Tools to Promote Your Events

Party planning for the holidays? Scheming up a New Year’s Eve 2013 bash? Or, maybe you host regular gatherings, like a weekly book-swap-and-wine-tasting night, or are planning “NaNoWriMoNowWhat?” writing support sessions in November and beyond. No matter your type of event, we hope you’re using the tools available to promote it!

Here’s a rundown of features you can use, right in your dashboard:

This fall, we launched a pair of nifty themes specifically to promote one-time or recurring events. On these Eventbrite themes, you can:

• Make a page to allow attendees to register and buy tickets.
• Create a page for blog posts to publish updates for your attendees.
• Feature your events in a carousel.
• Activate widgets for registration or message customization, which you can add to your sidebar.

Don’t want to use an Eventbrite theme? You can promote your event on another theme in the Theme Showcase that works for you — and set up a static home page with all the details.

To check out the widgets you can activate, head to Appearance → Widgets in your dashboard. If you’re using an Eventbrite theme, you can choose from several widgets to help spread the word about your events and customize your sidebar. Consider widgets to display a month-view calendar of upcoming events, a registration button, a personal message to attendees, and an area to list recently announced/upcoming dates (for recurring events):

If you’re not using an Eventbrite theme, you can still activate some widgets ideal for events. In Appearance → Widgets, look for the Eventbrite: Event Calendar/Listing Widget to display your event.

The Milestone Widget, as seen on the Twenty Thirteen theme.

You can also consider the Milestone Widget, especially if you’re hosting a single, one-time event, to call attention to a specific date.

To display dates for upcoming events, like your foodie cook-offs next month or your weekly book clubs, use the Upcoming Events Widget, which allows you to show a list of upcoming dates and events, using Google Calendar and an iCalendar feed.

And don’t underestimate the power of the Text Widget, which you can use to display a message about your upcoming gathering.

For something more colorful, use an Image Widget to attract attendees: display a photo of books on a shelf to promote your book club, or an image of your favorite dish to promote your foodie competition, then link the widget to a static page on your site dedicated to your event.

Are there other features you use to promote your events? We’d love to hear how you use the widgets and tools available to you.