How to Market Your Event
8/4/2008
by Shelly Weaver, E-Magnify Staff

By definition, event marketing is the promotion of an event. This marketing typically includes promotional activities involving an event such as a sporting or social event, designed to bring a product to the attention of the public.

No longer do you want to market your event at the last minute or ‘shotgun’ style. This method will often lead to an unsuccessful endeavor. Developing a plan of attack is the first task at hand as you are planning your opening, event, or conference.  Identifying your target audience is just as important. Will you be driving your message to children, teens, young parents, women, business professionals, or entrepreneurs?  Your audience will determine your overall marketing vehicles.  Determining how large your audience will be is vital. Whether it is an intimate group workshop or a grand-scale fair you have to estimate your need for attendees to cover your costs and consider your space.

“The key to planning any successful event is to really do your homework when you make important decisions on the event essentials, such as budget and venue. Knowing the true costs of your event will ensure that you avoid the major pitfall of overspending,” said Jenelle R. Campbell, President and Owner of Time and Events. “Underestimating costs can turn what was perhaps supposed to be a profit maker (such as a fundraiser) into merely a break-even occasion. Another key area that should be carefully considered is the venue for an event. You need to be sure that you account for all major event factors, such as your audience demographic, the number of people you expect to attend the event, the type of event you are hosting and the overall “feeling” that you want the event to create. Failure to account and plan for these factors could result in an event that is remembered for all of the wrong reasons,” Campbell said.

Putting your key message points to paper is a difficult task.  You need to think about your strategy and your details in order to determine your promotional activities and pulling out your vehicles; whether they are the Internet, email, posters, fliers, friends, media, or even Billboards or a marketing mix of a few of each. 

Setting your budget is also a hurdle marketers must face.  Whether you are working on a robust budget or a shoe-string budget you need to know your starting and stopping points.  The budget will determine your publicity and your event space.  The budget may not allow for a large ad budget and you will be forced to rely on resource partners or yourself pounding the pavement to reach your target audience.  You need to also consider postage and design if you are considering direct mail. Printing costs should also be built into your budget.

Make sure you review your marketing plan before executing it.  Planning is key to getting started and will pay off in the long run. 

One consideration is preparing a survey for a post-event follow-up.  A survey will allow you to receive feedback from your audience.  There may be something that you have forgotten or overlooked that could be considered for the next time you start your planning process. 

Now is the time to get started and bring your customers in the doors and back for more.

Looking for the “WriteIdea”
Calling all entrepreneurs. WriteIdea is looking for the best of the best in the world of business plans. WriteIdea is designed to encourage entrepreneurial thinkers in our community to produce a business plan that is ready to implement. The competition will bring together regional plans in the provided categories exploring the development of young companies. A handful of entrepreneurs will receive cash prizes of $5,000 each, totaling $25,000 to help with start-up costs or the capital to help bring their business to the next level.

The process is simple. Log onto e-magnify.com/writeidea and submit your application. Deadline for applications is Oct. 31. Applicants need to provide a brief executive summary of their business plan idea and some pertinent business information. You can then begin developing your plan and be eligible for the prizes that will allow you to grow your future.

Former Business Plan Winner Had WriteIdea
Amy Veltri is an entrepreneur in all senses of the word. Veltri had the right idea to start a new business with growth potential and used the WriteIdea business plan completion presented by E-Magnify as a springboard. Bitten by the proverbial entrepreneurial bug following a lack of advancement opportunity, Veltri has the unique perspective of being a woman-owned business owner in a highly dominated male field.

Veltri’s previous professional experience included being responsible for managing a staff of several junior technical personnel and securing and managing over $1 million annually in project work. As a successful business owner, she has far surpassed the competition, by increasing her company’s gross revenues from $50,000 less than three years ago to approximately $800,000 in 2004.

The WriteIdea business plan competition applications deadline is almost here! Call 724.830.4625 for more details or click here for your application now

Pricing Considerations for Ultimate Growth
Pricing is one of the four Ps of the marketing mix. The other three aspects are product, promotion, and placement. Entrepreneurs and business owners sometimes have a difficult time developing and finalizing price for their products. Being able to do so is both an art and a science. It’s also a combination of both fixed costs and implied costs.

Fixed costs are actual costs that you have into the product. Those costs include but are not limited to raw materials, design costs, and other materials. Implied costs are costs entrepreneurs sometimes overlook; costs that they put into the start-up if the business and even overlooking the increased price to deliver. These costs can also include the time it took for the entrepreneur to develop the product.

Social Networking - A Must For Businesses Large and Small
Social networks are the new business communication tools that business owners and leaders tend to overlook, but shouldn’t. The scope of these expansive networks can lend to a multitude of opportunities that might not otherwise be available.

On the subject of social networking, what you don’t know can hurt you. These networks create opportunities for businesses that would not previously have been conceivable. One avenue to approach is to follow blogs and ‘doers’ in your industry as well as that of other industries to keep up with the fast-paced environment.

Becoming A Business Plan Pro
Are you a PRO? Business Plan PRO is the everything-you-need-to-know software that is everything you need to write a successful business plan. You can get started quickly with over 500 real-life example plans that provide the inspiration you need to get going quickly and finish easily. You will save time with the EasyPlan Wizard that guides you through every step of the process and automatically creates a structure that fits your unique plan and business needs.

Diane Gregory of Mercy & Means in Ford City, PA states “The Business Plan Pro made me a pro, the software made me an expert by taking my notes and ideas and developed them into a professional document.” Diane finds Business Plan PRO “easy to use,” and said the software broke the steps down so she could run with it. Diane also said, “Business Plan PRO was money well-invested in her business.”