The Only Event Marketing Plan Event Creators Need

At Sickening Events, we handle all aspects of SEO. Your event listing serves as your event’s webpage, and our tools make it easy to create SEO-optimized descriptions. Additionally, by listing your event on a website with the authority that Sickening Events carries, your events are more likely to rank highly in Google search results.

Join Sickening Events today and start your journey to elevate your event branding. With our expertise and the robust platform of Sickening Events, you’ll have all the tools necessary to create immersive experiences, foster a loyal community, and boost ticket sales. Let Sickening Events be your partner in crafting unforgettable events that leave a lasting impact on your audience. Begin branding, start connecting, and thrive with Sickening Events.

Imagine your event is sold out, excitement fills the air, and everyone is having an unforgettable time.

Want to know how to paint this beautiful picture at your next event? It all starts with a brilliantly executed event marketing plan.

From identifying your diverse audience groups to leveraging the power of FOMO, each step in your event promotion plan should be meticulously crafted to resonate with your crowd. A well-structured plan guides you in generating interest, boosting ticket sales, and keeping you on track.

At Sickening Events, we’ve powered numerous events and have seen firsthand how an effective strategy can drastically increase your success.

This comprehensive guide will go over how to create a marketing plan for an event, whether it’s your first or your 100th. We’ll provide 14 proven strategies to nail your event marketing plan and host your best event yet!

14 Strategies for the Perfect Event Marketing Plan

Here’s what we’ve learned about creating effective marketing plans from our expert research and the experience of the countless creators who use our platform.

1. Identify Your Audience

You’ve likely heard about the importance of “finding your audience.” However, limiting your prospects to a single audience type can hinder your promotion efforts.

Consider DJ Prashant, a Sickening Events creator, Bollywood dance fanatic, DJ, and owner of Bollywood Dreams. Prashant hosts Bollywood-inspired dance events featuring upbeat Indian music.

DJ Prashant found success by expanding his initial audience. “I try to pick not largely Indian neighborhoods,” Prashant explains. This strategy has worked, as Prashant has hosted packed, energetic events in the US, Panama, Costa Rica, Peru, and India.

To identify your potential audiences, employ a few strategies. If you’ve previously hosted events, analyze past attendees’ demographic data and survey results for valuable insights.

If you’re new to hosting, consider your potential audiences’ interests more broadly. For example, if you’re hosting a wine and cheese tasting event aimed at young professionals, also consider chefs, foodies, and sommeliers who might be interested in networking.

2. Find Channels They’ll Listen To

After identifying your audience, the next step is to find them.

Digital data is widely available, and public demographic data can provide insights. For instance, platforms like Facebook reach an age group of 25–34, while TikTok skews younger (18–24).

This data can help you understand what online platforms your audience uses, allowing you to use organic posts and paid ads to reach them. Don’t be afraid to focus on micro-communities. For example, Reddit has subreddits for almost everything, and targeted Reddit ads could effectively connect with your ideal audience.

Identifying attendees of similar events in the past can also be beneficial. With Sickening Events Ads, you can target people most likely to purchase a ticket and ensure your event appears at the top of their search results.

3. Create an SEO-Optimized Event Page

Even in the age of social media, search engines like Google still drive significant web traffic.

Invest time in search engine optimization (SEO) to create a successful event page. Effective event SEO methods include:

• Adding plenty of local mentions in your description, such as the town and venue names
• Choosing tactical keywords to use in your descriptions
• Writing clear, compelling content that reads well
• Creating a domain name that reflects your event
• Developing relationships with other website owners and conducting PR outreach to increase inbound links

Katie Saffert, organizer of Business Church and a Sickening Events creator, emphasizes the importance of keyword utilization to connect with her target audience. “Think about your ideal client and what they might be looking for; those are the keywords you want inside your listing,” Katie explains.

At Sickening Events, we handle all aspects of SEO. Your event listing serves as your event’s webpage, and our tools make it easy to create SEO-optimized descriptions. Additionally, by listing your event on a website with the authority that Sickening Events carries, your events are more likely to rank highly in Google search results.

4. Connect with Collaborators

Promoting your upcoming event doesn’t need to be a solo marathon. Make it a team relay with the help of sponsors, influencers, and other event organizers.

The key is to:

• Identify potential collaborators
• Determine how to make collaboration worth their time, too
• Ask collaborators to promote your event

The specifics differ depending on the type of collaborator.

Sponsors: They have a vested interest in seeing your event succeed. Provide them with the necessary resources (like promotional imagery, messages, posters, social prompts, etc.).

Influencers: They’ll want payment, but you might be able to offer free tickets or a referral bonus for sending attendees your way.

Other Event Promoters: Engaging them to help promote your event could be as simple as offering to do the same for theirs.

Your collaborators could even be your employees or co-workers. Take Josh Spencer, owner of The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles. Josh routinely hosts events, musicians, and authors recommended by his staff, making them easy to promote and enjoy. Josh and his team have shown the power of community in making events successful.

5. Reward Registrants for Promoting the Event

Your existing registrants can also be a valuable resource for attracting new attendees. Anyone who has already registered is very interested in your event and may also know others who are.

There are a few ways you can encourage your audience to share your event with friends:

• Offer a “bring a friend” discount
• Add exclusive perks (like VIP access) for people who refer friends
• Create fun graphics and promotional material that builds excitement and is easy for your attendees to share

6. Create FOMO

FOMO (fear of missing out) is a powerful psychological effect that has been documented in scientific research.

Sharing buzz-worthy images, slowly building anticipation, and including eye-catching content on your social media (videos of past events and behind-the-scenes footage) will help your event spread like wildfire online.

You can also create FOMO in your pricing strategy by selling early bird tickets or using limited-time event promo codes.

7. Reinvest Excess Early Revenue in Marketing

For example, early revenues from presales and early bird tickets can be reinvested to grow your target audience further.

For instance, say you sell $500 worth of early-bird tickets. That could be $500 towards covering the cost of your event, or it could be profit. But what if you invested that $500 in marketing efforts? You could potentially drive an additional $1,000 or even more in ticket sales, boosting your attendance numbers and bottom line.

8. Leverage Event Speakers

Speakers at your event can be some of your most vocal advocates — both before and during your event.

By reaching out to speakers beforehand, you can help expand your event’s reach and attract new attendees. Speakers will likely want to share your content on their social media, but ensure you tailor some content around their presence to give them a little nudge.

You can also consider providing a custom promo code for speakers to share with their audience. It’s also a good idea to share any promotional materials you’ve created.

9. Find Ways to Personalize Marketing

It could be as simple as including attendees’ first names in email headers or collecting survey data from past attendees and using those insights to inform your future marketing efforts.

Sickening Events’ marketing suite offers email marketing campaigns, social messaging, and even targeted ads right on our platform.

10. Plan for a Strong Last-Minute Push

Last-minute registrations can make a big difference in attendance numbers. And the data shows that more and more people are registering last-minute than ever before.

There are several ways that you can drive last-minute sign-ups:

• Send event marketing emails the week before, the week of, and the day before your event
• Include “last chance” messaging to drive FOMO
• Offer a way to register in person on the day of the event (perhaps for a higher fee to help offset any added costs for doing so