5 Tips on Using Eventbrite for Hackathon Registrations and Promotion
HobbyHacks was TechTogether’s first hackathon that used Eventbrite for registrations. In the past, we’ve used both Typeform and custom-built web applications to handle event registrations.
We decided to use Eventbrite as our registration system for HobbyHacks because it was easy, powerful, and reliable. Due to the virtual nature of the events this year, we no longer had restrictions on the number of hackers we could support for each event. Therefore, we decided to remove the application process and allow anyone to register/attend.
I’m not going to make this a how-to tutorial because creating an event on Eventbrite is straightforward and simple. Creating compelling messaging for your event and maximizes Eventbrite’s features, however, is more difficult.
1. Craft a Compelling Event Description
There are thousands of events on Eventbrite and hundreds of hackathons. If you want to get hundreds of applications, your event description is going to need to stand out and be straight to the point.
A good description will be clear, short, and concise. One paragraph of text maximum, otherwise you will lose your audience. The event description should be a teaser that grabs their interest, not a book.
Your first and only paragraph should answer the most important information like the date and location. The rest should be focused on providing 2–3 key reasons regarding why an attendee should register.
Example: Access to 24/7 technical mentorship, over 50+ skill-development workshops, and free t-shirts from our corporate sponsors.
If you want to add more information after your first paragraph, try bulleting the information. Provide a link to your event website at the end of the description, for those that want to learn more about the event.
Less is more here, even if your event has more to offer.
2. Take Advantage of Eventbrite’s Donation Feature
You will have the option to create a donation option when attendees register for the event. Even though most hackathons raise a majority of their revenue through corporate sponsorships, there is no reason you can’t accept donations to diversify your funding sources.
TechTogether raised ~$100 by adding in the donation option for HobbyHacks, which allowed us to provide additional prizes at the event.
3. Choose The Best Imagery to Showcase Your Event
Let’s start with what your image should not be since sometimes that is the best place to start.
Your featured event image should not:
- Contain the event name and date (information already available)
- Contain designs that don’t scale (design is unclear in smaller sizes)
- Contain stock photos (boring)
Your featured event image should:
- Contain eye-catching photos and colors (exciting and new)
- Use a simple design that scales (design looks clear in all sizes)
- Contain photos specific to your organization or event (unique)
4. Use Keywords in Your Event Description
“As the #1 most authoritative ticketing website online, Eventbrite helps your event listing populate higher on Google search — without you having to raise a finger” — Eventbrite Blog
Optimize your event SEO to increase the visibility of your event and as a result, boost attendance.
To move up the ranks, here are Eventbrite’s top SEO optimization tips:
- Include the top keywords in your event name and event page URL
- Make sure your event description contains at least 200 words of original text (not copied from your website or another event listing)
- Use your event name and keywords in your event description
- Add images with relevant file names that include your keyword
- Link to your event page from your website and social networks
5. Automate Your Email Campaigns with the Mailchimp Integration
By integrating Mailchimp with Eventbrite, you can send automated personalized confirmation and reminder emails to your attendees. This will save your team time and creates a seamless email campaign experience for your hackers.
Want to learn more tips on how to plan a hackathon? Check out TechTogether’s resource page for hackathon organizers.
