90 Seminar Marketing Ideas

Ninety(90) Seminar/Conference Marketing Ideas

Ralph Elliott, PhD Vice Provost and Professor of

Economics EmeritusDirector, Seminar Marketing Institute

Contact: elliot@clemson.edu (one t) www.seminarmarketing.org

Copyright 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009

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1. Use Direct Mail Marketing to Build Your Data Base

Clients Customers

Inquiries/Leads

Prospects Suspects

Use Direct Mail to Get More People into the Funnel

Window

Return

Postage

Headline

2. Let Direct Mail Drive Traffic to a Landing Page with an Incentive to Get People to Fill Out the Form

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3. Use Search-Engine Marketing (SEM) to Build the Data Base

Google AdWords, Yahoo-Sponsored Search, & MSN

• Auction environment for cost-per-click pricing

• Rapid deployment and immediate results

• Detailed tracking and analysis provided

• Easy-to-make changes/activate seasonal campaigns

4. Get Keyword Ideas from Wordtracker Keyword Tool

5. Bid on Key Words: A Google search of “defense technology” produces a Georgia Tech ad for Defense Technology (top ad on right-hand column)

6. Georgia Tech landing page. When prospects complete the form, capture their interest area

7. Raise your Pay-Per-Click Bids to Get to Third Position

• Increase your bid on your Pay-Per-Click (PPC) program for your most profitable courses or product lines –

• MarketingSherpa reports that bidding on the top positions in search-result listings generates the highest ROI for search engine marketing

Key word is seminar marketing …ranked #1 on natural rank and # 5 on paid search

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1

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8. Use Geo

Selects to Better Target Your

Google Ad Words

PQ: What Have You Found to Be Best for Driving New Traffic to Your Site?

• Direct Mail • Search Engine Marketing • Search Engine Optimization • Social Media such as Facebook, Twitter,

Linkedin, etc.• Space Ads in Publications

9. Use Google

Analytics to Track Landing

Pages and Website

What can you do to lower your

bounce rate to below 50%

10. Show Your Certificate on Your Landing Page

11. Provide an On-Line Chat to Move the Prospect toward a Sale

Another Live Chat Option

12. Offer to Answer a Question to Get More Landing Page Conversions

13. Use a Big Red Button to Get People to Stay on the Website and Get Their Email

14. Capture Visitors with Your Newsletter

Maybe

14 (a): Offer a Free Webinar to Capture Contact Details

15. Provide Whitelist Instructions

16. Get People to Register On-Line to Capture the Email Address

• Put easiest method or recommended or preferred method next to the on-line option

• Offer a registration fee discount or a free report or promotional item for online booking

• Highlight your privacy policy on the registration form…have a security certification such as ScanAlert Hacker Safe certification and logo on the registration form

Save $20 … register online

Detailed Agenda

17. Use On-Line Registrations to Capture the Internet Code and VIP Test Code

Use tracking codes to track test

results..when testing email variables that increase open and

response rates

18. Pre-Populate the Registration Form With the Tracking Codes

PQ: Pick One Email Variable You Recommend Testing

• Subject line• From line• Layout, colors or format• Email length• Offers/discounts• Sending time

19. Do a Follow-up Email to People Who “Abandon” the Registration

20. You Need the Email Address Because You Plan to…

• send immediate confirmation • email roster of fellow delegates• send link to questionnaire to send the

speaker questions• send access to password-protected

section of website to download white papers/handouts

Go “green” by posting PDF of SpeakerPower Points at Password Protected Section of the Website

22. Collect Birth Year for Generation

Marketing

23. Capitalize on the Four Generations in Today’s Marketplace

1925 to 1945: Greatest Generation

1946 to 1964: Baby Boomers

1964 to 1981: Generation X

1982 to 2009: Generation Y

Source: Journal of Career Planning and Employment

Send out a special email on the person’s

birthday

24. Use Twitter to drive Gen “Y” traffic to

your events

25. Drive Gen “X” Traffic with a Facebook Ad

26. Create a group for “Boomers” at

Linkedin and post content messages

with links; Ask speakers to post messages too.

