A week-by-week promotion timeline, where ticket sales really come from, and why the last two weeks matter more than the launch.
Event promotion has a distinctive shape: a spike at announcement, a long flat middle that panics everyone, and a much larger spike in the final fortnight. Knowing that curve is the difference between holding your nerve and discounting too early.
The sales curve, and what it means
For most events, a large share of tickets sell in the last two weeks. The quiet middle is normal, not a failure signal. Two consequences:
- Do not panic-discount in week four. You will discount tickets people would have bought anyway.
- Do not spend your whole budget at announcement. Weight it towards the end, when intent is highest.
A timeline that works
| When | Focus |
|---|---|
| 8–12 weeks out | Announce. Early bird with a published deadline. Email your existing list first — it always converts best. |
| 6–8 weeks | Content: speakers, programme, what attendees will leave with. Give people a reason beyond the date. |
| 4–6 weeks | Early bird ends. This is your second-largest spike — promote the deadline hard. |
| 2–4 weeks | Social proof: who is coming, last year's recap, testimonials. Start retargeting. |
| Final 2 weeks | Urgency and logistics. Most of your sales land here. Increase spend, not decrease it. |
| Final 48 hours | Last call. Make buying trivially easy on a phone. |
Where the tickets actually come from
- Your own email list. Consistently the highest-converting channel. This is why owning your attendee data matters — see white-label ticketing.
- Speakers, partners and sponsors. Give them assets and a tracked link, and make sharing effortless.
- Attendees from last time. Segment and message them separately; they need far less persuasion.
- Paid, retargeting first. People who viewed the ticket page and did not buy are your cheapest conversions by a distance.
- Organic search, if the event recurs. An event page that ranks for its own name compounds every year.
Give every partner a tracked link. Without it you cannot tell which speaker actually drove sales, which means next year you cannot prioritise. This costs nothing and almost nobody does it.
The event page is your conversion point
Everything drives here, so it must answer the buyer's real questions immediately:
- What is it, when, where — visible without scrolling
- What will I actually get out of it
- Who else is coming
- What does it cost, all in, with no surprise at checkout
- A buy button that works on a phone in one tap
After it ends, immediately
The 48 hours after an event are the best marketing window you will get for the next one:
- Photos out within a day, while people still care
- A recap post that becomes next year's sales asset
- Feedback survey while it is fresh
- Early-bird for next year to this year's attendees — the highest-converting offer you will make all cycle
Frequently asked questions
When should I start promoting my event?
Eight to twelve weeks for most events; four to six months for anything requiring travel or accommodation. Announcing much earlier creates a long dead period where momentum stalls.
Should I discount if sales are slow?
Not before the final fortnight. The middle is quiet for almost every event. If you must act, add value — a bonus session, a guest — rather than cutting price, which annoys everyone who already paid.
How much should I budget for event marketing?
A common planning figure is 15–25% of target ticket revenue, weighted towards the final three weeks. Retargeting the people who visited your ticket page is almost always the best-performing line.
