Are you in charge of organizing a reunion event? The excitement of bringing people together brings a rush of nostalgia and excitement. But, it can also come with a whirlwind of stress. After all — you want to ensure everyone shows up to celebrate your shared memories.
Fear not, though, because there is no need to let the ticket-selling process drain your enthusiasm.
This article offers a guide for planning and selling tickets for a reunion, from assembling a skilled planning team and selecting the right date and venue to promotion strategies and generating excitement through sneak peeks and early registration incentives.
We look at choosing a user-friendly ticketing platform with low fees, implementing strategies to boost sales, and walking through how the Checkout Page helps you get a reunion event page with multiple ticket types up in minutes, leaving you to focus on the fun stuff!
Proven tips for selling class reunion event tickets
Planning your reunion
Effective planning is essential when organizing events, and reunions are no exception. Let’s take a look at some top tips for you to consider as you start to plan your event:
Select your team
A well-assembled team is critical to ensuring a memorable and successful gathering. Select individuals who are passionate about the event and possess diverse skills that will contribute to various aspects of planning. Ideally, your team should include people with experience in:
- Event planning
- Budget management
- Marketing and communication
- Generating unique ideas for themes, activities, and decorations
Balancing your team’s skills will help cover all bases, from securing a venue to spreading the word successfully.
Once you have assembled a core team, encourage open communication and collaboration. Schedule regular meetings to discuss ideas, assign responsibilities, and track progress.
Pick a date and venue.
Selecting the correct date and location for your class reunion event is critical to maximizing attendance and creating a successful experience.
📅 Reunion date
When choosing a date, consider work schedules, holidays, and local events that might conflict with your gathering. It's often helpful to conduct a survey or poll among potential attendees to identify dates that work best for the majority. Aim for a time that allows ample planning and promotes convenience, such as a weekend or a holiday break, when people are more likely to be free.
🏢 Reunion venue
Select a location that is accessible and appealing to attendees. Consider venues central to most participants or those with sentimental value, like a school or community center.
Ensure that the venue:
- Accommodates your expected number of guests.
- Offers amenities such as parking, seating, and disabled access.
- Fits the desired atmosphere, whether casual, formal, or themed.
Book early to secure your chosen venue, as popular spots fill quickly, especially in peak seasons. Confirm the booking and rate in writing, and review the contract for deposits, cancellations, and additional fees.
✅ As the reunion date approaches, double-check and confirm arrangements with the venue to avoid mistakes and unwanted last minute surprises!
Plan your activities
Activities form a key part of your reunion event. When planning these, it’s essential to create an engaging atmosphere that fosters connection, nostalgia, and plenty of fun.
Here are some ideas to consider:
- Interactive icebreakers: Start with fun activities encouraging attendees to loosen up and reconnect. Options like “Find Someone Who” bingo or a quick round of introductions can get everyone talking and ease any initial awkwardness.
- Themed group activities: Organize activities that reflect shared experiences and interests from the past, such as trivia games focused on school or workplace memories or a show where attendees can showcase their talents.
- Memory sharing stations: Set up stations where attendees can share their favorite memories, with prompts or questions to guide discussions. This can be done through a giant memory board or a scrapbook-style collaborative project.
- Photo booth: A fun photo booth with props that reflect the reunion theme will always be a winner. This serves as a playful activity and provides attendees with souvenirs to take home.
- Panel discussions or guest speakers: Invite notable alumni or former colleagues to share their experiences and insights. This can provide attendees valuable networking opportunities and relatable stories that resonate with their own.
- Fun competitions: Friendly competitions, such as team games or contests, encourage camaraderie and interaction.
- Reflection time: Fun and games are essential, but so is informal time where attendees can simply chat, reminisce, and catch up with one another over refreshments. Less structured time can lead to some of the most meaningful conversations.
Plan your budget
Start by establishing a clear budget framework that outlines the total amount available for the event, considering potential revenue sources such as ticket sales, sponsorships, or donations. Once you have a solid understanding of your financial limits, break down the budget into significant categories, including:
- Venue rental
- Catering
- Decorations
- Entertainment
- Marketing costs
- Event games, activities, and facilitation
Researching quotes from various vendors will help you gauge average expenses and decide where to allocate your funds.
