Planning and running an event is a massive undertaking. So much so that many events fail because one critical aspect is left until too late, or overlooked entirely: promotion. You need to get the word out and get RSVPs, ticket sales, or attendance up, but how can you do it?
There are a ton of different options you can explore, but one of the biggest drawbacks is that many of them are paid advertising of some form or another. Budgets can be tight, though, and without testing those channels, it can be difficult to want to risk the expense.
Fortunately, there are also plenty of free options to promote an event. We've put together a list of 30 of them you can try below. Before you dig in, though, here is a word of advice: start keeping records. Keep track of the channels and methods you use, and whenever possible, see if you can attribute specific visitors, RSVPs, or ticket sales to those channels. With so many options, it can feel like throwing everything at the wall in hopes that something sticks. When you track the channels that work, you can focus your efforts on them for future events and avoid wasting time on the channels that didn't work.
Be aware, though, that sometimes saturation is the point, and awareness stemming from multiple channels ends up focusing on one for conversions. Tracking an awareness campaign is tricky but essential when you're promoting something as critical as a special event.
Alright, with that out of the way, let's get right to the list of ways to promote an event for free.
Establish an Event Hashtag
This is less of a single channel and more of a general technique, but one foundational thing you'll want to do is come up with an event-related hashtag. It doesn't need to be much - an event acronym that doesn't overlap with another common hashtag is usually enough - but you might also consider a handful of them.
For example, the Consumer Electronics Show uses #CES, #CES25, #CES2025, and others like #CESAwards and #CESNominations for specific subtopics. You don't need quite that many, especially if it's a one-off or small event, but think about what might be useful to people looking into information about the event and tag content appropriately.
Build an Event Press Kit
Another foundational tool you'll want is a press kit. A press kit should have basic information about the event, the venue, and your business, including contact information, fast facts, maps, and more. You should also include media assets like logo files and photos representative of the event (or a past iteration of the event) that journalists could use.
This press kit will be very valuable for anyone looking to cover the event, so make sure it's accessible to the public as well as an attachment in contacts you send to journalists and influencers.
Create a Facebook Event
Facebook remains one of the biggest and best social networks in the world, even though it has seen its ups and downs in recent years. You likely already have a Facebook Business Page; creating a tied-in Event Page will help you track attendance and interest while giving you a centralized place to post information that Facebook users can easily access.
People who follow the event will also be able to see posts you make to the event page, which is useful for news and updates.
Post on Facebook
Speaking of Facebook, you should also post about the event on the social network.
Post as your business page, but also post as your personal profile, and encourage employees to also share it. You shouldn't mandate that they promote it for you (since a lot of people keep their work and home lives separate on Facebook), but ask anyone who is willing to do so.
Post in Relevant Facebook Groups
Facebook is also full of groups, many of which will be aligned with your business or industry. You can join these groups and use them to promote your event.
Just make sure to read the rules of a group before you post so you don't get your posts removed, and make sure the group is active enough to be worthwhile.
Post on Instagram
Instagram is also one of the top social networks and can be very good for promoting events.
Posting basic image posts is good, but if you can produce short video content to further promote your event, using Reels can also be a great option. Don't forget to respond to comments to keep people engaged and answer questions!
Post on Pinterest
Depending on the kind of event and the kind of media you make for it, Pinterest can also be an excellent social network to use for promotion.
It's a little less effective for B2B than it is for B2C, and the more visually interesting you can make it, the better, but it's a large network with a sizable following, so it's well worth the attempt, especially at the low cost of free.
Post on Bluesky (and/or X)
Bluesky is one of the up-and-coming social networks that serves as something of a Twitter replacement.
After Twitter's rename to X and the subsequent exodus of users, it's gotten a lot harder to use it to promote an event, especially in the United States. That said, both platforms operate in similar ways, and you can cross-post the same content easily enough. The same goes for Threads and even Mastodon, which also work in similar ways.
Rather than list out every possible social network, consider the networks that can work best for you and your event. LinkedIn can be a good option, especially for more tech and business-focused events.
TikTok can be a good option, especially if you haven't posted before, as the algorithm inherently gives a new account a hit of traffic to help keep them engaged, which you can leverage. There are also smaller or more niche social networks to try as well.
Post on Local Subreddits
Reddit is another good option, and we've given it two entries on the list specifically because it can be so valuable.
The first entry here is for local use and works best when you're promoting a local or small-scale event. If you expect the majority of your attendees to be local residents, posting on local city, county, and state subreddits can be a good option. Make sure to read the rules and avoid getting your post downvoted or removed.
Post on Industry Subreddits
The second option for Reddit comes when your event is larger or expects attendance from further afield. Industry and niche subreddits can also be a good place to advertise an event.
Make sure to stay engaged with the people who respond, to answer questions and address concerns if they arise.
A good way to engage users is to run giveaways. A social media giveaway with tickets to the event can be a compelling way to hook people who are interested but unsure about whether or not they'll attend.
The FOMO can make people who don't win end up buying tickets after all, and the people who win are much more likely to attend.
Add Event Links to Email Signatures
Your business likely frequently communicates using email, right? The people who do the most active communication, not counting your general email newsletter, should add a link to the event in their email signatures.
This helps promote the event passively and doesn't require anyone involved to remember to pitch it. Just don't forget to remove it when the event is passed!
