Low and No Cost Training Promotion Ideas

How to Promote a Training Event on a Tight or Small Budget

Sep 30, 2009

Attracting potential students to register for training events requires methods that emphasize the unique aspects of the training and builds community awareness.

When money is tight, often promotional budgets for training offerings get reduced or eliminated. Promoting a training event on a tight training budget requires some creative strategies to get noticed and attract the right audience.

Write and Distribute Press Releases

Writing press releases can take a bit of time but the payoff can be huge if it attracts a reporter who writes a feature story on the training event. An article featuring the training event is much more persuasive to an educated audience who is looking for further education or training. The main advantage of a feature story is the opportunity to promote a unique aspect of the training such as a well know instructor, a new delivery technique or topic that is in demand or unique.

There are two important components to getting promotional mention using a press release. One, the press release needs to emphasize how the training is sensational or highly unique and the human interest angle i.e. how taking the training can improve the quality of living, save lives etc. Second, the media contacts (also known as the media universe) need to be well researched to ensure that the press releases will get to the right reporters.

Offer Sample Free Class

Offering one class for free that introduces a series of workshops or courses can be a terrific way to attract potential students to register. Many community centers or other facilitates will be open to advertising and providing a room for a free session as it expands their offerings without instructor costs. The other advantage of offering a free session is that the audience that signs up is interested in the topic and so there is a better chance of convincing them to sign up for more training.

Write a Newsletter Article

To promote a training event to a particular sector or occupation, find a professional association or group whose members are the target audience. Offer to write a newsletter article and provide interesting content and create an appetite for more information.

Purchase a Series of Classified Ads

Frequently run classified ads can often produce more registrants than an expensive display ad. One advantage to using classified ads is that the ads are grouped under a heading that attracts the target audience. Another advantage of classified ads is the lower and often additional price cuts for purchasing multiple placements at once. Readers seeing ads repeatedly builds awareness and can translate into more registrations.

It is easier to attract potential students when using promotional strategies that read the target demographic. Press releases, sample classes, newsletter articles and classified ads can produce registrations and build community awareness of training event offerings.

The copyright of the article Low and No Cost Training Promotion Ideas in Training/Professional Development is owned by Joni Rose. Permission to republish Low and No Cost Training Promotion Ideas in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.