--- title: "Festival Referral ROI | Measure What Referrals Return the UK" description: "Work out what buyer referrals return for your festival: ticket sales per reward, what you pay and when, and how to grow sales without more ad spend." canonical: "https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/festival-referral-marketing-roi" --- Guide for Festival Organisers # Festival Referral ROI: Measure and Grow Every Referral Sale the UK Pay for Referrals Only When a Friend Buys a Ticket - **20%** More ticket sales on average - **$25,778** Referral sales from $1,368 in rewards - **31%** Of buyers shared at The Fluffy Cloud [Get Started](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book Demo Call](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/book-a-demo) Ask Fai, our AI teammate, about Ticket Fairy’s features, pricing and how it could work for your event. No setup fees or subscription required ![Ticket Fairy event dashboard](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/resources/css/pages/contact-us-v4/img/dashboard-main-optimized.jpg) See the revenue each referral brings in beside the reward it cost you. Run your events like a company many times your size. Sell more tickets, understand your audience and run your event with less admin. **25,000+** Events ticketed **10M+** Tickets issued **US$300M+** Ticket sales **10+** Countries What you can do ## Everything You Need to Measure Referral Returns ### Sales Per Reward for Each Event The referral report shows the ticket sales through each buyer's link and the rewards due on them, so you can see what every reward brought in. ### Cost Only After a Sale A reward is due only after a friend completes a ticket purchase. Clicks and shares that do not sell cost you nothing. ### Reward Tiers You Set Give buyers more money back as more friends buy, up to a free ticket. You choose the targets and the reward for each tier. ### Prizes, Packs and Boosts Add prizes such as upgrades or VIP experiences, let friend groups pool referrals in packs and run a weekend boost before a price rise. ### The Whole Referral Network See which buyers started a chain of sales, including friends of friends, so you know who really fills your festival. ### Compare Against Paid Adverts Put the reward cost per referral ticket beside the cost per ticket of your paid adverts and move budget to what sells. [Explore all features](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/features) Our team answers your buyers, day and night ## Our team answers your ticket buyers' questions for you, at no extra cost. ### 24/7 ticket buyer support Our support team is there around the clock to help your ticket buyers with any question, by email, chat and social media. ### Help moving from another platform When you move from another platform, our team can set up your events and branding and train your team, timed around your on-sale date. ### Multi-channel support You can get support by email, WhatsApp and video call on Zoom or Google Meet, plus a help centre full of guides and FAQs. ### Help during your event If something goes wrong during an on-sale, contact our team at any hour and we will help you fix it. ## Your ticket price and the fee Standard buyer-paid ticket fees include payment processing and customer service for your ticket buyers. Taxes, optional services, bank instalments and custom agreements may change the total. Pricing for the UK ### Ticketing fees in the UK Fees depend on your ticket price and country. All standard fees shown include payment processing and customer service for your ticket buyers. 🎟️ You and your attendees pay no fees on free tickets 💎 8–10% of the ticket price: the higher the ticket price, the lower the fee 📊 Minimum fee of £1.00 per paid ticket ✅ Core ticketing, standard payment processing and customer service for your ticket buyers included ### What your ticketing fee includes - Your ticketing platform and event tools - Standard card payment processing - Campaigns and buyer referral rewards - Customer service for your ticket buyers, handled by Ticket Fairy, plus support for you - Real-time analytics dashboard - Mobile check-in app No setup fee or required monthly fee • By default, buyers pay the fee on top of your ticket price and you receive the full ticket price [See full pricing breakdown](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/pricing) Why Ticket Fairy ## Know What Every Referral Reward Earns You ### Ad costs rising every on-sale? Referral rewards are due only after a friend buys, so the cost follows ticket sales, not clicks. ### Unable to prove word of mouth works? The referral report shows the tickets and revenue each buyer's link brought in beside the rewards due. ### Friend groups deciding late? Packs and reward tiers give each group a reason to commit early and bring the rest of their friends. How Ticket Fairy helps ## How to Measure Referral ROI for a Festival Festival tickets sell through friend groups. People decide together who is going, who is camping and which weekend pass to buy. A buyer referral model puts that conversation into your checkout: every buyer gets a personal link, and you reward them only when a friend buys through it. Because the reward follows a completed purchase, the referral report shows the ticket sales each link brought in beside the rewards due on them. Start from that ratio, then estimate how many of those buyers would have come anyway. Ticket Fairy invented the buyer referral model for event ticketing, and events that use it sell about 20% more tickets on average. How it works ## Set Up, Measure and Grow Referral Sales 1. 1 ### Switch on referral rewards Choose the reward tiers for your festival before tickets go on sale. 2. 2 ### Let buyers share their link Every buyer gets a personal link after checkout to share in group chats and on social media. 3. 