Laugh Out Lounge Increases Ticket Sales After Switching to Eventbrite From Ticketleap

Since partnering with Eventbrite, this indie comedy club has packed rooms while filling an entertainment gap for the Winter Haven community.

Read more below on Laugh Out Lounge’s success.

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Mike Lee is no stranger to the entertainment scene. Once a bartender, he’s now a veteran comedian, morning radio show host, and the co-owner of Winter Haven’s comedy club, Laugh Out Lounge. 

Lee opened Laugh Out Lounge after recognizing the need to bring comedic relief to his community.

“Winter Haven is kind of the no man’s land between Tampa and Orlando,” Lee says. “Those cities have all these great things to do, but if you live in the Winter Haven area, you’ve got to drive 45 minutes or more to enjoy what those cities have to offer. So after I got sick of traveling so far for shows, I thought, ‘Why don’t I bring this here?’”

Fast-forward two years, and Laugh Out Lounge is cultivating its community of fans by hosting improv and standup five nights a week with comedians including Helen Keane, Paul Farahvar, and Killer Beaz hitting the stage.

“So many people have approached me and said, ‘Thank you for bringing this here,’” Lee says. “Winter Haven really needed this.”

Choosing Eventbrite as the best ticketing platform for a growing venue and crowd

As his club grew, Lee — who describes himself as a “one-man operation” — needed a ticketing platform that could streamline his efforts. He desired one that was cost-efficient, easy to use, and could drive demand with audiences looking for things to do.

As Lee puts it, “You can’t have the show without the business, and you can’t have the business without the show.”

He started on Ticketleap but was unhappy with their fees and started exploring alternatives — a platform that could increase exposure for his events was important.

“Eventbrite’s team was a huge help, and made me think, ‘I made the right decision.’”

“I had to look for other options, and Eventbrite was a big one,” Lee says. “The name recognition alone was a big part, but when I immediately uploaded six weeks’ worth of events, I was contacted by the Eventbrite sales team, and they were, like, ‘Hey, we know that you’re hosting a lot of events, and we want to help you promote them.’ I didn’t expect that type of customer service. In my year with Ticketleap, I never spoke to one live person. Eventbrite’s team was a huge help, and made me think, ‘I made the right decision.’”

Easy-to-use marketing tools that increase ticket sales and savings

Initially, Lee’s main reason for switching platforms was financial. But once he started posting events, he realized Eventbrite offered more than he expected: email marketing, Facebook integration, the ability to show videos on event pages, and promo code features that Ticketleap didn’t provide.

“I started building my email blast list, for example,” Lee says, “and saw that Eventbrite integrates with Mailchimp, so I could literally import all of my contacts right into Eventbrite. I’m not starting at ground zero again. Plus, you offer 6,000 emails a day vs. the 2,000 I was getting directly with Mailchimp.”

Lee also applauds Eventbrite’s integration with Facebook. “We have a lot of followers on Facebook,” Lee says. “Our crowd trends ages 35 to 55, so they’re in the Facebook market. I can easily create my event, put the tickets on sale, and immediately share that to Facebook as Laugh Out Lounge. That is one of the coolest features ever that Ticketleap didn’t have.”

“For us to be selling out shows in the middle of September after only using Eventbrite for not even three months is pretty awesome — no, actually, it’s really awesome — and a big statement to Eventbrite’s audience and marketing features.”

And the results are no joke. Lee says they’ve been selling out shows despite it being Winter Haven’s offseason. “For us to be selling out shows in the middle of September after only using Eventbrite for not even three months is pretty awesome — no, actually, it’s really awesome — and a big statement to Eventbrite’s audience and marketing features.”

Loving Eventbrite’s AI tools for copy generation and promotion

Another Eventbrite feature Lee is loving? AI, which lets event organizers spin up copy for event pages, emails, and social media posts with the click of a button. Creators using AI are launching ad campaigns 30% faster with AI-powered copy compared to non-AI.

“It’s hard as one person to come up with copy, so having that AI tool is a godsend. It’s like having my own virtual PR assistant writing my emails.”

“I don’t have a promotions team, and I get tired of trying to figure out how to say, ‘This is the best show you’re ever going to see a thousand different ways,’” Lee says. “It’s hard as one person to come up with copy, so having that AI tool is a godsend. It’s like having my own virtual PR assistant writing my emails.”

The results since joining Eventbrite in July

Continuing to foster a community and following through Eventbrite

When reflecting on the audience growth Laugh Out Lounge has seen, Lee again highlights the noticeably packed shows during what’s typically a slow season in Winter Haven.

“… the Eventbrite community is definitely a benefit.”

“We’re a newer club, so people are still learning who we are and what we are,” Lee says. “But since we switched to Eventbrite, there’s no doubt that has helped. For example, our Thursday nights are usually super slow, but we’ve increased ticket sales for Thursdays since moving to Eventbrite. We’re in the offseason, technically, but we’re still doing sold-out shows. I’ve got over 670 followers for my Eventbrite account in less than two months, so the Eventbrite community is definitely a benefit.”

We know event creators have other options for hosting their events. Lee was forthcoming about that. “I get hit up all the time by other platforms,” he says. “You have no idea. But none of them offer what you do, so I haven’t considered switching.”