In the deep, dark depths of winter, how do you get people excited about anything? For many people it is a time to hide under the duvet and hope the spring is not too far away. A few mince pies, some alcohol and a roaring fire. It is not the time for going out.

So how do you shift the couch potatoes? 

It all starts with a story. Look at the successful campaigns around you. There are the January sales. After all those high prices before December shops need to get rid of their surplus stock for the New Year. This is a plausible story, as stores plan their December collections many months in advance. They do not know what the exact demand will be. The demand for things such as twinkly lights, plastic snowmen and mince pies tends to wane after the end of December. So you  have a chance to buy them at an excellent price ready for NEXT year. Once the excess stock is gone, it is gone. So there is limited availability. If you do not ACT now you will miss the bargains. They can email you, because you have bought from them before.

Let’s look at how that might work for an event. First, who are you going to get targeting? Let’s say it is entrepreneurs in their thirties. They have worked for someone else and now they have built up skills and want to be working for themselves. What are their drivers going to be? Health, wealth or relationships? Let’s say ‘wealth’. Now, who is going to be the main attraction to the event? Would it be someone like Russell Brunson? He has helped make many people wealthy. So you have a great attraction. However, you know that he commands a large fee. So you need to have a lot of ticket sales BEFORE you confirm with him that he is speaking. How about early-bird tickets? A discount that ends early, but show you that there is enough interest to confirm your main speaker and venue. You arrange the event. You and Russell turn up. He is a bit annoyed and you are a lot poorer.

You will need to start planting seeds long before that. So a campaign through emails and social media hinting at who you have and the transformation they will make to people’s lives should go out before the ticket sales. This means that your prospects are being warmed up before the ticket sales.

Do entrepreneurs in their thirties know who Russell Brunson is? You may need to educate them.

But how do you contact entrepreneurs in their thirties and how do you know this will interest them?

You start by asking them! Find groups on social media, visit events that will be inhabited by those people. Get their details and permission. Your successful event starts by asking the relevant people if they would be interested. Ask them what they want. Perhaps they are more interested in Russell Brand, or Robert Kiyosaki.  

When you send them materials about the event you can say, ‘You asked for this, and I have managed to deliver it for you.’ Not only that, but I have this person coming and this one… at this amazing venue. Keep them in the loop. Let them follow along the story with you. If there are disasters in the planning, let them know. People love to follow trials and tribulations.

Start with an idea, but ask people what they want. Use this to build a list of contacts. Listen. Tell the story to build excitement. Over-deliver. (And you now have a list of interested people for your next event. With the help of Event Bridge you will easily have categorised them into people who attended and who didn’t. You can then follow them and their interests in creating your next event.) 

By the way, if you don’t know who Russell Brunson is you can click here to get a free copy of his Expert Secrets book. As an affiliate, I will get a proportion of any purchases you make.