For a small business, hosting special events can be a powerful tool to generate new leads, cultivate customer loyalty, or drive sales through event tickets and upsells. And as technology seems to be taking over our lives, people are craving in person connection now more than ever. The demand is there, the upside is there. Yet small businesses are still working twice as hard to fill events and yielding less results. What gives?
Filling in-person events by the average small business may be challenging, but can be done! In this article, I’ve shared my own organic marketing experience and collaborated with other marketers to create this 2025 guide for filling events for small businesses (without paid ads).
#1. Think about supply and demand basics.
Assessing demand should always be the first step. If your lead gen event is one of 20 other “first time home buyer” workshops this month, the supply and demand isn’t working in your favor.
Extra supply gives a potential participant an extra decision to make - which of the similar events will they choose? It also eliminates the "sense of urgency” required for someone to actually make time in their schedule and show up. If a person knows that they can just catch the next one, they are less likely to prioritize your event, unless they have an outside urgency (in the above example: about to put an offer on a home).
Actionable tip: Find a way for your event to be different in some way. Maybe it’s the venue or the forum. Maybe it’s adding interactive activities or a popular speaker. Maybe there are extra benefits and bonuses thrown in.
An easy way to make your event stand out is to take a broad topic such as “first time home buying” and narrow it down to something specific, such as “Understanding the hidden costs of home ownership,” “How to evaluate a fixer upper,” or “Top 5 things to look for (or avoid) in an investment property.”
In addition, create an experience, not just an event, advised April Hiatt, CEO and Founder of WISE WOMEN Masterminds.™ “Many people attend for the ‘experience’ in addition to the things they will learn. Be creative! People love to attend events that are different from anything else they have been to before. Then, highlight that cool thing you will be doing and how it’s going to help their business.”
#2. Remember that the cost to attend is more than just money.
I’ve heard it said that the benefits of attending your event should be 2-3 times the monetary cost of attending your event. That’s because attending any event comes with an opportunity cost. If a person attends your event (especially in person), there’s the time spent at the event, plus the time and expenses of travel. If they attend, what else will they be missing? Do they need to take time off from work? Miss out on time with their family? Will this event use up their travel budget?
Actionable tip: Be sure that your messaging shares the full value beyond just the obvious. Your marketing should highlight all the benefits of attending - whether they are logistical, physical, or social benefits. Brainstorm all benefits that apply, then use crystal clear and simple messaging in your marketing to convey them.
#3. Find out the days or times when your audience is most likely to attend.
April reminds us that for different demographics, the day of the week (or time of day) can be a deciding factor.
“For example, mothers that have children in school might prefer something starting later in the morning where they don’t have to worry about getting kids off to school. Or they may prefer weekends so that kids and school are not a concern at all.”
“An older audience, with mostly empty nesters or with older, teenage children, will often prefer events during the week, a Thursday and Friday vs Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday, as they like to have weekends off.”
Lastly, April advised “Travel should also be considered in connection to the day of the week. If you hold your event on the weekend, is there time to travel home to have a break before going right back to work on Monday? Conference fatigue is a real thing! Most people will want a break between getting home and hopping right back to work!”
Actionable tip: Consider that day of the week, time of day, and travel time carefully when it comes to the lives of your particular audience. Poll your audience if you can!
#4. Start promoting early to ensure your attendees have time to plan.
“If your event is local, you have a shorter runway than if people have to travel far to attend your event. But outside of the time and expenses, people need time to adjust their schedules,” advised M. Shannon Hernandez, email marketing and messaging strategist.
“Start spreading the word as soon as you have a date and a location. Think of this in “Save the Date” terms - even if you don’t have pricing or event details yet, let people know about it. Your audience deserves the luxury of planning, and they’ll appreciate you even more when you respect that,” she said.
Actionable tip: Use every step in your event planning process as an opportunity to “build in public” and generate more interest (and ticket sales) as you go, said Shannon.
“Update your audience every step of the way on your website, emails, and social media.”
#5. Build excitement within your existing audience first.
This is an area where brand recognition and reputation comes in strong. If you have already built up a highly visible brand presence and following, then you’ve laid the groundwork for filling events.
Much like compound interest in your bank account, all those little marketing deposits you’ve been making by staying consistent and connecting with your audience can really pay off when you’re hosting an event. You’ve already earned that trust and recognition - now you can leverage your existing relationship with your audience to start spreading the news.
Actionable tip: Start by creating buzz for weeks (even months) before opening the doors and selling tickets.
Whet the appetite of your audience by discussing the problem that your event solves. Post “behind the scenes” planning stories - you can even be mysterious about it, building up anticipation for the details for a “to be announced” event. If you can, share images, stories, and rave reviews from similar past events.
