Help! Why aren’t people attending my workshops?

The growth of the information age; a continued quest for knowledge, and entrepreneurial business models that support multiple income streams; has meant that more solopreneurs are offering workshops as part of their product offerings.

However, failure to fill your workshops can lead to doubt, disillusionment, and at worst, completely giving up on your business vision.

This post will help you identify any gaps that you may not have considered, so that you can address them, and continue to move in the direction of your business vision with confidence.

10 reasons why you may be struggling to fill your workshops

1. Your marketing message is missing the mark

You may have a wonderful workshop filled with amazing content and experiences for your participants, but if that doesn’t come through in your promotion, you will have lost them before they have a chance to click any book now button. It’s very important that your message is specific, your market defined, and your message connects with them where they are at.

2. You think if you build it, they will come.

This may be the case if you already have a strong and fully engaged following, but leaving it to chance is not good practice. It’s usually beyond the creation process where the success magic happens.

3. You’ve launched your event too close to the date of the event

The prelaunch phase is where excitement and momentum is built, including word of mouth shares that lead to referrals, so shortening this period can result in valuable bookings being lost. You also need to allow people time to schedule the event into their diaries. The longer the dollar and time investment, the longer your lead up period should be.

4. You haven’t told enough people

Never put your eggs in one basket. Use a variety of methods to reach your audience. You may need to speak to at least 50 people, to get 2 solid bookings. Know your conversion rate. The more targeted your promotional activities the more successful you will be. Consider a combination of social media, networking, speaking events, newsletters, affiliate marketing, blogging, just to name a few!

5. You’re not giving people what they want

How sure are you that what you are offering are what people want? It’s very common for new enterprise to create products they THINK are going to work, but in reality they fall flat. Creating workshops (and other product offerings) in consultation with your target audience will increase the chance that you deliver a workshop that people actually want to buy. This can include the content, the time of workshop, and mode of delivery (for example online or offline). A little bit of research goes a very long way.

6. You’ve exhausted your early adopters

So what does it mean if you have been successfully running a workshop and then suddenly numbers are dwindling? I have found that launching a new workshop that is well promoted can lead to plenty of workshop bookings, and that over time they become harder to fill. Often those early workshops are filled with early adopters, people who jump on a bandwagon when something is relatively new or somewhat innovating. Unfortunately early adopters only represent about 13% of the population, so you need to continue to reach new market places who may be interested in what you are offering, or continue to innovate.

7. The timing is wrong

A friend of mine recently scheduled an event during the school holidays, which has resulted in a poor result. Day and time of week may also be a consideration for your particular audience. I tend to run professional development and training workshops midweek during business hours. I am of the opinion that business hours is for business tasks including training. Even though I have had requests for weekend workshop, I still find that these do not perform well, as social events and sporting activities take priority. Ask your audience, and remember you can’t please all of the people, all of the time!

8. Your workshop is now out of date

It seems that things are moving faster than ever before, and our workshops and products need to keep up! It’s worth taking your offering off the table for a short while you update it to meet current trends and ways of thinking. This is even more important if you have built your credibility as a thought leader in your field or industry.

 9. You’re ignoring your existing clientele

Are you creating more work for yourself by constantly promoting to new audiences, rather than staying in touch with your existing clientele? Remember that your existing clients already know, like, and trust you, so don’t exclude them from your promotional activities. Use newsletters, email broadcasts and even direct mail to stay in touch and keep them in the loop.

10. People can’t see the value

Can your client see the value in what you are offering to justify investment? Is their investment of time, money and energy going to solve their problem, need, or desire? Have you covered any hidden objections in your marketing materials and on your sales page? Only then will people fill confident to hit the BOOK NOW button. So make sure the value in attending is clear.

 

You may notice that I have not listed “competition” as one of the reasons. That was deliberate. If you have created something of meaning that connects with your audience, competition will be less of an issue.

This checklist will help keep you on track.

 Your workshop name and marketing message clearly meets a need of your target audience 

 You have created your event in consultation with your target market

 Your offering is responding to clear needs voiced in the marketplace

 You’ve allowed plenty of lead up time so you reach enough people

 You are promoting the event through multiple channels to reach enough potential prospects including existing clientele.

 You’ve tapped into your social networks who can help share your events

 Your timing is right for target audience

 Your offering is responding to clear needs voiced in the marketplace

 Your event is priced right and the value is clear

I hope this has provided you with some food for thought on how you can get better results for your workshops.

I would love to hear of other suggestions from our seasoned workshop operaters, or questions from those who are new to the industry. What does this mean for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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