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27. Have a Permission Email (PEM) Data Base

• PEM Loyalists…the 40% of a data base that will go out of their way to patronize an organization whose permission email programs they like

• PEM Punishers…45% of a data base who have stopped doing business with an organization because of bad permission programs

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28. Email Data Base Opt-In Options…Consider Double-Opt-In

• Double Opt-in…confirmation email is sent to the opt-in user who must reply before being added to the email data base

• Confirmed Opt-in…confirmation email is sent, no further action…confirmation does offer the opportunity to opt-out

• Opt-in…users elect to receive email, no confirmation and no additional action

• Consent...users establish a business relationship and supply email address

Example of Double Opt-In

29. Respond to a Person

• When inviting inquiries or customers to email your organization, have them email a person….not “Info@”

• Like other response requests, more people will contact a specific person than a general office

30. Ask if They Prefer Text or HTML

31. Ask visitors to select frequency

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32. Do Geographic Segmentation

• One-day local programs…travel one hour • Two-day workshop…regional market• Two-day conference…semi-national • Three-day workshop…semi-national • Three-day conference…national • Week-long workshop…international • Week-long conference…international

33. Get Geo Select on the Sign-Up Form

©

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34. Segment Your House List by RFM, Interest Area and Target Your Marketing

• Recency of Past Attendance (R)• Frequency of Involvement (F)• Amount ($$) Spent to Date (M)• Type of Interest Area

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35. Know Your Participants & Allocate Resources Accordingly35. Know Your Participants &

Allocate Resources AccordinglyHigh Recency Low

Mon

etar

y V

alue

/Act

ivity

High

Low

36. Segment Your Email Database by Those Who Open Your Emails

• Create an "A" list: people who have opened one or more emails within last six months

• Create a "B" list: people who have not opened emails in last six months

• Create a "C" list: people who have not opened email in last year. Email marketing is not working for this segment of your data base

• Consider sending direct mail letter to "re-activate" this potential "deadwood”

37. Use Email Link Tracking to Determine Which Links Work Best

Use your Email service provider to track which links in your Emails promotions are most successful in driving traffic to particular web pages on your site

Configure links in your Email messages for use with your analytic application to see which links are generating worthwhile visits and/or conversions at your website

Visits that involve views of more than just a single page, etc…find links that create registrations

PQ: Which Link in Your Email Do You Think Would Do Best?

• Speaker Info• Agenda link• Venue/hotel• Register now• Boss convincing points• Testimonials

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38. Email Campaign: “Hook” Those Who Have Never Attended With First Email

• The “Welcome to Your Organization” will be the most important email you will send to a prospect added to the data base.

• Open rate is 2X regular open rates.

• What kind of offer could you use to get people to book now….(plus call to action)?

39. Put a guarantee in your

welcome

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A “double guarantee” will out-perform a single guarantee

41. Offer Another Program to Those Who Want a Refund

• Build trust among those who have never attended your programs by offering a unique money back guarantee (MBG)....such as "we will refund your registration fee and give you a 100% credit for another program.”

• By bringing the person back to another program, you turn a potentially unhappy advocate into someone who sings your praises.

PQ: What Info Item Would You Put in Your “Welcome” Email?

• Money back guarantee• Incentive coupon• Warm hugs and kisses• Testimonials • Mission/Vision Statement

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42. Use Factors Influencing Peoples’ Choice of Email to Open and Read

Influencing Factors PercentageKnow and trust the sender 59.2

Subject line 41.1

Open only emails I normally receive 33.6

Previously opened and thought valuable 30.1

Preview caught my attention 19.0

Discount 17.5

Free shipping offer 15.1

Company doesn’t send me much email 10.9

Looked like the catalog I received 9.4

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43. Ideas on the “From” Field in Your Email Campaigns

• Make sure recipients trust your organization

• Put the name of your organization first

• Follow the organization’s name by an individual’s name

• The “from” field in your email is your brand, therefore, the “from” field is more important than the subject line

