Sell Tickets Online with NO Fees: The Quick’n’Easy Guide

There is nothing more frustrating than looking forward to attending your favourite event and not being able to due to unforeseen circumstances. In increasingly busy and sometimes difficult times, there is a growing opportunity for event organizers—selling tickets online. You may initially be put off by this idea, but there could not be a better or easier time to sell tickets online for your event.

The following article will show you that it is very easy to set up a video paywall with PPV tickets up and running (a lot quicker than you would probably think). For a small time-investment, you can open your future events up to a wider audience.

How to Sell Tickets Online

Step 1: Find Event Ticketing Software

You can start looking at how to sell tickets online by choosing event ticketing software. There are many different platforms to sell event tickets online, but it is best to try and find a provider that offers everything on your checklist. Of course, competitive pricing is also a must.

Some of the big names include StreamingVideoProvider, Cleeng, Vimeo Premium and Dacast. Let us look at some of the key differences between these popular providers when it comes to online ticket sales.

	StreamingVideoProvider	Cleeng	Vimeo Premium	Dacast
Instant Access to Content upon purchase	✔	✔	✔	✔
Commission / Fees	None	$1.68 Per Managed User + $0.29 + 2.9% Per ticket sold	10%	9.9%, plus $0.40 on each viewer purchase
Pay-out Time	Immediate	3-5 days	3-5 days	3-5 days (35-day delay for first payment)
Anti-Piracy	✔ (Includes 2FA)	Geo and IP analysis to identify sharing	X	✔
Security	Domain Restriction, IP & GEO restrictions, Password protection	Domain, IP & GEO restrictions	Domain restriction	Password protection
White Labelling & Customisation	Logo, colours, URL	Logo, colours	Logo, colours	Logo, colours, URL
Pricing	From $38/mo	From $99/mo	$75/mo*	From $19/mo

*Annual Billing

When looking through the options, it is easy to see that Dacast offers a wide selection of features including anti-piracy measures, real-time analytics, and secure playback.

StreamingVideoProvider offers a comprehensive and very secure solution including two-factor authentication for a very competitive price without asking for commitment to annual payments. One big incentive to go with StreamingVideoProvider is that there are zero service fees. Also, the payments you receive are immediately sent to your selected payment account—PayPal, Stripe, 2Checkout, and so on. There are no delays.

Vimeo is quite well-known among free video hosting services. It’s true that sometimes noticing a recognisable brand can sway your judgement towards using them over the competition. In the case of their premium offering, though, the pricing and feature-set can be a little disappointing when compared to that of other event streaming providers.

There is a monthly price of $75 which is taken as an annual payment and a delay of 3-5 days when it comes to receiving your payments. This can be off-putting if you are operating on a budget.

Cleeng also offers a comprehensive list of features from geo-restrictions to real-time reporting in addition to offering a quick and easy to set up configuration. However, as mentioned earlier with Vimeo, there is a 3-5-day delay when it comes to pay-outs which can be frustrating.

Considerations

Look for 2FA to prevent ticket sharing. Due to the nature of selling online content, ideally your videos should be able to support 2FA (two factor authentication) to stop potential pirates from sharing access codes. 2FA allows only one authenticated user to view content at one time giving you the peace of mind knowing that your content is not being shared with other users.
Read the fine print about fees. Another big factor for potential users is commissions and fees deducted. Looking through the comparison table above, you will notice that they can be as high as 10%. In this regard, StreamingVideoProvider is a very attractive option because it offers online ticket sales with no fees. You always receive the full payment.
Research payment options. Speaking of payment, when choosing your provider, you should look at the options available and see which appeal to you based on the features and service offered. The big names include PayPal and Stripe—both accept payments from international currencies allowing you to sell tickets online to people anywhere in the world easily.

Step 2: Set up Your Live Event

Assuming you have your streaming equipment configured already, you can get started in no time at all. Most providers make it easy to set your price and start selling tickets in a matter of minutes. First and foremost, you should make sure that you create and configure your live stream player with your respective provider by following their documentation step-by-step.

There are several ways to do that depending on what you are looking to broadcast.

Option #1: Stream with a webcam

If your content is primarily featuring you and/or your computer screen, you can stream with a webcam. In fact, you can keep it dead-simple by selling tickets directly on Zoom. Check out the video below for a quick tutorial on how to do that.

Alternatively, you can broadcast with streaming software such as OBS and a webcam. You can set up OBS quite easily, it’s free to use and webcams are very affordable. All this makes it a great option for those looking to get started with broadcasting PPV content.

