Welcome to Rob Brown Council!

People are hungry for information that helps them cut corners and get better at what they do. That's why public or private seminars targeted on your key clients and contacts can be really strong marketing and personal branding strategies. Seminars can also beat other forms of traditional marketing such as advertising, cold calling and even networking for the following four reasons:

1. You can reach a more populated audience.

Advertising can be hit and miss. With the right marketing, you can put a significant number of people in front of you that will hear your expertise as well as your marketing message.

2. You can reach a more qualified audience.

Cold calling can be hit and miss. You’re often reaching out to people who have not expressed an interest in what you do, and so are unreceptive to your message. With seminars, people are effectively putting their hands up and saying, 'Yes, this interests me.'

3. You can reach a more marketable audience.

You can often win orders, assignments and deals by showing what you/your product/your service can do face-to-face that you wouldn’t win in a traditional selling scenario.

4. You can reach a more connected audience.

When people are there to see you speak, they have one thing in common. You. When you go out networking, you might shake 6-10 hands in an hour. With seminars, you might hit 20-90 people in a more connected way. And when they talk to each other before and after, it’s usually about you.

The problem is getting people to turn up.

Public seminars can be notoriously unpredictable and people can be notoriously fickle. So you have to be clever. Here are my best tips to market well and make your seminar a success:

1. Pick good topics.

Rather than pick your favourite or deepest topic and hope they’ll come, do some market research on what the people want. Then pick the closest topic you can to your area of expertise and give it to them.

2. Write good copy.

A juicy title and a strong list of benefits will do as much to bring them in as anything else.

3. Charge fair prices.

Free ain’t value in some people’s books. If you charge, people assume it must be worth something. A price also stops people committing and then not turning up because they have nothing to lose. It also makes sense to cover your costs. Money should be paid in advance to mitigate against no-shows. Give a simple reason like places being limited or for catering reasons...

4. Use innovative pricing.

Early bird discounts, charging more on the door, BAF (bring a friend), 2 for 1 all work well in bringing people in.

5. Add some bonuses.

What can you offer delegates that increases value to beyond even the price of entry? Think of your educational materials, ebooks, ongoing coaching calls, subscriptions, tips booklets, audio CDs or other gifts. These don’t even have to be yours – you could encourage other professionals to offer bonuses in return for free tickets, a speaking slot or higher profile for their website/service.

Planning a seminar takes a lot of doing. But generating good crowds of warm, qualified leads and contacts is much easier if you follow these key marketing steps.

6. Use event organisers.

Just because you're a speaker or expert, doesn't mean you can organise a great event. Even the venue can make a difference to your outcomes. Event organisers can be good value for money and will show you a lot of tricks you may otherwise miss.

7. Invite co-speakers.

This takes some heat off you, gives the audience a fresh look and voice, and also means the other speaker will invite their own guests that you could address. Think of non-competitive professionals who have a similar target market to you.

8. Market online.

Email marketing is huge now. Most seminars are promoted online through viral marketing, online networking groups, joint ventures and targeted email marketing campaigns. Traditional methods of advertising and flyers are a much smaller and relatively more expensive part of the mix.

Rob's Quick Tips

1. You can reach a more populated audience
2. You can reach a more qualified audience
3. You can reach a more marketable audience
4. You can reach a more connected audience.

1. Pick good topics
2. Write good copy
3. Charge fair prices
4. Use innovative pricing
5. Add some bonuses
6. Use event organisers
7. Invite co-speakers
8. Market online