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…
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Quick start · Fully Booked learning path
The six modules that move bookings fastest: foundations, positioning, pricing, the website, local search and referrals.
The quick start path through Fully Booked, the free EventPlans.ca Marketing Academy. The lessons below are in course order; work through them, complete each worksheet and quiz, and see the learning paths for the other routes.
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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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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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…
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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…
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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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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…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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,…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
Read moreOn-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,…
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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…
Read moreDirectories, 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…
Read moreMeasuring 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…
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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 &…
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Why referrals drive event businesses
Module 11: Referrals, Partnerships, Reviews and PR · 20 min
Event clients buy a one-time, high-stakes service they cannot test in advance, so they borrow trust from people who have already used…
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Building a referral network with venues and vendors
Module 11: Referrals, Partnerships, Reviews and PR · 15 min
Venues and fellow vendors meet your future clients before you do, which makes them your most reliable source of referrals. Learn how…
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Preferred vendor lists, referral fees and disclosure
Module 11: Referrals, Partnerships, Reviews and PR · 20 min
Preferred vendor lists, pay-to-list fees and referral commissions are common in the event industry, and each one changes what you owe the…
Read moreAsking for reviews and answering bad ones
Module 11: Referrals, Partnerships, Reviews and PR · 20 min
Reviews are referrals from strangers, and most happy clients will write one only if you ask at the right moment and make…
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Testimonials and endorsements done properly
Module 11: Referrals, Partnerships, Reviews and PR · 20 min
A testimonial is a client's words that you choose to publish, so you are responsible for what it says and what it…
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Networking, trade shows and wedding shows
Module 11: Referrals, Partnerships, Reviews and PR · 20 min
Wedding shows, trade shows and networking events put you in front of buyers and partners face to face, but only a planned…
Read moreMedia relations for small businesses
Module 11: Referrals, Partnerships, Reviews and PR · 15 min
Local press, podcasts and trade publications can introduce you to thousands of buyers at once, and they reward businesses that bring them…
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Module 11 workshop: a partner and review plan
Module 11: Referrals, Partnerships, Reviews and PR · 20 min
Pull the module together into a one-page partner and review plan for your own business. Work step by step from your referral…
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