Complete · Fully Booked learning path: the planner's guide

Hand pulling a gold-edged envelope from a mailbox on a snowy porch

Marketing Academy

What marketing is (and is not) for a service business

Module 1: Marketing Foundations · 15 min

Marketing for an event business is the work of making the right clients know you, trust you and ask you for a…

Overhead view of a grid of trade show booths with attendees in the aisles

Marketing Academy

The customer journey from stranger to repeat client

Module 1: Marketing Foundations · 15 min

Every booking follows a path from a stranger who has never heard of you to a client who books again and sends…

Wavy blue neon line on a greenery wall with a guest from behind

Marketing Academy

The marketing mix for services: the seven Ps

Module 1: Marketing Foundations · 15 min

The seven Ps are the levers every service business controls: product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence. Learn what each…

Rigger on a scissor lift attaching hardware to a warehouse ceiling beam

Marketing Academy

Demand you capture and demand you create

Module 1: Marketing Foundations · 15 min

Some clients are already looking for you; others do not yet know they need you. Learn the difference between capturing existing demand…

Team seen from behind facing a projected rising curve at a debrief

Marketing Academy

Your marketing numbers: leads, conversion, booking value and lifetime value

Module 1: Marketing Foundations · 15 min

Five numbers tell you whether your marketing works: leads, conversion rate, average booking value, cost per booking and lifetime value. Learn how…

Long mobile bar with glassware and garnish trays as a bartender slices citrus

Marketing Academy

Marketing law in Canada: CASL, the Competition Act and privacy

Module 1: Marketing Foundations · 20 min

Three federal laws touch almost everything an event business does to market itself: CASL for emails and texts, the Competition Act for…

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Marketing Academy

The one-hour-a-day marketing system

Module 1: Marketing Foundations · 15 min

Marketing done in bursts between busy seasons never compounds. Learn a simple daily hour, split across replying, keeping, creating and measuring, with…

Planner’s hand adding a dot to a busy blank wall calendar

Marketing Academy

Module 1 workshop: a one-page marketing snapshot

Module 1: Marketing Foundations · 15 min

Pull everything from Module 1 onto a single page: who you serve, where clients leak from your journey, your seven-P scores, your…

Notebook with ruler and coloured pens beside a folded calendar

Marketing Academy

Who actually buys: clients, decision makers and influencers

Module 2: Customers, Competitors and the Market · 20 min

The person who fills in your inquiry form is rarely the only one deciding. Learn the six roles in an event purchase,…

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Marketing Academy

Customer interviews that tell you the truth

Module 2: Customers, Competitors and the Market · 20 min

Clients will tell you why they booked, why they nearly did not, and what almost sent them elsewhere, if you ask the…

Three-tier cake with berries and lit candles with children’s hands reaching in

Marketing Academy

Building buyer personas from evidence

Module 2: Customers, Competitors and the Market · 20 min

A buyer persona is a short, evidence-based portrait of a group of clients who choose for the same reasons. Learn which evidence…

Long marble bar with rows of glassware and ice wells before an event

Marketing Academy

Mapping the competition in your city

Module 2: Customers, Competitors and the Market · 20 min

Clients compare you with other vendors, with cheaper substitutes and with doing it themselves. Learn how to find your real competitors, record…

Marketing Academy

Seasonality and the event calendar

Module 2: Customers, Competitors and the Market · 15 min

Event businesses run on three clocks: when events happen, when clients inquire, and when they decide. Learn to build a twelve-month demand…

Vendors gathered around a folding table with a blank layout in a ballroom

Marketing Academy

Reading search demand with free tools

Module 2: Customers, Competitors and the Market · 20 min

Search data shows what clients want, when they want it and in what words, before they ever contact you. Learn to read…

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Marketing Academy

Module 2 workshop: the market research brief

Module 2: Customers, Competitors and the Market · 15 min

Bring your buyer roles, interviews, personas, competitor map, demand calendar and search research together in a two-page brief that ends in decisions.…

Inside a sailcloth tent set with long tables and bistro lights at dusk

Marketing Academy

Positioning: owning one idea in the client’s mind

Module 3: Positioning, Niche and Offer · 15 min

Positioning is the single idea a client connects with your business when they think of your category. Learn the parts of a…

