--- title: "Create promo codes for your event | Ticket Fairy Guides" description: "Give a partner, a mailing list or an early crowd a better price with a promotion: you choose the discount, the ticket types it applies to, the codes people enter and the limits." canonical: "https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/create-promo-codes" --- 1. [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/) 2. [Guides](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides) 3. Create promo codes for your event Promotions and discounts # Create promo codes for your event Promoters and venue teams use promo codes to offer a partner, a newsletter or their earliest buyers a better price without changing the ticket price for everybody else. In one promotion, you set the discount, the ticket types it applies to, the codes people enter and how many times each code can be used, and you can see how many tickets each code sold. Fai, your AI teammate, can check sales, update your event or change a ticket when you ask. Takes: 8 minutes [Watch the video: Create promo codes for your event](https://d3lcdr963b5ubl.cloudfront.net/uploads/guides/video/create-promo-codes/47060cf57483e04d53272f842f8d3cad40ff43b9c6ddd6c8a4ea5046698aae7b/a930b290c41349da/guide.mp4) · [English](https://www.ticketfairy.com/resources/captions/guides/guide-create-promo-codes-a930b290c413.vtt) ***Watch how it's done** 4 min 9 s, with captions.* - [Open Promotions and select Create promotion](#step-1) - [Describe the promotion](#step-2) - [Add the codes](#step-3) - [Add the tickets and choose the discount](#step-4) - [Set how many times a code can be used](#step-5) - [Apply it automatically at a basket size, if you want](#step-6) - [Set when the code works, if not straight away](#step-7) - [Create the promotion](#step-8) - [Test the code as a buyer](#step-9) ## Before you start - You're an owner or admin of the event, which is what you need to open **Promotions**. - You have decided the discount, the ticket types it applies to and roughly how many people should be able to use it. 1. ## Open Promotions and select Create promotion [Play from here](#guide-video) Open your event, select **Marketing**, then **Promotions**, and select **Create promotion**. The list shows every promotion on the event, its active period and how many times its codes have been used. **Note:** A promotion belongs to one event. Set the same discount up on each event that should offer it, or ask Fai to create it on several at once. ![The Promotions list for an event, with the active period and redemptions of each promotion and the Create promotion button](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-promotions--promotions-list.png) *Marketing, Promotions.* 2. ## Describe the promotion [Play from here](#guide-video) Under **Description**, enter a name your team will recognize, such as Newsletter 25% off. Buyers never see the description. ![Promotion editor with the description Newsletter 25% off, code NEWS25, two ticket types at 25% off with their limits, an October schedule and the sales tracking link panel](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-promotions--percentage-discount.png) *Marketing, Promotions, Edit Promotion.* 3. ## Add the codes [Play from here](#guide-video) Under **Promo codes**, enter each code people will type and select **Add code**. Use only letters and numbers, up to 25 characters. **Note:** Keep a code short enough to copy from a message. Several codes on one promotion share its discount, tickets and limits, which suits one deal sent to several partners who each want their own code. 4. ## Add the tickets and choose the discount [Play from here](#guide-video) Select **Add tickets**, tick the ticket types the code applies to, choose the **Pricing Adjustment** and enter the amount, then select **Save**. **Percentage Discount** takes a share off the price, **Fixed Discount** takes an amount off, and **Fixed Price** sets the face value of each ticket to the amount you enter. **Note:** You can add ticket types together when they get the same discount and limit, and add the others separately. On an event sold in more than one currency, the dialog asks for the amount in each currency. ![The Add ticket to the Promotion dialog, with the ticket types to choose, the Pricing Adjustment and the discount amount](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-promotions--add-tickets.png) *Marketing, Promotions, Add tickets.* 5. ## Set how many times a code can be used [Play from here](#guide-video) While adding tickets, enter a **Quantity limit per code per ticket type (optional)** to cap each code on each ticket type separately. For one total across every ticket type, turn on **Promo codes have a set number of uses across all ticket types** on the promotion and enter **Quantity limit per code across all ticket types**. **Note:** The shared total replaces the separate limit on each ticket type. A limit never adds stock: the ticket allocation is still the most you can sell, whatever the code allows. 