🦉 It’s wise to allocate a contingency fund, typically around 10-15% of the total budget, to cover any unforeseen expenses that may arise as you plan the event.
Keeping records of all expenditures and regularly reviewing and adjusting the budget as the event date approaches will help you stay on track with your financial goals.
Promoting your event
Identifying and locating your audience
Start by defining your target audience, such as former classmates, colleagues, or members of a specific organization. Utilize social media platforms, alumni networks, and professional sites like LinkedIn to trace old friends and colleagues.
Create a shared database to gather their contact information, encouraging team members to assist in the search. Engaging alumni associations or relevant organizations can help you access broader networks and improve your outreach efforts.
Promotion strategies
Social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn make sharing updates and engaging with attendees easy. Create attractive, engaging, informative invitations that clearly outline the event's details, including date, location, theme, activities, and RSVP instructions.
✉️ Email marketing is great for personalized communication and helps engage those less active on social media.
Tools such as Wix or Squarespace make it easy to create a website that houses all essential information and updates related to the class reunion.
📢 Lastly, encourage word-of-mouth event promotion by inviting team members and extended networks to spread the word.
Building excitement and encouraging participation
Generate excitement for the class reunion by:
- Sharing sneak peeks of planned activities, guest speakers, and themes that resonate with attendees.
- Keeping potential participants informed with regular updates, reminders, and highlights as the date approaches.
- Offering incentives for early RSVPs, such as discounts or exclusive merchandise.
You can also enhance engagement by incorporating features on your event website, such as:
- A countdown timer to build anticipation.
- A discussion forum for guests to connect before the event.
- Galleries for sharing nostalgic photos from previous class reunions or school days.
These strategies will generate a buzz, enthusiasm, and FOMO ahead of your reunion event!
Selling tickets for your reunion event
Selling tickets for a class reunion can sometimes be stressful, but you can make the process pain-free with the right strategies and tools. Here’s how to approach it effectively:
Choosing the correct ticketing platform
When selecting a ticketing platform, consider these factors:
- Ease of use: Look for a user-friendly interface that allows organizers and attendees to navigate the ticket purchasing process effortlessly.
- Payment options: To accommodate attendee preferences, ensure the platform supports various payment methods, including credit cards, PayPal, and other digital services.
- Low fees: Since reunions are often non-profit, look for platforms that demand low fees. High processing or service charges can cut your budget, so select options that minimize costs to maximize the funds available for the event. Check the platform's payout terms, too - rapid access to ticket funds might be essential to your event.
- Customizability: Select a platform that allows you to create different ticket types and pricing options, such as early bird discounts or group rates.
- Accepting donations: Check if the platform allows for easy donation acceptance, enabling attendees to contribute beyond their ticket purchase.
- Ticket type support: Ensure the platform can handle the various ticket types you want to offer, including tiered pricing or any special packages.
- Integration capabilities: To streamline communication, consider platforms that integrate smoothly with tools you use, such as email marketing software and social media channels.
- Customer support: Responsive 24/7 customer support is vital during platform setup, ticket sales, and event day.
🧐 Looking for a comparison of event ticketing platforms? Check out Best event ticketing platforms [2024]
Tips for boosting reunion ticket sales
Once you’ve chosen the right platform, implement the following strategies to boost ticket sales:
Implement these strategies to boost ticket sales for your reunion:
- Group discounts: Encourage attendance by offering group discounts for attendees who purchase multiple reunion tickets simultaneously.
- Tiered ticket pricing: Consider using tiered ticket pricing, where early bird registrants pay a lower price while those purchasing closer to the event date pay more. This encourages early commitments and helps you gauge attendance.
- VIP packages: Create VIP ticket options with added benefits, such as reserved seating, exclusive access to certain areas, or special giveaways.
- Promotions for first purchasers: Offer incentives for the first few ticket buyers, such as raffle entries for prizes or small giveaways. This strategy can generate buzz and prompt quick action from potential attendees.