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Marketing Academy

Choosing a niche without starving

Module 3: Positioning, Niche and Offer · 15 min

A niche makes you memorable, but only if enough clients in it can pay you. Learn the arithmetic that tells you whether…

Three spotlight beams converging on a microphone stand on an empty stage

Marketing Academy

The value proposition and the proof behind it

Module 3: Positioning, Niche and Offer · 15 min

A value proposition says what a client gets from you that they cannot easily get elsewhere, and the proof makes them believe…

Coordinator from behind walking a path lined with cones toward a tent

Marketing Academy

Designing your signature offer

Module 3: Positioning, Niche and Offer · 15 min

A signature offer turns a custom service into a named package with a fixed scope, a clear outcome and a set price.…

Planner’s fingers moving paper tables on a scale floor plan model

Marketing Academy

Standing out when everyone says professional and reliable

Module 3: Positioning, Niche and Offer · 15 min

Professional, reliable and passionate are the most common words on event websites, which is why clients ignore them. Learn how to turn…

Empty stage with crossing beams of amber and blue light through haze

Marketing Academy

Guarantees, risk reversal and fair terms

Module 3: Positioning, Niche and Offer · 20 min

Every event booking asks the client to take a risk on a day that cannot be repeated. Learn which guarantees an event…

Planner with a clipboard at a loading dock as deliveries arrive

Marketing Academy

Module 3 workshop: a positioning statement and offer sheet

Module 3: Positioning, Niche and Offer · 20 min

A step-by-step workshop that turns the module into two deliverables: a one-sentence positioning statement and a one-page offer sheet you can send…

Two ornate masks beside place settings on a candlelit gala table

Marketing Academy

What a brand is for a small service business

Module 4: Brand, Identity and Messaging · 15 min

A brand is not a logo. It is the expectation clients carry about you, built at every touchpoint from the first reply…

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Marketing Academy

Naming, domains and trademarks in Canada

Module 4: Brand, Identity and Messaging · 15 min

A business name has to be easy to say, easy to find and possible to protect. Learn how to screen a name,…

Planner’s wrist with a watch over a schedule taped to a ballroom door

Marketing Academy

Visual identity: logo, colour, type and photo style

Module 4: Brand, Identity and Messaging · 20 min

A visual identity is a short set of rules that makes everything you publish look like one business. Learn the logo versions…

Backyard movie setup with a blank glowing screen and blankets on the lawn at dusk

Marketing Academy

Voice and tone

Module 4: Brand, Identity and Messaging · 15 min

Voice is the personality that stays constant in everything you write; tone is how it adjusts to the moment. Learn to define…

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Marketing Academy

The message house: headline, pillars and proof

Module 4: Brand, Identity and Messaging · 15 min

A message house organizes everything you say into one headline, three supporting pillars and the proof beneath each. Learn to build one,…

Marketing Academy

Storytelling and the founder story

Module 4: Brand, Identity and Messaging · 15 min

Clients remember stories long after they forget claims. Learn a five-part story structure, write your founder story in three lengths, build a…

Three spotlight circles on a black-box stage around a microphone

Marketing Academy

Module 4 workshop: a one-page brand guide

Module 4: Brand, Identity and Messaging · 20 min

A step-by-step workshop that gathers everything from this module onto a single page: your brand line, logo rules, colours, type, photo style,…

Exhibitor from behind arranging a corner trade show booth

Marketing Academy

Price is a marketing message

Module 5: Pricing, Packages and Proposals · 20 min

Your price tells clients who you are for, how good you are and how much risk they take before they read a…

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Marketing Academy

Cost-plus, market and value pricing

Module 5: Pricing, Packages and Proposals · 20 min

There are three ways to set a price: from your costs, from the market and from the value the client receives. Learn…

Receipts sorted into five coloured folders on a wooden floor

Marketing Academy

Good, better, best: building packages

Module 5: Pricing, Packages and Proposals · 15 min

Three well-built packages let clients choose how to buy from you instead of whether to buy at all. Learn how to design…

Two gold rings on a wooden box at the foot of a floral arch

Marketing Academy

Showing prices online: all-in pricing and the drip pricing rules

Module 5: Pricing, Packages and Proposals · 15 min

In Canada the price you advertise must include every mandatory fee, with only taxes such as HST added on top. Learn what…

