Question: Ali, How do you suggest I build a speaking organization such as your SHINE conference? I have an INCREDIBLE story of faith and restoration that will motivate MANY women.
— Deborah Lovett, Women of the Well Ministry, Bellbrook, Ohio
Ali’s Answer: “Deborah, thank you for writing and kudos to you for sharing your story. There are undoubtedly many people waiting to hear your message. To answer your question about building a conference, let me take you back to 2005, which is when I hosted my FIRST ever live event! It was my first Online Success Blueprint Workshop. I had a whopping 28 people in the small hotel meeting room, but it felt like 1,000 at the time. I started small and first got confident with running an event and teaching and speaking live. Little by little, my events grew larger. Word spread that they delivered solid content and were a lot of fun too. 2008 was my big jump to 500 attendees and hosting a more exciting event than ever before. As I write this, we already have over 300 people registered for SHINE (November 2-4, 2011 in Dallas, Texas) and it’s still over 200 days away.
I share with you where I started because it’s important to realize that most events start small. Unless you have a gazillion-dollar marketing budget, start with your own contacts and lists and build your event locally, then increase your reach. Use free or low-cost methods for promotion like social networking. Connect with organizations or associations who have an affinity with your target market, and see if they’ll promote for you or you can do some type of joint venture. And no matter how small your event is, make sure you RECORD it. This way you then have an audio or video product to give away or sell, as well as samples of your presentations, and that helps promote future events also. I hope those ideas get you started!” — Ali
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