Discount and promo codes for event tickets

What is a discount code, in one answer?

It is a word a buyer types at checkout to pay less. You decide what it takes off, who it works for and for how long, and your codes list shows how many times each one has been used.

What kinds of codes can you create?

• Discount codes: a percentage or a fixed amount off, for anyone who has the code.
• Promo codes for campaigns and partners, so each campaign or partner has its own code.
• Promoter codes: each promoter's code doubles as their buyers' discount and credits the sale to them. See promoters on Blend.
• Access codes: hidden tickets, or a whole event, that only people with the code can book.
• Bundles: tickets sold together at a price only the bundle gets.
• Quantity discounts: a share off when a buyer books a set number of tickets or more.

How do you set limits on a code?

Every code can carry the same set of rules, so a code shared in public can't empty your revenue.

• A total cap: the code stops working after a set number of uses.
• A cap per buyer, so one person can't use it again and again.
• A minimum purchase, so the discount only applies to bigger orders.
• A valid period, with a start and an end.
• The ticket types it applies to, so a VIP or a table can stay at full price.

How do organizers use codes on Blend?

Codes do more than cut prices. Jounieh Run Club used codes purely as invitations, to see who each runner had been personally invited by. Paint Club uses codes to reward attendees and bring them back to the next session.

Access codes make an event exclusive. Book Club Only ran parties 1 and 3 invite-only, capped at 200 and bookable only with a code, and party 3 sold out in under a day.

The Book Club Only case study

How do you know what a code brought in?

Your codes list shows how many times each code has been used. Give each partner, campaign and promoter their own code, and the comparison is done for you: the code used most is the channel to put more into.

With promoter codes the record goes further: each promoter's tickets, revenue and commission sit on their own row, and a promoter can follow their own sales on a read-only link you send them. See how to track promoter sales.

What mistakes should you avoid with codes?

• A public code with no cap. Once it is posted in a group chat, everyone pays the discounted price.
• One code for every partner. You can't tell who sold what, or reward the ones who did.
• Codes that work on every ticket type, including the tables you could have sold at full price.
• Codes with no end date, still working at the door months later.

When should you use a code instead of a lower price?

Use a code when the discount is for someone, not for everyone: a partner's members, past guests, a sponsor's staff, a promoter's followers. The public price stays the same, and you can see what each group bought.

Use a lower price, or an early release, when the discount is about timing. Waves reward everyone who commits early without anyone needing a code. See how to price event tickets.

How do you create a code?

Open your event, go to the codes section, and create the code with its amount and its limits. Test it yourself at checkout before you share it, and give each partner or campaign its own code, so the results don't mix.

Create your event