#6. It’s about people, not numbers. But the numbers do matter.
Your audience is made up of individual people, not numbers, Shannon reminded us. “So you need to remember to keep your messaging focused on the people. That said, you have to have a large enough audience to fill your seats.”
Actionable Tip: Set realistic expectations within the context of your existing reach.
"If you have a list of 200 people, you probably don’t want to book a 200-seat auditorium. By keeping your event small and exclusive, capping it at 10-20 people, you’re more likely to create an experience that will grow your audience. On the other hand, if you have a list of 200,000 people, that 200-person auditorium is probably a great size,” said Shannon.
#7. Create incentives for customers to buy tickets sooner rather than later.
Of course, every event host wants to fill the event quickly - less time spent on marketing means more time focusing on delivering great value for your clients and customers.
However, unless you already have high profile status (such as a major brand, celebrity, sports team), the tickets may not just sell themselves. This is not a reflection of the quality of your event, but rather a realistic indicator of the marketing efforts you’ll need to engage in to fill it.
The sooner your event fills up, the better. Not just from a revenue perspective, but from a marketing standpoint as well. There’s nothing like announcing an "almost sold-out" event to build up your brand equity and create demand. Buyers want social proof that your event is worthwhile - knowing that it’s close to selling out assures potential attendees that other people found this event valuable.
Actionable tip: Offer “early bird” discounts or expiring bonuses.
These may encourage your existing followers and fans to buy their tickets early to save some money or get access to extra materials.
#8. Leverage additional exposure to new audiences.
Building a highly interested audience is the cornerstone of content marketing. The ability to cultivate a community makes it easy to offer high value events that members can’t wait to attend. But don’t keep it a well kept secret from a wider pool of people who haven’t found you (yet).
Actionable tips: Explore relevant channels and partnerships to promote to additional (and newer) audiences.
Consider listing your events on event-specific platforms, promoting on media outlets that have event listings, and using the “event” feature on social media platforms where applicable.
Ask your faithful fans to share the event with their own communities.
Tap into your network of power partners to see if there are any promotional opportunities.
Inquire to see if the venue will promote the event to their audience as well.
Offer affiliate links or referral fees for additional incentive, advised April.
Don’t forget to ask any sponsors or guest speakers to promote the event too - they'll want the additional visibility. Everyone wins when the event is full!
#9. Use email to fill your in-person events.
“Email marketing gives you the power to fill seats and live your life off of social media, which is especially important as social platforms grow increasingly unpredictable. Better yet, you own your email list, unlike social media platforms and algorithms,” said Shannon. She shares her strategies for using email to fill every seat at her live, in-person events in this article.
Actionable tip: Grow your email list - even when you aren’t currently promoting an event.
Adding subscribers gives you additional visibility and promotional opportunities without paying for ads or navigating social media algorithms. Check out my 5-Day Email Boost challenge for small businesses to restart your email list growth momentum.
#10. Personally invite people in your audience.
“Everyone loves to get a personal invitation to an event,” said April. “Never underestimate the power of sending a personal message, or a text message if you have phone numbers, inviting people to your event. I have found the conversion rate to be higher when I personally invite those I know and those in my audience who may have been following me for a while.”
Actionable tip: Don’t be afraid to extend personal invitations.
“I often have speakers reach out and ask if all the speaking spots for the conference are filled. When they are, I tell them that, but invite them to the event too. Many will come from that invitation,” said April.
#11. (Bonus Tip) Double or triple the amount of marketing time you think you’ll need.
I have found that most small businesses vastly underestimate the amount of time (and marketing “touches”) they think they will need in order to fill their events. In most cases when we work together, I advise them to double it, or even triple their initial efforts.
The average buyer will not commit to registering or buying a ticket the very first time they see an event. As you probably know, it takes the average buyer approximately 7 times of seeing promotional material before they will commit. Of course, this is a generality - but a lot depends on your brand’s current visibility, current following, and other demands on their attention.
Events are powerful lead generation and revenue generation tools.
And they can play an important role in our business growth strategy. As consumers and buyers have grown weary of online marketing, social media, Zoom meetings, and AI, they are craving in-person connection more than ever. Hosting events is an outstanding opportunity to bring like-minded individuals together and generate warm leads and sales. By following these key steps, your small business can craft the right marketing strategy to fill an event and serve more customers.
Christine McShane is a content marketer, messaging strategist, and copywriter for Christine McShane Creative. She’s helped her clients grow their email lists, and use email and social media marketing to sell tickets to online and in person events. Want help? Contact Christine McShane Creative here.
Images were generated by AI to illustrate the points listed in the article.