Memberships allow you to offer hidden, specific tickets to pre-selected contacts. For example, you can let volunteers go to a show for free or give loyal visitors a discount on tickets.
A "membership" grants a contact the ability to buy a specific ticket type when they log in to the ticket shop. This ticket type remains completely hidden from non-member ticket buyers.
Initial Setup: Creating the Ticket Types
Before you can assign a membership, you need to ensure the correct ticket types exist in your settings.
Go to Settings - Ticketing - Ticket types.
Create a new ticket type.
Choose the appropriate type from the drop-down options:
Select 'Membership' for paid or discounted tickets.
Select 'Guest ticket' for free entry tickets.
Assigning Memberships to Contacts
Once your ticket types are created, you need to link them to your target group or chosen contacts.
Go to Marketing - Contacts.
Search for an existing contact or create a new one.
Navigate to the Membership tab to assign your created ticket type.
Set the timeline: Enter a start and end date for the membership. Note: Visitors can only buy membership-only tickets if the event falls within this specific date range.
Set ticket limits: Indicate how many tickets can be obtained during a given period, per event, or in total. If you leave this blank, there is no ticket limit.
Regenerate QR codes: If you ever need to create a new QR code for a contact, click Regenerate. This instantly invalidates the previous QR code, meaning the contact can no longer enter with the old one.
Putting Membership Tickets Online for an Event
With memberships assigned, you can now offer these tickets for specific events.
Navigate to your event and add the membership ticket type.
Set the price, the available quantity, and the sales start date.
Tick and activate the Online checkbox.
Share the link: Click on 'Get ticket link' on the yellow tab at the top right to get the unique "membership link". When members use this link, they will be prompted to log in first and will then immediately see their exclusive tickets.
Selling Year or Season Tickets
If you want to sell a year or season ticket through the Stager ticket shop, you can do so using a workaround.
Create a single "membership event" that spans the full season or year (giving it a start and end date).
Add tickets for your Membership ticket type to this event and put them on sale.
Important: Add a note to the event information clarifying that the ticket they receive upon purchase is just proof of payment, not the actual membership itself.
Distribute the membership: You must manually grant these buyers their membership status. You can do this by creating an audience via Marketing - Contacts - Audiences.
Add the rule: Tickets > Bought tickets of type > For one or more of > And add the ticket type.
And add the rule: Memberships > Has no active memberships.
Regularly check this audience to see who has bought a ticket for this event but does not yet hold the membership. You can then distribute the membership to these contacts in bulk.
Membership Passes and Door Scanning
Memberships can also function as digital membership cards.
Every member has a personal QR code that they can find by logging into the ticket shop.
If a member has a membership for guest tickets available at the door, they can simply present this QR code to be checked in.
Troubleshooting: Why can't a member purchase their tickets?
If a visitor indicates they cannot obtain their tickets online, it is usually because one of the following conditions hasn't been met. The membership download option will only appear if:
The contact has an active membership.
The event falls within the active timeline of the membership.
The member has created an account for your Stager environment.
The member is logged into the ticket shop using the exact email address linked to their membership.
The Membership or Guest tickets are actually offered for the event (ticked and activated Online).
Checklist for resolving issues:
Check the contact: Go to Marketing - Contacts - Choose the contact - Memberships. Is the membership period set correctly? Is the correct ticket type assigned?
Check the event: Go to the event's Tickets tab. Are the ticket types set for the correct sales period? Is the Sales start date correct, and is Online checked?
Check availability: Go to Ticketing - Ticket Management. Is it possible that the maximum number of available tickets for this type has already sold out?
Check the login: Confirm that the person is logged into the ticket shop with the correct email address.