8 Must-Know Steps to Writing Great Event Copy (With Examples)

Writing great event copy is not always easy. Yet it’s important to get it right.

Words, sounds, and visuals make up the holy trinity of online content. It’s tempting to think that the written word has gone out of fashion in the age of YouTube and FaceTime.

But that’s not the case.

There are plenty of situations where people can’t have or don’t want the sound on. If you’ve ever been on a bus with teenagers playing music from their phone, you know what we mean.

That’s why it’s important to write great event copy for the websites you list your event on.

In this article, we’ll cover how to…

• Write for your audience
• Offer them great value
• Steal from other event listings
• Write a good headline
• Create compelling copy
• Make it easy to read
• Optimise for search engines
• Include a call-to-action

After reading this, you’ll be a copywriting superstar!

1. Know your audience

Great copy of any kind always starts with “the who“.

Unless this is your first event, you already know who your target audience is and what they expect. You know their tone of voice and the slang they use.

The copy you write for your event listing should always reflect that. It makes you more relatable and less sales-y.

It’s a bit more challenging if you’re organising your first event or are trying to reach a new audience. Social media is a good place to start in this case.

Find some relevant Facebook groups or Twitter hashtags to see what people talk about — and how.

Need an example? Check out the Unicorn Party.

2. Offer great value

It takes time and costs money to attend an event, so you need to make it worth it. That’s why we’ve covered the audience first.

Once you know who they are and what they want, you know how to offer them something of value. You need to do more than just state the obvious.

If you host a cooking class, it’s not enough to simply say they’ll learn how to cook.

Try to find the deeper reason why someone would take a cooking class. Maybe they can’t afford a Michelin star dinner, but they still want to impress their significant other.

What you offer should be something that can transform the lives of your attendees.

Need an example? Check out The Big London Flea.

3. Steal like an artist

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Good artists copy, great artists steal. Everything is a remix. Cliches are cliches because they’re true.

Don’t be afraid to lift a good concept from somewhere else — as long as you tweak it.

You also don’t have to copy your direct competition. Have a look at event listings in industries different from your own and see what you can steal.

They might have a catchy headline you can remix into your event listing. Or it could be as simple as how they structure their listing with bullet points and subheadings.

Need an example? Have a look at these 11 Event Page Descriptions You Should Totally Copy.

4. Write a catchy headline

The headline is the first thing people will see along with your event image. If you can’t grab their attention with the headline, they are unlikely to read the rest.

Your headline should contain your biggest selling point: the value proposition. In other words, your headline should entice people to read on and find out how you will transform their lives.

They want to know why your event is unforgettable or how they will grow as a person. Most importantly, the headline should make them curious to read more.

Need an example? Check out Pimp My Wedding Showcase.

5. Hold the reader’s attention

A catchy headline is just the first step. Now that you’ve piqued the reader’s interest, you need to hold their attention. Do that by painting a picture of what the event will be like.

Offer the reader testimonials from your previous guests or highlights from past events you’ve organised. Don’t be afraid to big up any speakers or entertainers that will be present at your event.

Finally, you should also complement your copy with actual images. Use photos and videos from previous events and show how happy it made the guests.

The idea is to offer as much social proof as possible.

Need an example? Check out Last Night A Speed Date Changed My Life.

6. Make it easy to read

It’s important to understand a bit of psychology when you write your copy. People read online texts in a very different way from when they’re immersed in a book.

Dense blocks of text will only make people’s eyes glaze over. In other words, they skim-read. That means you should make your copy as readable as possible.

Write short sentences.

Break them into small paragraphs.

• Use bullet points.
• Write in an active voice.
• Divide everything with subheadings.

The easier your listing is to read, the more likely it is that all of it will be read.

Need an example? Check out Women! Have Your Say!

7. Keep SEO in mind

Search engine optimisation is important for your event listing. It will push it to the top of the search results when people search for your kind of event.

Start typing a search into Google. You’ll see some suggestions based on what people usually search for. Pick one of the suggestions and do the search.

Then scroll to the bottom of the page. You’ll see search terms that are related to what you just typed in.

Use as many of these search terms in the copy for your event listing. It’ll increase the odds of your event being found online.

The popularity of the event listing website you’re using is another factor that will help with SEO. A well-known and trusted website will rank higher than an obscure one.

Try to squeeze a popular search term into the headline if you can.

Finally, it’s important not to copy and paste anything from your own website. Google rewards unique content, so you need to make sure your event description is tailored to the platform.

Need an example? Check out Pharma Blockchain 2019.

8. Use a call to action (CTA)

The last and most important step to creating good event listing copy is the call to action. It’s easy to get so caught up in the descriptive that you forget this last, crucial part.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. A simple “Sign up now” will do. However, it does become more effective if you can add an element of scarcity or urgency to your CTA.

If you only have a certain amount of space or tickets for your event, add that to the listing. If the event is happening relatively soon, make sure to include that as well.

The CTA is also a good place to reiterate why people should attend your event (see #2).

Need an example? Check out Singles Rum Tasting Event.

To recap…

You now know everything there is to know about writing great event copy. Feel free to get as experimental as you want.

Just remember to cover these eight basic points, and you’ll do well:

• Keep your audience in mind
• Have a value proposition
• Steal like an artist
• Write a catchy headline
• Paint a picture in the reader’s mind
• Make it readable with short sentences and bullet points
• Remember SEO
• Don’t forget the call to action

Let us know how your event copy turned out in the comments below!