6. ## Apply it automatically at a basket size, if you want [Play from here](#guide-video) To give the discount to anyone who buys enough tickets, enter the number in **Auto-apply when cart reaches this many tickets (optional)**. The discount then applies with no code once the basket holds that many tickets in total, counting tickets of every type. **Note:** Buyers can't enter the code of a promotion that applies itself, so you don't need to share it. [Offer group discounts on your event tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/offer-group-discounts-on-event-tickets) 7. ## Set when the code works, if not straight away [Play from here](#guide-video) Under **Schedule Promotion (optional)**, choose a **Start time** and an **End time**, or leave both empty for a code that works from the moment you create it. You can't set one without the other, and the end must come after the start. **Note:** If a buyer uses a code outside its dates, checkout refuses it with a message that it isn't valid. 8. ## Create the promotion [Play from here](#guide-video) Select **Create**. The promotion appears in the list, switched on and ready for the first buyer. 9. ## Test the code as a buyer [Play from here](#guide-video) Open your event page in a private browser window, add the ticket to the basket and enter the code where checkout asks for a promo code. The discounted price appears on the ticket and in the total before you pay. **Note:** If checkout refuses the code, it's usually outside its dates, at its limit, or entered for a ticket type that isn't attached to the promotion. ## Or have it done for you Fai can create a promotion with its codes, discount, ticket types, limits and dates, add a code to one later, switch a promotion off and tell you how each code is doing. She shows you the promotion before she creates it and asks you to approve it. The whole workflow is also in the dashboard. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` Find my event by name and create a promotion called with code : off , , valid . Show me the tickets, the discounted prices, the limit and the dates, then ask me to approve it before you create it ``` ## From your terminal Install the CLI from [our CLI page](https://www.ticketfairy.com/cli), sign in with `ticketfairy auth login`, and choose the brand you are working on with `ticketfairy brand use `. `ticketfairy brand list` and `ticketfairy event list` show the IDs the other commands use. Use the CLI to list the promotions on an event and to switch one off. Creating and changing a promotion is done in the dashboard or through Fai. ### List the promotions on the event, with their codes. ``` ticketfairy promotion list ``` ## Share a link that enters the code for the buyer [Play from here](#guide-video) Open the promotion and, beside the code under **Promo codes**, select **Copy promotion link**. The link opens your event page with the code already applied, so a partner's audience never has to type it. Fai can give you the link for a code. MCP and the CLI do not build promotion links. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` Give me the promotion link for code on ``` ## Give a partner a live view of what their code sold [Play from here](#guide-video) Open the promotion, choose the code under **Promo code**, select **Generate Sales Tracking Link**, then **Copy tracking link**. The link opens a read-only page of sales by promo code, with no login, for the partner to keep. **Note:** **Regenerate tracking link** replaces the link and the old one stops working. Save the promotion before generating a link for a code you added a moment ago. Fai can generate the tracking link for a code. MCP and the CLI do not. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` Generate a sales tracking link for code on and give me the link ``` ## Change a promotion that is already in use [Play from here](#guide-video) Select the promotion in the list, change its codes, tickets, discount, limits or dates, and select **Save**. Buyers who already ordered keep the price they paid, and the change applies to the next buyer. **Note:** A code you remove stops working at once, and the orders placed with it stay in your sales figures. Fai can add a code to a promotion or change its name, tickets, limits and dates, after showing you the change. Your own AI assistant can make the same change over the MCP server, after your approval in your MCP client, and the CLI updates a promotion from a JSON body. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` On , open the promotion , show me its codes, tickets, limits and dates, then and ask me to approve it before saving ``` ### From your own assistant, over MCP The copied MCP configuration includes `--read-only`. Remove `--read-only` only when you want your assistant to make changes. Your assistant makes routine changes when you ask, and checks with you before a destructive action if your client supports that. If your client cannot ask, make the change in your dashboard. ``` Find my event , show me the promotion , then and ask me to approve it before saving ``` ## Delete a promotion [Play from here](#guide-video) In the list, select the promotion's trash button, check the promotion named in the confirmation, then select **Delete**. Every code on it stops working, and orders placed with it keep their discount and stay in your reports. **Note:** If you delete one by mistake, ask Fai to switch it back on. ![The Delete promotion confirmation naming the promotion about to be switched off](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-promotions--delete-promotion.png) *Marketing, Promotions, Delete promotion.