Now that you have begun planning your first workshop and found your perfect venue, you need to let your target market know about your fantastic workshop and what they need to do to secure a seat. There are numerous ways to do this however you should first consider who your target market are and what platform for news and information would they be likely to read. It is no point sending paper invitations if you are dealing with tech savvy people. They are more likely to prefer something online where they can view quickly and not have to remember where they have put it (Book marks are wonderful). In reality, getting a paper invitation or any information for that matter past the Executive Assistant is a bit hit and miss. Essentially, you are cold calling and the EA’s are the gatekeepers for their executives. If they don’t want their exec to see it, they wont. You could literally be throwing your money in the bin (the round filing cabinet as it is affectionately referred to in admin circles). Consider the following:
- Who is my target market?
- What does my invitation look like?
- Is my target market local / interstate / international?
- Do I stand on a street corner and hand out flyers?
- Do I send out HTML emails?
- Do I have brochures printed and send blindly to organisations (hoping this gets past the admin executive to the intended)?
- Do I post to social media sites?
- Do I create events on sites such as Eventbrite, LinkedIn or Facebook?
- Do I create and design them myself? (I would strongly recommend 0nly if you have great design skills and the appropriate software to develop your masterpiece).
When pulling together your invitation, make sure it has all the relevant information and none of the waffle that a lot of workshop presenters put in just to fill up a page.
- Event name and details include who is presenting
- How long is it for and the dates, include session and registration times if applicable
- Venue details include a map and opening and closing times if applicable
- Put in your inclusions, workbooks, freebies, catering
- Ask for dietary requirements (always ensure your venue can cater for any special requirements)
- If you are expecting people to travel from interstate provide accommodation options for them
- Public transport and car parking details
- Prepare your invitation as if you were an attendee yourself and think about the types of information you would want to know
These are simple suggestions but they are the beginning of the experience for your attendees. Include everything that your invitee will need to know to make an informed decision as to whether they will attend or not. This is your only chance to win an invitee over, you need to make sure there is nothing missing. Read it again and again, give it to others to check over for you, make any corrections you need to because once you push the send button, or put that invite in the snail mail there is nothing you can do to undo it.
What other inclusions can you think of .
Please leave a comment below.
