A half day workshop can be an excellent way to serve your audience, make income, and sell into higher ticket products and services.
What is a “Half Day Workshop”?
A half day workshop is an educational event typically lasting between 2.5-3.5 hours.
In the past, we have found half day workshops are an amazing way for us to help people learn about how our Think RAPT System works, and get clear on the foundations of their own Think RAPT Systems through interactive activities.
We find that the participants walk away having taken tangible action, and those who wish to work further with us in our premium programs have more confidence in purchasing those products.
How Much do You Charge for a Half Day Workshop?
While there’s no one-size fits all approach, here are some considerations:
When we ran our half day workshops, the income from ticket sales covered the venue and associated costs. And when we had good numbers, we were able to make a profit.
We charged $97 AUD for a ticket, and aimed for 10-20 people. But generally we suggest to our clients a good range to start is between $50-$200 AUD.
So how do you create a half day workshop that:
Let’s talk about how to strike this balance and upsell your leads into your high-ticket program.
We’ll be using The Content Creation Machine to do it!
Step 1: Plan Your Half Day Workshop
Using our Content Creation Machine’s Half Day Workshop Template, populate it with the information from each of your Think RAPT® models.
Here’s how you might start to map out your Half Day Workshop:
And add more rows!
Step 2: Produce Your Half Day Workshop
This is where you create all the assets and things you’ll need to run a half day workshop.
Here are some things you’ll need:
You’ll also want to start thinking about who will be your crew for the workshop.
If you’re the facilitator, you’ll want someone to help you with things like – registration duties, setting up refreshments, handing out worksheets, taking photos etc.
Step 3: Polish Your Half Day Workshop
Once you’ve planned out your workshop, and organised all the required materials, it’s time to polish.
Step 4: Publish Your Half Day Workshop
Create the event landing page and get ready for people to register and pay.
Create an event listing on a platform like Eventbrite, Ticketmaster, or your own website.
If you’re selling tickets through your own website, you’ll need some kind of payment gateway. We’ve used Woocommerce with a wordpress website, but there are plenty of options.
Be sure to include details about the workshop, such as the topic, facilitator, date, location, and any other relevant information.
Step 5: Promote Your Half Day Workshop
Now it’s time to let the world know about your half day workshop and get those bums on seats.
- Use Social Media: Promote your workshop on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok – wherever your business is active. Share details about the workshop and include a link to the event listing or ticket sales page.
- Email Marketing: Send an email to your email list announcing the workshop and providing details about the topic. Include a link to the event listing or ticket sales page.
- Paid Advertising: Consider using paid advertising on platforms like Google AdWords or Facebook Ads to reach a wider audience and drive ticket sales for your workshop.
- In-person Events: If you are hosting or speaking at an in-person event (e.g. networking events), be sure to mention your upcoming workshop and provide a link to the event listing or ticket sales page.
- Personal Outreach: Consider reaching out to key individuals or influencers in your industry and ask them to promote your workshop to their followers or subscribers. One idea is to give away tickets to your workshop at other events – we often gave away a copy of one of our books as well as a free ticket to the workshop. We would even go so far as to write the copy for these groups to send out to their email lists. You want to make it as easy as possible for other organisations to share.
- Offer Discounts: Consider offering discounts for early bird registration, group discounts for companies or organisations sending multiple attendees, or discounts for students or other groups.
- Bundle with Other Products or Services: Consider offering a bundle deal that includes your workshop ticket and another product or service, such as a book or consulting services. This can make it more attractive for potential attendees to purchase. We often bundled our half day workshop tickets with a free copy of our book.
Running Your Half Day Workshop
Here are some of our top tips for running smooth, half day workshops.
Tip #1: Arrive Early
Arrive at least an hour before the workshop is due to start. You will need time to set up your registration desk, ensure seating is correct, have refreshments organised, double check AV equipment. Check your slides work etc. Spending the first 10 minutes of your workshop troubleshooting technical issues or rushing around to get things set up as people are arriving diminishes the experience.
Tip #2: Name Tags
Whether you pre-print name tags or have name labels for people to write on, it’s a great way to help you build rapport with your attendees. Having the name tags printed before hand is more of a premium-level touch, while having people write their own names means you won’t be rushing around the night before trying to get everything finished.
Tip #3: Crew Management
You want to give your crew members a checklist of things to complete and when they are to be completed. It’s a good idea to give them a copy of your run sheet so they can help keep you on track and be ready for when to set things up – e.g. half-time refreshments.
Tip #4: Take Photos
On your registration sheet, have a photo release section. Photos at half day workshops are great to build authority and demonstrate social proof. Make sure to tell your crew what kinds of photos you want – e.g. photos of me in front of the room, talking to guests, photos of the audience etc. If you have the budget for a professional photographer, it can be a great opportunity to get some of those stand out photos for your website and social media.
Tip #5: Don’t End on a Sales Pitch
Towards the end of your half day workshop, you’ll want to present your high-ticket offer. We found this sequence easy to present and comfortable for the audience:
There you have it. Our method for confidently creating and delivering half day workshops.
