By Cathleen Filmore

1. Define Your Value - Start With Positioning

The first question to ask is what value do you bring?  If the answer is none, it’s time to rethink the proposition. The second question to ask is whether the mission statement you created for your event REALLY conveys the value you bring. Don’t be afraid to make a big promise.  If you call your workshop ‘Present with Power’ you’ll attract people who know they need to improve their presentation skills.  But if you make a bigger promise and call it “Own the Podium” you’ll draw in a much larger group.  Who here doesn’t want to own the podium when they speak?

 2. Build Your List

Nothing is more important than building a strong loyal database that you keep in contact with. You can build lists using your website, social media and by collecting business cards and attendee information when you’re a guest speaker.

 It’s not uncommon for speakers to purchase lists. While it may be necessary to use a purchased list in the beginning, in my experience, organic lists are most effective.

 3. Find a Hungry Crowd

Now that you’ve established your topic, you must decide if there’s a crowd hungry for the value you provide. If so, you need to go where they go so you can find them. I recommend that you write a list that covers:

• Where they hang out
• What associations they belong to
• Individual influencers already in your database

 4. Determine Content and Fee and Create Promotional Material

Content: Now it’s time to create an outline that will be part of your marketing material.  The key questions to ask are 1. How will people benefit from attending?  And 2. What bonuses can you add? Consider if you have a colleague with an equally valuable message they’d be willing to share and how you could work that into to your presentation or your bonuses.

Fees: Most speakers go one of two ways with fees: Either they’re afraid to charge what they’re worth or they start out expecting exorbitant fees!  The trick to escaping this trap is to simply ask yourself how much you’d be willing to pay to attend this seminar. What price would be a deal-breaker for you? 

Promotional material: Your promotional material needs to include the following things:

• A great headline
• A stated problem
• Your unique solution
• Testimonials from other gatherings
• A call to action
• An order form

 5. Test Your Premise

Now it’s time to test your premise!  Once you’ve finalized your promotional message and material, run your idea by a few trusted colleagues for feedback before you launch. Keep an open mind and make sure you incorporate this feedback. By this time, we’re often so close to our presentation that we lose our objectivity so it’s important to pay special attention to the opinions of those around us.

 6. Find the Right Venue

The right venue can help your presentation go from good to great – especially if the venue reflects your brand or shares your values. I use Verity Club because it’s a great venue and positions the event as high end.  Also there’s no financial penalty for cancelling. Hotels can be tricky, as they often charge outrageous fees for catering and equipment and have strict cancellation policies. Another trick is to use venues that are designed for daytime events and meetings. For example, St. Andrew’s Conference Centre is an excellent venue.

 7. Sign up for Cvent.com

Cvent is a free service thtat allows you to send out an RFP to every venue in the city.  I recently targeted downtown hotels for my annual speakers showcase. It saved me hours of time because the request is sent out by simply checking off venue names and the responses are all blocked together on Cvent so you can keep track of who replied and who didn’t.  Cvent will also allow attendees to register using credit cards, and good news:  they only charge $1.00 per registration.

 8. Create a Marketing Plan, a Timeline and a Budget

Your marketing plan should cover how many people you want to attend your event and how you plan to reach them.  Create a comprehensive campaign that uses your current database, social media, flyer distribution and some guerilla marketing. 

 Next consider your timeline.  I recommend you work backwards from your end date and try to have all your registrations in a month before the event. 

 Finally, create a budget; how much will you bring in and how much will you spend to you meet your goals?

 9. Find Affiliates

This is a lucrative and often overlooked marketing tactic. Who do you know who will help you spread the word?  I find that my BNI colleagues are a good place to start, but you can go much further than that.

Surely  you have a colleague you’d be happy to cross-promote?  If your event is sponsored, your sponsors may be happy to help you promote too. Don’t overlook them.

 10. Plan the Agenda!

Always remember to prepare for the unexpected and go for it.  Have a great event! 

Cathleen Filmore owns and runs Speakers Gold Bureau.  A well-known industry expert, Cathleen has spoken at national conferences and delivers Fast Track marketing seminars for speakers. Speakers Gold holds an annual search and contest for North America’s top amateur speaker and can be contacted at www.speakersgold.com.