Getting the marketing just right for your event can make a huge difference in its success. Part of getting it right all comes down to the timing of when and where your marketing takes place.
One of the most common mistakes I see when it comes to event marketing is that companies don’t allow enough time to market their event correctly.
If you hold, or are planning to hold, an annual event such as a boot camp, live coaching or training session, you must allow enough time for your marketing efforts to reach your target audience. For most businesses, holding these types of events can generate up to 75% of their income. That’s why it’s so important to get the timing right the first time.
The bigger the event, the more time you need to allow for marketing. Let’s say your big event is taking place in October, your marketing plans should take effect no later than April. Notice I said that this is when your plans should take effect not when you should start your marketing strategy.
If your event is later in the year, you should start planning your strategy at the beginning of that year. This means figuring out who is going to do the marketing. Can you do it in-house or will you need to outsource? Will your event have a theme? What marketing methods will you use to distribute your message to potential attendees? Direct Mail? Email? Social Media?
You will also want to decide on whether or not to offer an “early-bird” registration to your regular customers. You can also offer a possible late or last-minute registration to those that may not be familiar with you or your business. With either of these options, dates will need to be decided on ahead of time for deadlines. You will also need to base your marketing strategy on those dates so that the right messages go out to your audience with enough time for them to respond.
As you can see, your event marketing isn’t something that should be taken lightly. There’s a lot to consider and the more time you give yourself to plan, the more time you will have to put everything into place correctly and make your event a success.
