OneTeam is a veteran in an event organization. If you are running an event as a for-profit activity, then it is critical that you maximize attendance. If it's an educational or promotional event, you should make sure you break even, which generally means a minimum number of attendees. To ensure that your event resonates with your target audience, you need to know who they are and something about their reading, viewing, and listening habits. It sounds technical, but it's mostly common sense.

Marketing and promoting an event rarely involve just one activity. It often requires a mix of creative, organizational, and persuasive skills overlaid with a persistent streak.

Invitations

First, there is a long list of people you probably already know. These may be past or current clients, suppliers or business partners who you think may have some interest in what you have to offer. They should receive a personalized invitation outlining how they can take advantage of the event.

Even if you don't know them all personally, there may be someone in the organization who can help you, and if you have a Customer Relationship Database, there may be accessible data to streamline the exercise.

Email invitations are certainly easier to organize, but unfortunately also easy to delete unread. Postal invitations can add a little value by using the quality card to print a personalized ticket and enclosing the event details as a tri-fold brochure. These are less likely to be overlooked and can sit on the recipient's desk for a while, having an impact that a picture on a screen cannot.

Advertising

If you don't have contact details of some of your target audience and you know that they are likely to be readers of certain trade journals, magazines or newspapers, then it makes sense to run an advert for your event.

Professional design in advertising always impresses. It reflects the professionalism with which the product is viewed and builds an expectation. If your budget allows, put the advertising in the hands of a good graphic designer or advertising agency, such as OneTeam, and they will offer you a range of alternatives that will sell your event in different ways.

If you have a limited budget, you may have to design the advertisement yourself. If you have no experience in the art of writing advertising copy, here are a few guidelines:

• Keep the text direct and to the point
• Use technical language only when absolutely necessary
• Answer the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions
• Who should attend? Who is running the event? Who am I talking to?
• What is the event designed to accomplish?
• Where will it take place?
• When will it take place?
• Why should I be interested?
• How can I confirm my booking?
• Use your branding in the ad
• Use either white space or an eye-catching image to draw attention to your ad
• Proofread the text three times to make sure there are no mistakes, especially with phone numbers, web domain names and email addresses

Your ad should speak directly to the people who need your service as they read it. To accomplish this, the most visible words must represent the benefit your event has for them. For most people in the business world, benefits usually consist of:

• a large amount of valuable information
• a convenient venue
• a short time frame

It also makes sense to have a "hook" line that requires a "yes" answer and draws the reader into the details of the ad out of curiosity. For example

“Are you looking for the best Internet Marketing seminar?”

Finally, don't forget posters as a cheap and often neglected form of advertising. In cities with mass transit systems, there is a huge business-minded audience that may stare at your ads for 45 minutes twice a day. The cost compares well with magazine and newspaper advertising, and the size, position and shape of your ad gives you more creative freedom."

Marketing a seminar, workshop, roadshow, or any other type of successful event can be more work than putting on the event itself. If you're feeling a little dazed, let the experts at OneTeam help!