I was talking with a client the other day about increasing attendance for their events. It’s a common problem for small business owners looking to grow. I find I often have three recommendations (big surprise) when I talk with clients about increasing attendance – so here’s what I said in response to…
How do I get more butts in seats?
- Have a Good List – Do you have a list you can talk to about your events? If you are only reaching out to your newsletter list to pitch your event you want them to pay money for, you likely don’t have a well cultivated list. I always suggest clients have a regular newsletter sharing useful content so people can see how great they are. That way when you reach out to pitch your event/book/thing/give me money they’re excited and ready to go! Start to cultivate your list. Have a good free opt-in on your website and make sure people are regularly getting added to your list.
- Ask Referral Partners to Help – Every time my colleagues ask me to promote their event I am more inclined to help if they have sent me some content I can tweak and schedule to post on my social media. Create your list of referral partners (NOW) who have great clients/lists that can help promote your event to THEIR audience (and remember they will ask you the same – or maybe already have…). Give them some images, a link and maybe even a custom registration code…
- Track Everything – As my business coach Debbie Page says, “what you measure matters.” When I have a new program I make sure to use custom codes for discounts and registration. That way I know EXACTLY where every person came from. My clients get a code, every networking group I’m a part of gets a unique code, and any referral partner gets the code of their choice so that I can track where all my leads came from. Why do I do this? So I know what worked and what didn’t. Is that a good networking group for this topic? NOPE! Is this a good referral partner who has prospects eager to hear what I’ve got? YUP!
Planning and getting attendees to your events can be HARD. Make sure you’re setting yourself up for success by cultivating relationships and communicating regularly to save you the stress when the time comes. What else do you do to get “more butts in seats”?
September meant the arrival of The Testaments, Margaret Atwood’s long awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale and I devoured it. September also means the Emmys and return of fall TV and a change in the weather so more time inside to consume pop culture. Here’s what I’ve loved…
I had a meeting the other day with another small business owner. They mentioned that they have a few potential clients that could come through and then their next few weeks would be really busy so they weren’t really looking for new clients right now.