The fact that you will need announcements is obvious, but that does not mean you will know exactly how to go about properly getting them out there, especially to have the most impact possible.



Before you ever send out your first announcement you need to know exactly who you are sending them to. If you target too broad of an audience you will end up spending more money on postcard printing than you really needed to—not that postcards are that expensive to print, but still, who wants to spend more money than they have to, especially if you are targeting people who would never have interest in attending. If you target too small of a group you will find the money spent on the event itself going to waste on a small audience.

The number you send out is the next thing to consider. Only a small percentage of the people you target are going to actually come. There is just no getting around this fact, which means you want to focus on the largest number possible within the primary field you are trying to appeal to. If it looks like a person might have any interest send them an announcement. A five to ten percent response is going to be great, so if you want fifty people to attend, send your announcements to five hundred if at all possible.

The information you place on your announcements is another very important detail. Get right to the point as fast as possible, and be sure someone will walk away with everything they need to know in order to attend. The more straight forward your announcements are, the better your responses will be.

Next, consider how far in advance you send them out. Sure, you want people to know really far in advance so they will be sure to have the day free. But if I get an announcement five months in advance, I am not always going to be able to remember it when the time comes.

That does not mean you should not send your postcards out early enough to garner early interest, but you should be sure to send out multiple batches spread out over those five months, including additional reminders when the event is getting closer.

Now you get the benefit of an early announcement and draw in the people who are likely to plan ahead, while still reminding the stragglers who don't plan anything out that far in advance.

Knowing the timing, the type of announcements to send, and the proper kinds of follow ups needed, will help make sure your attendance rate is always what you want it to be.