Fully Booked: a free marketing course for event businesses.
The EventPlans.ca Marketing Academy for planners, performers, caterers, venues, photographers, décor and rental companies, and anyone who sells event services. 12 core modules, 7 specialist tracks and 126 lessons, each with objectives, a worksheet and a quiz, plus a final exam and certificate. Free and self-paced; the certificate is a certificate of completion, not an accredited credential. Built for Canada: CASL, the Competition Act, HST and the GTA market.
/ 126 lessons complete · Final exam
How the certificate works: complete the lessons in any order, then take the final exam. A score of 80% or higher passes and unlocks a printable certificate of completion with an ID anyone can check. There is no account and nothing to sign up for: your progress, quiz scores and certificate are saved in this browser on this device, so use the same browser to keep your place. The certificate is not an accredited credential.
Questions about Fully Booked
Who is Fully Booked for?
Anyone who sells services in the event industry: planners, performers and entertainers, caterers, bars and food trucks, venues, photographers and videographers, décor, floral and rental companies, DJs and bands. It teaches general marketing foundations through examples from the event business in Canada and the GTA.
Is it free?
Yes. Every lesson, worksheet, quiz, the final exam and the certificate are free, with no account. There are 126 lessons across 12 core modules and 7 specialist tracks.
Is the certificate accredited?
No. It records that you completed a free self-study course and passed the final exam at 80% or higher. Each certificate has an ID that starts with FB- and can be checked on the EventPlans.ca register.
How long does it take?
About 36 hours if you do every lesson, worksheet and quiz. Most people take a module a week and put each workshop to work in their business before moving on.
Do I need the Event Planner Academy first?
No. The two courses stand alone. Planners often take the Academy for the craft and Fully Booked for the business of winning clients; vendors and performers can start here.
Curriculum
Marketing Foundations8 lessons
Most event businesses are good at the work and uneasy about the selling. This module fixes the ground under your feet before you spend a dollar or post a word. You will…
- What marketing is (and is not) for a service business15 min
- The customer journey from stranger to repeat client15 min
- The marketing mix for services: the seven Ps15 min
- Demand you capture and demand you create15 min
- Your marketing numbers: leads, conversion, booking value and lifetime value15 min
- Marketing law in Canada: CASL, the Competition Act and privacy20 min
- The one-hour-a-day marketing system15 min
- Module 1 workshop: a one-page marketing snapshot15 min
Customers, Competitors and the Market7 lessons
Good marketing starts with knowing who buys, why they choose, and who else they are considering. Most event businesses guess at all three. This module replaces guesses with evidence you can gather…
- Who actually buys: clients, decision makers and influencers20 min
- Customer interviews that tell you the truth20 min
- Building buyer personas from evidence20 min
- Mapping the competition in your city20 min
- Seasonality and the event calendar15 min
- Reading search demand with free tools20 min
- Module 2 workshop: the market research brief15 min
Positioning, Niche and Offer7 lessons
Most event businesses describe themselves in the same handful of words, and then wonder why clients compare them on price. This module fixes the problem at its root. You will decide what…
- Positioning: owning one idea in the client’s mind15 min
- Choosing a niche without starving15 min
- The value proposition and the proof behind it15 min
- Designing your signature offer15 min
- Standing out when everyone says professional and reliable15 min
- Guarantees, risk reversal and fair terms20 min
- Module 3 workshop: a positioning statement and offer sheet20 min
Brand, Identity and Messaging7 lessons
Your positioning decides what you want clients to remember. Your brand is how they come to remember it: the name on the van, the colour of the proposal, the tone of the…
- What a brand is for a small service business15 min
- Naming, domains and trademarks in Canada15 min
- Visual identity: logo, colour, type and photo style20 min
- Voice and tone15 min
- The message house: headline, pillars and proof15 min
- Storytelling and the founder story15 min
- Module 4 workshop: a one-page brand guide20 min
Pricing, Packages and Proposals7 lessons
Your price is the first thing many clients judge you by, long before they meet you. It tells them what kind of business you are, who you serve and how confident you…
- Price is a marketing message20 min
- Cost-plus, market and value pricing20 min
- Good, better, best: building packages15 min
- Showing prices online: all-in pricing and the drip pricing rules15 min
- Quotes and proposals that sell20 min
- Discounts, deposits, off-peak rates and add-ons15 min
- Module 5 workshop: a three-tier price sheet15 min
A Website That Books8 lessons
Most event clients will look at your website before they contact you, and many will decide within seconds whether to stay. This module shows you how to build a site whose single…
- What a service website must do in eight seconds20 min
- Site structure: home, services, about, proof and contact15 min
- Writing service pages that convert15 min
- Photos, video and page speed15 min
