When To Start Promoting Your Next Event

Planning an end-of-semester show or special event is an amazing opportunity to shine a spotlight on your students and their progress. Plus, a well-executed event can generate additional revenue as well as serve as a powerful tool to attract new students. 

With so much riding on the overall success of your event, selling tickets should be one of your top priorities. But knowing when to start promoting your dance event and how can be difficult. 

Three to Five Months Before The Event 

Yes, you read that right, three to five months before the event is when you should ideally kick off your initial promotional push. 

Why so early? People need time to plan, especially if your event is during a busy season like summer or Christmas. Starting this early gives parents, students, and other attendees enough notice to mark their calendars and ensure they keep the date free for you.

Where To Start?

• Confirm the Essentials: Lock in the date, time, and location. These are the foundation for all your promotional efforts.
• Communicate Clearly: Share these details with your staff, students, and their parents. This can be in an email, letter, in-person announcement, or social media posts. 
• “Save the Date” Announcement: Let your audience know about the event in advance with a simple message like: “Save the date! Our end-of-season showcase is coming up on [date] at [location]. Stay tuned for more details!” 

This step sets the stage for everything to come, helping you build excitement and ensuring no one misses the big day. At this point, you can also get in touch with event websites and newspapers to get your show listed for additional publicity.

Three Months Before The Event 

It’s time to start selling tickets! Begin by offering them to the parents and friends of your students, your most loyal audience. 

To ensure they’re sold, give them a short, exclusive window to purchase friends and family" tickets. You could even sweeten the deal by offering a small early-bird discount.

How To Promote This:

1. Send Email Communications:
   • Craft a friendly and enthusiastic email announcing that tickets are officially on sale. 
2. Speak to Your Community in Person:
   • Use lesson time to share the news directly with parents and students.
   • Hand out flyers or cards with ticket information for those who prefer tangible reminders.
3. Leverage Social Media (Optional):
   • Share a post about the friends and family ticket sale.
   • Use phrases like “Seats are limited - grab yours before they’re gone!” to create a sense of urgency.

For more information on how to promote your event on Instagram, see our blog post, 'How to promote your event on Instagram'.

8 Weeks Before The Event

The venue is booked, and your friends and family have had their chance to grab discounted tickets. Now it’s time to expand your reach and target a broader audience. 

The key to ticket-selling success at this stage is consistency. Consistent messaging, branding, and regular promotion across multiple channels will help you sell tickets with ease.

1. Leverage Organic Social Media:
   • Create engaging posts on your social media accounts highlighting ticket sales.
   • Share photos, videos, or testimonials from past events to build excitement.
   • Use captions that include clear calls-to-action, like “Tickets are selling fast - grab yours today!”
2. Tap Into Local Facebook Groups:
   • Post about your event in relevant local groups, such as buy-and-sell pages, community boards, dance enthusiast groups, or events-focused groups.
3. Run Paid Advertising Campaigns:
   • Use Facebook or Instagram ads to target your ideal audience (e.g., local families, dance enthusiasts, performing arts lovers).
   • Ensure your ad is visually appealing and includes key details (date, time, location, and ticket link).
   • Use urgency-driven language like “Seats are filling up fast -don’t miss out!”
4. Partner with Local Businesses: 
   • Collaborate with nearby businesses to promote your event. For example, ask cafes, gyms, or shops to display flyers in exchange for a mention in your program.
   • Partner with community organizations that align with your audience (e.g., schools or arts groups).
5. Advertise Locally:
   • Place an ad in your local newspaper or community magazine. Many people still turn to these outlets for events in their area.
   • Use bulletin boards at libraries, community centres, or local hotspots for free promotion.
6. Leaflet Dropping:
   • Print and distribute flyers in high-traffic areas like schools, parks, or shopping centres.
   • Involve students or volunteers to spread the word in their neighbourhoods.

By diversifying your efforts and maintaining consistent promotion, you’ll create buzz and attract a wider audience to your event.

Top Tip: If you’re partnering with local businesses, designing leaflets, or printing in magazines and newspapers, it’s important to do the hard work before the 8-week mark. Make the connections, make the deals, and create the copy during the initial planning phases for your event.

One Month To Go! 

It’s crunch time! As the event approaches, you’ll notice a mix of eager early ticket buyers and those who are holding off until the last minute. While this can feel frustrating, it’s completely normal - just something to keep in mind as you ramp up your efforts.

Now is the time to go all-in with your promotions. Your goal is to build excitement and create FOMO (fear of missing out) so that your audience feels they must be there.

How to Keep the Momentum Going:

1. Post Consistently on Social Media:
   • Share what’s happening behind the scenes, including rehearsals, costume preparations, or stage setups.
   • Highlight the people involved, such as students, teachers, or performers, with short interviews or profiles.
   • Use phrases like “This is the event of the year - don’t miss out!”
2. Tease the Event Content:
   • Post sneak peeks of performances or exciting elements of the event.
   • Share snippets of the schedule or lineup to give people a taste of what they can expect.
3. Showcase Exclusive Content:
   • Post rehearsal footage or bloopers to create a connection with your audience.
   • Highlight unique aspects of the event that make it stand out (special performances, guest appearances, etc.).
4. Use Visuals to Captivate:
   • Post high-quality images and videos with clear, engaging captions.
   • Include countdown graphics to build anticipation (e.g., “Only 4 weeks to go!”).
5. Create Urgency:
   • Remind your audience that tickets are selling fast.
   • Use language like “Limited seats remaining - secure yours today!” to encourage immediate action.

Three Weeks To Go! 

You’ve been putting in the effort on social media, and now is the time to amplify it. Keep posting regularly on your platforms and continue sharing event updates in Facebook groups to maintain visibility and excitement.

Want to step it up a notch? A giveaway can be a great way to generate buzz and increase audience engagement. Highlight the prize, whether it’s free tickets, merchandise, or exclusive perks like VIP seating. Be sure to include clear instructions on how to enter, such as liking the post, tagging friends, or sharing it on their stories, and specify when the winner will be announced.

To encourage interaction, craft an eye-catching post with a caption like:
🎉 GIVEAWAY ALERT! 🎭 Win 2 FREE tickets to our end-of-season show on [date] at [venue]! Entering is easy:

• Like this post.
• Tag a friend in the comments.
• Share this post on your story (don’t forget to tag us!).
• The winner will be announced on [date]—good luck!

Boost the post with a paid ad to reach a larger audience, targeting local families, performing arts enthusiasts, or community members. You can also run the giveaway on multiple platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, for even more visibility.

The Days Leading Up To The Event 

Hopefully, with all of your marketing efforts, all of your tickets will be sold. However, if they’ve not all been sold yet, don’t fret; there are still things that can be done to encourage last-minute sales.

The final week is crunch time. Push all promotional efforts into high gear.

• Send reminder emails to those who haven’t bought tickets yet.
• Share detailed event schedules and highlight any special guests or performances.
• Continue posting consistently on all social media platforms and local groups.

Now is the time to double down on your efforts, post daily countdowns to the events, and remind people that time is running out to be part of the fun and the magic. 

This is also a great time to send out your checklist for attendees before your event. Download our attendee checklist here. 

Where To Sell Your Event Tickets?

When you’re putting so much effort into promoting your event, the last thing you want is to be let down by unreliable ticket sellers.

Make ticket purchasing and selling as easy as 1-2-3 with Stage Stubs, the leading ticket platform for dance recitals, pantomimes, and other events. Whether you’re selling tickets in advance or at the door, Stage Stubs makes it simple to sell, distribute, and scan tickets. Plus, we’ll even create a seating plan for you!