If you’ve ever been asked to participate in a fire sale or giveaway event, your first thought was very likely “What’s in it for me?”
That’s perfectly normal—after all, we’re all in business to make money—and it’s exactly what your guests will wonder when you offer them a spot in your event, too.
How you answer that is critical to your success.
- List building. This is the big benefit for both you and your guests. By combining resources with other business owners in similar niches, everyone has the opportunity to grow.
- Getting more eyes on your products and services—even if those people don’t become subscribers—is always beneficial. And the more people who attend the event, the more traffic each of your guests will have.
- We tend to stick to our own little circle of friends and colleagues, but by participating in this type of event, your guests will have the opportunity to meet business owners they might otherwise not ever get to know.
- While your event might not be an upsell-heavy event, all guests will have the same opportunity to monetize the back end as the organizer does. Savvy marketers will take advantage of that to add to their bottom line, even while giving away products.
Beyond the benefits, though, you also need to make it easy for your guests to participate. Swipe files, social media graphics, reminders and a promotional calendar are all tools you should include in your welcome packet. These will take the burden off your guests, and take away the friction element that might cause her to say “no.”
Here’s another important point: Be sure you invite only the highest caliber of guests, and consider instituting a minimum list size to participate. Business owners who have successfully built a list of at least 2,000 people clearly understand marketing, and will support everyone’s efforts. When reaching out to potential guests, include the names of others who have already confirmed. It will help make their decision easier.
Even when you have all of these pieces in place, don’t be surprised to hear some no’s. Don’t take them personally. Sometimes schedules don’t work out; maybe they don’t have a freebie that’s a good fit. Or maybe they just don’t do giveaways. Start with a large list of potentials, and even if you do get a few who refuse, you’ll still have plenty of guests to host a popular and profitable giveaway event.
