Nancy "Publici-Tea™" Juetten, Asking for Candid Feedback

Nancy, I'll throw in my two-cents...

...My thought is that publicity, whether DIY or outsourced, is a nebulous, intangible marketing strategy for most people.

In other words, the allure of direct, immediate ROI just isn't there.

No doubt, getting publicity can work wonders. One of my clients in Italy was recently featured on CNN and CNN Money; now she's got more leads and clients than she can handle.

Another client of mine was on the Tyra Banks show.

I think getting publicity is a good strategy, but in the current climate, my read of entrepreneurs is that they're looking for strategies and tactics that bring more immediate results and that they can be in direct control of.

It's possible to grow one's business WITHOUT garnering significant publicity. But it's not likely that one will grow their business WITHOUT certain essentials such as a solid core marketing message, a great follow-up offer, a reliable approach to client/customer/patient conversion. I'm sensing that these are the topics that people are gravitating toward.

(And of course, anything related to social media is getting a lot of attendance. Your event description mentions social media, but it doesn't stand out.)

While I'd love to be on CNN and Tyra Banks, I've been busy without that kind of publicity. And, while I've love for such opportunities to fall into my lap and I"m open to it, I'm personally not willing to do the legwork to make that happen; I've got other fish to fry.

Having said that, the other obvious consideration is free vs. for-fee events. I've noticed on Biznik that "free" events in the Seattle area seem to attract more attention than "for-fee" events.

Of course, there are exceptions.

I wonder what your attendance might be like if the event were "free". Then at the end (or middle), you could offer your follow-up support program. Just a thought.

A final thought (and I don't know if you can deliver on this), would be to revise your description, geared toward the more immediate ROI of publicity through traditional channels and emerging channels, such as social media. "Publici_Tea: The Easy Approach to More Clients Than You Can Handle"

George

Nancy, I think it's quite simple. You are charging for the event. Biznik people don't pay for events for the most part. Half of your event is by Steve, he has presented that material to a large number of Biznik people in the past, all for free.

I have offered events for a charge and had zero takers, when I offered the same event for free it was over capacity.

Look at the event last night sponsored by Lara. 40% RSVP. A lot of hard cost to get those two authors to the event I'll bet. A survey was done on who Biznikers would want to hear from and there was a lot of response. There was a lot of interest in those particular presenters, but yet when the time came to crack open the wallet the result did not match the survey expectations. Not the first time people did not put their money where their mouth was.

You know if this event was free it would be full, or close to it. We have trained the general population of Biznik to expect free and we should not be surprised when they continue that behavior.

While there have been successful paid events they are few and far between. Some that work one time don't the next. For the future I'm looking at other alternatives that will generate the results I want. Will it include free events on Biznik? Maybe, but it's my last choice. The lack of attendance at quality paid events like yours (and others) only lead to fewer quality free events. Wow, big surprise!

There is the old relationship breakup line, "it's not you, it's me". Well in this instance it isn't you, it's them!

I agree with Richard on the "free" vs. "for-fee" consideration.

Interestingly, Nancy and Steve hosted an event of similar this past June in Tacoma and had 10 participants at $40/seat.

There are fewer events in Tacoma, per se; maybe that's why people were willing to pay a modest fee.

In Seattle/Bellevue, a plethora of free events exists, many competing with one another. Even some quality free events don't get much in the way of attendance.

I've been told by others a culture of not being willing to pay for quality information and support exists within the Biznik community. I've resisted that notion for quite some time. Jury's still out for me.

But, I wouldn't recommend to any of my clients that they could subsist on promoting events through Biznik alone.

I don't know if there's an easy remedy for the "free" culture that seems to exist in the Biznik community. But I'd be willing to explore it.

Interesting conversation and one that keeps coming back here on Biznik. We (I should say most of the time Bob) do mostly free events (just one paid, with a modest fee).

Our philosophy is give freely, building credibility and visibility in order to attract interest in what we offer in the way of paid services. I'm not entirely convinced that there is a "free" culture in the Biznik community. But what I have noticed is that people are more willing to pay when they walk away with a specific skill that they can use tomorrow.

For instance, in Bob's (paid) WordPress Simplified workshop, attendees can log in to their own website/blog's back-end and follow along/take the steps as they learn how to manage their own dashboard. "Hands-on" is a cliché, but that's the idea. Some people see the value in that.

Now if the success of my business depended on teaching a lot of paid workshops, I'm not sure Biznik would be my audience.

Just my opinion. Like George, I'm still waiting to see how all this develops.

Nancy... In the not so humble opinion of That Sales Guy...

Biznik local events are a great way to test the waters and refine your presentation. The common thread that I notice concerning when a Seattle Biznik will open their wallet is if the presenter is from "out of town".

So my conclusion is: If you want to pack em in and charge for it, leave town to do it.

In each of my past businesses, I could always sell more "out there" than I could "right here". I don't know why, but 40 years of experience is where I draw my research data from, and it seems to work.

I love the things you teach and will be a forever fan. Your friend. ...Howard

P.S. Hold your event in Las Vegas and I'll pay you dearly for it. Hold it here, and I'll drop in if you give me something to take home for free.

Okay Howard, my next event is in Hawaii!

Seriously, you bring up an interesting point.

It's a bigger commitment to get to Las Vegas from here. So, one would think that the resistance to signing up for a program out of town would be higher.

Yet, don't we tend to undervalue and take for granted that which is readily accessible and covet that which is just beyond reach? It's kind of like "water" vs. "gold."

I noticed that Nancy had a Publici-Tea event in Portland, but with no RSVPs. Perhaps, attendees turned out to be non-Biznikers.

Having said that, I've been invited to present my "Introductory Sessions That Clients Gladly Pay For" workshop in Portland. We're working out the details about whether it ought to be free or for-fee. It'll be interesting to see how it goes.

@George... (What are the dates and which resort? You know I'll be there if possible.)

Although, I once heard that a prophet is never recognized in his own land and you and I are neighbors. Now if I lived in Hawaii, that would be a different story.

I attended a paid Biznik event this week with Chris Brogan, a notable blogger who I have been following for some time now. I met Julien Smith, his co-author and will now start following him also.

They are both from "out of town", although I feel I already knew Chris because of his online presence.

Their reputation preceded them as they spoke about "Trust Agents", their new book. There were only 36 paid Biznik attendees.

If it had not been an exclusive Biznik event, I think they would have had hundreds attending regardless of the entrance fee.

It was a GREAT event and I'm thankful that Biznik gave us the opportunity to have a sort of intimate affair with out of town personalities.

Different types of events that are promoted differently draw different crowds. I'm a believer in continual testing and evaluating. Then when you discover something that works, multiply it.

I wish you great success in Portland and hope you will report back with your findings.

...Howard

I have been a Biznik member since Feb. and I have gone to a lot of events. I have not as of yet been to a paid event.

Your event has gotten me to think about going to a payed event because I think there is a value in what you are teaching.

I hope as events in the organization mature that more will see a value in going to an occasional paid event.