If live events are something that you've been thinking about doing, or you are doing in your business then you'll know that it's all about getting the word out there to the right people in the right places at the right time.  Events can be a tricky business but if you can pull it off, they can be one of the best things you can do for your business and your brand if done right.

The Connection Exchange has run over 100 events in the last 4 years including an annual large scale conference. Ensuring that you promote, promote, promote is so important.  For those who run events you'll know that once you sign that contract for your venue and all the other elements of putting an incredible event together, it's all about showing the value and letting as many people know as possible.

There are so many different tips and tricks to hosting great workshops and events but today I thought I would just share 16 ways to promote your live event.

So what should you have on your marketing and event checklist?  Here is a list I use often and with great success!

1. Create a Facebook Event page – Simple but so many people don't do this! Make sure you create this through your business Facebook page and then invite everyone who you think it's relevant to and even invite friends so that they can invite other people for you.
2. One of the great things about this is that when someone clicks that they are interested or that they're coming, all their friends will see the events as well, which is great organic reach!  Go and like their post to boost views as well.
3. Invite everyone you know to the event and ask others to invite people as well.
4. Share the event across your different pages.  I have a Business Facebook Page and the Brand Builders Lab podcast Facebook Group so share the event wherever you can!
5. Use Facebook Advertising and targeting.  Through Facebook advertising you can obviously target exactly who you want to see the event information, so take advantage of it!
6. Ask people to support you and share the event.  Hopefully you have amazing people around you who want to see you be successful so ask them to share!
7. Have different images for promotion to keep things fresh.  If you use the exact same image all the time then people can get used to it and the impact won't be as strong.
8. Depending on the type of event, Google Adwords can be great for getting exposure.  It also retargets people who have visited your sales page or click on the ads before.  When you join for the first time they sometimes give you a $100 voucher so see if you have any lying around.  I have one with my web host Bluehost that I'll be using.
9. Advertise in relevant online and offline magazine that your target audience will be reading.  Some can be very inexpensive ($60-$150) to have a banner ad in their newsletter.  Remember to get the media kit so that you know how many people it will reach before booking the space.
10. Get sponsors to help you promote.  If you have event sponsors then asking them to support your marketing efforts is a good idea.  If they have the same target audience as you then it's a mutually beneficial opportunity.
11. Promoted through the ticketing site that you use.  I personally use StickyTickets as I've find their fees to be lower that other ticketing sites but most ticketing sites promote the events that are listed on their sites so use whatever share options they and see if you can get featured as well.
12. Potentially look to start a Meetup group if you are going to be running events regularly.  Meetup obviously have hundreds of thousands of people on their site, so if you create a meetup with a targeted name then you'll potentially get a lot of people who will join your group.  You can then list the events that you're hosting as one of the meetup events.
13. Use free events websites to list your event.
14. Promote in different Facebook Groups.  I make a note of promotion days in different Facebook groups and then ensure that I share the details of the events in those groups on the right day. I also ensure that I participate in those groups so that I'm not just promoting but I'm contributing as well.
15. Ask your speakers to promote the event to their audience.  If your speakers have a following then this is a no-brainer that their community will probably paid to see them speak. It doesn't have to be a big ad but if they just mention that they will speaking at your event and then either have a link or an image with a link then their fans can attend as well.
16. Instagram and Facebook competitions – Running competitions for a free ticket on instagram is a great way to get the word out there about your event.  So create an eye-catching image and say to win 1 or 2 tickets repost this image and tag a friend or all your mate who you would love to go with. Let it run for a couple of week and then draw a winner.  For Facebook competitions there are a number of apps you can use.  Woobox helps you run Facebook comps but google and you'll find loads of different options.