Trainer’s communication with an attendee exceeds the time frame of an event, starting before a session takes place and continuing after it ends. It contributes to the overall impression, helps maintain smooth interaction throughout the class, and can be a marketing tool.

Which words will help establish a mutual understanding? When to send them to achieve the maximum effect? Which channels and tools will be the most convenient for both parties? How to be sure your message reaches the recipient? Let’s try to find out.

Event communication channels

At various stages of event preparation, you can address your potential customers using various channels, such as emails, social media, websites, or group chats in messengers.

Social media covers a large audience, playing a big role in promotion. Unlike an email which can be read only by its recipient, a post is available to anyone. Social platforms are more suitable for informal communication, making it easier for potential students to contact you and ask questions.

Group chats are also fit for casual conversation. They are perfect for creating a sense of community allowing attendees to keep in touch even after an event ends. If you have an announcement or materials to share with everyone, sending them to a group is faster than informing each student individually.

Your website is the place where you don't have any limits on the number of symbols or file formats. You can use any info which will give a better understanding of what your training is like. Establishing a stable flow of website visitors might take time, but it's possible if you have done a proper job with SEO: keyword research, publications of relevant content for the target audience, and regular analysis of website statistics.

Email is the primary channel of communication with registered attendees. It has a number of advantages over others:

1. Ubiquitousness. Almost everyone has an email address, unlike a social media profile or a messenger account.
2. Synchronization. You can email someone no matter which provider they use, whereas each social media platform is self-contained, and you cannot contact someone outside of it.
3. Effectiveness. Emailing software is designed both for communicating with a single recipient and for bulk sending.
4. Comfort. People often have an email specifically for professional activities. They will be more willing to share it than other contact info.

While our focus in this article is emails as the most common channel of event communication, we will briefly touch upon other methods and show how and when to use them.

Pre-event communication

Pre-event communication is divided into two stages — promotion and messages to those who have already signed up.

You can employ different methods during the promotional part. After a person is registered, you will need a way to connect to your participants only. In most cases, it is done either via e-mail or group chats.

Event promotion on social media

Social media are suitable for short posts, each one highlighting one benefit of the upcoming session. They can feature the following:

• Information about the training program (key points, topics, knowledge and skills participants will acquire)
• Information about speakers and their expertise
• Discounts (what discount is active right now, and which one is the most beneficial)
• The number of tickets left (especially effective when tickets are almost sold out)
• Testimonials from previous attendees
• Photo from past events.

You can add value to your posts by writing short stories or recommendations on the chosen topic. It will be easier for people to relate to a story than to a marketing description, and recommendations will demonstrate your expertise even better than testimonials.

Event promotion on a website

Website is your main base of operations before an event starts. Potential attendees will find all the details there, buy tickets, and sign up. It's extremely important to ensure the website is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate so that nothing can sway a visitor's decision to participate.

Read our recommendations on how to create a compelling description for your event.

In addition, you can provide extensive information on speakers and implement the event calendar, where visitors can see other classes.

Event promotion in group chats

If you are striving to create a community of like-minded people for your students, you will need a platform to gather them all (e.g. Slack). This platform can be used for announcements of upcoming events and sending invitations. Since all the members in such a community have already participated in your sessions, you can skip some general details and highlight other, more subtle advantages instead.

Pre-event emails

Pre-event emails serve more goals than just promotion because they are addressed to particular people: greet those who have already signed up, provide them with necessary instructions, and send reminders.

Pre-event promotional email

If you already have an audience interested in your activities (past event attendees, newsletter subscribers), you can invite them to your next session. This kind of promotion is better targeted than a regular marketing campaign.

The two important things when dealing with promotional emails are getting permission from a recipient to send them promotions and including the Unsubscribe option in your messages. This will save you from spam complaints, that can damage your domain reputation.

What to write in the event promotional email?

• A short summary of the upcoming event
• A link to a page with event details
• Information about discounts
• Contact info to get in touch with you.

Do not forget about the main rule of event marketing — it’s not about you, but about your client. Try not to make a promotional email too long, adding only the essential details (date, location, topic) and the most attractive points (discounts, famous speakers, bonuses). Your goal is to get a recipient interested and show where they can learn more.

Registration Confirmation (Welcome email)

The first thing to do after an attendee completes the registration is to confirm that it went fine.

Here are several steps you can take during the registration process to ensure that your communication starts smoothly:

1. Indicate how you contact an attendee after the registration is completed. It can be a text on the registration page or a pop-up window after the form is submitted ("We sent a letter to your email address”).

2. Indicate the time frame within which the email should arrive. Ideally, it should be as soon as the registration form is submitted, but if you expect delays, warn about them to save your future students from worrying.

3. Remind to check the Spam folder.

4. Explain what to do if an email doesn't arrive within the indicated period (“Email me at…”).

What could go wrong? An attendee misspells their email address. An issue arises on the servers of your email provider. The recipient’s provider rejects your letter. Take measures beforehand to lower the chances of misunderstanding because of such mishaps.

What to write in the Registration Confirmation email?

