Three ways to increase early registration for live events

When you are trying to fill an event, you want toknow not only how many people plan to attend, buthow many will likely show up. Years ago, I used to runa lot of free programs, hoping to get as many people aspossible to attend. I figured paying for the event wouldbe a barrier and keep prospects from attending.

Since, we experimented with charging a fee for oursmaller events. We learned that people who pay are

much more likely to attend the program versus a simple RSVP.

A lot depends on what phase of business development you are in. If you are in the start upphase, you may want to reach as many people as possible. As your business grows, you mightwant to start charging for your events.

No matter what stage your business is in, knowing approximately how many people will be atyour event is a tremendous help when it comes to planning. Here are three ways to obtaincommitment from attendees and increase the likelihood that they will show up.

1. Direct People to Register. The terminology you use with people in your promotionalmaterials matters. Rather than asking people to simply RSVP by word of mouth or email,tell them how to register. This will encourage them to be less causal and obtain acommitment from them. This also boosts the amount of people who will pay prior tothe actual event.

2. Offer Early Bird Pricing. One of the best ways to get people to sign up early is with earlybird pricing. Say your event fee is $50. You could offer a $15 discount of $35 if theyregister before the event. Then, charge full price at the door. This helps people commit,register and pay ahead of time (which makes planning easier).

3. Don’t Announce the Location. Another strategy to minimize people who show up at thelast minute is to hold back the exact location details. When you don’t announce whereyou are holding the event, people have to decide up front if they want to go or not. Theonly way they find out where the program will be held is by registering. The morereasons you provide to sign up early, the better the attendance and the easier it will beto get clients.

Your Client Attraction AssignmentHow are you planning to promote your next event? Whether you use your Facebook fan page,LinkedIn groups, emails or distribute fliers at BNI, set up a webpage and send people there toregister. Use that same link in all communications. This way you will know the number ofpeople who will be attending and get their cash commitment up front. When you make it clearwhat step you want people to take, you’ll find they are far more likely to register. Eliminate theguess work by encouraging attendees to plan ahead.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System,the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to attract more clients, in recordtime...guaranteed. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and receive her weekly marketing &success mindset articles on attracting more high-paying clients and dramatically increasing yourincome, visit http://attractclients.com