Set up tickets, payment processing, and more with Eventsbot

If you're an event planner, there's a new Web service called Eventsbot that's set up to help you with some of the logistics of promoting, and selling tickets online. If you're familiar with EventBrite, Eventsbot isn't too far off: just set up your event, set ticket prices, promote it, and Eventsbot takes a small cut of the sales as its fee. The service is aimed mainly at event planners, but if you're looking to host a small event with controlled price ticketing, services like this can be a little more extensive than basic party invite sites, or build-your-own ticket sellers like Zaptix or TS.com.

Eventsbot comes in two flavors, a standard and premium. The standard is free, although you're not getting some of the more advanced features like event page customization, invoices and payments via PayPal, and integration of the invite page into your site's domain. Signing up for the premium service doesn't require a monthly fee or any contracts, instead the service charges a 2 percent fee on every ticket sold.

If there's anything to be said about improving the service, I found many of the hosted events didn't look very good. This can be remedied by "skinning" them with your site's CSS, but in terms of page layout and readability, I'm more impressed with EventBrite's offerings, as they're slightly easier on the eyes. Considering these pages are a front end for people to pay money and decide whether or not they're coming, first impressions can make a big difference.

Other event planning services include the aforementioned EventBrite, 123 Signup, Acteva, and RegOnline.