How to run your events from your own WordPress site with Event Espresso
You have an event coming up. People need to find it, pick a ticket, pay, and get in the door on the day. Right now that might mean a spreadsheet, a payment link, a stack of emails and a clipboard at the entrance.
If you already have a WordPress site, you can do all of it in one place. One way is Event Espresso, a WordPress plugin for event registration and ticketing. A note before I go on: I co-founded Event Espresso, so I am not a neutral reviewer. What follows is how the pieces fit together, so you can judge whether it suits you.
Start with a site that can take the traffic
Event sites get busy in bursts: the morning tickets go on sale, the day before the event. Pick hosting that stays quick and reliable when that happens, and a theme that works well on phones, because many people will buy from one.
Then install WordPress (most hosts do it in one click), add your theme, and buy, upload and activate Event Espresso from your WordPress dashboard. Go through its settings once before you build anything: your currency, how you take payment, and the emails it sends.
Create your first event
In the Event Espresso menu, choose “Add New Event” and fill in the title, description, date, time and place. Then set up your tickets. You can have several kinds for one event, such as general admission, VIP or early bird, each with its own price, quantity, and dates when sales open and close.
Next, decide what you need to know about each person and build the registration form to ask exactly that: names and emails, and anything else that matters to you, such as dietary needs. Ask for no more than you will use.
Preview the event page, check every detail, and publish.
Put your events on a calendar people can browse
Once you have more than a couple of events, a calendar helps people see what is coming and pick what interests them.
- Sort events into categories by type, place or theme, so visitors can find the kind they want.
- Add the details people ask about, such as speakers or sponsors, so they do not have to email you.
- Add a good photo or video to each event. It helps someone decide.
- Put the calendar on a page of your site and style it to match.
- Let people search and filter by name, date, category or place.
- Check it on a phone and a computer before you share it, and keep it current: add new events and clear out old ones.
Sell tickets the way you want
You can set prices that change with timing or quantity (an early bird rate, a group rate), and run discount codes and track how often each one is used. When someone buys, they get a confirmation email and their ticket automatically, and you can send a reminder before the event. Add-ons cover extras such as a waitlist for sold-out events. Sales show up on your dashboard as they happen, so you know where you stand.
Take payment on your own site
Event Espresso connects to payment services such as PayPal, Stripe and Square, so people pay on your site instead of being sent somewhere else. Those services handle the card security. Keep checkout short: every extra step is a chance for someone to give up. Refunds and cancellations can be handled from the same place, and the reports show your takings per event and per ticket type.
Check people in with your phone
Event Espresso has check-in apps for iPhone and Android. You scan the code on each person’s ticket at the door, the attendance list updates as you go, and the scan also confirms the ticket is real. If the venue’s internet drops, the app can keep scanning and sync with your site once you are back online. You can also look up attendees, check ticket details and handle someone who buys at the door.
Tell people about it
Your WordPress site is already a good place to promote events.
- Write a post about each event and give each event page a clear title and description, so people searching can find it.
- Email your list. Event Espresso connects with email tools such as Mailchimp. If you are new to it, start with Mailchimp for beginners.
- Share event pages on social media, and give speakers and sponsors what they need to share them too.
- If your events are local, work on local search: your Google Business Profile, local wording and reviews.
- Watch what works with a tool like Google Analytics, so you spend your effort on the channels that bring people in.
Look back after each event
After the event, read the numbers: which tickets sold, which events earned the most, and how many people came back from last time. Send a short survey and read what people say. Use what you learn to plan the next one.
What you end up with
Your events, tickets, payments and check-in, all on a site you own, instead of spread across five tools. If you want help setting it up, call me at 801-688-8590 or email seth@smartwebutah.com.