Marketing Seminars On A Tight Budget

It can be difficult to build a successful seminarnmarketing campaign when funds are limited. Take, fornexample, a recent email I received from one of mynnewsletter subscribers. The crux of the seminar npromoter's dilemma was summed up in one sentence:

"I have stretched myself too far, and now facenreality of bills to pay without sufficient funds tonmarket the seminar that is to be my source of income."

Ouch! That hurts. And even if you've never foundnyourself in this exact position, you can still nunderstand the desire to maximize your registrations nwhile minimizing your expenses, right?

When I was going through the Guerrilla Marketing Coachncertification program, the rule I learned is that whennmarketing, you need to invest your time, your money andnyour creativity. At least two of the ingredients arenneeded for a successful marketing campaign.

So ... if you don't have a lot of money to spend, you nplan on investing more of your time and creativity tonmake your marketing work.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

1. Focus on your very best prospects and spend yournresources pursuing them.

2. Don't be afraid to get a little zany to make yournmarketing pieces stand out. Lumpy mail is a great nway to do this.

3. Use promotional tools that last a long time and nare cheap. For most seminar promoters, this meansncreating an effective web site to sell seminar seats.

4. Leverage relationships with past and current clients, ncolleagues, etc. Get them to help promote your eventnto their list in exchange for a share of revenue.

5. Offer your seminar in a teleseminar or webinar format.
Virtual events can be easier to fill because (1) attendeesndon't have to travel and (2) typically, the events arenrecorded, so attendees have the option of listening to nyour material when it's most convenient to them.

6. Pick up the phone and call people. I'm not a fan nof outbound telemarketing. But when money is tight,npicking up the phone and fine-tuning your sales skillsncan be a smart investment of your time.

7. Secure one or more sponsors. Find organizations that nwant to be in front of your attendees, then offer to nget their company name in front of attendees in exchange nfor a fee to cover all or part of your event costs.

There are many ways you can have an effective seminar ncampaign, even without loads of cash to back it up. nn