For some of your upcoming events, you may want to offer the opportunity for some of your participants to enjoy a discount on their ticket purchases. Perhaps you'd like to offer your event sponsors a pair of complimentary tickets, or you'd like to offer a "student rate" for some of your guests.
Your Essential Events pages come with the ability for you to generate "promo codes," which allow event attendees to get discounted (or free!) tickets by entering an alphanumeric code during the checkout process.
As a reminder, promo codes can only be applied to ticket types, and NOT sponsorship levels or donations.
How can promo codes be used as part of an Event?
Promo codes (also known as “discount codes,” “coupon codes,” or “promotional discounts”) can be used to help adjust the cost of a ticket in the following instances:
Promotions
(such as an “early bird” or “flash” sale)Discounts for special groups
(such as a discounted “member price”)Offer and correctly track complimentary (“courtesy”) tickets
(such as free tickets given to board members or sponsors)
Promo codes can also aid in accurately tracking the revenue brought in through an Essential Events page, by making sure the amount each guest pays for their tickets is properly reported in your Donor Management System.
Where can I add promo codes?
Promo codes are available for any Essential Event under the “Tickets & Sponsorships” tab. There is a section for promo codes under the “Ticket Types” section.
To create a promo code, click on the "Add Promo Code" button, and a pop-up will appear.
The "Promo Code Name" field is where you will enter the promo code that you want your ticket purchasers to redeem (I.e. 10OFF, VIP50, Member25).
The "Discount Amount Per Ticket" fields are where you will specify what the discount will be for the promo code that you are creating. You can create a discount with a fixed amount off (such as $5 off), or a percentage off (such as 25% off).
Please take note that these discounts will be taken off each ticket, not each order.
The "Promo Code Availability" fields are where you will be able to select when the promo code can be redeemed.
Please select “Always available” if you want your promo codes available to be redeemed up through the date of your event.
Please select “Schedule time” if you want to limit the dates on which the promo code can be redeemed. (For example, if you have an early bird sale to increase early registrations to your event, you can select the dates when the sale begins - and when it ends - preventing the promo code from being used outside of those specified dates.)
The "Apply Code To" field is where you will be able to select which specific ticket types you want your code to be applied towards.
Please select “All ticket types” if you want to have your code be redeemable towards all of your ticket types for your event.
Please select “Only certain ticket types” if you want it restricted to only one (or a select group) of ticket types (Such as if you only want your code redeemable toward General Admission" tickets.)
You can then fill out the details of the promo code, and click "Click Promo Code" to save.
How can I use promo codes to create and track complimentary tickets to my event?
For detailed instructions on how to use Promo Codes for complimentary tickets, check out our related guide here!
Are there any requirements for a promo code’s name?
Yes, promo codes cannot contain spaces, must be at least 4 characters, and cannot exceed 50 total characters.
We recommend that promo codes are created and shared in “all caps,” but they are not case sensitive. This means that a “SAVE50” code, for example, would be accepted as either “save50” or “SAVE50” during the check-out process.
Additionally, each promo code name needs to be unique within an event – so each promo code used for a specific event must be named differently than the other codes for that same even in order to work correctly.
How can I share my promo codes?
Once you have created your promo codes, you will be able to share them with individuals you would like to invite to your event through email blasts, text messages, or in conversations directly with individuals.
For example, if you are running a flash sale or early bird special that you want all invitees to be able to access, you can include your promo code in your event invite.
If you want to provide a promo code to a specific group, you should first create a filter or group in your donor management system containing who you want to provide that promo code to - then send them an email blast or text message containing that code.
How are promo codes redeemed by my ticket purchasers?
Once you have shared your promo codes with your Essential Event invitees, they will be able to redeem the promo code that they received during the normal check-out process.
After landing on your event page and adding their tickets to their cart, they will see the link to “Enter Promo Code”. Once they click on that, they will be able to enter in their promo code and click “Apply” to have their promo code applied to their order.
They then will just need to proceed through the remaining check-out steps like normal.
Can I add an offline ticket purchase that used a promo code?
Yes! This can be added in an Essential Event’s “Guests” tab. Select “Add Ticket Purchase” and choose the applicable “Promo Code” for the offline purchase.
Can more than one promo code be redeemed in a transaction?
No, only one promo code can be used per transaction.
Can I deactivate a promo code?
A promo code can be removed as an option during checkout by editing the promo code, selecting “Scheduled time" for the "Promo Code Availability," and choosing a past date for the start and end dates. Additionally, promo codes cannot be deleted - only deactivated.
However, please note that it will still be possible to use an inactive promo code for offline purchases.
Will promo codes copy over if I clone my Essential Events page?
No, promo codes will not copy over when cloning an Essential Events page. However, you will have an opportunity to create the acceptable codes for each new Essential Events page once the page has been cloned.
How can I report on promo code usage?
There are a couple of options for reporting on promo code usage:
A promo code column appears when you export your “Guest List” from your event’s Guests tab. You can do so by using the “Export” button.
You also will be able to filter in-app to see which guests have redeemed a specific code. Under the event’s “Guests” tab, you can apply the “Promo Code” filter can be applied to the Guest List to see all guests who redeemed that particular code in their transaction. This can be exported to a report or printed by using the “Export” button.
The “Event Transaction Summary” report under “Reports” will include each transaction for a date range and event, along with the promo code used. This can be exported as a report or printed by using the “Export” button.
Can I see if a promo code was redeemed on a transaction in Donor Management?
Yes, you can see the promo code that was applied to a particular ticket purchase in Donor Management. All you would need to do is pull up the contact record or ticket purchase, and then click on “Actions” and then “Details” in order to see the promo code that was used on the transaction.