After a bit of advic
[2022-03-10 05:12:01 AM] : After a bit of advice on how to approach an in person workshop opportunity. More info in thread.
1 Reply
[2022-03-10 05:12:09 AM] : In a few weeks, I've an opportunity to run what would be my first in-person workshop at a race meeting I'll be competing in. I put the idea to my club and they are up for supporting me doing it i.e. providing a room at the venue etc. Their question is "What were you thinking, a paid event, or promo to try and sign up newcomers?" And... I don't know.
I'm over thinking it because of the money aspect verses the attendance. I think if I charge a nominal amount - say £20 - then that could ensure better attendance. Equally free provides less friction.
Unlike doing this online, people will talk between themselves afterwards and the session will be judged. What I want is to be clear on the benefit I'm looking to get from it and that's the bit I'm hazy about.
My options I'm considering are:
1- "investment mindset." do it free, give them value and then use it to then promote my newsletter and paid products. Bonus is awareness. Conversion rate is a question, unless I get them to at least register before attending.
2- Paid talk, give them value but risk lower attendance. Bonus is some revenue, plus, perhaps, attracting a more engaged audience who might be more willing to pay for other products in future.
3- A club sponsored event, where they pay me a nominal amount - even in discounts - and we jointly offer the workshop free for competitors. Again conversion would be a question so could see about getting them to register for the event.
Wider context. I've an opportunity to hold these kinds of talks for a big name brand later this year. They know me but also know I haven't done much in person talks. I'd like to do this, and get the pictures of me standing up in front of an audience, to reassure them about using me.
Any thoughts and experience?
[2022-03-10 06:26:33 AM] : How much can you make from giving the in person workshops for the big name brand?
If they pay a lot, it may make sense to treat the club workshops as an opportunity to practice running workshops and deemphasize money or conversions.
[2022-03-10 08:51:27 AM] : Yeah I see where you're coming from. The big name brand thing is a separate opportunity and not my focus in terms of revenue generation - it will be a bonus if it happens but the bigger value I see is a credibility link back to my audience with what I'm already doing.
[2022-03-10 08:58:07 AM] : From my coworking world, the current reality that live events are in a very unusual spot right now, where turnout for free in-person events is even lower than it was previously. traditionally it was normal for 30-40% of people who RSVP to no-show. Now it's closer to 60-70%.
That said, I think the smart things you've mentioned here are the double win of:
• getting some practice + photos so you can beef up the success of the bigger brands.
• basically treating the talk as an ebomb, complete with a CTA that people can opt into
[2022-03-10 08:58:46 AM] : it sounds like you know that in all cases, the talk itself isn't going to be the money maker, but a combo of leverage + onramps for your audience.
[2022-03-10 09:00:27 AM] : for a professional talk, I think a nominal ticket to attend is a smart move now because of the fact that people who pay are more likely to attend AND are more likely to follow through.
free event will likely get more RSVPS, but the same or even lower actual attendance.
[2022-03-10 09:02:18 AM] : Yeah you're right. I've not done a live workshop yet so just trying to get my head around my approach to this - as I'm coordinating through my club it could end up being a "thing" I do whenever I'm at the track. Therefore I'm kind of looking to go in with a clear position, as that will set expectations.
[2022-03-10 09:03:03 AM] : maybe you can think of the track as a watering hole
[2022-03-10 09:03:24 AM] : your participation + talks as ebombs + offers to get people to your site/list.
[2022-03-10 09:03:42 AM] : Yeah I do these days! ... Come back from a weekend and write loads of eBomb ideas out!
[2022-03-10 09:03:57 AM] : it might also be smart to establish that low-key baseline with them, while still leaving the door open to more "premium" stuff with them.
[2022-03-10 09:04:07 AM] : where you can say "i'll do this extra hands-on thing" that's more like a workshop
[2022-03-10 09:04:18 AM] : that they subsidize by sponsoring
[2022-03-10 09:04:22 AM] : or something like that.
[2022-03-10 09:04:45 AM] : Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think that is the right way to approach it.
[2022-03-10 09:05:38 AM] : Free for participants but get the club to sponsor it and also then help promote and support it. We can always try that route, see what the interest is like and then take it from their.
[2022-03-10 09:10:44 AM] : right! that also aligns incentives.
[2022-03-10 09:11:03 AM] : that's the piece I'm always looking for: what ways make this a mutual win for the most people.
[2022-03-16 12:35:48 PM] : Bit of an update on this. My club don't want to sponsor the event but have promised to still promote it, give me a room and also help me to run it at future events if people find it useful. Therefore wondering to charge a little for it (£49.95) and possibly limit the number of people in the room (15) or to just do it as a free eBomb and hope for an upsell. My thought is that people will actually value the same event if they pay for it verses if it is free. Any thoughts on that alex
[2022-03-16 06:35:28 PM] : two schools of thought here:
[2022-03-16 06:35:53 PM] : 1 - the one you have, which does make sense
[2022-03-16 06:37:10 PM] : 2 - a free (or lower priced) event that gives you a sense of how good your club is at promoting your stuff. more of an ebomb + test to see what they're capable of. e.g. will they even be able to get you 15 people if it's free or lower priced?
[2022-03-16 06:37:57 PM] : i often find that other people are very bad at promoting stuff for me (even with the best of intentions), especially when they have no skin in the game.
[2022-03-16 06:39:10 PM] : if you have good evidence that they will be able to get 15*49.95 seats sold, go for it. if you're unsure, I'd temper expectations and treat it as an investment for the other upsides.
[2022-03-16 06:39:21 PM] : and then if they surprise you in a good way, you know for next time.
[2022-03-16 06:39:54 PM] : e.g. most recently I did a thing with Teachable, who boasted 100,000+ subscribers they'd promote the session to.
[2022-03-16 06:40:21 PM] : they got less than 30 RSVPs TO A FREE SESSION. I can do better than that with a fraction of the reach.
[2022-03-16 06:40:47 PM] : sadly, that's pretty normal.
[2022-03-16 06:40:50 PM] : in my experience anyway.
[2022-03-17 03:20:01 PM] : Thanks for this alex... Yeah I think you're right. I have no feel for how many people would be interested. What I could do is in effect treat it as one big eBomb. Make it free - although registered event so I know who's in the room - offer them genuine value, with the offer of more. I can work on what more looks like but a weekend offer and/or some 1-2-1 support for a fee makes sense. Thanks as ever buddy.