A step-by-step guide to creating a successful in-person workshop for your small business.
I absolutely love in-person events; they give me an opportunity to connect with my audience on a personal level, and gives me a platform to share my expertise and elevate my personal brand. Hosting a workshop can be a powerful way to educate your customers, showcase your products or create a sense of community.
I wanted to share with you my tips to plan, organise and execute a successful in-person workshop for your small business.
Define your workshop purpose and goals
Before you dive into the logistics, it’s a good idea to get clear on the purpose of your workshop and what the over-arching goal is.
For instance, what do you want the participants to learn or takeaway from the workshop? (and if you’re not clear on your ideal client avatar, this is something to have a think about too).
How is the workshop going to benefit your business, and what are the goals of the workshop (e.g. brand awareness, lead generation, product sales)?
If you’re not sure about what topic to cover, ask your audience - what do they need help with, what are their challenges in this season? What topic would they like you to explore? You can do this via an email if you have an email list, or perhaps a poll on social media.
Commit to a date, time and location
Getting the right date, time and location is important. Consider your target audience and what their availability is going to be like, how accessible is the venue and so on.
Something I need to consider now is the LEZ (low emission zone) because my campervan doesn’t meet the requirements for getting into Glasgow city centre. I was hosting a workshop shortly after the LEZ was introduced and it meant the logistics of getting my stuff to the venue was a bit more tricky!
You want to give your attendees plenty of notice, and time for you to market the event too. I like to aim for a runway of 6 weeks.
When selecting your date, check for any scheduling conflicts in your industry or niche. A lesson learned the hard way on my part… one of my workshops I hosted was on the same day as another (large) networking event in the area.
Another item to consider for the venue is the facilities and equipment, for example - do they have the option for presenting slides on a big screen? Do they have facilities for making tea/coffee for your attendees? And anything else that you might require.
You might also want to check if there are any restrictions in your business insurance when it comes to using venues, just in case!
Planning
Get a list of all the activities that you’ll need to carry out between now and the end of the event. If you use a project management software, you can create templates for this that you can re-use, and the software will create you a timeline (my inner project manager loves this!). But an Excel spreadsheet or notebook will work just fine.
Think about your dependencies between tasks, so for instance you perhaps can’t create your event listing on your website or other platform (Eventbrite) until you have your date, time and location confirmed. But you might be able to create a ‘save the date’ type post for social media if you have a date and time confirmed, but not your location.
Want to get your hands on my list of tasks that I use for my workshops and networking events? Hit me up with the word ‘WORKSHOP’ in my Instagram DMs.
You’re also going to want to plan your budget. Make sure you include things like the venue hire, materials for the workshop itself (tea/coffee/worksbooks etc), any marketing costs (paid ads for instance) and any other costs (travel perhaps). This will help you determine what your ticket fee needs to be if it’s a paid workshop.
Marketing your event
I always start with writing some copy for the event, including a description of the workshop and how the workshop will help solve the audience’s problem. What outcomes can the audience expect by attending? And don’t forget to create some visuals to go alongside this. I use Canva, and have some fab templates that I leverage (Julie Christie-Clark has a fantastic Canva template membership that I love).
You can also use AI to improve your copy… try putting it through ChatGPT and see what it produces.
The promotion itself can be done through a variety of different means. Here are some of the ways I market my events and workshops:
Individual outreach
Local networking events
Email marketing
My website / blog post
Local Facebook groups that allow business promotion
What’s On In Glasgow website, you can submit an event here
Ask friends to share the event listing
Other ideas might include collaboration with others in your industry or paid advertising if this is within your budget.
Make sure that your content has a clear call to action, and that it’s straightforward for people to book a spot (see registration and ticketing below). If you use Linktree for your Instagram bio, make sure there is a link directly to your workshop booking page added.
Registration and ticketing
You’re going to need a way for your audience to get tickets for the event, whether it’s paid or free.
I list my workshops in my website shop, but you could also use Calendly if this is already part of your business tech or Eventbrite. Or even a Stripe link that you can share via email or in your DMs.
By using an online ticketing platform, you can create custom questions on the booking page if there is anything you need to know ahead of the event (dietary requirements perhaps, or accessibility needs) and you can also collect email addresses to add people into your mailing list (you can’t just add people into your list without consent though, so this needs to be made clear to them as they sign up).
Email marketing pre-event
Knowing the attendees email addresses you can schedule emails to remind them of the event (which will increase attendance rate, especially if it’s a free event).
I like to also share relevant details that they might need ahead of the event, such as what they need to bring with them, how to find the venue (share link to Google map, and details of where to park) and an opportunity for them to reply with any questions ahead of the event.
Prepare workshop materials
Create and/or gather everything that you’ll need for the workshop, e.g.:
Handouts / workbooks
Presentation slidedeck - I like to have a practice run through in advance to make sure that I’ve got enough time to cover all the material. You can work out a rough itinerary in advance for the event.
Any props / visual aids
Name badges
Audiovisual equipment (I’ve got an HDMI adaptor for my laptop that I always bring and a USB clicker too).
Prepare a feedback form in advance to capture the attendee thoughts post-workshop which you can then use as a testimonial. Helpful to ask if you can share feedback with or without their name (some people will prefer to be anonymous). You can use Google form for this, or a form on your website. Create a QR code for this link, and add the QR code into your slide deck (if you’re using one); this means the attendees can use their camera to scan the code and be taken directly to the website address. Reach out individually to everyone that leaves feedback, and thank them for their thoughts.
Execute the workshop
On the day of the workshop, ensure you arrive early to the venue to set-up and test your equipment. Get yourself into a high vibe - move your body to your favourite song, do some star jumps - and get ready for a fantastic event.
Greet your attendees warmly, and provide any housekeeping or instructions. Stick to your planned schedule, be engaging and allow time for questions.
Gather feedback
Make sure to share your feedback form at the end of your presentation, and I would also share the link again in a post-workshop follow-up email.
Follow up
I always send a thank you email after the event, sharing again the feedback link, as well as any resources that I might have mentioned during the workshop. You might want to use this opportunity to share an exclusive offer with the attendees. You could also ask the people that attended to refer you to their friends.
If people didn’t show up, you can invite them to something else, or share a relevant blog post and direct them to your newsletter.
Continue to nurture your audience post-event with your email marketing.
Last steps
Collect all your feedback and testimonials in a centralised location. I’ve got a Google drive for this purpose. You can then use the quotes when you promote your next event!!
Make sure you pay any invoices from suppliers or the venue on time too.
Theeennn… start planning your next event!!
Want to get your hands on my planning list that I use for my workshops and networking events? Hit me up with the word ‘WORKSHOP’ in my Instagram DMs.