6 Creative Venue Marketing Ideas to Bring in More Business (2024)

It begins with having a great location you know would make a perfect space for events. You can imagine cocktail parties, pop-up art galleries, fancy dinners, and more — all happening in your venue. However, running a successful event venue business is not just as easy as opening your doors. You need creative venue marketing ideas and an effective marketing plan if you want to get people into your venue.

Creative venue marketing ideas are a great and effective starting point. Once you have these down, be sure to list your venue on Peerspace. As the largest online platform for event and production spaces, countless people will see and book it when you list your venue on Peerspace. You’ll also enjoy complimentary marketing services through the Peerspace blog and resource pages, as well as complete host support. It’s the safe and easy way to rent out your venue. Plus, you can start for free!

When it comes to marketing your venue, begin by establishing a marketing budget and be honest about how much time you can allocate to marketing your venue. Create a calendar and think about ways to market your event venue weekly, monthly, and yearly. By planning out your marketing ideas, you’ll create strategic measures to attract more business to your event venue. Try these six venue marketing ideas to market your venue successfully.

1. Make your venue stand out with top-notch photography

Create a visual presentation of what a function in your venue might look like to show potential clients. Peerspace host Marc K notes, “People will be interested in your space because of your photos, so ensure that you have the right photography with the key characteristics that make your space stand out.“

You can see an excellent example of this with this modern and industrial small event studio in Addison, TX. From the photos alone, potential renters can see the venue’s potential. The host posted photos of the space as-is, as well as styled for various events. This allows renters to imagine their own event’s possibilities.

Your venue’s visual presentation should include beautiful imagery of your space fully styled, as well as service packages at various price points, and tailored suggestions for possible services that might enhance their function. Design both print and digital versions of your proposal to make it easier for clients to reference. You can also distribute these presentations to local event planners. Start by contacting them with an invite to walk through your venue.

After some face-to-face time where you can learn more about their venue needs and share details about your venue, send them your presentation as a follow-up. It’s a tangible reminder of what your venue offers and a resource they can take back to their clients.

Not sure how to price your venue? Then check out our guide on venue rental prices to get some concrete examples!

2. Put your name out there through effective online marketing

Marketing your event venue online is a budget-friendly way to increase business. Research where event planners and potential clients find venues and include your event venue in those channels. By sharing your event venue on Peerspace, you can reach a large active community of event planners who rely on the platform daily.

Also, set yourself reminders to regularly submit your venue’s public events on event directories in your city. By sharing what kind of events can be held on-site, you stand to drive more business to your venue. Don’t be shy about reaching out to local blogs and news sites to feature events in your venue. Invite them to stop by for a sneak peek of the event in exchange for a mention.

For public events, a promotion like this can increase the success of the event making clients happy. And as a bonus, it brings more attention to your venue.

3. Partner up with local businesses to offer renters more

Another idea to promote your event venue is by working with event industry suppliers who are also trying to market to the same people. Combine forces with catering companies, alcohol suppliers, and furniture rental businesses for an open house.

As an example, check out this Marin Country meeting and event space in Novato, CA. The host explains that they provide full-service private receptions and corporate events, with catering and event staff provided to give its renters everything they need to host successful events.

Joining forces with local companies and co-hosting such an event can help capture the attention of event planners and potential clients. Think about what kind of events you want to be hosting and align strategic partners with the same goal in mind. It’s essential to be efficient with your resources during open houses as such events can get rather expensive. Keep catering to sample sizes and showcase various music or entertainment services for your potential clients.

4. Host, host, host to connect, network, and engage

You should spend the best use of your venue marketing efforts doing what you do well — hosting. Reach out to local networking groups and offer your space for their next get-together. Motivate groups to try out your event venue by providing a free first booking as part of a booking package or an add-on service such as music or cocktail hour.

Incentives like these engage groups and are a way to get potential customers into your venue. You can also reach out to community, non-profit, or charity organizations and donate your venue for their next meeting. It’s a great way to familiarize these organizations with the venue before a more significant function. Philanthropic donations are a great way to build relationships with community leaders. They’ll remember these generous acts when they need to book a venue for their business event.

In either case, share photos of these gatherings on your website and social media. It will inspire potential clients with ways they can use your venue and introduce their social media followers to your venue.

5. Drop a pin by mentioning your location everywhere

Another way to digitally market your venue business is by connecting your venue to a location. Be sure your neighborhood or city is mentioned everywhere in your marketing channels, from your website to print materials to social media.

Such promotional ideas will help your event venue show up in online searches for venues in your location. Encourage guests at events in your venue to add the location on social media and use a dedicated hashtag for your event venue business. This is a free and easy way to cement your venue’s connection to a location, making it well-known with social media influencers.

Looking to market your space for events solely? Check out our big guide to event space rentals to make it easy!

6. Engage in friendly follow-ups to improve your services

Finally, build up the reputation of your venue by creating personal touches. Mark says, “The most important thing is to do right by your prospective guests. Respond to them in a timely manner, be curious about their vision for the event and thank them for taking the time to inquire about your venue”. After all, the best business is repeat business.

Send handwritten thank-you notes to event planners and clients for using your venue. Send follow-up emails to organizations about upcoming functions. Always keep communication lines open to continue fostering those relationships. Don’t be afraid to get feedback, whether it’s good or bad. Ask clients what makes your venue different from your competitors. Illustrate what sets your venue apart in all your event venue marketing efforts. Encourage clients to leave reviews on social media, on your business site, and other review sites. Also, ask what you can do to make their next event an even more enormous success.

Peerspace can help you touch base with clients when you list your venue on our platform. After renters host an event in your space, they will be prompted to leave feedback. These reviews are then posted on your venue’s listing page for prospective renters to see. You can learn a lot from these reviews, which can allow you to tailor your venue and services as needed.

Venue marketing ideas: conclusion

It really takes a concerted promotion plan to drive people to your venue for a successful event venue business. These are six venue marketing ideas that will go far in establishing your business locally and increasing profits. Whether you try one or all of these venue promotion ideas, you’ll soon see how essential marketing is to attract more business to your event venue.

And to get more guests at your doorsteps, list your space on Peerspace. Leading businesses and creative individuals around the world rely on Peerspace to find venues to host their meetings, events, and productions. It’s the most straightforward way to get your space in front of the right eyes.

And with Peerspace’s simple interface, you can easily design a listing that highlights your venue’s best features. Upload high-quality photos, write an honest and exciting description, include on-site equipment and amenities, and get ready to book countless eager renters.

Check out event venues on Peerspace for inspiration