Wednesday, July 23, 2008

20 Ideas for Filling Your Group Coaching, Workshops and Retreats

20 Ideas for Filling Your Group Programs
Copyright 2008 - Jennifer Britton Potentials Realized

(Originally Published in the May 2008 Group Program Nuggets Ezine)

Marketing continues to be forefront on the minds of many coaches and business owners who I am in contact with. We can have the best program designs, yet if no one is attending our group programs are simply only a good idea.

Here are 20 ideas to spark some thinking about how you may want to apporach marketing for your next group program, or even marketing in general for your business. Some of these are short term activities and others are longer-term strategies. They are all things that I have tried in my business and have seen results with.

Start a blog on issues related to the program topics
Undertake speaking engagements
Know Your Audience
Join a professional association
Host a Podcast
Develop a monthly e-zine
Write articles on topics you are knowledgable about, passionate about or are related to your group program
Develop postcards for your business (Vistaprint.com)
Partner/Collaborate with others on a Joint Venture
Ask for referrals from past participants, colleagues and others who know you
Donate a prize for a silent auction
Develop a White Paper for your industry
Develop a free e-course
Write a book
Review your business vision regularly
Refer to your business plan regularly
Update your business plan/marketing plan/marketing vision on a regular basis
Build strategic relationships
offer a regular complimentary teleseminar program on a regular basis on a topic related to your group program
Send out handwritten notes along with your program notice by mail to those in your network

Activity:
1. Create a Mindmap on marketing ideas for your group programs OR busines
2. Select 3-5 to focus on in the next month
3. Create SMART goals for each one of these focus areas
4. Follow the 1% rule - Imagine if you took action to make a 1% change in action towards any of your goals on a daily basis. What sort of movement forward would you see in a month? Ask yourself on a daily basis: What is the 1% change/action I can take today.
5. Keep track of what's working, and what's not over the short and long term. Remember that many of these marketing activities are like planting seeds and may require ongoing attention/focus as well as time before they sprout.


If you'd like even more ideas, feel free to email me for a free resource article: 101+ Marketing Ideas, designed to spark your creativity when it comes to filling your group programs and business pipeline. To receive your own copy email me at jennifer@potentialsrealized.com with 101+ Marketing Ideas in the subject line. If you are looking to dig deeper on the topic contact me to see if one of my individual, mentor or group coaching programs may support you.

Have a great week,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC

PS - We've got a new date for the August Group Coaching Essentials (Wednesdays from 8-9:15 pm EST starting on August 6th and running for five sessions). Click on over to register!

Join me on Thursday July 24th from 3 - 4 pm (ET) when I speak on Tips for Group Coaching to the Career Coaching Community at the Co-Active Network. Visit the calendar at www.coactivenetwork.com for more info.

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