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The Definitive Guide to Increasing Sponsorship Revenue with Event Apps

  • - Understand the 9 things your team can sell in an event app
  • - Find out the value of each sponsorship item and maximize your returns
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Is a no-code app builder right for you? Let's find out!

What is a no-code app builder?

A platform that lets you create an app with pre-built templates. Simply drag and drop the features you want, upload data, review, and publish.

Create your app in four steps - it's that easy!

What are the benefits?

You can create a mobile app for your event in minutes, and no coding knowledge is required. Take full control – simply add the features you need, then publish to the app stores.

See how Guidebook transformed these events: Admitted Student's Day and Annual Conference.

What are some no-code app features?

  • Push Notifications to stay in the loop
  • Interactive Maps to navigate like a pro
  • Preset Schedules tailored for every user on your event app

See all 8 top features in this blog post!

Before, our student yield was 40%. After implementing our Guidebook app, it increased
to 82%.

Andrea Crilly
Indiana Tech

The platform was super easy to use as an admin. I was able to update the content quickly and changes were pushed to the app right away. Overall, I really loved Guidebook.

Leah Butler
Intuit
Star Wars App Screenshot

Association App

CVISA eliminates the need to print 36,000 pages with an app, saving over $5,000 in printing costs.

  • CIVSA hosts 600+ attendees at its annual conference.
  • Before Guidebook, each attendee received a 60-page book with event info.
  • Attendees can find event info, local recommendations, maps, and push notifications.
  • With Guidebook, CIVSA built an app to replace all printed materials.
Festival Of Marketing  App Screenshot

University App

Higher Education Institution Increases Admitted Student Yield by 105% with an App. 

  • 375 Hours Saved - From 400 hours to plan and print the book to <25 hours to create and manage the app - a 94% reduction.
  • 128% Influence Increase - Admitted Students Day attendees now account for 32% of total enrollment since launching the app, up from 14% prior.
  • 105% Student Yield Increase - After launching the app, student yield from Admitted Students Day attendees increased from 40% to 82%.

Frequently asked questions

How do I build an event app?

To get started, sign up for a free account and select an option from our gallery of app templates. Begin customizing your app by filling in some details (i.e. the name of your app, the location of your event, etc.). Once you’ve filled in the basics, you’ll have access to all the features you need — building a powerful mobile event app couldn’t be easier! When you’ve finished filling your app with content, simply hit Publish and we’ll take care of the rest.

Is your app builder easy to use?

Yes! In fact, Guidebook’s Builder is the thing that our customers love most about our platform. Not only is it super intuitive and easy, but once you really get building, it's sometimes hard to stop. You’re looking for a custom event app and we empower you to build exactly that. A mock smartphone lives within Builder to give you a live preview of your app as you go, and you always have the option to send a preview to your actual device if you want to get a genuine feel for it. But don't just go by our word – jump into our Builder and get started for free!

Why are event app integrations so important?

Integrations pair with your existing technology, increasing its value and enabling you to manage processes more efficiently. For example, with Guidebook’s integrations, you can connect your CRM, event registration system, and marketing software together and control everything from within your app Builder. Our advice is to ensure your event app platform offers useful integrations that are designed to help you. Like insurance, you may never think you need it until you do.

Can I build this on my own? My event is pretty small...

Yes, you can. While our Sales team is great and dedicated to ensuring your success, you can actually just jump into Builder now and start building your app from start to finish. Not only that, but we also designed flexible, pay-as-you-go pricing with smaller audiences in mind. You’ll have access to great features and will only pay once per unique device.

How do users download my event app?

Upon publishing your app, we'll automatically set you up with a custom landing page to share with your audience. Users can easily download the app by texting it straight to their phones. Our app Builder also gives you tools like email promotion, posters, social media templates (and more) to make promoting and downloading your event app super simple.

What if I want someone to build my event app for me?

You're in luck. With our Pro Services, we'll set you up with a dedicated app builder to build your app from start to finish. Since events are in our blood, you know you'll be getting a beautiful app that your users will love. All you'll need to provide is your content (sessions, speakers, etc.) We'll take care of the rest.

My event is close, do I have enough time to build an event app with Guidebook?

It’s important to first understand what kind of app you’re looking for -- an app that’s neatly housed within a container app, like Guidebook, or a standalone app in the App Store. If it’s the former, your lead time is far less than the latter.

