So I’m talking about doing events today. . .
There is no bigger waste of time than putting something big together, having it succeed and then helping to clean up with nary a plan in place to follow-up with the attendees.
If you’re going to put together a Tupperware Party, Weekend Retreat, Grand Opening, or Music Concert – don’t forget the follow-up. That’s the most important part.
You’ve got to be able to capture names and e-mail addresses at the minimum. Since the people attending have already overcome all the major hurdles to even get to your event, you might as well not waste what time and energy you’ve spent.
Here are some ideas to do that:
1. The wine and cheese. Find a partner who’ll provide something like the refreshments. Make them this offer, “I’ll buy your wine and cheese and rave about you if you send an e-mail to your database promoting my event.” Then have that person send their list to your “event registration” page where you’ll collect names and e-mails.
When someone else promotes you, you get all the credibility they bring to the table which is often the only reason people need to come to the event.
2. Record the event. Providing the recording to people who attended is great, too. That gives you a reason to collect names and e-mails – so you can send them the recording. That’s great for music performances because people tie memories to events like that and usually would love a recording.
3. Photos. Giving people photos means you’ll have to get their e-mail to be able to tell them when the photos are ready. And this gives you the opportunity to post them on Facebook, tagging the attendees so the event goes somewhat “viral”.
4. The Red Paper. Sometime during the event mention that if you want to get more information on the topic to just ask for the “red paper” at the end. On that paper put the website where they’ll opt-in for more information. Once someone gets the red paper and other people see it, they’ll all want it.
5. Business card bucket. That’s self explanatory – but you’ll have to give something to get them to put their card in the bucket. If you’ve had any “offers to help” from friends or co-workers, see if they can strike up a free giveaway for the business card bucket.
Now, the only way this works is if you have a way to capture e-mail addresses and send emails. There are lots of rules governing how you can send e-mail – so be sure to follow them.
I use aWeber for my marketing (like this email) which allows me to send out “blasts” whenever I want but also to automate a stream that everyone gets no matter when they join. If you don’t have a system –
check out aWeber. Those are just a few ways to get people from offline to inline with your agenda.
