You’ve got a great fundraiser. People are going to have an absolute blast. But they don’t seem to be buying your tickets. Here are some of the reasons why that could be. 1. You’re Relying On Social Media Social media is great. You can sit at home and post stuff online. Done right you can get lots of people to click on, or to like what you post online. You can really get the idea that you’re going to have a sellout night. But those people seldom go on to actually come to your event. The no-show rate for people who respond on social media varies from 50 - 100%, and is mostly at the 100% end for events people don’t already go to regularly.

Have you heard the phrase “nothing succeeds like success”? When it comes to fundraising, if you get out there and get some tickets sold to your fundraising show many weeks before the event - it’ll be so much easier to sell more later. This works especially well if you recruit some opinion leaders in your community. The people who tend to set the trends that others follow. Go and see those people in person, get them to pay for their tickets right then and there. Ask them to tell others that they are going. You can explain to them why you’re doing this; if they sign up then others will too, you can even ask them to help you.

Most events get booked for Fridays and Saturdays. This might seem like a good idea for your fundraiser too, but is it really? Fridays and Saturdays are when people are most likely to have another obligation. You’re competing with every other private and public event in the country! Some people cannot be there on the weekend because they have a prior commitment. Wednesdays though. Wednesdays go begging. And if there’s an early finish people can come and have a good time. You could possibly do better by having your event on a Wednesday and not run too late. World class entertainment and pizza is an unbeatable combo.

I get this question a lot, obviously. And it makes sense to ask it. But I never get asked, “how much can we raise”? Which is surely a better question. I expect that most people are thinking along those lines and work it out for themselves. But there are some factors that are also worth considering. I don’t ask to be paid until after the event. You can cancel a week beforehand with no cost. So if you haven’t sold enough tickets one week out you can walk away. So the real question is this, “can you sell enough tickets to make it worthwhile?

Simple means that you can understand the process, and that the steps involved are within your capability. Easy means that the necessary steps can be accomplished without much effort. By these definitions there are no easy ways to raise funds for your cause. Every fund raising project requires effort. There are many simple ways to do it, and many of the steps are easy to take. But if all the steps were easy to take, then everyone could easily raise all the funds they would ever need. And they clearly cannot. It takes effort to gain people’s attention without annoying them.

Talk to friends, relatives, parents etc. – will they come, will they organise a group of 10 from their work or club? Could they put up a poster?

Approach some of the local businesses and see if they’ll let you advertise your show on their canteen notice board. Maybe they’ll let you come in at a lunch break and you can sell tickets then and there. Offer them a discount if they organise a group and 10 or more people come.

This is the main point: Don’t undersell! If people say they will not come for come for $20, they might as well not come for $30. A movie costs $15 per person 3 beers will cost about $13.50 Many people will pay $35 - $50 for a good night out. And if they really can’t afford $20 for a show, or $30, then they probably cannot afford $15 either. So don’t price your tickets too low. But what about people with families you may ask? If you price tickets at $30. Then a family of four would cost $120 – and if that seems too pricey for your local community then have a family ticket price.

It’s a sad fact that many people say they’ll come to your event and then don’t show up. I guess it’s not so bad if they paid for their tickets, but often they will have been fobbing you off. If they’re really coming, then they’ll buy a ticket. If they don’t buy a ticket, then they’re not really coming. To discourage people from postponing, if they say they are coming, get their money right then, and to make it worthwhile, have the ticket price lower for advance purchase than on the night. That way, if they are really coming, they will buy the ticket in advance because it is cheaper.

Talk to the local “free” newspaper at least 6 weeks in advance. Talk to the local radio stations – they’ll generally mention your show on a community notices bulletin, and will often support you with additional promotions and adverts.

If your event is a play performed by 6 year olds – you don’t need to strive for West End stage settings and Emmy winning performances, but you do need it to be a good play by 6 year olds, and the rest of the event (ticketing, organisation, communication, promotion) can be of good quality. In many respects, good quality can cost little or nothing to achieve. For example, making sure that the tickets have all the correct details on them, and are well laid out (on a PC) can take no more effort or cost than poorly laid out tickets that omit the time the show starts, for example.

Keep a list of people who have expressed interest but not yet bought tickets and follow them up at least once per week in person or by phone. Be organised. Get your team together next week and talk about successes you’re having and set goals together. Email may seem like an easy way to communicate, but it is impersonal and easy to ignore. It is better to telephone. Better still to visit in person.

Keep your energy up. Don’t accept excuses from yourself and your team. If you set out to raise funds, then raise funds. If you make an agreement to do something – then do it. Make sure that the fundraising team has bought into the idea early and are willing to give their energy and effort. Too many fundraising efforts are really the work of 1 or 2 human-dynamos and a number of passengers. The more actively useful people you can enrol in your fundraising efforts and the fewer passengers you have on the team to drag down your spirits and dilute efforts, the more successful you’ll be.

Make sure that it is really easy to get tickets though – if someone wants to come it should be painless for them to get a ticket. So pop back to places you’ve visited and offer tickets – or ask the company receptionist where you left a brochure to take bookings and money for you and give them a number where they can contact you to have the tickets delivered to the buyer.

Offer tickets on Trademe and Ebay etc. of you can. Make sure the auction finishes early enough (or has a fixed price) so that people don’t hold off buying a ticket until after the auction, and miss out entirely.

If the venue is not so easy to find – say a school hall on a campus – put up signs so that visitors can find it easily from any car park or bus stop. Consider printing a small map on your tickets if your venue is not easy to find.

Put up posters at local stores and shopping precincts. Put up posters at least 4 weeks before hand. People need time to plan ahead and to get organised.

Make sure the venue is clean and tidy.  People will appreciate the effort and it will influence their decision to come back next time.

Sales Phobias: When faced with the idea of selling tickets, some of your team will immediately think that the tickets would be easier to sell if they were cheaper. Perhaps this is true sometimes, but it is also true that discounting is the bane of all sales roles. If you have a good “product”, like That Hypno Show, and you genuinely believe that your donors/guests will have a good time and will receive excellent value for money, then you can ask for a fair price with confidence. If you are reluctant to ask for money at all, fear rejection, or don’t believe in the product, then no price will be low enough for you.

Each fundraiser you do not only raises money, it advertises how good your next one will be too.  If you do a good job of the current event, then next will be easier or better because your donors will know that you set a good standard.