Now that I have a clear understanding of what the opportunity is I need to determine just what the product is going to be. I will usually take 4 keyword phrases from my list and dig off of these words using my work research tool and build more targeted lists of words and phrases geared around my newly defined events based business opportunity that i am now looking to define. I then sort this list into categories and string the most searched phrases into a list under each category heading. My categories in this instance Invitations, Marketing, Entertainment, Catering etc.

Next to each keyword phrase in my lists I add a column, in this column I list proposed content or a particular product or service that I feel would solve the searchers problems. Now, at this stage I have just built myself a list of content based on key word phrases people are currently searching, likely product types and services that are going to satisfy these peoples needs and or wants within a specific niche market that I know has high internet usage volume with an increasing trend of people turning to the internet for solutions and its a niche I am interested in. Phew.

This list is gold, my friends, and it is all you need to design a website’s content pages, products and services to succeed online. Building it and driving traffic to it is another story altogether.

Now, the Event Listed application’s functionality and blogging content has been derived from this exact process, which makes it easy for me because I know I am not going to have to struggle to find traffic blindly after I have invested in the site / product. You can be confident that if you know how to build a good website & how to drive traffic to it, then you can spend the right money on it. If raising capital, you can imagine how much easier it is going to be if you want to show investors the process you have followed in determining the opportunity…

This post has been included in our “Event Launch Guidelines” training program. Click for more information.

I often come across businesses who set their ticket prices very low to attract bigger crowds. The problem is that their brand, sales, marketing and even the event itself suffers as a consequence. The event tickets price depends on the perceived value to the audience. If the audience is not excited about attending they will not want to pay too much for it - chances are they wont buy the tickets even when they are offered at lower rates. What happens is that the cost of arranging the event becomes more than the revenue earned through the event. Whats the point of going through the hassle if you’re not going to earn big profits. Right?

If you can somehow increase the actual and the perceived value of the event for the audience, you will be able to charge a higher rate for the tickets, which if done right, will in turn sell more tickets as well. It will also allow you to draw more attention to prospective new customers as apposed to ones who have purchased from you before. I have posted before about the cost of a new customer being a one off cost, why not build this cost into new launch campaigns. Increased value that is measured in ticket pricing will also demonstrate traction and excitement around your event to prospective sponsors which will result in your ability to get them to pay a lot to get their brand in front of your audience. So, in essence, the entire success of the event could come down to the perceived value.

Think about the perceived value like this: A glass of water will have a higher perceived value to a thirsty athlete than a person who is not thirsty. So even though the glass of water is the same physically - it has different levels of perceived value to a different audience. Similarly, your targeted audiences need to want to be a part of your event. They need to feel like they belong there. They need to feel a sense of ownership and association with your event. They need to be excited about it all the way up to the event day. The value of your event to them should be incredibly high, so that they become willing and mentally ready to pay high prices to be a part of it.

The way to build perceived value is by hitting the right emotional triggers in the right audience at the right time. By engaging your audience in a conversation about the event, you are going to have more chance to hit these triggers than you would if you hand them a brochure or flier. Its about building a story that has the target visualizing themselves being in the middle of a community of like-minded people who are all enjoying an experience that none of them would want to miss…

This post has been included in our “Event Launch Guidelines” training program. Click for more information.

For every event - whether public or private - whether a baby shower or the Oscars, make sure you have enough time for precise planning. Bigger events, like conferences or launches can take up to a year’s worth of planning; whereas smaller private parties can take just a few months. Make sure you get started way ahead to make the most out of your event.

Importance of purpose-driven events:

Deciding the purpose of an event is as important as finding faith. Without it the event can be synonymous to wandering in forests without direction. The purpose of the event has to benefit everyone involved: your clients (or the “owners” of the event), your corporate sponsors and your audiences. Your purpose should ideally outline the goals and objectives of the event for each of the stakeholders. As an example, the purpose of a fundraiser could be: raising funds for clients, increasing brand awareness for the sponsors, an opportunity to connect with interesting people for your audiences, a chance to get creative for your management team.

