Early bird tickets, set up properly

Early birds exist to convert your keenest fans into the momentum that sells everyone else. Configured well they fund your deposits in week one; configured lazily they just discount tickets that would have sold anyway.

The four configuration decisions

1. Size: 10–20% of capacity. Enough to create a visible sell-out, small enough that standard remains the real price.
2. Depth: 20–30% off standard. Less isn't worth acting on; more devalues the standard tier it's meant to sell.
3. Trigger: quantity, not date. 'First 50' creates daily urgency and ends with a public milestone; a date just rewards whoever checked Instagram that Tuesday.
4. Visibility: show the standard price alongside ('£12 £16') so the saving is concrete and the anchor is set for later tiers.

Announce the sell-through

The early bird's real product is the announcement that it's gone. 'First release sold out in 36 hours' is social proof that converts fence-sitters for the rest of the campaign — plan that post as part of the tier, and never quietly re-open a 'sold out' tier (screenshots are forever).

Watch the fee floor on cheap tiers

Fixed fees hit early birds hardest: 59p on a £8 early bird is 7.4% before percentages; Skiddle's £1 minimum on a £6 tier is 17%. If your model leans on cheap first releases — most club nights — flat-fee or zero-fee platforms preserve the tier maths you designed.