Thinking about hosting an online event?
Not yet free of the COVID conundrum, we’re all feeling uncertain about what’s to come… rumors of more lock downs, travel restrictions and other post pandemic predicaments still linger.
And yet, you hold big dreams in your heart and mind for our business.
With virtual everything becoming the new way of doing business, you might be considering hosting a live or online event to increase visibility, reach and revenue.
Working as a marketing copywriter, many of my clients turned to virtual events to keep their businesses running. And there were two big questions I heard over and over again:
#1: How do I promote my event?
#2: How do I come up with a great title?
To help clients promote live and online events, I created a MUST HAVE Checklist of fun and simple ways to promote events. You can grab that list right here.
When it comes to titles, most people try to come up with the title first, and then write the event details. But, choosing a title first can cause problems like:
- Limiting your creative flow when it comes to what you want and need to teach
- Ending up with a title that doesn’t actually “fit” the event description or benefits
- Organizing your content around the title instead of the transformation you want to offer
This may sound counterintuitive, but it’s actually much smarter to write the title last. Because once you know all of the details, you’re more likely to hit on the perfect title – one that speaks to what your ideal clients are seeking.
What They’ll Experience vs. What You’ll Teach
Before choosing a title, think about what someone will experience or feel (benefit statements) as a result of what you’ll teach (features) at your event.
It’s a common mistake to confuse benefit statements and features so here’s a quick way to remember the difference:
Features explain, benefits compel.
Features are what you’ll be teaching or sharing during an event.
Benefits are what people will experience or feel as a result of what you teach or share.
Carefully crafted benefit statements trigger personal and emotional responses that compel someone to take action.
They also help you tap into the transformation or ultimate promise of attending your event.
And trust me, this is NOT as hard as it sounds.
Here are the 3 Simple Steps to Write a Great Title for Your Event:
Step #1: Outline your key teaching points
Step #2: For each key teaching point, add a note about why each point is relevant and necessary.
Step #3: Ask yourself what each point helps your attendee feel, experience or believe after having this information that they couldn’t before.
For example, if I were hosting an online event to help women business owners promote and market their online events, I might include a list of features like…
How to write a captivating event description, how to write a title that gets clicks, how to fill seats without spending a dime on advertising, etc. These are all great features BUT the reason women business owners will purchase a ticket is more emotive and personal.
What event hosts want to experience or feel is confidence in their ability to host successful and lucrative events by filling seats with ease.
A great title for this online event could be as simple as…
Get the Proven Action Plan to Gain Confidence & Fill Your Next Event with Ease
Half Day Online Workshop for Women Business Owners
Working backwards, I generated a title that speaks to the feelings my audience actually wants, which makes clicking that “register now” button a no-brainer.
I’d love to see what you come up with after using these 3 simple steps! Shoot me an email at kelly@ksbonlinemarketing.com and share your new great title!