COMMON MISTAKES YOU'RE PROBABLY MAKING (AND HOW THEY'RE COSTING YOU SALES)
You're spending money on ads. You're seeing some ticket sales come through. But here's the thing—most promoters and venues in the electronic music space are flying blind, making the same critical mistakes that are quietly draining their budgets.
You're Not Tracking Properly (Or At All)
Instagram and Facebook change their algorithms and tracking capabilities constantly. iOS updates, cookie deprecation, new privacy policies—the platforms are in constant flux. That "Boost Post" button? It's using outdated targeting based on data that's probably incomplete.
When you don't have proper pixel implementation, conversion tracking, and attribution models in place, you're essentially throwing money into a void and hoping it works. You might see ticket sales, but you have no idea which ad, which audience, or which message actually drove them.
Without proper tracking, you can't optimize. Without optimization, you're just spending more to get the same results.
You're Treating Every Show The Same
A warehouse rave with an underground techno headliner needs a completely different media strategy than a club night with a touring house DJ. Your audience, your messaging, your creative, your platforms—everything should shift based on the event.
But most promoters run the same playbook every time: post on Instagram, maybe boost it, send one email blast, hope for the best. That's not strategy. That's habit.
You're Not Building Audiences, You're Renting Them
Here's the uncomfortable truth: when you rely solely on organic social media reach, you don't own your audience—the platform does. Algorithm changes can cut your reach in half overnight.
Performance marketing isn't just about selling tickets to the next show. It's about building retargeting pools, capturing emails, creating lookalike audiences, and developing a community you can actually reach when you need them. Every campaign should feed your long-term audience growth, not just this weekend's door count.
You're Competing on Price Instead of Experience
When your marketing is weak, you compensate by discounting. Early bird pricing that's too aggressive, constant promo codes, desperate last-minute deals. This trains your audience to wait for discounts and devalues your events.
Strong marketing creates urgency and desire without needing to slash prices. It positions your events as experiences worth paying for, builds anticipation, and moves tickets at full value.
That said, new events face real challenges—especially in developing markets, like Toronto where the scene is growing rapidly but still relatively niche and you're competing with multiple events on the same night. Strategic discounting and comp tickets can work if done right, but most promoters get it wrong.
You Think You Can DIY It (But You Shouldn't)
Look, we get it. Margins are tight in this industry. But here's what most people don't realize: Facebook and Instagram give preferential treatment and early access to features for agencies and power users. We're talking better ad placements, beta features, advanced targeting options, and direct support that regular business accounts simply don't get.
When you work with a performance marketing agency that's embedded in the scene—one with agency-level platform access and relationships—you're not just getting strategy. You're getting infrastructure and insider access that would take years to build on your own.
What Proper Performance Marketing Actually Looks Like
Real performance marketing for events means:
Multi-platform campaigns with proper attribution across channels
Funnel strategies that warm audiences before asking for the sale
Retargeting sequences that capture people who showed interest but didn't convert
Email automation that nurtures your community between events
Creative testing to identify what actually resonates
Continuous optimization based on real data, not gut feelings
It's the difference between hoping your marketing works and knowing it does.
The Bottom Line
Every dollar you spend on marketing should be working harder. If you can't tell which campaigns are driving sales, if you're not building audiences you can reach again, if you're constantly discounting to move tickets—you're leaving money on the table.
The electronic music scene deserves better than generic marketing tactics. It deserves strategy that understands the culture, respects the audience, and actually drives results.
Want to see what proper performance marketing looks like for your events? Let's talk.