Basic Human Emotions (and Neuroscience) Help Your Ticket Buyers Feel Better
How many of us buy a toy for underprivileged kids at Christmas? How many donate that extra dollar or two at the register when the cashier says the money is going to help cancer research? How many of us have “paid it forward” and bought the person behind us a coffee?
You might be surprised that it’s not guilt or shame that gets us to open our wallets. It’s that wonderful high we get when we do something altruistic that keeps those charitable contributions rolling. And, believe it or not, “high” is an accurate term because charitable giving generates reactions and feelings that are very akin to getting buzzed.
Indeed, research at the National Institutes of Health has shown that the same area of the brain that is stimulated by food or sex lights up like a Christmas tree when study participants merely think about giving money to a charity.
What Is the Helper’s High?
Short answer: It’s that good feeling you get (in mind and body) when you donate time or money or do something good for another human being, an animal in distress, or Mother Earth.
The Helper’s High is an actual, quantifiable scientific phenomenon. Essentially what happens is your actions generate dopamine and other “feel good” chemicals that rush through your brain and body. These are the same sorts of chemicals that:
- Contribute to the Runner’s High
- Cause people to crave comfort foods
- Give people a “sweet tooth”
- Are often regulated by doctors via antidepressant and mood modification prescriptions
These chemicals are naturally occurring in our systems and experience “spikes” when we do something good.
What It Actually Does for Us
The Helper’s High has recently been the subject of a significant body of research in the psychological community but the chemicals responsible for this “high” have been studied for decades. Indeed, these “feel good” chemicals have been positively linked to:
- Increased levels of physical energy
- Physically feeling better (decreased pain, increased ability and stamina, etc.)
- Improved moods
- Decreased instances of depression
Some research even suggests that people who donate time and money on a regular basis actually live longer than people who don’t.
This overwhelming warm feeling we get when we give plays an important part in generating and maintaining charitable giving—whether that giving is in the form of handing spare change to a homeless person or writing a fat check to an altruistic organization.
How to Tap Into It to Generate Ticket Sales
So now that we know the phenomenon exists, what good does that do us?
If you’re a charitable event organizer, you can easily use this Helper’s High to:
- Increase event attendance
- Market upsells (VIP Tickets, etc.)
- Increase donations
- Improve your marketing reach and pull
- Make your event more successful
- Generate more revenue for whatever charity you’re supporting
Tailored Marketing Materials
Whether your marketing campaign is relying on traditional media or social media ads, making the “feel good” reward the focus of your ads can dramatically increase conversion rates. While everyone likes to get dressed up and attend gala events, knowing that the cost of entry (and any additional donation) is going to support a good cause will loosen those purse strings even more.
Show the Impact
It’s not enough to simply say where the money is going. Make an effort to really let people see the impact of their money. The bigger the impact, the more warm and fuzzy people feel about it.
Viral Altruism
It may seem selfish, but people who give love to tell others about it. That validation increases their personal Helper’s High but it’s also free marketing for your event. So, make sure your event page is easily shareable by users to magnify impact.
Big Up the Love
Don’t just offer base tickets and then count on donations after your guests have come through the door. Give your ticket buyers the opportunity to give more right from the get-go. Offer special tickets, VIP passes, package deals, and the option to donate to improve your attendees’ experiences and add more to your bottom line.
Five Ways Ticketstripe’s Ticketing Platform Can Increase Your Event’s Success
- Create multiple unlimited ticket types to generate those all-important tickets and upsells before your guests even get to the gate.
- Unlimited donations help you raise more funds for your cause.
- Buyers can easily share your event on social media and add a (humble) brag.
- See how individual marketing campaigns and affiliates are performing so you can make changes during your ticket sales window to improve conversions and attendance.
- Fast payment processing means you have cash in hand from ticket sales immediately – not days after your event is over. That’s money you can reinvest into your event to make it even more successful.
- Free for organizers and reduced nonprofit service fees for buyers help you earn and keep more funds.
Need some great ideas about how to create the perfect charitable event? We can help with that as well.
Give Ticketstripe a try and find out how easy making your event attendees feel good can really be.
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