The registration confirmation email can include the following components:

• Thank You message. Express your gratitude (“Thank you for signing up”, “We’re happy to welcome you”) or use any other kind words to let people know you are glad to have them at your event.
• Event name, date, and location.
• Further plan of action. Reassure students that you will remind them about the session. Specify when to expect a link to an online meeting. Let them know if you are going to send additional materials so that they arrange some time to look through them. If you don’t have exact dates, at least indicate an approximate time frame (“I will send you detailed instructions soon”/“In the next email, I will share the materials you will need in the class. Please, look through them before the start”/“I will send the meeting link within the next couple of weeks.”).
• Questions you haven't asked during sign-up. A long registration form might discourage potential students from completing it. Instead, you can move some questions to the welcome email. Those who consider this matter important will reply. For example, attendees with dietary restrictions or preferences will most likely inform you about them.
• An encouragement to send questions attendees would like to hear about. Knowing this information beforehand can help tune up the program to your audience’s preferences and avoid unexpected questions during the Q&A session (“If you have something you would like to know in particular, do not hesitate to reply to this email and share what’s on your mind. I will see if we can incorporate this information into our session”).
• Contact info. Specify how attendees can contact you or include the preferred contact method in your e-mail signature (we will talk about it later in the article).  
• A calendar invite, which allows students to add a meeting to a calendar. It usually includes the date, time, and location (or meeting link). You can create it in your calendar app and explain its purpose to a recipient (“Do not forget to add this meeting to your calendar app using the button above”)

Event reminder

The number of emails after greeting a newly registered student depends on what else you have to say or how much time is left. If a person registers long beforehand, you can stay in touch with them to maintain their interest.

Send the last reminder one or two days before the start. Add any important instructions there, even if you sent them before.

What to write in the event reminder?

You can add the following details to the event reminder:

• Date, time, and timezone.
• Link to an online meeting.
• Address of an offline venue.
• Necessary items and tools.
• Required software.
• Recommendations on how to prepare for a virtual event: check the microphone, earphones, and camera, check the Internet connection.
• Recommendation to join an online meeting or to come to a venue 10-15 minutes earlier for technical check-ups and organizational moments.
• Your own feelings and expectations (“I hope you are as excited as I am about this session”).

Additionally, you can attach an explanation of how to get to a physical location. If your online class requires special software, explain where to download it and ask to create an account beforehand.

Event Cancellation email

A Welcome email and reminders create a positive connection between you and an attendee, showing them that you care. But not all communication is this pleasant. If an event gets postponed or canceled, you also have to break this news. The way you do it can either push a potential customer away or encourage them to try again another time.

What to write in the event cancellation email?

• Title, date, and location.
• The reason for cancellation or postponement. Whether it’s technical difficulties or an insufficient number of attendees, a proper explanation helps people better understand why it happened.
• Further course of action and possible options like transferring to another date or getting a refund.
• Refund procedure. Financial matters are often the most delicate ones. To lower the chances of causing further frustration and avoid negative publicity, provide a detailed step-by-step guide on how students can get their money back.
• Apologies. Put your effort into conveying that this situation is just as upsetting to you, as to your attendees (“I regret to inform you that the event has been cancelled”/“I am really sorry to inform you that we have made a difficult decision”).
• A discount or a promo code to one of your next events as a token of goodwill. Of course, this is not obligatory but will be greatly appreciated.

Pre-event communication in group chats

Group chats are another way to share event information: instructions, materials, notifications, and reminders. This method has its pros and cons in comparison to emails.

Pros:

• You need to write only one post instead of sending a letter to every person.
• Posts in such groups are usually shorter and more to the point.
• You can always be sure that your messages are delivered.
• Attendees get a chance to know each other before the session.

Cons:

• If group members actively engage in a conversation, posts with important information will be lost.
• Some people mute notifications if there are too many messages.
• It can be difficult to find and answer all questions.
• Some people might feel uncomfortable asking questions in front of everyone.

Consider using chats for small groups, where tracking down messages and questions will be easier. Pin important information or use any other way to make it easily accessible. Emphasize that attendees can also contact you privately if this is easier for them.

Communication during an event

There are not many occasions for event communication outside the class unless your event consists of several sessions separated in time.

Group chats during an event

Use group chats between sessions to see attendees' reactions, encourage them to continue, and share your own feelings.

If students need to do exercises or look through materials before the next class, provide support and help them with questions, noting for yourself where they struggle the most and adjusting the program.

Emails during an event

Emails can serve the following purposes:

1. Remind students about the start of each session.
2. Provide additional information. If each session requires preparation, divide materials into several parts instead of dumping them all into one email at the start.
3. Ask for short feedback after the end of each session. It might be a suggestion to share concerns, rather than a request to fill in an evaluation form. This way, you will detect if anything goes wrong and make adjustments in time.

Post-event communication

Pre-event instructions and reminders are sent mostly for students’ sake. Post-event communication is more important to a trainer, providing them with valuable feedback. However, keeping attendees’ attention after an event is a tricky task. Tell your audience about upcoming messages at the last session, emphasizing their significance to you.

Post-event communication in group chats

Group chats are convenient for sharing additional materials and for helping attendees stay in touch.

If you have bonuses promised to everyone, you can send them to a whole group. When you have new content released, inform about it to engage more people and get feedback.

Try taking part in the discussions, keeping your presence. It will be useful for the promotion of your next events, as your announcement will look more natural than a sudden appearance after a long silence. In addition, being part of the conversation between attendees will help understand the effectiveness of your training program in the long run and will provide you with materials for your future sessions.

Post-event emails

After an event, there are two occasions when you need to contact attendees individually: request feedback and send certificates thanking them for participation.

Thank You For Participation email

The Thank You message is a conclusion of your interaction with students. While strengthening a good impression from an event, it lays the foundation for possible future contacts.

You can follow different purposes when designing this message:

1. Express anything you didn’t have time for during the class.
2. Help students reminisce about how it was.
3. Provide students with options to learn more about the topic.
4. Give them a chance to get to know you better.

What to write in the Thank You For Participation email?