* Fai can switch a promotion off, or back on, after showing you what it covers. Your own AI assistant can do the same over the MCP server, after your approval in your MCP client, and the CLI deletes one by id. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` Show me the promotion on with its codes and tickets, then ask before switching it off ``` ### From your own assistant, over MCP The copied MCP configuration includes `--read-only`. Remove `--read-only` only when you want your assistant to make changes. Your assistant makes routine changes when you ask, and checks with you before a destructive action if your client supports that. If your client cannot ask, make the change in your dashboard. ``` Find my event , show me the promotion with its codes, and ask me before you delete it ``` ### From your terminal The CLI deletes a promotion by its id. #### Delete a promotion. ``` ticketfairy promotion delete --force ``` ## Questions you might have **Where do I see which code sold which tickets?** The **Redemptions** column on the Promotions list shows how many paid orders each promotion has had. For the tickets and revenue behind each code, open **Performance** and select **Sales by Promo Code**. **Should I use a percentage, a fixed discount or a fixed price?** A percentage keeps the same proportion off every price release, so it suits a code that stays live through several tiers. A fixed discount is easiest to explain in a message. A fixed price is for a partner deal where you have agreed exactly what their audience pays. **Can one code work on several ticket types with different discounts?** Yes. Add the ticket types to the same promotion separately, each with its own pricing adjustment and limit. One code then gives each ticket type its own discount. **What happens to orders when I remove a code or switch a promotion off?** Nothing changes for them. Each buyer keeps the price they paid, and the order stays counted against the code in your reports. The code stops working for the next buyer. **Why is a code being refused at checkout?** Check that the promotion is still on the Promotions list, that the date and time are inside its schedule, that the code has uses left, and that the ticket in the basket is one of the ticket types attached to the promotion. Checkout refuses a code made for another event. **Can a promo code unlock tickets that are hidden from the public?** Yes. Attach the hidden ticket types with **No Discount** and the code reveals them at full price. The complete workflow is in the access-code guide. **Does a discount reduce the fees a buyer pays?** The discount changes the ticket price, and the ticketing fee follows whatever your event charges on that price. The basket shows the buyer the final total before they pay. ## Still have a question? Book a demo and we will answer it on a call, on your kind of event. Or create your account and see it for yourself. [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required. ## Related guides - [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/promo-codes-and-discounts) - [Offer group discounts on your event tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/offer-group-discounts-on-event-tickets) - [Unlock hidden tickets with an access code](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/unlock-hidden-tickets-with-an-access-code) - [Track which promotion sells your tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/track-which-promotion-sold-your-tickets) - [Reward buyers who bring friends to your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/reward-buyers-for-referrals) - [Set up ticket types](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/set-up-ticket-types) - [Share a live ticket sales report with a partner](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/share-a-live-sales-report) - [Every Ticket Fairy guide](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides) ## Do this on your own event Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call. [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) ## Sell tickets with Ticket Fairy Start free with unlimited events and no monthly fee, and choose a paid plan when you need more. - Set up your event in minutes - Free events are free - Fai, your AI teammate, is built in [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required. ## See it on a call Book a demo and we will show you how Ticket Fairy handles your kind of event. [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features/promo-codes-and-discounts) ### Tips for selling more tickets Practical advice from working event organizers, and every new guide as it is published. We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime. --- This page is on Ticket Fairy, a ticketing, marketing and operations platform for live events and the venues that host them: festivals, club nights, concerts, conferences and tours, and night clubs, beach clubs and concert venues. It grows revenue with fan rewards that turn an audience into a sales channel, and runs the money side with payments and payouts, Vault business banking, and working capital advanced against ticket sales. [How Ticket Fairy ticketing works](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing) · [Ticket Fairy for AI assistants](https://www.ticketfairy.com/llms.txt)