What is an event waitlist?
An event waitlist provides you with a way to obtain contact details from customers who are interested in purchasing tickets for an event that is no longer available, i.e. sold out. These customers can then be contacted at a later date via email if the event becomes available again.
Not only does a waitlist provide you with a second opportunity to sell tickets to your events, it also provides you with a useful indication of the potential popularity of an event in the future.
If an event has a waitlist turned on and the event's ticket sales have reached the Maximum tickets available limit, then a Join waitlist button will be displayed on the website instead of the Add to cart button.
When a customer clicks the Join waitlist button, a form will be displayed with fields for the customer to enter the following information:
First name
Last name
Email address
Phone number (optional)
Organisation title (optional)
Number of tickets needed
In addition, you can also add/edit the following information:
Internal note (optional)
Contacted
Contacted date (optional)
How do I turn on a waitlist for an event?
For a new event:
Go to Commerce > Events > Events.
Click the Add button in the top right.
Begin to add the event's details
Tick Show waitlist if sold out under the Waitlist heading during the Detail step.
Finish adding the event's details.
Click the Add button
For an existing event:
Go to Commerce > Events > Events.
Find the event you are looking for and click the View button in the Options column.
Click the Edit button in the top right.
Tick Show waitlist if sold out under the Waitlist heading.
Click the Update button.
How do I edit a waitlist?
Currently the only aspect of an event waitlist that can be edited is whether to provide customers with a field to enter their organisation name.
Go to Commerce > Events > Settings.
Tick/un-tick Waitlist collects organisation title under the General heading.
Click the Update button.
How do I turn off a waitlist?
Go to Commerce > Events > Events.
Find the event you are looking for and click the View button in the Options column.
Click the Edit button in the top right.
Un-tick Show waitlist if sold out under the Waitlist heading.
Click the Update button.
Turning off a waitlist does not delete the watchlist or any of the people on it, it simply stops offering customers the option to join a watchlist for that event.
Can I add people to a waitlist?
Yes, as well as customers being able to add themselves to a waitlist via your website, you can also add people directly to a waitlist if needed, i.e. in response to a customer phone inquiry.
Go to Commerce > Events > Events.
Find the event you are looking for and click the View button in the Options column.
Click the Waitlist tab under the event title.
Click the Add button to the right of the Waitlist heading.
Enter a First name.
Enter a Last name.
Optionally, enter a Phone number.
Enter an Email address.
Optionally, enter an Organisation title
Optionally, enter an Internal note.
Enter a Number of tickets needed.
Click the Add button.
How do I edit a person on a waitlist?
Go to Commerce > Events > Events.
Find the event you are looking for and click the View button in the Options column.
Click the Waitlist tab under the event title.
Find the person you are looking for under the Waitlist heading and click the Edit button in the Options column.
Update the person's details
Click the Update button.
How do I contact a person on a waitlist?
Go to Commerce > Events > Events.
Find the event you are looking for and click the View button in the Options column.
Click the Waitlist tab under the event title.
Find the person you are looking for under the Waitlist heading and click the Email button in the Options column.
Optionally, edit the Subject.
Optionally, edit the Message.
Optionally, tick/un-tick Send me a copy.
Update the person's details
Click the Send button.
When a person has been emailed, Contacted is set to be true and the Contacted date is set to the current date.
How do I contact multiple people on a waitlist?
Go to Commerce > Events > Events.
Find the event you are looking for and click the View button in the Options column.
Click the Waitlist tab under the event title.
Tick the checkboxes next to the people you want to contact.
Click the drop-down menu below the waitlist.
Select Email.
Click the Go button.
Optionally, edit the Subject.
Optionally, edit the Message.
Optionally, tick/un-tick Send me a copy.
Click the Send button.
When a person has been emailed, Contacted is set to be true and the Contacted date is set to the current date.
How do I delete a person on a waitlist?
Go to Commerce > Events > Events.
Find the event you are looking for and click the View button in the Options column.
Click the Waitlist tab under the event title.
Find the person you are looking for under the Waitlist heading and click the Delete button in the Options column.
Click the Delete button.
How do I delete multiple people from a waitlist?
Go to Commerce > Events > Events.
Find the event you are looking for and click the View button in the Options column.
Click the Waitlist tab under the event title.
Tick the checkboxes next to the people you want to delete from the waitlist.
Click the drop-down menu below the waitlist.
Select Delete.
Click the Go button.
Click the Delete button.