Depending on the goal of this post-event message, it can contain the following elements:

• Expressions of gratitude and appreciation  (“Thank you for attending”/ “It was great to see you”/ “Thank you for being a part of this event”/ “Thank you for joining us”/ “I appreciate your active participation”).
• Bonuses and materials you promised to send.
• Calendar of your upcoming events.
• An invitation to subscribe to your newsletter.
• An invitation to a community.

If you issue certificates of attendance, attach them to this email. And in case you plan to send them later, inform students about it.

Feedback request

A good evaluation form with the right questions is a source of valuable information. But before students fill out and submit it, they have to open the email containing the corresponding request.

What to write in the feedback request?

Consider including the following elements in your feedback request to incentivize attendees to reply.

• Thank them for participation to set a good tone.
• Ask to share their impression (“I’d love to hear what you think”/ “I'd really appreciate it if you share your thoughts”/ “I’d be grateful if you could leave the feedback”).
• Indicate the approximate time frame it will take (“It will only take a couple of minutes”). Not everyone is fond of filling out survey forms, but they might feel more inclined to do it knowing that it won’t take long.
• Tell how important this data is for you and for the quality of your training program.

Some trainers choose to issue certificates only after an evaluation has been submitted.

Event communication style

The way your messages and posts are designed creates a certain image of yourself and your class before you start it. Various tools can help you with this, enhancing your communication efforts.

Use professional accounts and a custom domain with your company name. It makes a good impression, especially if you are aiming to work with big companies. In social media, professional accounts give you more business options in comparison to personal ones. A custom domain instantly tells a recipient who this message is from, while a general @gmail might look suspicious.

Use the right tone of voice. To choose the tone that will be associated with your brand, study your audience first. What people are they? Young or middle-aged primarily? Do they use professional slang a lot or prefer formal communication? Try to learn as much as you can to find the words that will resonate with them.

Be careful with emojis. These little pictures make your emails more lively, so they work great for marketing emails or messages with positive themes (e.g. Thank You emails). Using emojis in emails with unpleasant topics, like event cancellation, might not be a good idea. In addition, emojis are displayed differently or not displayed at all in different clients and browsers. Try to choose the most common symbols that will most likely be displayed correctly in any app to avoid sending letters with white squares instead.

Create an email signature. Add it at the end of your letters to give them a distinctive feature. It can be not just your name, but also information about you and your brand: photo, logo, contact details, and social media links. Special services like this signature generator will help make it pretty.

How to get your emails delivered

Up until now, we have been talking about the event communication strategy — what and when to send to create the maximum impact. Yet, there is also the technical side — how to make sure the message is delivered.

Getting your posts seen on social media and helping your website rank high on Google are complex matters of SMM and SEO. There is no need to think about them when sending an email, but it still can get lost along the way. Fortunately, there are simple measures you can take to help a letter reach its destination.

Spam filters

Spam filters are something you should always strive to get along with. They protect the inbox owner from suspicious letters. If they see your message as one, they will either reject it or put it into spam. Take some steps to get on their good side.

The following actions can help you bypass spam filters:

• Use personalized subjects and preheaders. Addressing a recipient by name is not only good manners but also shows that your email is not spam.
• Avoid too many links or attachments. Otherwise, your message might be perceived as containing malicious data. If you need to add several links or files, consider including a button leading to the necessary information.
• Avoid too many or too large images. They will take time and traffic to load. You can use services like Tinify to compress the images you want to add.
• Avoid unusual formatting, which is difficult to read. There are better ways to draw attention than relying on flashy effects and fonts.
• Avoid all caps and excessive exclamation marks. It’s hard to figure out a tone behind the writing, and capital letters often create the wrong impression.

These measures don’t guarantee that your email will bypass filters, but increase the chances of it while contributing to the text's overall readability.

Domain reputation

The domain reputation affects the delivery rate. You can measure it in various ways:

• Check if your IP address or domain name is blacklisted. Emails from blacklisted IP addresses will most likely be flagged as spam. You can run the check via the services such as MxToolbox.
• Check your email’s health score. Services like Sender Score will help you with this task. Getting all your settings right makes your emails look good for spam filters and lowers the chances of the message being rejected.
• Check if the email’s content has incorrect HTML, broken links, or subject lines with spam words. Any of these can negatively affect the delivery rate. Websites like MailGenius ask you to send your email to a testing address, where they check all these parameters and more.

Whitelisting

You are not the only interested party in your emails being delivered. Your students also need them, so why not ask for their cooperation?

In the first email you send, add the request to mark your email address as a trusted sender. This will ensure that the following messages will be delivered too. And if you remind attendees about checking the Spam Folder, ask them to move your email from it in case they find it there.

Training management software

Training management software like Workshop Butler automates administrative tasks: registration, communication, feedback collection, and certificates. As all data about the event and its attendees are stored within one system, it uses email addresses submitted during registration to send messages on a set schedule:

• Emails are sent automatically based on a certain trigger. E.g. Registration Confirmation is sent after a registration form is submitted, and feedback is requested the next day after an event ends.
• Texts of the emails and other settings are customizable, so you can adjust the whole process for your convenience.
• Feedback submitted by attendees is organized per each event and attendee.
• Certificates are generated automatically based on provided templates and attached to the post-event emails.

One of the biggest benefits of training management software is that you don’t have to pay for multiple subscriptions for each stage of event management, but buy only one for all administrative tasks.

Learn more about how Workshop Butler can help you in event communication.

A whole range of obstacles can stand in the way of a newly established training company: psychological, financial, and marketing-related. Some appear in earlier stages, others will surface when your business starts growing. Usually, you don’t have the luxury of dealing with one challenge at a time. They come together, causing each other and requiring your attention all at once.

