Whether you’re a community theater, comedy club, or another local entertainment venue, you want your event ticketing to be as polished as your performances. Having the right features on your chosen ticketing platform can help you sell more tickets, streamline your operations, and make the experience even better for your attendees. Here are some of the must-have features for your small venue ticketing to drive better results.

1. Branded event pages

Your event listing can influence whether someone will decide to purchase tickets or not – so make it count! By perfectly branding these pages, you can present your events as a must-see experience. Add your logo, use your colors, and highlight headliners with high-quality photos, video clips, and a compelling event description. For example, a comedy club with recurring weekly shows can customize each event page with a distinct color scheme, bios for each performer, and behind-the-scenes footage to excite potential attendees.

2. Discounts & promo codes

Incorporating strategic discounts into your event marketing strategy can give ticket sales a powerful boost, especially on off-nights or special occasions. With flexible promo code tools, you can create limited-time offers, exclusive deals for email subscribers, or themed promotions. Take a Wednesday night comedy night, for example. Offering a 25% “Midweek Laughs” discount to your newsletter list or a “2-for-1 Date Night” promo code can encourage more people to come and share some good laughs.

3. Reserved seating

Thanks to reserved seating, your attendees can choose the best seat in the house! With a user-friendly ticketing platform like TicketLeap, simply upload an image of your venue layout, add your seats overtop, set their price levels based on location, and you’re all set! A 100-seat community theater, for instance, can set up specific areas like VIP front row, center orchestra, and balcony general admission. Once your tickets are on sale, attendees can pick from the suggested "Best Available" seats to make finding the perfect seat even easier.

4. Donations during checkout

When someone’s already excited enough to buy a ticket, that’s the perfect time to give them the option to support your venue or cause even further! With a donation option built right into your ticket checkout, you can tap into an additional revenue stream from the attendees who are eager to contribute to your mission. A nonprofit community theater, for example, can include a “Donate to Our Youth Program” option at checkout, turning every ticket sale into a potential way to fund future educational workshops and programs.

5. Role-based user accounts

Your team wears different hats, so your event ticketing software should let you control who can access what. As part of its full suite of features, TicketLeap allows role-based permissions so everyone — from your box office manager to your marketing intern — can have controlled access to the tools they need to excel at their job. For example, your box office staff can handle any refunds, your intern can edit event pages and monitor tickets sales, and your main event coordinators can retain full control of everything behind the scenes.

6. Email campaigns

Buying tickets is only just the beginning! Connect with your ticket buyers leading up to and well after your event with built-in email tools. Send event updates, promote upcoming shows, and nurture loyalty with post-event follow-ups. A local nonprofit theater might send out an exciting announcement email for new show releases, a know-before-you-go message with parking details, and a post-event thank-you email with referral codes and links to upcoming performances. It’s all about keeping your audience engaged and coming back!

7. Multiple ticket types 

Offering multiple ticket types to your small venue allows you to hone your ticket pricing strategy so it best caters to different audiences. When it comes to selling tickets online, you can easily sell general admission, student discounts, VIP packages, or even pay-what-you-can tickets. A theater production, for example, can sell regular tickets, discounted student passes, group rates, and a special VIP meet-and-greet with the cast – all from the same event ticketing page!

8. Ticket scanner app

Cut your wait times in half with a mobile ticket scanner app! Using our free app on their own phones, your team can simply admit guests with a quick QR code scan. No need to get any ticket scanners or check a physical guest list! This is especially important for speedy admissions to a sold-out event like a Friday night improv show. Volunteers can check in mobile tickets via QR code at the door, getting guests inside and to their seats without a hitch.

9. Chargeback management

Dealing with chargebacks can be a lot for small venues, so having a ticketing platform that manages this for you is a game-changer! Imagine this: a customer disputes a ticket charge, claiming they didn’t attend your event. Instead of you spending hours gathering proof, you can recruit a ticketing platform like TicketLeap to have their experienced team step in and provide the needed evidence to resolve the dispute. This not only saves you valuable time, but also keeps more money in your pocket by preventing fraudulent claims from slipping through the cracks.

10. Box office app

With a ticketing platform that includes a free box office app, you can sell tickets at the door with just a phone or tablet. Better yet, when you take advantage of TicketLeap’s affordable pricing, skip the ticketing fees on box office sales. From indie music venues to local entertainment centers, event organizers can easily process ticket sales for walk-ups, providing a seamless experience for day-of attendees. 

11. Built-in payment processor

Getting paid should be the easy part! A ticketing platform with integrated, reliable payment processing ensures timely payouts, transparent fees, and no surprises. That means organizers can receive deposits directly from TicketLeap’s processor without the hassle of coordinating payouts with a third party.

12. Powerful reporting

With built-in reporting capabilities, you can analyze sales trends, track attendance, monitor order details, and view answers to custom registration questions. As a venue owner, you can use these insights to determine which events or promotions drive the most sales and fine-tune your future events to be an even bigger success!

Elevate your small venue ticketing with TicketLeap

From building the perfect seating chart for your venue to scanning tickets at the door at lightning speed, having the right tools in your ticketing platform makes all the difference. You’ll be empowered to effortlessly create ticketing pages and streamline your event operations, while your attendees enjoy a seamless ticket-buying process and a smooth event day experience.Ready to take your event ticketing to the next level? With easy-to-use, powerful features, TicketLeap is designed to make selling tickets online a breeze. Sign up for free today and create an unforgettable experience for your audience!