Marketing Seminars On A Tight Budget

It can be difficult to build a successful seminar
marketing campaign when funds are limited. Take, for
example, a recent email I received from one of my
newsletter subscribers. The crux of the seminar
promoter's dilemma was summed up in one sentence:

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

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

When I was going through the Guerrilla Marketing Coach
certification program, the rule I learned is that when
marketing, you need to invest your time, your money and
your creativity. At least two of the ingredients are
needed for a successful marketing campaign.

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

Here are a few ideas to consider:

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

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

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

4. Leverage relationships with past and current clients,
colleagues, etc. Get them to help promote your event
to 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) attendees
don't have to travel and (2) typically, the events are
recorded, so attendees have the option of listening to
your material when it's most convenient to them.

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

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

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