Marketing Your Meeting
Are you in charge of filling the seats at your events? Here's a checklist designed to help you increase your potential attendees' response rate.
Marketing Tactics - Direct mail
- Telemarketing
- Online services
- Advertising
- Fax on demand
- Direct marketing
Increase Your Response (in descending order of importance)
- Concentrate your mailing list on past attendees.
- Use dramatic headlines in promotional materials.
- Cultivate inquiries with follow-up phone calls.
- Create an irresistible offer.
- For workshops, use a title that is the key benefit of attending.
- Consider the best time of week and best month for your audience.
- Use the active voice in all your copy.
- Use an attention-grabber as your P.S. in your cover letter.
Make an Irresistible Offer - Offer easy registration options: phone, fax, mail, e-mail, Web.
- Accept several different types of payment.
- Explain the cancellation policy.
- Name a specific person to call for more information or to register.
- Offer a guarantee, such as: refund plus guarantee; refund plus free registration in another program.
- Provide hotel contact details.
- Offer discounts: reduced hotel rates; volume (group) discounts, bring-a-colleague discounts; tuition agreements with organizations that send a large number of registrants each year.
Online Marketing Tips - Encourage participants to e-mail questions to speakers.
- Create a pre- and post-seminar listserv so registrants can network.
- Post upcoming events.
- Allow online registration.
- Offer site visitors an option to send e-mail requests for information.
- Create links with affinity groups.
Reduce Cancellations - Continue marketing after people register.
- Mail questionnaires to registrants asking what they expect from the seminar.
- Send follow-up thank yous.
- Send e-mail encouragement.
- Tell constituents what they will receive after they register.
Brochure Essentials - A title that suggests the key benefit of the conference
- A program agenda (at least 30 percent of the brochure)
- A summary of at least 10 benefits of attending
- A quantification of the benefits of attending
- Instructor(s) background
- A pledge (quote) from the instructor(s): "After you take this course, you'll be able to ... "
Brochure Copy Tips - Talk to your audience; use "you" statements rather than "we" statements.
- Stress benefits.
- Use short sentences with one idea per sentence.
- Paragraphs should be no longer than seven lines.
- Restrict two-thirds of your words to five letters or fewer.
- Use serif type for body copy; sans serif for headlines.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2010 Penton Media Inc.
Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus
Advertisement
Advertisement
Meetings Collaborative
Rate your experience with meeting venues and suppliers.
| Powered by: Meetings Collaborative | |
Apex Webinars
Demonstrating Leadership in Turbulent Times
Join MeetingsNet, the Convention Industry Council, and two meeting professionals to learn how seeking out professional development and volunteer opportunities can enhance your career advancement. Click here for free registration.
View it Now! | View APEX Archives
Webinars
Association Day: How to Plan a Winning International Meeting
Join MeetingsNet for two webinars for association professionals taking meetings outside the U.S., featuring expert panelists covering topics from launching your first international meeting to budgeting, sponsorship, and negotiations.
View on Demand | View Archived Webinars
Advertisement



