These obstacles are in many respects the same as for other industries. However, each industry has its own specifics, making common points slightly different. The more you know about the barriers you can face, the better you can understand how to start a training company without spending too much time on dealing with them.

Psychological barriers to starting a training business

To successfully grow a training company, you need to develop a business mindset, adjust your own lifestyle and the way you communicate with people.

Learn to manage time

One of the basic skills any entrepreneur should be proficient with is time management. You are standing at the top of your company, and there is no one watching your work. If you have employees, they depend on your decisions and your ability to allocate time properly. Relationships with customers, your reputation, and the well-being of your organization — all of these are affected by how well you can plan your work.

Planning can be especially tricky at the very beginning when you have to keep an eye on everything at once and your schedule hasn’t been settled yet. It’s better to lay the foundation of your business before you actually launch it: write a business plan, fine-tune a training program, study your potential audience and competitors, prepare marketing materials and content for publishing beforehand. Think out organizational details, too: where you are going to conduct classes, how you will accept registrations and collect feedback. Trying to solve these matters when you’re already looking for prospective clients or have an event to run will distract you from delivering a high-quality training session.

All tasks requiring your attention as a company owner can be divided into several groups:

1. Training-related matters: writing a training program, preparing exercises, and tailoring training material for the needs of a particular customer. If you’re going to deliver an off-the-shelf workshop, this burden will be lighter, giving you a chance to focus on other aspects. But if you plan to respond to the training needs of each customer, you will have to find enough time for customization. It includes not only adapting learning content but also researching more about the customer.
2. Administrative routine: accepting registrations, sending notifications to each learner, requesting feedback, and issuing certificates. Some of these actions can be monotonous and error-prone, asking for your undivided attention.
3. Marketing activities: promoting yourself and increasing your brand awareness. You can do it by being active in social media, publishing content, creating promotion campaigns, and attending conferences. It certainly helps if you already have an established reputation as an expert in your niche, but even then marketing efforts shouldn’t be neglected. Just launching a promotional campaign is not enough. Regularly track down how it goes, analyze data, and make necessary adjustments to increase effectiveness. For those starting out, it makes sense to create a presence beforehand to back up your claims later. In case you plan to take part in social gatherings, make sure to keep an eye on events worth visiting.
4. Financial management: planning a budget, setting prices and collecting payments, calculating income and expenses, and paying taxes. Your financial situation is what defines all other activities. It indicates how many classes you need to run and how much money you need to earn, whether you can relax a little bit or it’s better to put more effort into marketing.

In the beginning, you will probably have to be the jack of all trades, managing all these tasks by yourself. Set priorities to be sure that all of the essential parts are covered.

Hire the right people

Time management is your personal hurdle, which you can overcome by transforming your way of thinking. However, owning a training company means hiring other people and finding the right way to communicate with them. Although there are one-man companies too, most organizations allocate roles to different specialists.

Many leaders struggle with delegating their jobs to others at first. Especially those who are used to working alone. When the time comes, they find themselves reluctant to let go of the job they put so much effort into. You know that you do your work responsibly and by your standards. But how can you be sure that another person is as diligent as you are? Will they be emotionally invested in their job? Will they understand and uphold your values?

When you finally find the right people for your company, you will see that it’s growing even faster than before. And the right person is not only a person who shares the vision with you. It might also be someone who brings new ideas helping you look at your job from a different perspective.

If you plan to hire staff, define for yourself the most important criteria your future employees must meet, such as:

• Being good in what you are hired them for.
• Taking care not only of the job being done but being done well.
• Having standards similar to yours.
• Being able to make decisions on their own and offering their own ideas.

In other words, it should be a good specialist, with a strong sense of responsibility and passion about what they are doing.

You might need to fill in the following positions in your training company:

• Trainers
• Accountant
• Marketing Specialist
• Salesperson
• IT Specialist
• Designer.

One person can combine several of the roles above, or it might be you shouldering part of the responsibilities. It all depends on your qualifications and proficiency in these aspects, the time you have, and your vision for your company's future. For example, you prefer not to manage a huge organization with a big staff base, but work in a small team of like-minded people. Then you probably will take most of the tasks upon yourself instead of hiring a different person for each position.

Not all specialists mentioned above need to burn with the same passion as you, although it will be good if they do. For example, people working on technical or financial ends might be part-time employees or organizations providing relevant services.

Of course, when it comes to trainers, mutual understanding is extremely important. Here comes another challenge you need to solve.

Set rules

To what degree do your and other trainers’ visions should match? The overall goal needs to be the same, but should the details be, too? How exactly to conduct class? How to communicate with students? How to design training-related documents and materials? You need to define standards and limitations trainers should adhere to. Will it be a strict set of rules they should follow? Or rather an overall concept and a list of recommendations to help them?

Both ways have their own pros and cons. Strict limitations will increase your brand awareness, and you can be sure that everything works the way you intended it to. At the same time, you will have to spend more time monitoring compliance with rules and defining them to the very detail to be sure everyone understands how it needs to be done. In addition, you might limit the potential of some of your trainers, not allowing them to try their own ideas.

Letting people do things their own way helps unlock their potential and create more diversity. Each client will be able to choose what works best for them. It can attract talented trainers who are looking for a place where they won’t be constrained. On the other hand, giving too much freedom might result in some of your employees straying too far off the initial goal or providing services contradicting your standards. If you choose this path, it’s extremely important to work out and convey values that must be followed in any case. This way would require mutual understanding, so you could trust each trainer enough. If you license training materials instead of hiring full-time employees, this might be the way for you.