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44. Use Pitch vs. Teaser Subject Line

• 40 million emails sent by MailChimp

• Highest open rates (ranging from 60% to 87%) had the most straightforward subject lines

• Lowest open rates--subject lines (1%-14%) tried to be clever

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45. How to Increase Your Click-Through- Rate (CTR) on Email Offers

• Your recipients often have email settings configured so they can read the first two paragraphs without actually opening the email

• Work your reg/offer link or weblink into

the first paragraph

• Many recipients peruse only the first paragraph and go right to the offer via the link 

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How to Increase Your CTR on Email Offers

• Emails should be top-heavy with best offers "above the fold" to instantly capture the reader's attention

• That doesn't mean the email must be short. Support points can continue below the fold…the details that clinch the sale

• Include atleast 3 links to your landing page and/or reg screen/in house screen – and one in the first two sentences

46. Use TinyURL.com to Reduce Length of Your Links

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47. Email Timing and Delivery

• Avoid Mondays and the first day after holidays for your email marketing

• Click thru rates usually higher when sending early AM, just before lunch, or late PM

• If your audience is spread over several time zones, stagger your deliveries

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48. Email Copy Recommendations

• Keep emails to around four(4) paragraphs

• On HTML, keep screen length to 1.5 to 2.0 screens

• Brand your emails by using the same banner graphic and design across the top as used on the landing page, web, print ads, brochures

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49. Use SpamAssassin to Check Your Spam Score

• SpamAssassin assigns a Spam score for

each message• A score of less than 3 is generally

considered acceptable• A score of between 3 and 5 warrants

review, and a score of more than 5 should definitely be examined

A Very Good Spam ScoreResult: Clean Message - 0.4 Pts

50. Email “Double Check” Tips

Include a link to read the message outside of email. A “read as web page” link and “view on mobile device” link provides an alternative to those who can’t read your message.

Check all images and links. Make sure the links and redirects are working. So simple but critical.

Make sure the “from” address works. Recipients sometimes reply to the “from” address instead of “reply-to.”

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51. Email Messages: Use an Early-Bird Expiration in an Email Blast

• Good to have justification for sending additional emails…

• Early bird is one of them…

• Also, smaller non-profit sectors will be more price sensitive…

• Hence, segment the file…target the early- bird message… personalize the appeal

PQ: What Percent (%) Discount Do You Give For Early Birds?

• 10%• 15%• 20%• 25%• None

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Extended Early Bird

Email with Early Bird Extension

53. Creating an email with Boss

Convincing Points

54.Promote the Venue and Hotel

Rates

54a. Create a “Sense of Urgency” in Your Email

55. Forward to a Friend at the Top of the

Email

56. Stress Team Attendance in Your

PDF and Emails

Team Attendance

Offer: Send 3 and the 4th is

FREE

57. Provide Team Attendance Form On-Line

Group Form

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58. Use The Best Monthsfor Seminars

1. March 2. February

3. October4. November

5. April 6. September

7. May 8. January

9. December 10. July

11. June 12. August

BEST

WORST

Employer-Paid Events during Normal Business Hours

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59. Use The Best Days for Seminars

1. Wednesday

2. Thursday

3. Tuesday

4. Friday

5. Monday

6. Saturday

7. Sunday

BEST

WORST

Employer-Paid Events during Normal Business Hours

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60. Use Optimal Lead Time (Two-Day Workshop Program)

Seminar Lead Time

Relative Response

Weeks ahead of first date that promo is received

0 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

61. Capitalize on Price Sensitivity

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45

50

245

250

595

600

95

100

295

300

695

700

145

150

395

400

795

800

195

200

495

500

895

900

62. Use Psychological Price Barriers

• Recommendation # 1 . . . Charge just below the barrier; for example, $45 instead of $50; $95 instead of $100; $145 instead of $150

• Recommendation # 2 . . . When you break one barrier, go to the bottom of the next barrier; for example, if you break $50, go to

$95; if you break $100, go to $145; if you break $150, go to $195.

