Ticket affiliate marketing refers to a type of affiliate marketing where affiliates promote tickets for events, shows, concerts, festivals, and more. The affiliate earns a commission for each ticket sold through their promotion efforts. This article will provide an in-depth overview of what ticket affiliate marketing is, how it works, the benefits, best practices, top verticals, and more.
What is a Ticket Affiliate?
A ticket affiliate is an individual or company that partners with a ticketing platform or event organizer to help sell tickets. The affiliate advertises and promotes the tickets through various online and offline channels. When a sale is made from the affiliate’s marketing efforts, they receive an agreed upon commission or percentage of the ticket price.
Ticket affiliates help events and venues reach a wider audience and sell more tickets. They take on the marketing responsibilities in exchange for a cut of each sale. This allows the event organizer to focus on event production while leveraging the marketing reach of affiliates.
How Does Ticket Affiliate Marketing Work?
The ticket affiliate marketing model involves three main parties:
- The merchant – this is the event organizer, venue, promoter, or ticketing platform selling the tickets
- The affiliate – a publisher or marketer who advertises and promotes the tickets in exchange for commission
- The customer – the person who purchases a ticket after clicking the affiliate’s link
The basic process is:
- The merchant offers tickets for sale on their website and platforms.
- The affiliate joins the merchant’s affiliate program and receives unique referral links.
- The affiliate publishes promotional content and uses their referral links to track sales.
- When a customer clicks the affiliate’s link and buys a ticket, the sale is credited to the affiliate.
- The merchant pays the affiliate their agreed upon commission for the referral.
The affiliate earns a percentage of the ticket price without handling any ticket fulfillment or customer service. Their sole focus is to drive ticket sales through promotions. The merchant handles order processing, delivery, and support.
Affiliate Tracking Methods
There are a few common methods used to track ticket affiliate sales:
- Referral links – Unique coded links are assigned to each affiliate. Sales made through the links can be identified.
- Promo codes – Custom promo codes are given to affiliates. Customers must enter the code at checkout for the affiliate to get credit.
- Cookies – Cookies track customers referred by affiliates. If a sale occurs within the cookie window, the affiliate is credited.
Referral links are the most common tracking method. Cookies allow for a window where affiliates get commission if the customer returns and buys later.
Benefits of Ticket Affiliate Programs
There are several advantages to ticket merchants and affiliates in these partnership programs:
Benefits for Merchants
- Expand reach and drive more ticket sales through affiliate marketing efforts
- Only pay affiliates on a performance basis when sales are made
- Scale marketing without overhead costs of hiring more staff
- Gain insights into new marketing tactics from affiliates
- Outsource parts of the sales process to experts
Benefits for Affiliates
- Earn commissions from ticket sales without carrying inventory or ordering systems
- Work with high demand inventory – events & tickets sell themselves
- Gain access to exclusive ticket inventory not available on major markets
- Build relationships with promoters to get the best ticket deals
- Opportunity to cross-sell additional products like merchandise or travel
The performance-based structure creates a win-win partnership where both parties benefit from growing ticket sales. Affiliates take on promotional risk, while merchants efficiently scale distribution.
Top Verticals for Ticket Affiliates
Certain event categories tend to see the highest demand and commission rates in ticket affiliate marketing. The top verticals include:
Concerts
Concert ticket affiliates promotions are hugely popular given the massive demand to see top music artists live. Major concert tours from stars like Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Bruce Springsteen power major ticket sales. Affiliates can partner directly with the artist’s promotion team or venue affiliates.
Sports
Sports events like pro football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, UFC, and boxing are top draws. Affiliates promote tickets for single games and full seasons. Sports also have a year-round calendar of events from local to pro games.
Theater
Broadway and West End theater events are evergreen opportunities. Top shows like Hamilton, Wicked, Lion King and Book of Mormon have insatiable demand. Beyond major cities, affiliates can also promote touring shows coming to local venues.
Festivals
Music festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits are huge affiliate promotions. Cultural festivals, food festivals, and other local events also offer opportunities seasonally.
Comedy
Stand-up tours from the likes of Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, Gabriel Iglesias, and John Mulaney are made for affiliates. Venues large and small host comedy acts with tickets in continuous demand.
Best Practices for Ticket Affiliate Marketing
Here are some top tips for running a successful ticket affiliate marketing program:
Promote Early
Get ahead of sales by promoting pre-sales and announcements. Offering first access helps drive early buyers who don’t want to miss out.
Highlight Exclusivity
For very high demand events, promote limited inventories and sell out risks to create urgency. Use FOMO messaging to prompt sales.
Leverage Influencers
Recruit bloggers, media outlets, and social influencers in the event niche to expand reach. Offer special discounts for their followers.
Personalize Outreach
When contacting potential partners, customize each email. Explain why it specifically matches their audience and content.
Make Referral Links Easy
Don’t make partners work hard to find links. Have them ready to go within platforms and reporting dashboards.
Create Tiered Commission Structures
Offer higher commission rates for top selling affiliates. This motivates partners to drive more volume.
Promote Early and Often
Start promoting long before events and keep messaging going until it sells out. Use email, social media, retargeting, and search ads to stay top of mind.
Provide Marketing Assets
Supply partners with ready-made banners, promo codes, text links, social media graphics and more. Make it easy to spread the word.
Top Ticket Affiliate Programs
Below are some of the most popular ticket affiliate platforms:
Ticketmaster Affiliate Program
As one of the largest ticketing platforms, Ticketmaster has high volume inventory across sports, concerts, theater, and more. Its affiliate program offers up to 12% commission on ticket sales referred.
AXS Affiliate Program
AXS Ticketing manages major venues across the US and UK. Affiliates promote coveted concerts, shows, and events. Commissions go up to 10%.
SeatGeek Affiliate Program
SeatGeek is a ticket reseller with big name events. Their affiliate program pays commission on sales via custom trackable links. Rates range from 5-12%.
StubHub Affiliate Program
StubHub is one of the largest ticket resale marketplaces. Affiliates can earn commissions promoting StubHub inventory to their audience. Rates are 4-10%.
Vivid Seats Affiliate Program
Vivid Seats focuses on ticket resales for sports, concerts, theater, and other events. Their affiliate program offers commissions up to 10% on sales.
Eventbrite Affiliate Program
Eventbrite helps event organizers manage ticketing and promotion. Affiliates can refer events of all sizes and earn 10% commission on ticket sales.
Getting Started as a Ticket Affiliate
Ready to get started as a ticket affiliate? Here are some tips:
Select Merchant Partners
Research merchants and find ticket affiliate programs that match your audience and inventory needs. Look for high commission rates.
Build Your Website
Create a website for your affiliate promotions. Have pages dedicated to events, venues, cities, and categories. Use SEO to drive organic traffic.
Create Conversion Paths
Guide visitors towards affiliate ticket purchases through calls-to-action, lead magnets, and email follows up. Drive returns.
Promote Offers
Leverage paid ads, social media, email marketing, influencers and more to promote your ticket links. Test different creatives and messaging.
Analyze Performance
Track important metrics like click-through rates, conversion rates, revenue per visitor, and ROI to optimize efforts.
Conclusion
Ticket affiliate marketing creates a win-win partnership between merchants and affiliates. By promoting events, shows, festivals and more, affiliates earn commissions on ticket sales through tracked referrals. Top verticals span concerts, sports, theater, comedy and festivals. With the right merchant partners, savvy marketing, and optimization of conversions, ticket affiliates can drive substantial revenue.
