If you are thinking of organizing an event, having an online presence is incredibly important. When your event is published to the web, you are able to accept online registrations, sell tickets online from your site, and reach a wider audience. Not to mention, a functional and informative event website significantly improves the user experience.
And to set up an event website that allows you to accept online registrations and sell tickets online, you’re going to need to sign up with an online event registration software solution.
Although there are a number of powerful event registration solutions available, Eventbrite happens to be one of the most popular choices. But is it really the best, most affordable option for your organization?
In this article, we’ll introduce you to an alternative to Eventbrite – Event Smart. And, we will compare and contrast the two online ticketing solutions.
Let’s begin by exploring the key features offered with both platforms.
Eventbrite vs. Event Smart
Eventbrite and Event Smart are online event registration and ticketing management solutions. Though their names are similar, the key features offered with both platforms are remarkably different.
Introducing Eventbrite
Eventbrite is an event management and ticketing website that allows users to browse, create and promote events. The platform charges event organizers a fee for online ticketing services unless they’re organizing a free event.
Key Features:
- Eventbrite is an event registration and ticketing platform and event marketplace.
- The basic Essentials plan will cost you 2% + $0.79 for each paid ticket you sell.
- Offers payouts via Eventbrite Payment Processing, PayPal, or Authorize.Net.
- Payouts begin processing 4-5 days after the event ends.
Introducing Event Smart
Event Smart is an all-in-one event management platform that allows event organizers to accept online event registrations, sell tickets, manage attendee information, and much more.
Key Features:
- Event Smart offers businesses a dedicated event website for accepting online event registrations, selling tickets, and more.
- You’re able to sell paid event tickets for as little as $10 flat fee per month
- Offers multiple payment options including credit/debit cards, PayPal Pro, and Stripe.
Event Smart: The Better Event Registration and Ticketing Solution for Your Next Event
Here, we’ll take a look at how Event Smart is a better, more affordable alternative to Eventbrite in terms of online event registrations, selling tickets, getting paid, and additional event management related functionality.
#1: Comparing Fees
You shouldn’t have to pay more transaction fees on top of your payment processing fees [from your payment solution provider] for selling tickets.
On its basic Essentials plan, Eventbrite charges 2% + $0.79 per paid ticket you sell. And if you’d like to offer multiple ticket types, you’ll have to opt for the Professional plan which will cost you 3.5% + $1.59 per paid ticket.
Event Smart doesn’t charge a per-ticket fee which means that you can sell more tickets than ever before without getting penalized for it by paying a transaction fee every time you sell a ticket. With Event Smart, you only pay a flat fee of $10 per month to integrate you payment system to be able to accept payments on your registration site.
#2: Comparing How and When You’ll Get Paid
When you sign up with an event ticketing platform (like Eventbrite), you rely on their services for getting paid. All transaction proceeds go to the service provider first and are then deposited into your account at their discretion.
What this means is that you will have to wait for your event funds until after the event! That is how it works when you sign up with Eventbrite and choose the Eventbrite Payment Processing option (the most cost-effective option) to receive payments, your payout will begin processing 4-5 days after your event ends. Additionally, you’ll be charged a 2.5% payment processing fee.
With a dedicated event website (like Event Smart), you use your own payment provider which means that you can get paid directly into your bank account as soon as you start receiving payments from attendees. And if you are like many event organizers, you actually rely on these incoming funds to help to fund your event!
#3: Comparing Bonus Functionality
Blogging about your event is a great way to tell your story, highlight your event’s main attractions and activities, and boost your event site’s search engine visibility.
Eventbrite is an event registration and ticketing platform and marketplace meaning all you get is a single event page. It doesn’t give its customers the option to blog about their event.
With Event Smart, you have a dedicated event website that you can publish blog posts through. This gives you an opportunity to build an audience and share your event’s details, photos, videos, and experiences with them.
#4: No Distractions
When prospective attendees land on your event landing page, your goal should be to encourage them to complete their ticket purchase.
Since Eventbrite is essentially an event marketplace, it recommends similar events to prospective attendees on every (free and paid) events page. This increases the chances of prospective attendees abandoning your event page to go look at other, similar events.
Event Smart, on the other hand, gives you more control over what appears on your event landing page. So, instead of promoting other events, you can encourage prospective attendees to purchase tickets to your event when they land on your event page.
#5: Customizations
Adding some visual appeal to your event page is a great way to grab the visitor’s attention and deliver an enhanced event registration and ticket purchasing experience.
With Eventbrite, all event pages look the same in terms of design and functionality. You only have the option to add a header image for your event.
Event Smart gives you the option to customize the look and feel of your event website simply by picking out a theme that best fits your brand identity. You can add your logo, use custom colors, add images, play around with the layout, and much more. In addition to this, you can also customize your event tickets and confirmation emails.
#6: Intuitive User Interface
If you’re using Eventbrite for the first time, the dashboard can be pretty overwhelming. You’ll probably have to watch a few tutorial videos or read through the documentation to create and manage your event.
Event Smart is powered by Event Espresso on WordPress. So, if you’ve ever used WordPress, getting started with Event Smart will be incredibly intuitive.
#7: Showcasing Events
If your organization hosts multiple events, you’ll probably want your audience to be able to view all of your events.
Eventbrite displays a More Events From This Organizer section within your event page to help you promote your events. It looks something like this:
Event Smart is a little more flexible when it comes to showcasing multiple events. You have the option to pick an events calendar or grid layout to display all of the events you’re hosting.
Event Smart’s Events Calendar
Event Smart’s Grid Layout
#8: Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is incredibly important if you want to broaden your reach.
When you list your event on Eventbrite, you have the option to give your event a name, set a date and location, and add an event description. This doesn’t give you enough room to build a successful SEO strategy.
Event Smart websites – and their page architectures – are search engine optimized from the outset. In addition to this, you also get access to SEO optimization tools (such as XML sitemaps) for each event, page, and blog post you publish on your site.
#9: Syndicate Events Using RSS
If your organization hosts multiple events, you might consider offering an option that notifies attendees about upcoming events.
Eventbrite doesn’t offer RSS support out of the box.
Event Smart lets you notify your subscribers about upcoming events with its built-in event RSS feeds feature. What this means is that whenever you post a new event or publish a blog post, your subscribers will automatically be notified.
Conclusion
Whether you’re looking to organize free events or paid ones, Event Smart is a great and, more affordable option that is available to you. Unlike event registration and ticketing marketplaces like Eventbrite, Event Smart helps you:
- Sell paid tickets for a nominal flat fee.
- Get paid directly as the payments from your event come in.
- Blog about your event.
- Deliver a distraction-free registration experience.
- Customize the look and feel of your event site.
- Get started with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface.
- Showcase events using an interactive events calendar or grid layout.
- Optimize your events, pages, and posts for search engines.
- Syndicate events using built-in RSS technology.
If you’re still unsure about which event registration and ticketing platform are right for you, check out this article on Eventbrite vs. Event Smart—Which is Right for Your Event Business?.
Have you used Eventbrite to accept online registrations and sell tickets? What are your thoughts on switching over to a better, more affordable solution like Event Smart? Let us know in the comments section below.
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