Tent stake and ratchet strap anchoring big top canvas on wet grass

Marketing Academy

Quotes and proposals that sell

Module 5: Pricing, Packages and Proposals · 20 min

A proposal has to sell on its own, in a room you are not in. Learn when to send a quote and…

Vendors’ hands pointing at a blank floor plan around a table

Marketing Academy

Discounts, deposits, off-peak rates and add-ons

Module 5: Pricing, Packages and Proposals · 15 min

Discounts, deposits, off-peak rates and add-ons decide how much of your price you keep. Learn the arithmetic behind a discount, alternatives that…

Lyra hoop suspended from a freestanding truss in a ballroom during setup

Marketing Academy

Module 5 workshop: a three-tier price sheet

Module 5: Pricing, Packages and Proposals · 15 min

Build a one-page, three-tier price sheet for your own business, step by step. Find your hourly floor, check every tier against it,…

Server’s hands polishing a wine glass at a banquet table

Marketing Academy

What a service website must do in eight seconds

Module 6: A Website That Books · 20 min

Visitors decide in seconds whether your site is for them. Learn the four questions the top of your home page must answer,…

Top hat, cards and wand inside an open road case backstage

Marketing Academy

Site structure: home, services, about, proof and contact

Module 6: A Website That Books · 15 min

A small event business needs a clear website, not a large one. Learn the five core pages and the job of each,…

Stage manager’s wristwatch and run sheet backstage beside a cue light

Marketing Academy

Writing service pages that convert

Module 6: A Website That Books · 15 min

A service page should do the selling you would do on a first call. Learn the questions every buyer is asking, an…

Baker’s hands piping rosettes onto a tiered cake on a turntable

Marketing Academy

Photos, video and page speed

Module 6: A Website That Books · 15 min

Photos and video sell event services better than words, but heavy pages lose visitors on phones. Learn which images to use, three…

Staff from behind straightening theatre-style rows of chairs in a ballroom

Marketing Academy

Inquiry forms and booking flows

Module 6: A Website That Books · 15 min

The inquiry form is where interest becomes a lead. Learn which fields to include and which to leave for the call, how…

Server’s hands placing a plated entrée on a banquet table

Marketing Academy

Trust on the page: reviews, credentials, insurance and policies

Module 6: A Website That Books · 15 min

Clients pay months ahead for something that happens once, so they look for reasons to trust you. Learn which worries each trust…

Planner’s hands sorting coloured paper chips into piles beside a calculator

Marketing Academy

Accessibility, privacy and the legal pages

Module 6: A Website That Books · 20 min

Accessibility, privacy and legal pages are part of how a website earns trust. Learn the accessibility fixes that matter most, how to…

Performers seen from behind holding white masks toward a dark audience

Marketing Academy

Module 6 workshop: audit and rewrite your home page

Module 6: A Website That Books · 15 min

Audit and rewrite your own home page in one focused working day. Record a baseline, score the page against ten criteria, rewrite…

Handshake over a blank contract with a red wax seal on a café table

Marketing Academy

How search works for local services

Module 7: Search, Local SEO and Google Business Profile · 20 min

How Google decides which event businesses appear in the map pack and the organic results for a local search, and which parts…

Crew hands mounting a neon heart onto a greenery wall

Marketing Academy

Google Business Profile: setup, categories and verification

Module 7: Search, Local SEO and Google Business Profile · 20 min

How to set up a Google Business Profile that fits Google's eligibility rules, choose the right categories and get through verification. Covers…

Gloved hands inspecting aerial rigging hardware laid out on a crash mat

Marketing Academy

Keyword research for services

Module 7: Search, Local SEO and Google Business Profile · 15 min

How to find the exact words clients type when they look for an event service, sort them by intent and value, and…

Marketing Academy

On-page SEO: titles, headings and service-area pages

Module 7: Search, Local SEO and Google Business Profile · 20 min

How to turn each row of your keyword map into a page that Google understands and searchers want to click: the title,…

Hands plugging cables into a projector with an outdoor screen behind

Marketing Academy

Reviews and local ranking

Module 7: Search, Local SEO and Google Business Profile · 20 min

How reviews feed Google's prominence factor and the click decisions searchers make in the map pack, and which review signals an event…

