5 ideas to increase event attendance without lowering your price.

A goal for most events is to get enough
participants to reach capacity. Occasionally we work on
an event that sells out quickly and we stop accepting
registrations early, but more often than not there’s
room for more participants.

Event marketing is complex and strategies vary for
different demographics and event types, but doing a few
simple things can make a difference. To help your events
reach capacity, we have come up with five ideas to
increase attendance without lowering your price.

1. Use testimonials from previous events.

Testimonials can be very powerful if used in the right
way and can be applied to any sales situation including
selling an event. The most effective testimonials are
short, and contain specific details about the event not
just “the event was great”. Follow up surveys from
previous events can be a good source of testimonials or
most people will be willing to provide a few sentences
if you ask them. Remember to always get permission
before using a persons quote and name.

2. Partner with another company to get discounts to
attractions, restaurants, services, etc.

This one works best if you are working with participants
from out of town. Offering your event participants
discounts to attractions, or services may provide extra
incentive to attend. Many businesses are willing to
offer a small discount in exchange for promoting their
business to your participants. The discount may seem
minor to you, but it could be just enough to convince
someone to register for your event.

3. Partner with a related but non-competing event to
promote each others event.

If you know of a related but non-competing event contact
the organizer of the other event to see if there is an
opportunity for cross promotion. Maybe you can swap
flyer inserts, mention each other on the event websites
or get a mention at the event. This idea can expose you
to a whole new market, won’t cost anything and will
benefit both events.

4. Include an e-book or whitepaper with registration.

Giving something of value away for free to your event
participants doesn’t have to mean spending money.
E-books or whitepapers can be very valuable and once you
have permission to use one, it is free to send via
email. If you don’t already have a document to send,
find one on the internet by doing a search for “ebooks”.
Contact the author and tell them how you want to use the
document and you may get permission to use it,
especially if it will help promote the author’s
business. Make sure the document you are offering is of
real value to your event participants and that it has a
good title to catch attention.

5. Ask people to enter the name of another person who
may be interested in the event.

If someone is registering for an event they likely have
a colleague or friend who would also be interested in
attending. Most of the time people just don’t think of
suggesting it to others, so you should remind them.
Something as simple as text on the form or in the
confirmation email can be enough to get people to act.
If you want to go to the next step, add fields to the
online form to collect name and phone number or email
address of the referral. Then follow up with a call or
email inviting them to register.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any
questions or comments about this article.

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