Choose the right software

Work can be delegated not only to people but to machines and software. Just like with people, finding the right software takes time:

• The one that has all or most of the features you need for this task
• The one that can fit into your budget.
• The one that can free your time instead of making you spend hours to understand how to make it work.

In this day and age, there is software almost for everything. Except for delivering high-quality engaging training — that’s what you need to focus on. You can create a website using the constructor. You can do your accounting in special apps. Various services will help you with promotion and analyze the market for you. And finally, you can deal with administrative routines like accepting registrations, gathering feedback, and issuing certificates using training-management software, like Workshop Butler.

Automating your job can save hours of your time if you choose it right and invest some effort into learning it.

Financial barriers to starting a training business

When thinking about your own business, the first thing that usually comes to mind is that you get to do what you want, not what someone else forces you to do. However, you will also have to deal with things that employees don’t worry about and that you might not be good at. Accounting is probably at the top of such a list.

Plan budget

Getting your finances straight is crucial before you launch your company. You need to plan your budget making sure that you have enough money to set everything up and to get you through the initial stage when you will be looking for the first clients. It’s also important to roughly estimate when you will be able to make a profit enough to support your further activities.

The first step to this is setting a fair price for your workshop (or course, coaching session, etc.). The price that would satisfy both a trainer and a client can be quite an elusive matter, that will take some testing. Experiment not only with the sum itself, but with the overall ticketing strategy too: ticket type, payment methods, and discounts. A flexible pricing system will cater to a wider range of individuals and organizations.

Pay taxes

Including future profit and expenses in your budget is not enough, there are also taxes. They can affect the price you set making it higher than you prefer it to be. And what’s more important, calculating and paying taxes on time might prove to be an extremely time-consuming task.

You can use financial software if you are not ready to deal with this yourself.

And if managing finances seems too much of a burden even with automation, it’s better to entrust it to an accountant.

Properly handled finances are an indispensable part of any business, so we recommend thinking out every step carefully. Even with knowledge of how to do all accounting, you might not find enough time for it. And if you’re more of a visionary, it could be a good idea to find someone who will balance your inspiration with strict numbers.

Barriers to marketing a training business

Marketing is a barrier that stands in the way of many good business ideas. Just being passionate about what you are doing is not enough. You need to find a way to make your voice heard, drawing the attention of the relevant audience and convincing them.

Find focus

The first and foremost condition for successfully selling your services is to clearly understand what exactly you’re selling. In other words, to find your focus. There are two main reasons why it’s so important. First — it will help you stay on track and notice when you are deviating from it. Find the niche you will be working in and become an expert. Because having to say something on every topic often means that you cannot share anything profound on any of them. There will always be someone better at each of these topics. Here lies the second main reason — your customers need to understand when they can turn to you for help. If you establish a reputation in a certain niche, your name will be associated with it.

Determine your target audience

Almost any guide and article on marketing will tell you about pinpointing your audience. This is the basis of all your marketing efforts. Determine who will need and buy your services and target your promotion activities towards them. Sometimes, the audience you are marketing your services to and the audience who will be receiving them can differ. For example, you might target your corporate training marketing campaign towards HR managers and executives who are looking for an employee training program.

Your target audience will dictate the choice of words to describe your event. Knowing who your potential client is will allow you to address their pain points in the marketing campaign. It will also help you find out where your customers usually spend their time so that you know where you should place your ads or where you can meet them.

Understanding your audience makes it easier for you to decide what format to choose: online, in-person, or blended learning. Your course might already be designed for a certain format, but it might still be a good idea to consider your audience’s preferences.

Research your competitors

Information on your competitors is another essential piece of data. It will give you a chance to learn how they find clients and to better understand the specifics of the chosen niche. You will also see how you are different from them or what you are doing better so that you can show this uniqueness to your potential customers.

Build presence

Once you explore the niche both in terms of your target market and your competitors, determine how to run your marketing campaign. Making your voice reach the ears of those you intended it for is one of the toughest challenges. Use every opportunity to strengthen your presence and build a reputation.

1. Get yourself acquainted with your potential customers. Nothing beats personal acquaintance and informal talk at conferences, where you can discuss common points of interest and potential cooperation.
2. Networking is also great for collaborations. By combining your ideas and methods with others you can attract more customers. And if you manage to work with a prominent expert in your industry, you will gain a great marketing asset.
3. Your website is your main base of operations, where you can tell everything you need. Spending time designing a pleasantly looking website with clear navigation and organized information is a great investment in the earlier stages.
4. Publishing different materials covers two goals: attract attention and show your expertise. You can choose the medium most convenient for you or most popular among your potential clients: write blog articles, publish a book, record a podcast or take part in someone else’s, send out newsletters, or write interesting posts on social networks. There is a wide range of ways to show the world what you’ve got.
5. Real results are more convincing than mere words. If you have ever successfully applied your knowledge into practice, let the world know about it by creating a compelling case study. Show your future customers that the skills you teach them work.

Conclusion and more recommendations

The barriers standing in your way to creating a successful training business may differ depending on your skills and experience. We’ve tried to list the most common obstacles a business owner in the training industry might face. Knowing them beforehand will help you lay a better foundation and prepare for possible difficulties:

• Learn how to manage your time for professional activities (providing training services), background work (managing finances, staff, marketing, IT, etc.), and rest.
• Determine which positions you need to fill in your company, and hire the right people for them.
• Understand to what degree you want to control your employees and other people you work with.
• Learn to entrust your job to automation and to choose the right software for your purposes.
• Manage your finances from planning a budget to paying taxes.
• Find your own niche and keep focus on it.
• Determine your audience and the way to address them.
• Create an effective marketing campaign.