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63. Psychological Barriers if You Break $1,000

• From $995 to $1245• From $1245 to $1495• From $1495 to $1995• From $1995 to $2950• From $2950 to $4950• From $4950 to $7495• From $7495 to $9450

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64. On Inquiries, Get Them to Register with “Register Now; Pay Later”

• Collect money with an invoice• Market “after the sale” to eliminate buyer’s

regret while invoice is being processed• Personal call before program• Check venue records against reg

records…(send note to those not on hotel list, offer to help find room)

• Payment due prior to program

65. Get a Commitment Early in the Promotional Cycle

• On an undecided caller, use the tentative “no obligation registration technique” to convert the person into a sale

• Essentially, you allow the person to register without paying but note payment is due a week or so prior to the start of the program 

• Alternatively, you may offer to accept a purchase order or a letter of intent

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66. Importance of Who Else is Attending…

CHIEF Marketer's survey on what makes a conference worth a delegate’s time and money… 

70% said that the experience level of their fellow attendees really mattered...

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67. “Merchandise” the Offer

• The way the offer is presented can affect the response rate

• 50% off is better than half-price • Buy 1 and get 1 free is better than 2 for

the price of 1

68. Use Word-of-Mouse

At your web site, in your emails, and in your newsletter, ask readers to encourage their friends to subscribe.

You can have a reader forward his/her copy, but you risk the friend’s clicking on the unsubscribe link. 

Use the "forward to a friend" function that email management services provide.

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Add a Suggestion Box to Your Website

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Order Confirmation

Instructions Ticket Info

*Please PRINT THIS RECEIPT and bring it with you to the event entrance.*If you cannot print this receipt, please bring a PHOTO ID.*You will NOT receive paper tickets unless special arrangements have been made.

RALPH ELLIOTELLIOT@CLEMSON.EDU

Order Number 57252243-722390Ticket(s) Ordered On Jul 25, 2007Free Order

Event / Date / Time / Location Hosted By

Transformations - An introduction to the Greater Delaware Valleys premier holistic learning center

DateAugust 11, 2007

Time9:00 am ET - 12:00 am ET

LocationTransformations - New Jersey

2301 Evesham RoadSuite 109

Voorhees, NJ 08043US

Registration Pagehttp://www.eventbrite.com/event/57252243

Hosted By TransformationsTransformations is the Greater Delaware Valley’s premier Holistic Learning Center with the vision to help individuals, families and communities actualize their highest potential while contributing to the greater good.

For assistance, please contact the organizer:lavinia@readytotransform.com

TICKET BUYER QUANTITY TICKET TYPES PAID

ralph elliot 1 An Introduction to Transf... $0.00

ORDER TOTAL $0.00

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73. Make Sure Your Site has RSS

Meet me at88x33

Meet me at88x33

Meet me at120x50

Meet me at120x90

Meet me at120x240

&

European Text Analytics Summit 120x240

Meet me at125x125

&

European Text Analytics Summit

125x125

European Text Analytics Summit

250x125

European Text Analytics Summit

300x240

European Text Analytics Summit

250x250

European Text Analytics Summit

120x600

European Text Analytics Summit

234x60

74. Create banners for sponsors, exhibitors, and speakers to post at their

sites

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75. Have a “User - Friendly” Cancellation/Payment Policy That:

• Allows refunds up to two weeks in advance• Always allow substitutions• Allow transfers to another session• Gives some of value even though the person

cancels at the last minute • Always allows exceptions (rule of reason)

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77. Don’t Kill the Sale before the Sale with the “Fine Print”

• By registering for a Move Ahead One, LLC (Move Ahead 1) event you are agreeing to these terms:

• Cancellations and Substitutions

• If you must cancel for any reason, you must notify us 3 business days prior to the event by writing to info@moveahead1.com. No refunds are given however we will credit you an equal amount for another event. You may, however, transfer your registration to another person at any time.

• Move Ahead 1 reserves the right to make changes to the events program. Unforeseen circumstances may result in the substitution of a presentation, topic or speaker.