Option #2: Use streaming software and a capture card

Streaming software such as OBS can be also used in conjunction with a capture card and a video camera for streaming. Alternatively, you can choose to have a dedicated hardware encoder that connects directly to your equipment and encodes full HD videos ideal for streaming.

Different hardware will be required depending on the event. If you are looking to sell concert tickets online, the hardware required will be quite different in comparison to those looking to broadcast an eSports event for example.

Option #3: Use hardware streaming encoders

You can choose to have a dedicated hardware encoder that connects directly to your equipment and encodes full HD videos ideal for streaming.

Different hardware will be required depending on the event. If you are looking to sell event tickets for an online concert, the hardware required will be quite different in comparison to those looking to broadcast an eSports event for example.

Option #4: Stream with an IP camera

You can even stream with an RTSP/IP Camera which can be great in certain situations and scenarios where having tons of equipment with you is not viable.

Step 3: Get up and running

Once you have your streaming equipment chosen and set up and you are ready to go, with most providers it’s as simple as copying an embed code from your live stream video player and pasting it into your WordPress website. This can be done weeks in advance and gives you some time to market yourself and your event online. At the same time, it allows users to buy early-bird tickets.

You will also need to connect your payment provider with your ticketing system which can be done with ease. Depending on your chosen event ticketing software, you should have access to a knowledge base or help section showing you how to connect your chosen payment provider with their service step-by-step.

For example, here’s how to set up a live pay per view event in less than 10 minutes.

Here are some things you must consider when creating and setting up your live event:

Do you have a reliable internet connection with a suitable upload speed?
Ensure your equipment is suitable in terms of both audio and video quality. Be sure to do a test run.
Configure your hardware appropriately. For example, if you are in a loud and busy environment, ensure that your audio is set to reduce background noises.
Make sure you have streaming rights if permission is required when dealing with sports or location-based events.

Beyond pay per view event streaming

You will also want to consider whether or not you wish to create a paywall offer allowing you more control over ticket purchase. For example, offering rentals or subscriptions may be a viable option if supported by your pay per view streaming service.

When you think about how to sell tickets for an event, imagine you’re creating an online box office. What do you need to make the customer service exceptional? What do you need to make the viewing experience exceptional?

Step 4: Promote Your Event

As mentioned previously, most PPV platforms will allow you to publish your live stream video player on your event website before the launch date. That is exactly when you should start with event marketing.

Blogging

A great way to market your event would be to create a blog post on a related topic. If it’s a sports-related broadcast, for example, you could write about the upcoming event with some insight and analysis on previous games. Not only does this promote your event but it also helps establish you as an authority in the field.

Social Media Marketing

As most people use Facebook and Twitter, you should also look to take part in social listening—in essence, this means tracking and creating conversations about the upcoming event with the help of tools such as Hootsuite. This allows you to connect with your audience as well as share news and pictures about your upcoming event.

Advertising & SEO

You can also go down the route of sponsored listings via PPC, Google Ads and Facebook Ads in order to get eyes on your event. This can be combined with organic SEO practices such as content creation and keyword optimization on your website increasing your chances of being found for appropriate search terms. You should also consider an early-bird discount to attract more viewers and promote your event in advance.

Repurposing Content

If you have covered previous events in some capacity and have content you have the rights for, you can repurpose that content. For example, you can publish it to micro-video sites and engage users on TikTok and Twitter. This will help you engage more viewers during event registration, especially when they are browsing on mobile devices or do not have time to watch a longer version of your promotional video.

Combining different types of content and marketing on the lead up to your event and keeping users updated combined with an easy buying experience for the viewer is, without doubt, the best way to sell event tickets online.

Conclusion

To conclude, building your own ticket site to sell tickets online can be achieved with relative ease by following the above steps. You should look at and identify the type of event you are broadcasting whether it’s going to be primarily filmed with a camera or can be streamed via the computer with software such as OBS. Choose your hardware accordingly based on what you are looking to broadcast.

Obviously, if you are looking to sell concert tickets online, the approach will be different compared to if you are giving digital art lessons that can be streamed directly from your computer with less need for enhanced equipment, webcams, or video cameras.

When choosing your ticket selling apps, it’s best to look for something that is cost-effective, easy to integrate, and allows you to have full control over your event. Another important concern is the ability to publish the event on your website, with a branded video player and list your tickets weeks before the event starts, allowing time to generate buzz.