3 ### Read the referral report Compare referral revenue with the rewards due, then adjust tiers, prizes and boosts for the next release. ## Work Out and Improve Your Festival Referral ROI Read more ### How to Calculate Festival Referral ROI Start with two numbers from the referral report: the ticket sales made through referral links, and the rewards due on those sales. Divide the sales by the rewards to see the ticket sales each reward brought in. Some of those buyers might have bought a ticket without the link. To estimate your return, count only the share of referral sales you think the links added, subtract the rewards, and divide by the rewards. Compare the same estimate for your paid adverts, so both channels are measured the same way. One organiser, Jorge Perdomo of The Fluffy Cloud, saw $25,778 in referral ticket sales from $1,368 in cash-back rewards. That is about 20 times what the rewards cost, and 31% of his buyers shared their link. Use the [referral reward calculator](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/referral-reward-calculator) to model your own festival before you go on sale. ### Why Referrals Cost Less Than Paid Adverts A paid advert costs money for each view or click, whether or not anyone buys. A referral reward is due only after a completed ticket purchase, so the cost per ticket is fixed by the reward you set. The cash back comes out of the revenue that the new sale brings in, and you pay nothing when nobody buys. A recommendation from a friend also carries more trust than an advert in a busy feed. Compare the reward cost per referral ticket with the cost per ticket in your [advertising reports](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/multi-network-event-advertising) to see which channel deserves the next part of your budget. ### How to Raise Referral ROI Across a Festival On-Sale Most festivals sell in releases, so time your referral pushes to them. Run a boost in the days before a price rise so referrals count double towards prizes. Offer packs so camping groups and friend groups can pool their referrals towards a shared prize. Email the buyers who are one step away from a prize. Keep the cash-back tiers simple, so buyers understand them at a glance. Put prizes that money cannot buy, such as an artist meet and greet or a [VIP upgrade](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/merchandise-integration-ticketing), at the top. Read the [referral marketing](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/referral-marketing-ticketing) page for every reward option. Keep exploring ## Related event tools and practical guides [**Event ticketing platform** See every feature, the pricing and the support you get with Ticket Fairy.](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/) [**Fan Club Presale Ticketing System** Track the campaigns and promoters that sell tickets.](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/fan-club-presale-ticketing-system) [**Marketing Platform Integrations** Track the campaigns and promoters that sell tickets.](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/marketing-platform-integrations) [**Custom registration questions** Collect the details your team needs.](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/custom-registration-fields) [**Table booking software** Sell tables, take deposits and manage guest details.](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/table-booking-software) [**Ticket scanning** Give entry staff tickets and a shared guest list.](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/ticket-scanning-app) [**Referral Marketing** Every reward, prize and sharing option](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/referral-marketing-ticketing) [**Best Event Ticketing Software Compared** Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and best use cases across major ticketing platforms.](https://www.ticketfairy.com/blog/the-best-event-ticketing-software-of-2023-price-and-feature-comparison) [**Early Bird & Tiered Pricing Strategies** How to structure ticket tiers and early bird pricing to maximise revenue and drive urgency.](https://www.ticketfairy.com/blog/tiered-pricing-and-early-bird-strategies-for-festivals) [**Using Ticketing Data to Improve Your Events** Turn attendee insights into smarter marketing, better programming, and higher sales.](https://www.ticketfairy.com/blog/how-to-use-ticketing-data-and-analytics-to-improve-your-festival) ## Festival Referral ROI: Common Questions ### Festival Referral ROI: Common Questions #### What is a good ROI for festival referral marketing? Compare it with the cost per ticket of your other channels. One event organiser saw referral ticket sales of about 20 times what the rewards cost. Some referred buyers might have bought anyway, so your true return is lower than that ratio. It depends on your rewards, your ticket prices and how many buyers share. #### What is a buyer referral model? Every person who buys a ticket gets a personal link to share. When a friend buys through it, the original buyer earns a reward, such as part of their ticket price back. Ticket Fairy builds this model into checkout, so you do not need a separate referral tool. #### When do I pay referral rewards? Only after a friend completes a ticket purchase through the buyer's link. Ticket Fairy calculates the reward and pays it to the buyer, so your team does not manage reward payments by hand. #### Do boosts change the cash back I pay? No. A boost makes referrals count for more towards prizes for a set period, between 1.5 and 5 times. Cash back stays at the tiers you set. #### Can I model referral ROI before my festival goes on sale? Yes. Enter your ticket price, reward and expected sharing in the referral reward calculator to see the likely sales and reward cost. [Referral reward calculator](https://www.ticketfairy.com/tools/referral-reward-calculator) Ready when you are ## Turn Your Festival Crowd Into Your Best Sales Channel [Grow Festival Sales With Referrals](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book Demo Call](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/book-a-demo) Start free without a credit card. You set the referral rewards, and you pay a reward only after a friend buys. --- This page is on Ticket Fairy, a ticketing, marketing and operations platform for live events and the venues that host them: festivals, club nights, concerts, conferences and tours, and night clubs, beach clubs and concert venues. It grows revenue with fan rewards that turn an audience into a sales channel, and runs the money side with payments and payouts, Vault business banking, and working capital advanced against ticket sales. [How Ticket Fairy ticketing works](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/) · [Ticket Fairy for AI assistants](https://www.ticketfairy.co.uk/llms.txt)