When writing this article, we used insights shared by the Training Business Anatomy podcast guests. We recommend listening to it to hear more about the first-hand experience of people who successfully dealt with these barriers and are now managing flourishing training businesses:

Lisette Sutherland: about finding and keeping your focus

Jason Little: about automation, constraints, and the possibility of handling all the necessary tasks by a small team.

Tatian Trippmacher: about the most important thing in marketing.

Mehmet Yitmen: about creating a market from scratch.

Where your training business will move next after it breaks through start-up challenges and gains momentum? You will need to choose where and how you’re going to grow.

The most obvious decision is hiring more trainers to conduct more classes in response to the growing number of clients. This, in turn, will call for hiring more staff to manage all the paperwork. Not all entrepreneurs fancy that idea. Many of them prefer staying small, keeping their focus on training.

But staying small means limiting your growth intentionally. You will have to decline some of the offers that don’t fit into your schedule. And your potential clients will have no other choice but to turn to your competitors.

Yet, there is a third way allowing you to respond to all demands without hiring more people for your company.

We’re talking about licensing training courses. What is it exactly? In the training business, licensing means selling the right to conduct classes based on your original content for a certain period of time. Organization and management of these classes become a licensee's responsibility. And you, as a licensor, provide learning materials and receive a fee for each session.

Why licensing training courses is a good idea?

Licensing training courses has several advantages to it:

• Quickly scale your business without expanding your staff.
• Get more clients, possibly in different countries.
• Establish two passive income streams: a one-time fee for acquiring a license for a certain period and a fee for training sessions.
• Gain new connections by cooperating with more trainers.

Although your business will be growing, you can stay small and even continue your training activity, further increasing the reputation of your brand.

Who can license training courses?

Potentially, anyone can license their learning materials and offer them to others. But to actually sell it, you will need to prove that it will attract students. And for this, your own training services should be in high demand already. If you’re just starting out and do not have a lot of customers, finding compelling proof would be difficult.

What can a license include?

When you give the right to conduct courses, you can open access to the following:

• Learning materials
• Exercises
• Workbooks
• Games and quizzes
• Case studies.

Apart from this, you can provide help with marketing by promoting licensees and their events on your website. If you have a well-established brand, just the fact of working with you will attract attention.

Licensees get the chance to exchange experience and share advice with their peers. And you can organize a common space where they can do it.

Who can become a licensee?

There are two big categories of licensees — individual trainers and companies. The level of your involvement in a licensee’s activities will depend on which category you work with.

Individual trainers pay for a license and conduct training sessions, while you stay in direct control of their activities.

To license training companies, you need to solve additional questions :

• How many employees of this organization do you allow to license?
• To what degree do you delegate the onboarding of new licensees to their employer?
• How do you promote their courses?

On the bright side, you have to deal only with license matters on the organizational level. Working with employees becomes the company’s responsibility.

What are the requirements for getting a license?

Regardless of who your licensees are, they need to have the right qualification. It's crucial to determine the requirements for acquiring a license.

You can offer a license to those who attended your course (or courses). It will be profitable in two ways: you train applicants first-hand and secure students for your own events.

You can ask to pass a test or a practice exam after completing a course. It will ensure that an applicant has learned the material and is ready to work on their own.

The list of requirements might also include prior experience in the relevant industry. It will allow making the onboarding process shorter and omit some steps. But such applicants might already have some habits that contradict your own guidelines. In this case, you will have to spend time to correct them.

What types of licenses are there?

If you have several courses, you can create separate license types for them and a combined type giving the right to work with different courses.

Another way is to license basic and advanced levels of your training content separately. The basic level should be enough for a good-quality training session. And licensees need to be fully qualified to work at the advanced level.

Alternatively, you can give a certain type of license only if a trainer already has another one. In this case, the second license becomes an addition to the primary one, extending it. This will encourage licensees to attend your other events to get this add-on. And they, in turn, will be encouraging students to attend the additional event too.

How to configure a one-time fee for a license?

A licensee pays a one-time fee for getting a license for a certain period of time, usually for a year. After a license expires, they can choose to renew it by paying the same fee again.

When setting a fee, take into account the volume of content and support you offer, your brand's reputation, and the demand from clients and from applicants.

Apart from these general criteria, you can consider your applicants' circumstances. For example, the country where they live can affect the affordability.

If you offer several types of licenses, you can change the price depending on the complexity and the demand for each license. Or create tiered pricing: the basic tier including access to training materials, and the premium tier with additional materials or extensive support.

How to configure a fee for licensed events?

There are several factors that can affect a licensed event fee and different ways to calculate it.

A flat fee for each event is the simplest solution both for you and a licensee. Each event costs the same, allowing you to calculate the approximate income beforehand. But this simple scheme doesn’t take into account many circumstances, like the number of attendees. Some licensees may consider themselves at a disadvantage if they have low attendance. And in other situations, you might be losing out on potential income if events attract lots of people.

That’s why it’s better to calculate a fee based on a certain parameter.

An hourly-based fee, with which you charge trainers for the duration of a training session. You can set a threshold of how many maximum hours you charge for. If an event exceeds the limit, extra hours won't be included in the fee. This parameter allows you to predict potential income because you know how long each session lasts. On the downside, trainers might start planning their sessions based on duration alone.

An attendee-based fee seems to be the fairest and the most comfortable for trainers. They pay only for what they earn, while the previous two methods make them pay a fee even if they don’t make any profit. Although, this method is less predictable and doesn’t allow you to plan your budget far ahead.

