Vernetta R. Freeney
Now you have your idea, plan, and team in place. It’s time to market your national tour. This is the most tedious and time consuming part of the process.
If it’s your first tour this may take up to a year of strategic marketing. That is only if you don’t have an engaging community that will support your idea or the funding to pay to advertise in each city. The more committed your community, the less time you will need to market and/or educate your intended audience.
But this part of the process frustrates most people because they think social media is enough. It’s not. In reality most people don’t see what you post on social media. It’s like throwing spaghetti on a wall to see if it sticks. Now I’m not saying social media shouldn’t be a part of marketing plan.
So what are some cost effective ways of spreading the word about your national tour? This is where it helps to have a network that will help share your event as well as give you ideas. But if you are building up to that here are some ideas to get you started…
- Schedule twitter chats
- Secure bloggers for your tour
- Create a Facebook and Google+ event page
- Place on Eventbrite
- Write blog posts
- Reach out to local media to pitch for an interview or send a Press Release
- Tap into someone who has a larger audience than you.
- Pay for advertisements where your audience is.
Most importantly, stay consistent.
If your budget allows you to place ads both online and in print do that as well. I have. But one piece of advice I want to share. Make sure you know the demographics of the media you are reaching out to. This goes back to your plan.
Make a line item in your budget for marketing. This is your biggest expense for the tour. Unless you have a well known name you will do a lot of grass roots work to get the message out.
Next month we talk about how your marketing will lead to leaving a lasting impression for your attendees at the actual event.
Vernetta R. Freeney is the Founder/Chairwoman of the Award-Winning Women Are Gamechangers blog and creator of the Award-Winning Fusion Tour, a national intimate business conversation tour for women who work from home, bloggers and introverts.
She is an educator, blogger, speaker, and advocate for women and youth. You will find Vernetta online sharing and discussing topics ranging from blogging, grants, women Gamechangers, social justice, Fusion and the latest news to what’s she has coming up.
When she is not online causing people to think, you can find her teaching at a local Houston college, volunteering with a youth organization, speaking somewhere across the country, blogging on her blogs or others, curled up on her couch reading a really good book or cheering on her beloved Dallas Mavericks.
Vernetta may have begun her career working in nonprofits then transitioned into education. But her true calling has always been being a champion for women taking control of their purpose in life. Her goal is to help unleash the Gamechanger within many women through Fusion Tour.
2 Replies to “How Do You Pull Off A National Tour?”
Vernetta Freeney[ Post Author ]
You are right about having an exceptional marketing plan in place.
The Highs, Lows and Uh Ohs of Creating an Intimate National Tour by @VRFreeney | She Owns It
[…] from the venue or someone copying your idea. You however can control the turn out. Mastering a marketing plan is the best way to fill the seats for each tour […]
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