Do your homework:

If you get this part right, you will be able to make good decisions hereon for the right venue, the right date, the right launch strategies and the right promotions. Make sure the purpose for the event is understood properly so that the time and expenses needed to properly stage, publicize and evaluate the event are justified and accepted. Do you want to reach out to new users? thank your supporters? Raise funds? Create awareness? Have fun?

Make it measurable:

Develop ways to evaluate the event’s success. Measurable event objectives may include attendance, the amount of money raised, etc.

At the end of the event you should be able to answer these questions:

1- Were the goals and objectives met? Why or why not?

2- What were the things that worked and what didn’t.

3- Which of the vendors and entertainment options should be used again?

4- Was the event well attended? Did you manage to get the targeted audiences to attend?

5- Was informal and formal feedback about the event positive?

The answers to these questions should become the corner stone of your next events launch strategy.

Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)

Today’s tip! One stop shopping for all your event marketing in social media needs you can’t go past my Events Listed networking and marketing platform. It’s invite only, here’s a backdoor pass on me.

Planning events is just like designing. That is why whenever I have to pick someone for my team I look for those that have a good mental balance. Let me explain: The most ideal team members so far have been people who are meticulous planners (left brained) and highly creative (right brained) at the same time. This may sound a little too idealistic but its not. You can even get intelligent people and train them with mental exercises or activities to use both sides of their brains.

Planning events or businesses requires creativity. You need to find new ways of targeting customers, new ways of promoting events, new ways of building communities, new ways of planning themes. Everything works at a fast pace these days, which puts the customer expectation bars high. You can only expect to meet those bars if you can differentiate your services and products significantly and manage to stand out from the crowd.

So, instead of looking for best practices or easy way outs, take time out to design your events as if they were a painting. Paint out new ways of blending all of the different elements together to make picturesque memories.

Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)

We come across many people who keep asking about ways of leveraging social media for event marketing. Its always great to have hours of exploratory discussions leading to sparkling eyes, great ideas, active minds and whiteboards full of brainstorming diagrams.

I guess that’s where posts like these come into place - we’ve worked, consulted, tried, tested, experienced, experimented and want to share that knowledge with you.

Part of our team has introduced a whole series of posts dedicated to event managers on how to market events using social media tools…

This post has been included in our “Event Launch Guidelines” training program. Click for more information.

To keep up with today’s pace - businesses are like revolving doors for launches. You’ll notice how they’ll go through an extensive hype building pre-launch campaign, and then finally launch; only leading to another relaunch or special mini-launches. The interesting thing is that this process actually works!! I have been studying event marketing tricks for a good time, and have found this cyclical launch technique fabulous for business.

If event marketing and launching is dominated by ‘a survival for the fittest mindset’ - then this technique is truly going to benefit you a lot. I call it the ‘revolving door technique’ because; just like revolving doors go round and round, marketers can keep launching and relaunching events. It would be noteworthy to mention that this technique is also backed up by some of the most influential thought leaders in internet marketing.

So, if you have been reading my posts recently, you would know how to continually keep building your community through lists. You’ll also know that just having lists is good for nothing until you have strong relationships with them. All of this sounds like very basic stuff, and it is just that. But even basic things need to be handled with tact and intelligence.

A typical event goes through a standard hype cycle, where the launch is usually at the peak of the hype curve. Slowly, after the event, the hype wanes and fades away with time and only becomes a fragment of people’s memories. What we recommend to our clients is to always keep ahead of the game. Always be on your audience’s or client’s minds. Always have something exciting going on. Lets suppose you launched a product by building lots of hype online to get the targeted audience excited. You would want to keep that excitement and loyalty to that product intact for a good time to come. So, you can simply launch discount campaigns, competitions, product variations, seasonal offerings on the “same” product without having to invest anything extra in product development. If your product is an event, you would want to make it into a recurring event with something new to offer every time.

Treat your events like revolving doors, don’t just stop there.

Simon U Ford (SUF.EDBD)

Today’s tip! Online events through webinars and e-learning centers are a growth industry in a shrinking economy. You need to be a part of it.