Online Event Registration with Eventbrite - Small Business Trends

At first glance, Eventbrite does not appear to be a small business tool. Most small business owners are not planning events, right? Let?s redefine what an event is and then we?ll see if this tool can help you grow your small business and marketing presence.?Events are the secret sauce to good marketing and Eventbrite can help you manage and promote your business.?This review is for the small business owner or team member who handles marketing tasks.

I?m defining the term ?event? broadly ? if you are a small business owner who is meeting with customers or prospects online or in real life (IRL); you are probably managing events or could shift your approach to include more people and make your ?event? more productive and profitable. You can produce micro-events, business networking events, or social events, but the best ones are educational and not sales heavy (or sales-y at all).

Tyler Garns (fellow contributor here on Small Business Trends) and I planned a well-attended marketing event last summer and used a combination of Eventbrite and Biznik to pack the room. Biznik has an awesome event ?do and don?t? list that includes some advice to leverage Eventbrite when you plan an event as well.

Event management is no easy task, that?s why you need a tool like Eventbrite. Here?s what I really like about it:

• You can create a customized event page (with its own distinct URL).
• If your event is recurring, you can manage that easily.
• The tool generates name badges automatically. A time saver, for sure.
• You can poll your attendees as they register to learn more about their likes, dislikes, shirt size.
• I love that you get a big SEO (search engine optimization) boost from listing your event properly.

Some of the things I?d like to see:

• You can link to Facebook and Twitter, but I?d like the option to link to LinkedIn, too, as that?s where a ton of my (and probably your) business contacts reside. And while it is part of the ?My Profile? section, linking to your social profiles is not as obvious as I think it could be. Again, a small point for an otherwise terrific service to small business owners. Once your event is created, they do make it easy to share your event.

If your marketing efforts do not include events because of the logistical hassle, then Eventbrite is worth a close look. The service makes it easy to create, promote, and manage free and paid events.

The pricing is pretty simple: 2.5% plus $0.99 per ticket. Now that might seem a little steep at first glance, but let?s do some fast math: a $10 event will cost you $1.24 to use Eventbrite. Most important, if your event is free, well, then there?s no charge by Eventbrite. That?s pretty hard to beat.

Learn more about Eventbrite.

About the Author

TJ publishes Tech Biz Talk, a site that reviews business apps of all types and provides how-to posts and tutorials. Share your application or service at his Facebook page and share details about your company/app in the comments below. TJ actively studies all searching for new apps to write about. Learn more about TJ.

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Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/02/online-event-registration-with-eventbrite.html

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