- Inquiry forms and booking flows15 min
- Trust on the page: reviews, credentials, insurance and policies15 min
- Accessibility, privacy and the legal pages20 min
- Module 6 workshop: audit and rewrite your home page15 min
Search, Local SEO and Google Business Profile8 lessons
Most event clients start with a search. A couple types “wedding photographer Mississauga”, an office manager types “corporate caterer downtown Toronto”, a parent types “kids magician near me”. The businesses that appear…
- How search works for local services20 min
- Google Business Profile: setup, categories and verification20 min
- Keyword research for services15 min
- On-page SEO: titles, headings and service-area pages20 min
- Reviews and local ranking20 min
- Directories, citations and links20 min
- Measuring search: Search Console and Analytics15 min
- Module 7 workshop: a 90-day local SEO plan15 min
Content: Photo, Video and Writing8 lessons
Event services are hard to judge before the day, so clients buy on evidence. Your photos, videos and written guides are that evidence: they show what you do, teach clients how to…
- Content that sells a service: show, teach, prove15 min
- Event photos that market you, and who owns them15 min
- Short video on a phone15 min
- Writing guides and posts people search for20 min
- Behind-the-scenes and process content20 min
- One event, twenty pieces of content15 min
- Using AI tools responsibly20 min
- Module 8 workshop: a content calendar for one season15 min
Social Media7 lessons
Social media is where most event clients go to check you out after they hear your name. They look at your grid, read your comments and send a message at eleven at…
- Choosing platforms: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest15 min
- Profiles that turn visitors into inquiries15 min
- Posting rhythm and formats15 min
- Comments, DMs and community management15 min
- Influencers, creators and the disclosure rules20 min
- Social analytics that matter15 min
- Module 9 workshop: a 30-day social plan15 min
Email, CRM and Follow-Up8 lessons
Most event businesses do not lose bookings because nobody inquired. They lose them in the gap between the inquiry and the signed contract: a reply sent the next day, a quote that…
- Your list is the asset you own15 min
- CASL in practice: consent, identification and unsubscribe15 min
- Choosing a CRM and setting pipeline stages15 min
- Speed to lead: answering inquiries15 min
- The follow-up sequence after a quote15 min
- Newsletters people open15 min
- Past clients: nurture and rebooking15 min
- Module 10 workshop: an inquiry-to-booking pipeline15 min
Referrals, Partnerships, Reviews and PR8 lessons
Most event businesses are built on other people's recommendations. A venue coordinator who mentions your name, a couple who tells their cousin, a five-star review that a nervous parent reads at midnight:…
- Why referrals drive event businesses20 min
- Building a referral network with venues and vendors15 min
- Preferred vendor lists, referral fees and disclosure20 min
- Asking for reviews and answering bad ones20 min
- Testimonials and endorsements done properly20 min
- Networking, trade shows and wedding shows20 min
- Media relations for small businesses15 min
- Module 11 workshop: a partner and review plan20 min
Paid Ads, Measurement and the Marketing Plan8 lessons
Everything in this course so far has built assets you own: a position, a brand, a website, search visibility, content, an email list and a referral network. Paid advertising can put those…
- When paid advertising makes sense15 min
- Google Ads for local services15 min
- Meta ads on Facebook and Instagram15 min
- Budgets, cost per lead and break-even15 min
- Tracking: UTM tags, conversions and calls15 min
- The marketing dashboard15 min
- Writing the annual marketing plan15 min
- Module 12 workshop: your 90-day marketing plan15 min
Marketing for Event Planners5 lessons
Planners sell something the client cannot hold, taste or try on. You are asking a couple, a committee or a corporate sponsor to trust you with a day that has not happened…
Marketing for Performers and Entertainers5 lessons
Magicians, musicians, DJs, dancers, aerialists, comedians, stilt walkers, caricaturists and every other act share one marketing problem: the buyer has to imagine your show in their room before they have seen it.…
Marketing for Caterers, Bars and Food Trucks5 lessons
Food and drink businesses have an advantage most event vendors would envy: people can taste what you sell. They also carry more rules than almost anyone else in the industry, from public…
Marketing for Venues5 lessons
A venue sells a fixed number of dates in a fixed number of rooms, and every Saturday that passes unbooked is gone for good. That makes venue marketing different from almost any…
Marketing for Photographers, Videographers and Creatives5 lessons
Photographers, videographers and other visual creatives sell something unusual: the client cannot see the product until after the event, yet every frame you deliver becomes marketing for you, for the couple or…
Marketing for Décor, Florals and Rentals5 lessons
Décor, floral and rental companies sell things clients can touch, yet most of the buying happens before anyone sees a single chair or stem in person. Clients and planners shop from photos,…
Selling to Corporate Clients5 lessons
Corporate clients book more often, spend more per event and come back year after year, but they buy in a completely different way from couples and families. Decisions pass through several people,…