Running workshops can be a great way to accelerate your business. But how do you get enough of the right people to attend your workshops? In this blog we are going to cover six ways to get the right people to your workshop.
Here are six things to consider when creating your workshop:
- What are the minimum and maximum numbers of people you can have attend?
It is tempting to say “as many as possible” but if your venue can only comfortably seat 25, then this is the number you should aim for. You also need to consider the type of workshop it is. For example, if it’s a very intimate workshop and where people are really disclosing their deepest darkest fears or concerns, then you may want to have a smaller event with less people in it. Managing the intimacy factor is very important here.
2. How are your activities and interactions going to work based on the minimum and maximum number of people?
You need to ensure that your activities fit the number of people in your workshop. You want activities that bring value to your audience. Learning through “games” or activities aids in recall making your workshop an enjoyable and memorable experience.
3. Know your sales funnel
Think about who the right people are to attend your workshop from a sales perspective. You need to know your target audience. Line up your workshop to where your premium product goes. What is the next step as they progress through the sales funnel? Ultimately you want your workshop to deliver value and lead to the next stage of working with you for the right people.
4. Give people enough time to register for your workshop
How much time you allow depends on the type and duration of your workshop. For example, I would allow a minimum of four weeks if it is less than half day. If your workshop is a day or two long, then I recommend two months. Giving people enough time to work your workshop into their schedule will help to increase your attendance numbers.
5. Promote your workshop
Once you have completed the above steps, promote your workshop. Promoting your workshop in your local area is a great start. Does this mean promoting in your local newspaper or creating some flyers? It depends. Doing it that way can make it hard to reach your specific target audience because not everybody will be interested in your product/service just because they live in your local area. But if time and budget allows you it can be a great add on.
Social media is definitely a media you should use to promote your workshop. Post on local Facebook pages where you are allowed to promote your business. You can also segment your target audience through Facebook ads ensuring your message is seen by the right people.
Also make sure you don’t just do workshop promoting posts. You need to engage and entertain your audience first. So make sure you do some promotional posts as well as educational and entertaining ones too.
Email marketing is another powerful tool for promoting your workshop. Just make sure you highlight the location of your event as you may have people on your database that are not locals.
6. Put a dollar value on it
But conducting a free workshop will surely get me more bums on seats, right? Not necessarily. Putting a dollar value on your workshop commits people to come. Often with free events people will respond that they are coming and not turn up as circumstances change. So how much should I charge? This depends on your target audience and the content that you are delivering. It can range anywhere from $15 for a couple of hours to $500 to $1500.
Utilising these six steps will get you closer to getting the right people to your workshop. I’d love to hear what workshops you have planned or have already run to accelerate your business. How did you promote it? How many people turned up? What did you learn?
Here is a full YouTube video
To find out more on how I can help you with this, drop me a line
Cynthia@createactionnow.com.au