There are two more factors you can take into account:

• Country. If your licensees run events worldwide, the rate might differ depending on the location.
• Online/offline. Online events can cost less than in-person ones due to the fact that organizers save on venue and related costs. But it’s important to remember about hidden costs of virtual events, many people tend to forget about.

You also need to decide whether you allow free events and how you will handle cancelled classes. A licensee might want to run a free session to promote the main event. You can choose to take a fee for every class where your content is used or charge a licensee only for what they earn. And the possibility of cancellation is one of the most disturbing ones for a trainer. That’s why you should make it clear whether you will take a fee for scheduled but cancelled classes.

How to write a license agreement?

You need to secure your and a licensee’s rights and obligations in a written agreement a licensee should give their consent to. Without it, disputes and misunderstandings can arise, potentially leading to legal issues. Clearly state every point and include all possible cases, such as:

• Explicit definitions of each term used in the agreement.
• Is this agreement exclusive (only this licensee has the right to provide services based on your license) or non-exclusive (there are multiple licensees using your training content and competing with each other)?
• Is this agreement transferable (a licensee can delegate their rights to others) or non-transferable (a licensee cannot transfer their rights without a licensor’s consent)?
• A territory where a licensee can conduct licensed events.
• Payment details: the amount of a fixed fee, an event fee, conditions on which fees are calculated and can be changed, a period within which they should be paid, and details of the payment procedure.
• Start and end dates of a license agreement.
• Renewal conditions.
• Conditions for suspending and terminating the agreement.
• What data is considered confidential, and how are you going to handle it? Who will have access to it and for what purpose?
• Quality standards a licensee must adhere to.
• Intellectual property rights and consequences of infringement.
• An indemnification clause.
• Emergency circumstances and the corresponding procedures.

Needless to say, the safest way would be to consult a lawyer who will be able to wrap it all up in a clear and comprehensive document.

How to set up a license renewal?

All the preparations mentioned above are necessary for acquiring a license. This step will lay the foundation for effective cooperation between you and a licensee. But you also need to think about what to do when this cooperation comes to an end.

Reminding about license expiration a few days or weeks before is a good practice. It gives a licensee time to make a thought-out decision about renewal. You can also send a couple of notifications soon after a license expires.

Sometimes, a trainer might choose to renew a license after a considerable amount of time. You can ask to complete additional training to catch up with the latest changes. Set a period within which they can renew a license without it and include this information in an agreement and renewal notifications.

How to manage licenses?

The trickiest part in licensing is managing it once you get the ball rolling: keep an eye on each event, monitor expiring licenses, clarify licensees’ plans after expiration, and onboard newcomers.

Sounds like not much of a hassle if there are 5 licensees you are working with. But what if there are 25? Of course, you can keep all records in Google Docs. But the amount of data you will need to keep track of might soon become overwhelming. Not to mention that you have to synchronize information from various sources.

Will you be able to avoid hiring more personnel for administrative matters? Yes, if you use an automated solution. For example, Workshop Butler. It provides a platform for both licensees and a licensor, where they can manage organizational tasks and keep all event- and license-related data in one place.

Let’s see how it deals with all the steps mentioned above.

Training management

Licensees can handle the whole event management cycle without using any other services:

• Create pages with event descriptions and integrate them into your website
• Accept registrations
• Organize and store information about each attendee
• Accept payments
• Collect feedback
• Generate certificates of attendance.

You have access to all event information and can work with licensees on all stages from acquiring a license till its expiration.

Licensee registration, management, and promotion

• Add and manage licensees' accounts in Workshop Butler. A licensee can either be a trainer or a training company. In the case of the latter, a company receives its own account, from which it adds trainers. Although licensees manage their accounts by themselves, a licensor has control over it too.
• Promote licensees and their events on your website.
• Assign badges to show your licensee’s qualifications.

License renewal

• Automate the renewal process. A licensee can renew a license by giving their consent to a license agreement again.

License types

• Create license types and assign licenses of different types to licensees. For each license type, you can configure an agreement, renewal notifications, and a renewal period.
• Create add-ons, that will work only if the main license is active.
• Write a license agreement. For each license type, you can configure its own agreement.
• Configure renewal notifications to remind licensees about upcoming expiration. You can set time frames when each notification should be sent.
• Set a renewal period, during which licensees will be able to renew a license by themselves, without the need to get in touch with you first.

Licensed event fees

• Configure price groups based on one of the three methods: flat fee per event, per hour, or per attendee. Divide price groups further by different countries, online/offline format, and event types.
• Collect event fees based on the applicable price group and receive a notification when it’s paid. Licensees can track unpaid and overdue invoices on widgets on their accounts. An invoice goes via several stages in Workshop Butler, allowing licensors to see at which point each invoice is at the moment. A licensee can also pay an event fee with a bank card.

License expiration and suspension

• Suspend licensees with overdue invoices, revoking the ability to manage events.
• Revoke a license once it expires, cancelling all future events of this licensee. If a licensee decides to renew your cooperation, they can easily reactivate them.
• Add subscription periods to show the time frames when licensees had an active license and when they took a break. This way, you can calculate their actual experience.

Success stories

When we were saying that licensing training courses will allow you to respond to the growing demand, it was not mere rhetoric. Successful stories of our customers will prove our words.

Management 3.0 showed a breath-taking 400% growth in trainers in 4 years. They’re working with professionals all over the world and keeping their team small at the same time.

