How to write an impactful event listing
A quick guide for local organisers, venues, and cultural partners
When people scroll through what’s on locally, your event listing is often the first, and sometimes only, chance to catch their attention. A well-written listing invites people in, builds trust, and makes it easy to say yes.
Whether you’re adding your event to CultureHosts or anywhere else, this guide will help you create listings that are clear, compelling, and easy to act on.
Start with the basics
Event name
Keep it clear and specific. Avoid using all caps, long subtitles, or phrases that need lots of context to make sense. Think about how someone new to your work would recognise and understand it.
Instead of: Open Day
Try: Spring Open Day at The Pottery Studio
Short description
This is your hook. In a sentence or two, sum up what the event is and why someone might want to go.
Example: Hands-on printing workshop led by a local artist. Suitable for all skill levels.
Full description
Now bring it to life. Who’s the event for? What happens? What makes it special? Keep paragraphs short and avoid jargon. If it’s family-friendly, bring that forward. If booking is required, say so clearly. You don’t need to oversell, just be specific and helpful.
Use the right images
Images are often the first thing people notice. Choosing the right image can reflect the energy or atmosphere of your event. Action shots, people engaged in the activity, or the space where it’s happening all work well.
Avoid posters with a lot of text as they rarely scale well across devices. CultureHosts recommends uploading images that are at least 800x600px.
Be clear about what it is and who it’s for
Categories
Choose one primary and, if needed, a secondary category. Think about where your audience will be browsing or filtering. The more accurate you are, the easier it is to find.
Collections and series
If your event is part of a wider festival or programme, flag that in the listing. If it is the collection (e.g. a multi-day festival), that’s useful to note too. The CultureHosts platform helps you distinguish these.
Online, in-person, or both?
Letting people know how they can attend is important. If it’s hybrid or virtual, make that clear and provide all necessary links.
Make attending easy
Is the event bookable? Free? Paid?
Be up front about costs and booking requirements. If tickets are free but required, say so. If pricing varies, include the range. Transparency builds trust and helps reduce confusion.
Booking link
Make sure the link you include goes straight to the page where someone can book, not a homepage. If you’re using CultureHosts to sell, you’ll already have a direct path built in.
Audience and accessibility info
Is your event suitable for families, teenagers, older adults? Is it relaxed, wheelchair accessible, or BSL interpreted? This info helps the right people know it’s for them.
Get the dates right
Double-check your dates and times. If your event happens multiple times, use the recurring dates option. If it’s an all-day event, make that clear. And if things change, keep the event status up to date so your audience stays informed.
Make it easy for people to say yes
An impactful listing doesn’t need to be clever or over-polished. It just needs to be clear, informative, and inviting. Imagine you’re explaining the event to a friend, what would you say? What do they need to know to show up?
On CultureHosts, your listing doesn’t sit in isolation. It can appear across council sites, tourism platforms, and local publications so the stronger your listing, the further it can go.
Need help writing or refining your listing? Get in touch with us, we’re here to support you.