- Bring a friend incentive: Encourage attendees to bring friends by offering discounts for additional reunion tickets purchased alongside an original ticket. Incentives like these can enhance the sense of community and increase participation.
- Include optional add-ons: Consider offering optional add-ons during the ticket purchase process, such as merchandise, food packages, or activities. Add-ons can increase your overall revenue while providing attendees with more choices.
- Leverage early sign-up benefits: Highlight any exclusive benefits for those who register early, such as access to a private event page with unique content or sneak peeks of what to expect at the reunion.
- Follow-up reminders: Send personalized email reminders to those who expressed interest but haven’t purchased tickets yet. Timely reminders can create a sense of urgency and encourage them to take action.
- Engage through social media contests: Utilize social media to run contests that encourage sharing event details, which can increase visibility and interest. Offer prizes for your reunion, such as free reunion tickets or memorabilia.
🧐 Want to diver deeper into ticket sales tactics? Checkout 5 proven tactics to increase event ticket sales and sell out your next event
Following up after the event
Following up after your reunion is essential for reinforcing connections, expressing gratitude, and setting the stage for future reunions.
Here are key points to incorporate into your follow-up efforts:
- Thank your attendees: Send personalized thank-you messages to attendees, expressing appreciation for their participation and highlighting memorable moments from the event.
- Share photos: Create an online gallery to share photos and videos from the reunion. Encourage attendees to tag themselves and share their pictures to foster community engagement.
- Acknowledge sponsors and volunteers: Publicly thank sponsors and volunteers for their contributions. A simple acknowledgment in your follow-up communication adds value and appreciation.
- Gather feedback: Send out a brief survey to collect feedback on the event. This information is valuable for planning future reunions.
- Promote continued engagement: Encourage attendees to stay connected through social media or mailing lists and share any plans for future gatherings to maintain enthusiasm within the alumni community.
By implementing these follow-up steps, you show appreciation, lay the groundwork for future events, and strengthen your community ties.
How to sell class reunion tickets with Checkout Page
With it's no-code event page features that allow you to create attractive, user friendly checkout pages with multiple ticket types, Checkout Page is a no-nonsense platform for those wanting a frictionless way sell tickets to their reunion event.
Let's take a look at the steps to getting a page up and running from scratch.
Step 1. Create an event page for your reunion
After clicking ‘create page,’ select an ‘Event’ page type from the list:
Step 2. Add your reunion event details to the page
Input your event details as prompted, including event name, dates, location, and capacity:
Step 3. Choose a layout for your reunion event ticket page
Choose a page type and layout, depending on whether you want a hosted page or to embed the page onto a website:
Step 4. Add reunion event ticket types
Add as many types of tickets as your event requires, each with its price and quantity.
Step 5. Add a description for your reunion event
Let people know more about what to expect by filling out the event description field:
Step 6. Add an image to your event page
Add a central image to your event page:
Step 7. Add additional event ticket types
Create further ticket types, if necessary, such as VIP tickets:
Step 8. Customize your event page colors to match your branding
Step 9. Preview your reunion event page
Use the preview function to see how your page is looking at any time:
Step 10. Share and embed your reunion ticketing page
Choose from several options, including sharing a link to a standalone page, generating embed code, or generating a QR code:
Conclusions
We hope this guide has reassured you that organizing a reunion event can be an enriching and exciting project with the right team, planning, and tools in place.
In this article, we’ve looked at the key factors that ensure your event runs smoothly and is enjoyable for you and your guests. We have covered the essential steps, from assembling a passionate planning team to selecting the correct date and venue, ensuring an enjoyable atmosphere with engaging activities that will bring all your guests to life.
By implementing a user-friendly ticketing platform and employing clever strategies to boost ticket sales, you can minimize the stress associated with the ticket sales process.
With its low fees, customizability, dedicated event pages, templates, AND exemplary customer support from our founders, we think Checkout Page is an ideal platform for your reunion event tickets.
You don’t need to take our word for it, though. Why not take advantage of our free 7-day trial — no card required — and see for yourself?
🎉 Have a ball planning your reunion event — we hope to support you on your ticket sales journey!