• You consent to Move Ahead 1 recording and/or photographing the event and using such items, including your likeness, in future promotions.

• By purchasing a ticket, you also agree to allow us to share your contact information with exhibitors and sponsors of that event only. Move Ahead 1 will not otherwise sell or share your information with any other third parties without your consent.

• Move Ahead 1 reserves the right to reject or rescind any registration and return any fees accordingly. Registrant assumes all risks incidental to participation in all event activities, including, but not limited to, loss or damage to property and personal injury. Move Ahead 1's total liability in connection with participation in all event activities shall be limited to the amount of fees received, if any, from a particular individual registrant for the particular incident or event.

• If you have additional registration questions, please contact info@moveahead1.com or call (732) 202-3599.

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78. Eliminate Buyer’s Regret/Remorse

• Reduce cancellations/no-shows by marketing after the sale

• Tell customers what they will receive after they register

• Send follow-up thank you reminder notes/cards/emails

• Contact accounts receivable• Provide link to a questionnaire

PQ: Which Idea Would You Select to Reduce Buyer’s Regret?

• List of other organizations attending• Link to speakers to post questions• Update on new session/speaker• Password-protected networking site• Navigational chart to show/exhibit hall

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79. Copywriting Recommendations

• Empathy Index helps you measure reader focus.– Them(You) – Us(We) = Empathy Index

• The Gunning Fog Index helps ensure reader accessibility– (Average sentence length + number of

hard words) x 0.4 = Reading Level Difficulty…most read at 6 to 8

80. Use WIFM in Your Copy

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81. Use the Active Voice in Literatureand on Your Website

Example: The keynote speech was delivered by Sherry Walker. (Passive) vs. Sherry Walker delivered the

keynote speech. (Active)

It is generally better, to write in the “active” voice. Exceptions include when the “doer” is unknown, or when showing tact is your most important consideration.

Convert the following examples of passive writing into activevoice.

1. The music was enjoyed by everyone.2. A survey was made by the Health Department of the

nursing service at local hospitals.3. The backstage tours will be conducted by graduate

students.

82. Show Networking: Notice signs on each

table

Show visual image of

meeting area, breaks,

reception, and sponsorship

area

83. Know Your Email Clicks

• You will receive over 90% of your clicks from your email campaign within the first three days

• Click rates will rise at an increasing rate during the first day or two and then continue to increase at a decreasing rate for the remaining days

84. Provide A Web Link so People Can Manage Their Preferences

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85. Stagger Large Email Blasts to Avoid Triggering Volume-Based Filters

Some ISPs use volume-based filters. If the sending server exceeds certain volume thresholds, the emails may be blocked.

Volume thresholds vary by ISP.

The simple way to avoid overwhelming the receiving ISP and triggering a volume-based filter is to stagger your emails.

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86. Monitor Your Bounce Rate…Percentage of Emails That Come Back to You

• Hard Bounces…incorrect/invalid addresses should be suppressed immediately

• Hard-Bounce rate above 5% is a crisis • Soft Bounces…remove after three soft bounces • If possible, send an automatic fax (or postcard,

phone call) to bounced email address, letting users know their email bounced and how they can update their address

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87. Re-Activate the Deadwood

• Never open your email • Open but never click through • Click through but never convert• A 12-month non-purchasing inquiry • A 24-36-month plus non-buying customer• A 24-36-month non-buying organization

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88. Use Email to Wake Up Deadwood

• Communicate with a new subject line• Send a special “we’ve missed you” offer• Send best of “white papers” to lift CTR• Send a link to an on-line survey to capture

interest areas• Threaten to drop from the database?• Send a discount off an upcoming program

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500

89. Email a Regret Survey

• Send a “sorry you cannot attend” link to an online questionnaire in your last Email blast leading up to your event (sometimes called a Regret Survey)

• Ask the non-responding person why he/she is not attending

• List several possible objections on the survey and then leave some open end space for the person to list the reasons for not attending

90. Collect Opt-Out Reasons

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Ralph D. Elliott, Ph.D.elliot@clemson.edu (one t) 864.710.2815