Anything a consumer can do to add to their knowledge base has real value and appeal. At the same time, an opportunity to showcase your specialized knowledge can enhance your Expert Identity and make your services more attractive to potential customers. Here’s a five-step process for developing seminars that will appeal to your target audience:
**Step One: Define Your Target Audience**
Niche entrepreneurs have a range of potential audiences for educational material. Classes could be directed toward colleagues and peers, with the aim of enriching the industry as a whole and generating referral business. Alternatively, you may wish to focus on educating the general public, creating a more informed consumer base and enjoying higher sales. Realize that these two groups have different needs and require different information. You need a clear vision of who you’re talking to before you worry about what you’re talking about!
**Step Two: Identify Critical Information**
Now that you know who your target audience is, determine what is important to them. What crucial areas are your customers most eager to learn about? Keep in mind that there is always a demand for basic, introductory information. Never assume you know what is of interest to your clientele. Ask them—either informally during the course of business or as part of an outreach campaign. The topics you might think are surefire hits might leave them bored, while something you considered insignificant could have great appeal. Do your research!
**Step Three: Select a Topic**
Use the results of the research you conducted in Step Two to select a topic. What are the most important points to cover? Create a presentation focusing on those points. Remember, you want to appeal to the wants and needs of your target audience.
**Step Four: Select a Format**
Consider the type of material you’ll be teaching and your own personal style. This is one time when you’ll really need to be brutally honest with yourself: if you’re an outgoing, dynamic person who thrives in a crowded room yet hates technology with a passion, why try to host a web-based event? Choose a seminar instead, and let your people skills sell you! The reverse is even more true: niche entrepreneurs who might be brilliant but pedantic will lose far more customers than they gain by boring a room full of people to tears. Consider your material. Some information is better presented visually—financial or scientific data, for example. Other information, such as massage techniques, cries out for live demonstrations.
**Step Five: Market Your Classes**
Once you’ve designed your educational offerings, you need to market them. There are a number of ways to do this. If you’re trying to reach a purely local audience, then saturating local media with press releases and announcements, as well as flyers and direct mailings, is the way to go. For larger events or web-based classes, you’ll want to adopt a broader strategy, including email, website, and blog postings. The key to the success of any seminar, boot camp, or educational offering is through marketing and promotion. Yet this is the area where more niche entrepreneurs drop the ball. Don’t short-change yourself. Devote as much time and energy to promoting your classes as you did developing them!