Kurt Schweitzer | | Do you hold events to help promote your business?
I held a "Maintenance Night" event last night. It's evidence I'm getting better at hosting events. Total cost including promotion, food, and paying my mechanic was less than $150. There were 15 attendees, and business generated by the event will pretty much cover the costs. I also have enough food left over to carry me through the weekend, I've gained a couple new customers, and enhanced the relationship with a dozen more. And I've gotten photos and material for next month's newsletter.
The newsletter was key. It was the primary means of promoting the event, although a blog post, Facebook, Twitter, and the local scooter club's discussion group were also used.
There was no paid advertising to promote this event.
I'm already starting to work on my next event, my annual Holiday Party. Last year that wound up costing me around $600 after factoring in sales generated by it. I think I can do better this year.
One thing I'm planning to try is Constant Contact's new Event Marketing service (http://www.constantcontact.com/event-marketing/index.jsp). It helps you manage everything from announcements through registration (and collecting any fees!) through check-in. I plan to sign up for the free trial next week, which should last me through the end of the year. I'm pretty certain I'll be signing up (and paying for it) after that.
How about you? Do you use events to promote your business? How do you measure their costs and success? What do you do to keep the costs down?
Kurt Schweitzer
Urban Village Scooters
Private Reply to Kurt Schweitzer |
Lamar Morgan 707-709-8605 | | Kurt,
I am actually trying a Meetup for the first time on Nov. 8th. So, I just signed up to use one month to test it out. Now, the event I am having requires registration and the payment of a fee. Meetup makes that easy. Meetup also provides tear-sheets and table cards I can print out with my computer. It also keeps track of all my attendees via RSVP's. One Meetup site location does it all for me.
But, to me, the power of Meetup is not really what happens on my Meetup site so much as it is Meetup.com's ability to connect me to all its other Meetup groups and SPREAD news of my event. The big attraction for me is the network affiliation. If I am having difficulty, I can ask for help - both at the New York City headquarters and from other groups throughout the network. The last thing I need is for my very first Meetup to be a flop.
This is the same situation you face when you spend dollars to advertise in a newspaper, on the radio or TV. There are no guarantees your advertising will work. So, what do you do? You "seed" your effort by enlisting free help from other people. And, why would other people want to help? Because they are Meetup users, too. Because they have a vested interest in Meetup working for them, they have reason to want it to work for you. So, I seek out the help of other Meetup users. While it would be nice if other Meetup users came to my Meetup, just being able to get their help in getting my message to the right people is invaluable.
Lamar Morgan
CDMM - Synergistic Business Marketing
(707)709-8605
Need PR?...Call Lamar!
Private Reply to Lamar Morgan 707-709-8605 |
