities for your winter events, check out the list below and see if any stand out to you or spark other ideas.
Winter Athletics
- Basketball
- Wrestling
- Swimming & Diving
- Hockey
- Soccer (in California)
- Learn more
Winter Performing Arts Events
- Plays and Musicals
- Band, Chorus, & Orchestra Concerts
- Speech & Debate Competitions
- Learn more
Winter Dances
You certainly aren’t limited to this list, as every school has unique needs and traditions. By using digital ticketing for all your winter athletics and activities, you can continue to realize greater revenue and time savings while elevating the event experience.
Step 2: Plan a Weekly Promotion to Drive Attendance
When promoting your events, send strategic emails to your community to highlight several upcoming events at once. The winter sports season is particularly busy, with several events occurring in short periods of time. For example, the boys and girls basketball teams of all levels may play twice per week.
Proper distribution of your digital ticket sales links is essential. If you want to reduce work at the gate, you should have a standardized plan that helps people find and purchase tickets before getting to the event.
The winter schedule presents a unique challenge for promotions because of the sheer volume of events. Schools typically get the word out to their communities through email, social media, and signage around the school.
Try not to overwhelm your fans with multiple emails each week. Design a weekly message to promote all events in a list with one button that directs to your school ticket sales page.
To take a deeper dive into this topic, visit our blog for ways to promote your events and increase attendance.
Step 3: Set Goals for Attendance and Engagement
Start the winter season with goals for ticket sales and engagement. Create excitement around your attendance. Your fans will feel like they are part of something special. This helps your school in many ways, including greater student participation, community involvement, and ultimately revenue.
How to Set Attendance Goals
Start with last year’s attendance. Mark it up by 10 to 20 percent and decide what the expenses and income look like together. Then look at your events and identify any gaps in ticket sales.
To help drive attendance, consider some rewards to incentivize fans. For example, giveaways like a free booster club t-shirt are low-cost ways to get people excited. Local sponsors can donate prizes as well.
Digital ticketing enables sales and attendance data in real-time. With this information, you can plan goals to help your school and find ways to engage fans and get them excited so they keep coming back. This enthusiasm gains momentum quickly and helps sell more tickets.
Step 4: Elevate Your Events with Concessions and Fundraising
If you're looking for other ways to delight your fans and make life easier for your staff, consider a digital approach to concessions and fundraising. With GoFan, you can manage ticketing, concessions, and fundraising in one platform to simplify event management, payment processing, and financial reporting.
Convenient Digital Concessions
With a digital solution for concessions, you can enrich the fan experience with faster checkouts and shorter lines. Digital payments can also result in higher sales and reduced staffing costs.
Learn more about digital concessions with GoFan.
Effortless Fundraisers
Now you can easily manage fundraisers digitally and make it easier than ever for your fans to support your causes. Promote your fundraisers to your community, process donations securely, track your progress, and receive funds promptly.
Learn more about fundraising with GoFan.
Step 5: Support Your Events with Volunteers
If you find that you need additional resources to meet your goals, consider asking volunteers to help. Many organizations like the National Honor Society require students to complete a certain number of hours of community service. Supporting events can be a great way for students to meet these requirements and become more involved with school activities.
Fans in your community may also be interested in volunteering at events to give back to your school. You can recruit volunteers by sending emails or posting on social media to mention specific opportunities for fans to sign up.
Potential Volunteer Opportunities at School Events
- Communications Specialist to help with email and social promotions
- Gate Attendant for all ticketed athletics and activities
- Event Setup Specialist to hang signs with QR codes and instructions for tickets
- Greeter to answer questions and provide assistance to fans
- Parking Attendant to confirm paid parking and help direct fans
- Sales Support to assist with concessions and merchandise
For more ideas, check out our recent post on how volunteers support school activities.
Next Steps
By planning your digital ticketing strategy for winter now, you can save time, increase revenue, and create meaningful experiences throughout the entire season. For further information, contact us to speak with a specialist.
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