How to Increase Event Registration and Drive Attendance

Event registration is your first chance to build excitement and turn interest into real attendance.

Whether you’re running a webinar, livestream, or multi-day summit, strong promotion helps you:

• Create early momentum and interest
• Turn visits into confirmed signups
• Collect useful registration data
• Deliver a smooth, user-friendly experience
• Grow a list of warm leads you can market to

You don’t need a full event registration software tool to drive signups and attendance, just the right combination of smart tactics like giveaways, referral rewards, popups, and embedded forms.

In this post, we’ll cover practical ways to increase event registration, from using popups and forms to giveaways, referral rewards, and more.

A well-timed giveaway is one of the most effective ways to convert interest into registrations, especially in the lead-up to your event.

By offering an incentive (like a free ticket, VIP upgrade, or exclusive merch), you can turn casual visitors into confirmed attendees.

This works particularly well when you:

• Want to boost awareness before launch
• Are promoting early-bird or limited-time tickets
• Need to grow your email list by requiring registration to enter

You can set up your giveaway so that entry requires registration, so people automatically enter when they sign up, no extra steps needed.

Popups and embedded forms help more people see your registration page and take action. Whether you’re using a simple form or a full event registration platform, it’s about showing it at the right moment.

Place these on:

• Your homepage or landing page
• Blog posts about the event topic
• Your ticketing or event info page

Choose an intuitive interface that makes it easy to sign up in just a few steps. Keep the registration form short and focused, only ask for what you need.

Boost visibility and encourage sharing by offering a bonus when people tell their friends about the event or complete extra steps.

This works well for both in person and virtual events.

Offer bonus entries or perks when people:

• Refer a friend for early access
• Follow your page to win VIP tickets
• Complete extra tasks to unlock rewards

This can be done through event registration templates or built into your event management software workflow.

Giveaways can also drive attendance on the day of the event.

Whether it’s a live stream, webinar, or in-person event, you can:

• Reward attendees for checking in
• Run a live draw during the event
• Encourage audience interaction in real time

This helps boost engagement and keeps people present and involved.

Marketers know how important it is to hold a customer’s attention long enough to secure the purchase.

It’s the same with events, you want people to actually book a ticket, not just click "interested" and move on.

With a campaign like the one below, users can book their ticket and enter at the same time, all in one place, with no extra steps.

It removes the drop-off risk that comes from switching tabs or returning later, making it much more likely they’ll complete the action straight away.

Improving event registration isn’t about doing one thing perfectly, it’s about combining multiple tools that together make the whole registration experience smoother, smarter, and more successful.