Last month we began this series by choosing the marketing message for a workshop on ice fishing. Ice fishing?!? Yep. I chose an out-of-the-ordinary subject to focus on the workshop process from start to finish. Nail the process, and you’ll be able to present an effective workshop that will grow your audience anytime, anywhere, on any topic.
I know zero about ice fishing, so you and I are starting from the same place: ignorance 🙂 Let’s learn together, shall we?
This month we begin working on our title.
Creating a Results-Oriented Workshop Title
Weak, vague titles run rampant throughout the world like vermin.
We want a title that will do 5 things:
-identify our audience directly or indirectly;
-address a problem, a challenge, or a goal;
-begin with an action verb;
-include a number (maybe), and;
-is utterly clear…like glass.
So clear that it’s understood by those inside and outside our audience. Why? We only want people interested in ice fishing to attend our ice fishing workshop. So obvious! Yet many don’t “get” this basic truth: it serves no purpose to attract people not interested in our offer.
Where to Find Title Inspiration
We can find scads of fill-in-the-blank title templates online. But you and I are intelligent. We can be more unique than some ol’ cookie-cutter formula, right?
That goal leads us to online research. Let’s see what others are saying about ice fishing.
Inspiration can be found in book titles. How about Drill It Till It Squirts? Uh, noooo. Incredibly, there’s both a book title and a popular clothing line with that phrase.
Here’s another: You Had Me At Ice Fishing. That’s a fun twist on the famous movie line. Let’s keep looking.
Don’t limit your research to Amazon. There’s a wide range of books on this subject beyond what Amazon offers. Google it.
On-topic magazines can be a gold mine for titles. I’ve found their covers and the stories highlighted on them super helpful. They either confirm my direction or change it, which is what happened in this case.
Scanning different ice fishing magazines, I realize my workshop’s original promised result–catch more fish–is both waaay too basic and too vague compared to what else is in the marketplace.
Others are offering sophisticated information, and not just about the best gear or locales.
For example, many such magazines regularly publish deep dive articles on a single fish species. There seem to be hundreds: panfish and walleyes, giant perch, trout, pike, catfish, and more, each with their own likes, dislikes, homes, favorite bait, and on and on the details go. Yikes!
We can’t possibly contain that in a 60-minute workshop. Instead of too basic, this topic’s waaay too broad.
It looks like we’re back at zero, but we’re not. We’ve eliminated our original direction and its extreme on the other end of the spectrum. Good work!
We must dig deeper. Be more specific. Back to the magazines we go.
We find the following article titles:
-The Search for Perch
-Strategies for Northern Pike
-How to Read Fish and Respond
-Pike Lairs, from Big Lakes to Secluded Backwaters, Find Where Monsters Lurk
-Tracking Pike
-Ice Fishing Game Plan
-The Hunt for Gillzilla
I did not make these titles up. Some of them are real possibilities because their only purpose is to spur our creative thoughts. You and I could ponder the same article titles and come up with vastly different workshop titles. That’s a good thing.
Why Are We Spending So Much Time on Our Workshop Title?
Because potential attendees will decide whether to sign up or not based upon it.
This 3-7 word phrase will determine the success of our workshop. That’s a huge load to carry.
Important as our content is, some will never see it because our title either turned them off or didn’t interest them enough to find out more. So, they won’t sign up.
Let’s keep working to find / create a great title so our workshop is full. That will make our title struggle worth it.
See you next month.
Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.
Website: marketersonamission.com
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