Your website is one of your biggest channels that can reach people interested in you. There are all sorts of ways to promote an event on your website, from a top-bar banner, to sidebar ads, to slide-in or pop-over pops, to interstitial calls to action.
Leverage any and all of them to saturate your site with promotion, especially in the immediate lead-up to the event.
Create Event-Focused Blog Post Content
Most of the time, your event is going to have some kind of theme. You can help passively promote your event by focusing your blog content in the months leading up to the event on topics that align with the event's topic.
That way, it's very natural to include a call to action like "to learn more about this subject, attend our conference!" You can always remove that call to action when the event is over, too.
Collaborate with Event Speakers
When you run an event and invite other people to present at the event, you can work with those people to help promote the event.
Sending them the press kit is a good start, but you should also consider asking them to directly promote the event on their channels, and even create partner content for both of your channels that can provide mutual promotion.
Collaborate with Event Sponsors
Most events work with sponsors, trading advertisements in the event for monetary or physical support to help the event run without a hitch.
Collaborating with those sponsors helps promote along their channels as well, though, unlike the speakers and presenters, sponsors are less likely to be as fully aligned with the event subject and might not be quite as effective. However, they may have connections that can help even more if you ask.
Collaborate with Event Influencer Attendees
If you know of influencers in your industry, you can collaborate with them to help promote your event.
There are broadly two ways to do this. The first is simple influencer marketing, where you encourage the influencer to promote your event. The second is through a sort of sponsored attendance; you provide them with tickets and potentially added support like hotel fares, and in turn, they help promote your event through their channels.
Guest on Industry Podcasts
Your industry likely has a variety of podcasts, large and small. You can reach out to them and offer to guest on them, talking about some subject of mutual interest.
You likely won't get on just to promote your event, but if you have an expert perspective they can use for their content, they'll often let you promote an event as a part of your presence. A more straightforward sponsorship can also work, but it will usually cost money.
Obviously, one of your best channels is going to be your email newsletter.
The people subscribing to your newsletter are by definition the people most engaged with your brand, so making sure your newsletter mentions your event, or even focuses on it, is going to be extremely valuable.
Send SMS Blasts
Not every business uses them, but if you collect opt-ins for SMS messaging, you can use that channel to promote your event as well.
Just make sure you have opt-ins; if you're sending out texts to people who haven't accepted them, you're just going to come across as spam, and might even run into OS-level filtering that can be difficult to overcome in the future.
Send Push Notifications
The same as with SMS, if you've been using a push notification system on your website, you can use that channel to inform your users about your event as well.
Promote at Other Events
If your event is recurring or you're planning it far enough in advance, you can set up your own booth at those events and advertise your event to the people who stop by and are interested.
It shouldn't be your only reason for going to those events, but if you're already going to be there, it can't hurt.
Post on Free Event Listing Websites
There are a lot of websites you can use to post events. They tend to be unfocused and don't have as high a user base as social networks, but even getting a few attendees from a free post is good.
Sites like Eventbrite, Evvnt, 10Times, Meetup, Eventful, Patch, EventCrazy, EventSeeker, and YourEventFree can all be options.
Offer Ticket Preorder Exclusive Swag
One way to encourage event attendance is to offer preorder bonuses for tickets.
When people order their tickets ahead of time, you can include bonus merchandise like customized brand- and event-specific apparel, bags, and more. We even have ideas for what you can include in a swag bag as well.
Send Your Press Kit to Journalists
Remember the press kit we mentioned? Why not just send it out to journalists?
Do a little bit of research to find journalists who cover your industry and send them a press release and press kit, and encourage them to reach out if they have any questions or want an exclusive interview. Some will certainly bite at the chance to fill in a slot in their content calendars.
Promote a High-Value Door Prize or Raffle
Having something high-value on offer as a door prize can be a great way to encourage event attendance.
You'll have to pick a suitable prize - something your business offers is generally good - and a way to manage the raffle, but once you get it set up, it's an easy way to boost engagement and encourage attendance.
Set Up an ARG with Ticket Prizes
A potentially clever and engaging way to promote your event is through an ARG. These can be anything from digital or physical scavenger hunts, to a game embedded in your website, to a multimedia and multichannel experience.
It's a lot of work to set up and manage, but it can be very rewarding to pull off.
Hand Out Flyers
Sometimes, old school is the best.
Getting people on the ground handing out flyers can help drum up local interest in your event, and through the right kinds of volunteer channels, you can set up flyer campaigns in non-local areas. Just make sure your flyer design is compelling!
Encourage Word-of-Mouth
Studies show that people generally trust a recommendation from someone they know a lot more than pretty much every single marketing channel around. If you can get people to recommend your event, especially if they're past attendees, that word-of-mouth marketing can go a long way.
So, what do you think? Have you tried some of these channels before? Did they work? Let us know how it goes, and be sure to think of us when you need event swag! Our customizable and ethical printing processes are sure to fill your needs.
Daniel Cardozo, CEO of Ethix Merch, is a passionate advocate for ethical promotional products. With a mission to transform global supply chains, he serves on the Labor 411 Foundation and Advertising Specialty Institute's Promo for the Planet Advisory Board. Daniel is dedicated to empowering socially and environmentally-conscious consumers.