Generally for newbies, you can expect to spend around 8 hours from start to finish on an app that’ll be housed in a container app. It's fun, creative work, and you and your whole team can simultaneously build the app - so that 8 hours will probably fly by.

If you’re looking for a standalone app, however, there are other variables at play. When publishing any app to the Apple App Store, you’ll need to set up a Developer account with them, which can take a week or so. They’ll also need to approve your app once it’s complete, which further slows things down. All in all, you’ll want to be prepared for a lead time of at least a month, to be safe. To clarify, this expected time is the same for any event app platform or custom developer out there.

Do you offer any event app integrations?

Yes! We know how hectic using multiple event planning tools can be, so we integrated our app Builder with the tools event planners use most. We currently connect with Eventbrite, Mailchimp, Salesforce, Marketo, Cvent, Stova, and Splash. Need something else? Contact us to learn more about how our Open API works and how it can benefit you.

Which is the best event app?

Quite simply, there is no easy or one answer to this question. The best event app is the one that delivers the most benefit to your event and offers you the highest ROI. Your event app should make your job as an event planner easier and it should delight your attendees -- all without causing you headaches along the way.

When considering which event app platform to go with, consider the following:

  • What level of security is offered? Whether your event is small or large, building trust with your attendees is important. You want to make sure that their information and your information is secure.
  • How scalable is the event app platform? If you plan more than one event, it would be worth investing time into a platform that makes it easy to replicate your events and save you time and money.
  • What customization and branding options are available? While you are using an external event platform, you still want your event to be all about you and your brand.
  • What type of engagement features are offered? Attendee engagement and experience is key for your event -- you want them to use the app as an extension of your event!
  • What types of metrics will you be able to access? Learning from your events and improving on them year after year is important.

This is, by no means, a comprehensive list of questions to consider, but it’s a great start. Make sure your event app marries well with your event goals.

Do I need an event app?

An event app picks up where a website and traditional event communications leave off. So, while we can’t say whether you need an event app or not, chances are, if you’re looking to enhance your event, an app would help you achieve your goals. Not only does an event app give you a ton of opportunities to further engage with your attendees, but it can actually make your job as an event planner easier. From features like push notifications to making updates on the fly, a mobile app isn’t just for your attendees!

As attendee satisfaction is often a key factor in the overall success of your event, an app is one of the easiest and most effective ways of improving the attendee experience – your event app may be one of the highest ROI tools at your disposal.

Does your event app work offline?

As long as you’ve encouraged your users to download your app ahead of time (tip: following best practices for event promotion advises you've done this), most of the information in your app will work offline. In the unfortunate case of poor wifi at your event, all your schedules, maps, and lists will still be accessible. You will, however, not be able to use features like photo albums, social media, and messaging until users have an internet connection again.

What languages do you support?

While you can build an app in any language, the Guidebook app is currently only localized for several widespread languages (see the list here). We adjust the language based on the language setting of users’ phones. For example, if a user’s phone is set to French, the Guidebook app will adjust to show all non-app content in French. However, the Guidebook app does not automatically translate any actual data in any individual event app — that data is controlled independently by the app creator!

Can I make changes to my event app after I publish it?

Absolutely. If, at any point, you need to make a change, just jump right back into Builder, make your changes, and hit Publish. Within seconds, your updates will be live. And, if you need to send any last-minute notifications to your users, you can do that straight from your phone or tablet with Mobile Admin.

What kind of support will I get for my event?

We offer a variety of support offerings, depending on your plan level. Email support is offered across all plans -- we boast response times of less than 30 minutes during business hours and also offer limited weekend hours. Support live chat (response times under 20 seconds during business hours) and phone support (9am - 8pm EST) are also available for our flat rate plan customers. If you need additional assistance, such as on-site event support or Pro Services (see question above), we’ve got you covered!

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Our commitment to mobile apps

Our mission is to make it simple to create and manage mobile apps. Over a hundred thousand organisations have used Guidebook to power their mobile experiences. While we’ve had a lot of success powering conference apps, corporate meeting apps, and university campus apps, our platform has been used for thousands of different use cases. Forward-thinking professionals are using Guidebook’s simple app builder to make interactive mobile guides for their student orientations, college campus tours, venues, corporate campuses, parks, and airports. Start going green with iPhone and Android apps built by the best event app company in the industry.