Marketing Academy

Directories, citations and links

Module 7: Search, Local SEO and Google Business Profile · 20 min

How listings on other websites and links to your own site build the prominence that helps you rank locally, and how to…

Marketing Academy

Measuring search: Search Console and Analytics

Module 7: Search, Local SEO and Google Business Profile · 15 min

How to set up Google Search Console, Google Analytics and your Business Profile performance reports, and read them as one picture of…

Marketing Academy

Module 7 workshop: a 90-day local SEO plan

Module 7: Search, Local SEO and Google Business Profile · 15 min

A step-by-step workshop that turns everything in Module 7 into a 13-week local SEO plan for your own business, using Lantern &…

Marketing Academy

Content that sells a service: show, teach, prove

Module 8: Content: Photo, Video and Writing · 15 min

Why event clients buy on evidence, and how to plan content around three jobs: showing what you do, teaching clients how to…

Hands placing figures and arrows on a cardboard floor model

Marketing Academy

Event photos that market you, and who owns them

Module 8: Content: Photo, Video and Writing · 15 min

Which event photos actually help you win bookings, and how to get them legally when someone else took them. You will learn…

Marketing Academy

Short video on a phone

Module 8: Content: Photo, Video and Writing · 15 min

How to plan, shoot and edit short vertical videos of your event work with a phone and a few cheap accessories. You…

Overhead view of bartenders’ hands working a busy reception bar

Marketing Academy

Writing guides and posts people search for

Module 8: Content: Photo, Video and Writing · 20 min

How to write guides that answer the questions event clients search for while they are still planning, so they meet you before…

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Marketing Academy

Behind-the-scenes and process content

Module 8: Content: Photo, Video and Writing · 20 min

How to show the work behind your events, from planning and preparation to load-in and teardown, so clients understand what they are…

Long harvest table set with candles and greenery in a barn

Marketing Academy

One event, twenty pieces of content

Module 8: Content: Photo, Video and Writing · 15 min

How to plan the capture at a single event so that it feeds weeks of content across your website, social channels, newsletter,…

Crew on a scissor lift attaching a cable bridle to a theatre grid

Marketing Academy

Using AI tools responsibly

Module 8: Content: Photo, Video and Writing · 20 min

Where AI writing, image and video tools save time in event marketing, and where they create legal, privacy and reputational risk. You…

Marketing Academy

Module 8 workshop: a content calendar for one season

Module 8: Content: Photo, Video and Writing · 15 min

A step-by-step workshop that turns Module 8 into a 13-week content calendar for your own business, using Lantern & Lane's winter calendar…

Bartender’s hands straining a cocktail into a coupe glass

Marketing Academy

Choosing platforms: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest

Module 9: Social Media · 15 min

How to pick the two or three social platforms that match the way your event clients search, compare and decide, and how…

Pink neon heart glowing on a dark brick wall

Marketing Academy

Profiles that turn visitors into inquiries

Module 9: Social Media · 15 min

How to build a social profile that tells a visitor in seconds what you do, who it is for, where you work…

Clipboard with blank checklist on a park picnic table in summer shade

Marketing Academy

Posting rhythm and formats

Module 9: Social Media · 15 min

How to set a posting rhythm you can keep through your busiest season, and how to choose between photos, carousels, short video,…

Projector on a cart lighting a blank tripod screen in a dim room

Marketing Academy

Comments, DMs and community management

Module 9: Social Media · 15 min

How to treat comments and direct messages as your front desk: answering fast, qualifying politely and moving serious buyers to a proper…

Divided jar of rolled bills and coins on a kitchen counter

Marketing Academy

Influencers, creators and the disclosure rules

Module 9: Social Media · 20 min

How to decide whether a creator partnership makes sense for an event business, how to find, vet and brief the right creator,…

Marketing Academy

Social analytics that matter

Module 9: Social Media · 15 min

How to separate the social numbers that predict bookings from the ones that only feel good, and how to trace inquiries back…

Security staffer guiding a queue between barriers at a festival gate

Marketing Academy

Module 9 workshop: a 30-day social plan

Module 9: Social Media · 15 min

A step-by-step workshop that produces a 30-day social media plan for your own business: one goal, two platforms, three content pillars, a…