Presale vs General Sale: The Ultimate Comparison
Are you an event organizer, a concert promoter, or a venue owner? Are you wondering how to maximize your ticket sales while minimizing your risk and expenses? If yes, then you must be familiar with the dilemma of choosing between presale and general sale for your tickets. In this article, we’ll discuss both options in detail, their pros and cons, and how to optimize them for better results.
Presale: Definition and Benefits
Presale is a period of time before the general sale when a limited number of tickets are available exclusively to a select group of people, usually those who are either members of a fan club, subscribers to a mailing list, or users of a special code. Presale can take place hours, days, or weeks before the general sale, depending on the organizer’s preference. Presale tickets usually have a lower price, better seat selection, or other perks that incentivize early purchase.
The main benefit of presale is that it allows the organizer to gauge the demand for the event before committing to a full scale promotion. By offering presale tickets to a loyal or enthusiastic fan base, the organizer can test the waters, measure the response, and adjust the marketing strategy accordingly. Presale can also create a sense of exclusivity, urgency, and excitement among the fans who are “in the know”. Moreover, presale can generate cash flow and revenue before the event even takes place, which can help cover the upfront costs and expenses.
Presale: Keywords and Optimization
If you want to optimize your presale strategy, here are some relevant keywords to use:
Presale, pre-sale, exclusive, limited, fan club, mailing list, code, early bird, discount, promotion, marketing, revenue, cash flow, risk mitigation, demand analysis, supply management.
To make sure your presale is SEO optimized, here are some tips:
– Create a landing page or a microsite for your presale campaign, with clear and concise messaging, compelling visuals, and a user-friendly interface.
– Use targeted keywords in your title tag, meta description, header tags, body copy, and alt texts, but avoid keyword stuffing or over-optimization.
– Build quality inbound links to your landing page from relevant and authoritative sources, such as music blogs, social media influencers, or news outlets.
– Offer additional incentives or bonuses for presale ticket buyers, such as backstage passes, meet and greets, signed merchandise, or VIP experiences.
– Use retargeting ads to reach people who have visited your presale landing page but haven’t purchased yet, or to remind them of the upcoming general sale.
General Sale: Definition and Challenges
General sale is the main and final phase of ticket selling, where the remaining tickets are made available to the public, usually through online platforms, box offices, or authorized agents. General sale can start immediately after the presale or after a gap of several days or weeks, depending on the event’s popularity, location, and timing. General sale tickets are usually priced higher than presale tickets, since they include fees, taxes, and service charges that the organizer has to pay to the vendor or the venue.
The main challenge of general sale is to ensure that the remaining tickets are sold out before the event starts, without overselling or underselling. Overselling means that the organizer has sold more tickets than the capacity of the venue, which can lead to safety hazards, legal issues, and reputational damage. Underselling means that the organizer hasn’t sold enough tickets to cover the costs and generate profits, which can lead to financial losses and missed opportunities. General sale requires a fine balance between the demand and the supply, the price and the value, and the urgency and the credibility.
General Sale: Keywords and Optimization
If you want to optimize your general sale strategy, here are some relevant keywords to use:
General sale, ticket selling, online platform, box office, authorized agent, remaining tickets, public, pricing, fees, taxes, service charges, capacity, safety, legal issues, reputational damage, financial losses, missed opportunities, demand, supply, price, value, urgency, credibility.
To make sure your general sale is SEO optimized, here are some tips:
– Use a reliable and user-friendly online ticketing platform that integrates with your website and social media channels, and offers multiple payment options and secure transactions.
– Use personalized and persuasive copywriting that emphasizes the benefits of attending your event, such as the quality of the performers, the uniqueness of the venue, the diversity of the audience, or the fun and memorable experience.
– Use scarcity and urgency tactics to create momentum and urgency among the undecided buyers, such as countdown timers, low stock warnings, or flash sales.
– Use social proof and testimonials to build trust and credibility among the potential customers, such as featuring positive reviews, ratings, or endorsements from previous attendees or influencers.
– Use retargeting ads to reach the people who have visited your presale landing page or your general sale ticket page, but haven’t completed the purchase yet, or to upsell them with add-ons or upgrades, such as merchandise, food, or drink vouchers.
Conclusion
Presale and general sale are two complementary and essential components of a successful ticket selling strategy. Presale allows the organizer to test the demand, generate cash flow, and create hype among the loyal fans. General sale allows the organizer to reach a wider and diverse audience, maximize the revenue, and create a memorable experience for everyone. By combining presale with general sale, you can leverage the strengths of each phase and mitigate the risks and challenges. Remember to use the relevant keywords and optimization tips in this article to ensure the SEO success of your ticket selling campaign.