Why You’re Struggling to Book Out Your Retreat and Sell Out Your Online Programs
It’s no joke that there are hundreds of online nutrition, workout, self love etc programs out there; likewise with retreats - being so close to the Rocky Mountains of Alberta means we have countless spiritual, yoga, self care and wellness retreats popping up all the time. Let me just say - I love it! After being in the wellness industry for 10 years, I see the impact that the proper program, coaching or retreat can have on someone. But being behind the scenes, it’s a bit more nerve wracking.
I’m sure you’ve thought over the last few weeks:
“How do I get people to sign up for my program?”
“Why aren’t my tickets selling out to my retreat?”
“How do I make this more noticeable?”
“Where are the people that will find value in this?”
If you’ve launched your program, workshop or retreat, and aren’t getting many bites then there’s likely some areas that you need to work on to make it a higher value service to your target audience.
NARROWING IN WHO IT’S FOR
Launching a program/retreat with the idea that it’s for any and all women/men actually makes it of less value than you’d think. I know you go into it with good intentions of helping as many people as you can, but by trying to reach everyone you’re actually missing those who could benefit from it most. Try narrowing in a bit on who that person is and what their micro struggles are. IE: Marketing to moms with young children
PROVIDING CONTEXT BY ADDRESSING THEIR MICRO PROBLEMS
Sally doesn’t clearly understand or benefit from the idea of ‘finding herself’, ‘turning inward’, or ‘losing 10 pounds sustainably’. What she’s currently experiencing is the overwhelm of being a mom to 2 young kids, adapting to letting go of her career, shedding the freedom she once knew and adjusting to a new relationship dynamic with her partner. Spending $600 on a 3 day retreat to ‘find herself’ or spending $350 on an 8 week program to ‘lose weight sustainably’ just seems expensive. How can you address her micro struggle in a more detailed way?
UNCOVERING THE TRUE OUTCOME
Piggy-backing on number 3, sally doesn’t give AF what ‘finding herself’ means. She wants a weekend where she can decompress, move through her emotions of this massive transitional stage so she feels a little less lost and a bit more understanding as to who she is becoming. What does Sally ultimately want? To feel like herself again. To recognize who she is in her new skin (or sealskin, if you’re a folklore gal). THAT is why she may want to lose 10 pounds. It’s not the actual weight - it’s recognizing herself when she looks in the mirror.
WRAPPING IT UP INTO MORE CONCISE MESSAGING
Stop posting generic IG carousels that target everyone. Narrow in who it’s for, address their micro problems, uncover the true outcome and help them see themselves on the other side of working with you. Starting to feel more comfortable, feeling understood, heard and seen by other moms, finding a breath of relief and seeing some light on the path to move forward. Talk about it in your stories, send out emails, try to get over the fear of talking on a reel so that your target audience can see and feel the passion you have for helping them.
TRIAL AND REPOSITION
There’s a strategy I’ve learnt of recently: Soft launch your program/retreat, get a feel for the interest, see the response. If the response is low, that tells you your messaging around the retreat/program needs to shift before you fully launch it. So many business owners will dive in 100% of the way and then feel defeated and confused when tickets aren’t selling, workshops aren’t booking and programs aren’t being filled. Being a small business owner means gaining the eyes and the ability to see what works, what doesn’t work and how to reposition. Soft launch, get a feel, alter messaging if needed, then fully launch 100% of the way.
There’s a lot of goodies in here, maybe I gave away too much, hopefully I didn’t make you feel overwhelmed. If I did - just know that it’s completely normal. When you’re so close to your business it can be hard to zoom out and see the areas that could use a little tweaking, a little shifting. And there’s the constantly wonder of ‘is this what I should be doing? Is it working? Do I need to do more/less?’.
If you find yourself in the thick of it, take a breath and a few steps back. After that, if you’d like a fresh set of eyes and a bit of help with gaining clarity on these points then reach out. We work through all of these aspects in our Holistic Brand Strategy process, as well as our Launch Kit package.
Keep leading with an open heart,
Cheryl
