20 Ways Your Next Event Will Benefit from Online Ticketing Software

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Henry O'Loughlin

You work hard to provide great programs for your community and probably have a recreation software system to help you out with the logistics. But how do you manage your events? Whether you are hosting a dance, play or race, it’s a lot of work. If you’re managing all of your events by hand, it’s taking too much of your time.

With online ticketing software, events get booked easier for the organizer, his or her staff, and the attendees. Here are 20 ways you and your event attendees will benefit from an event ticketing software system: Continue reading →

7 Things to Expect from a Software Provider Beyond the Technology

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Henry O'Loughlin

Software providers love to talk about the bells and whistles. As important as the features are – technology has to meet your functional needs – there are other crucial factors to take into account when selecting a software provider. If you are considering recreation software, be sure to ask providers about these eight factors: Continue reading →

7 New Recreation Programs for Your Organization to Try

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Henry O'Loughlin

Image source: Active.com

People like “new.” And to stay on the cutting edge of programming, parks and recreation agencies are always looking to improve their classes and events. New and different program ideas are exciting and can increase participation and revenue. Today, we’ll outline seven new and/or little-known recreation programs and sports that you could offer at your facilities: Continue reading →

Parks & Recreation: Avoid These Common Budget-Cutting Mistakes

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Henry O'Loughlin

Image source: umn.edu

This is an excerpt from a report by Barbara Heller, President of Heller and Heller Consulting: Making the Most of Your P&R Agency’s Resources. Well known throughout the industry for her expertise in leading park and recreation agencies and her commitment to innovation and best practices, Barbara operates outside of the typical parks and recreation industry mindset. This reports covers six key areas where parks and recreation agencies can become more efficient:
__________ Continue reading →

5 Winning Videos from First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Video Challenge

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Henry O'Loughlin

Back in February, First Lady Michelle Obama invited faith and community leaders to join in the effort to solve the problem of childhood obesity. She launched the Communities on the Move Video Challenge and asked for organizations to submit 3 minute videos about how they were helping to combat childhood obesity in a “creative, effective, sustainable, replicable, and inspirational” way (read more here). Each video highlighted that organization’s community program that centered around one of the focus areas of Let’s Move - physical activity, access to healthy and affordable food for children, or healthy eating practices.

And today, First Lady Obama announced the winners! “Everyone wants to see our nation become healthier, and these contest winners have shown us that by taking steps big or small, each of us can play a role in solving the problems of childhood obesity,” the First Lady said. Continue reading →

4 Online Recreation Guides That Will Make You Green With Envy

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Henry O'Loughlin

The days of sending out paper copies of your recreation activities to every household each season are gone. Not only is it too expensive, but it’s also bad for the environment. But the internet came to the rescue! You can create your recreation guides online and spread the word about upcoming activities right from your website. That way, you save time, money and the environment, and members of your community can view the guide whenever is convenient.

Here are four recreation organizations that have created great online guides with four different publishing websites. Click on the link to view each guide, and see the highlights from each listed below: Continue reading →

5 Reasons to Attend the Free Webinar: ‘Event Ticketing Made Easier’

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Henry O'Loughlin

Does your organization host events? The ticketing process can be tough if done manually with a few Excel files, tons of phone calls, and manila folders full of cash and checks. But with today’s technology, you can offer your own fully-branded ticketing page right from your own website.

We’re offering two free webinars to show how you and your customers can benefit from easy-to-use event ticketing software. Here are the details:

Tuesday, July 17 10:00 AM PDT Length: 60 minutes	Wednesday, July 25 10:00 AM PDT Length: 60 minutes
Sign up for free	Sign up for free

In the webinar, you’ll learn how to:

1. Securely sell tickets online from a branded web-page

2. Offer customized seating charts and discounts

3. Allow attendees to print tickets at home, receive in the mail, or pick up at will call

4. Use reporting tools to analyze results by event, section, price level discounts

5. View up-to-date sales summaries by event

Click below to register for free:

5 Facebook Mistakes To Avoid (That You Haven’t Heard Before)

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Henry O'Loughlin

Image source: localpulsemarketing.com

Your organization has a Facebook page. Maybe you set one up because everyone else has one so or you heard about hundreds of millions of users and Googled, “How to set up a Facebook page.” Either way, we were all rookie users at one point (still are in many ways) and searched for the how-to articles. But once you did some more reading and posting on your own, you probably came across the basic mistakes to avoid like “not listening to your audience” and “posting too often.” Continue reading →

Top 10 Recreation Apps To Inspire Your Mobile Strategy

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Henry O'Loughlin

In 2011, the number of smartphones sold exceeded the number of PCs sold (10 Mobile Statistics You Need to Hear). With the internet, email, and apps right in their pockets, people access the world from the palms of their hands. That’s why cities, parks and recreation departments, and other community organizations have built mobile apps to connect with visitors and customers to inspire activity. Here are ten mobile apps that will help you with some ideas when you develop a great app for your organization:

Continue reading →