The quality of your promotional copy can have a huge effect on the success of your live and online events. Over the past few months, I have reviewed numerous email invitations and landing pages and found common problems that could hurt your attendance.
I would like to share some tips, based on my review of these problems, on how to create strong promotional copy for your events. If you want to improve the performance of your landing pages and increase your online registrations, you must:
1. Clearly state the benefits of attending the event.
Simply announcing an event is not enough to get people to register. You need to let your invitees know how they will benefit from attending or what results they will achieve. Your copy can include a line like, "By the end of this workshop, you will know how to (what they will learn) so you can (cite benefit)."
2. Give a compelling reason to register now.
Scarcity can motivate people to act immediately. Use scarcity in your sales copy by mentioning limited seating or a special bonus for people who register early. If you have sold out similar events in the past, state that your new event is also likely to sell out.
3. Display testimonials.
Testimonials can be one of your most powerful marketing tools, as they provide social proof of your event's value. You can run testimonials down the side of your web page or mix them in with the sales copy. Be sure to include the full name and company of the person who gave you the testimonial, as a testimonial signed "J.D. from Toronto" may not appear credible.
4. Remember the basics.
Although this may seem obvious, many event organizers forget to include key information, such as the event location and time. Not posting this information will result in fewer registrations or more people calling you with questions. If you're holding an online event, be sure to email registrants information on how to access the event.
5. Keep it simple.
Most people skim web pages instead of reading every word. If your copy doesn't appeal to skimmers, you can lose the majority of visitors who check out your landing page. Use short paragraphs, bold text and bullet points to make it easy for skimmers to find key points about your event.
One more point - the copy on your event landing page must be aligned with your readers' business goals. Otherwise, even the most enticing event won't sell out.
© 2010 Fresh Perspective Copywriting.
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