Lisette Sutherland smoothly transitioned from working solo to creating a team of Collaboration Superpowers. She then successfully dealt with sky-rocketed demand both from trainers and customers during Covid times.

Lean Change Management succeeded to stay a small and cozy enterprise, where just two carbon-based people and one robot can manage 58 facilitators.

FAQ: all you need to know about licensing training courses in short.

Guest post by Jerry Zheng, Chief Word Wizard & Editorial Champion at Homebase

When it comes to running an effective and efficient business, having good time management is absolutely essential. It’s something that needs to be instilled in employees from the get-go; so much so that it’s seen as an integral part of the workplace philosophy.

But it’s not just about managing time well throughout your day. Another really important factor for trainers to consider is the role of time tracking in elevating training outcomes.

Training staff, whether it’s on-site or off, when they first start work, or during their time of service, is going to significantly influence their performance. Trainers that incorporate time tracking into their programs can enhance not only the overall program but future results and performance, too.

What Is Time Tracking?

Time tracking is a process whereby you record the amount of time spent on various activities and tasks. That is, you record when you start and when you finish so that you’re aware of exactly how long you spent on a task. You can do this manually, or by means of digital tools and software.

There are several different contexts in which time tracking is useful—we’re obviously talking about training programs within the workplace environment. Thus, it provides a systematic and accurate way in which you can analyze the way time gets allocated to certain activities so that you can gain insight into productivity, progress, and general efficiency.

As a trainer, you should already have experience in how long a session will take, the material you’re covering in a workshop, and the length of time you can dedicate to Q and A and feedback collection. However, there are so many other ways tracking time can improve your training and your trainee's experience while equipping them with skills they can carry forward too.

How Time Tracking Improves Training Outcomes

At the end of the day, time tracking, whether you’re doing it manually or digitally, allows you to gain valuable insights and ideas on how to optimize your performance. When it comes to training, it’s really important that both trainers and trainees are using their time wisely and efficiently. The desired outcome is for those being trained to gain the knowledge they need in the most efficient and effective way possible, and for the trainer to meet this goal.

Here are some ways in which time tracking can contribute to improving training outcomes:

1. Concentration

If trainees focus on their use of time and the management thereof, they’ll be able to concentrate better at the appropriate times. It’ll also be easier for them to manage distractions (and try to avoid them entirely), as well as to try not to multitask.

Most of all, if a trainee is well aware of when they need to be concentrating hard, it’ll be far easier to devote a certain amount of time to doing the training without getting distracted or allowing themselves to be distracted.

As a trainer, you can also ensure that concentration is at a maximum. Restrict the use of mobile phones, ensure that trainees are not focusing on other work-related tasks, and limit sessions to specific times to reduce fatigue. Ensure that your sessions are blocked out on a calendar and employees can dedicate themselves entirely to learning during this time.

At the end of the day, this can only lead to improved outcomes with regard to the purpose of the training.

2. The Allocation of Time and Prioritization

By specifically considering which tasks or parts of the training schedule require more time than others, trainees can then allocate their time far more efficiently. It enables effective prioritization so that they can spend the right amount of time on the most important parts of training and they can spend less time on less important tasks or modules.

Without having planned this, it becomes easy to accidentally put too much focus on the wrong tasks and then not have enough time for the important work at the end.

Trainers can assist here by suggesting timelines for specific tasks and by ensuring that the material is suited to the time given. While trainees need to learn how to allocate and prioritize time, if the tasks they're doing differ from the norm, guidance is hugely helpful.

3. Planning and Goal Setting

Planning and goal setting are certainly linked to the idea of allocating time efficiently, as we’ve just discussed. But it goes one step further when considering goals.

By deciding how much time to spend on different parts of the training program, trainees will be able to consider their goals and objectives in the short term and long term. Having clearly defined goals makes it far easier to achieve them. It also helps to boost team morale, which in turn will improve productivity.

For trainers, guidance is useful here too. You can help your trainees set goals at the start of a session or workshop to ensure that they’re aware of the overarching aims. The way you plan your training sessions will also set an example for time management and the achievement of goals, and highlight what’s possible during a specific timeframe.

4. Monitoring Performance

For trainers, it’s sometimes difficult to know exactly how much time you need to spend on each section of training. You can’t always plan everything perfectly, especially if you’re explaining complex policies and procedures or challenging new concepts or systems. Thus, once you’ve allocated time and actually spent the time doing the training, it’s always great to monitor your performance. You can then compare the time you planned on spending with the time you actually spent.

This way, you’ll be able to identify ways that you can improve in the future so that your training can be further optimized.

5. Receiving Feedback and Reflecting on It

If a business uses tools like time clocks, trainers can use time-tracking data to analyze how time is spent efficiently. This is especially useful in a workplace with shifts, as you can track work times and determine what’s going right and what can be improved. Thereafter, you can provide trainees with personalized feedback.

As a trainer, this allows you to highlight strengths and weaknesses, and trainees will have the opportunity to reflect on their own time management so that they can change their behavior accordingly as well.

It's always a good idea to ask trainees for feedback, too. They might have different insights into the way time is used and what counts as an efficient use thereof. As a trainer,  you can learn not only from data but from personal input and experience, too.

6. Being Able to Identify Weaknesses and Inefficiencies

By monitoring time usage, you can identify parts of your training programs that some trainees may be having trouble with, or if there are any tasks that take up excessive time. Additionally, it may help you to identify parts of your program that are not yielding the desired results so that you can make changes and improvements in the future.

Of course, once these things have been identified, you can move forward and do your best to get rid of those weaknesses and improve your training program.

7. Developing Time Management Skills

As with anything in life, the more you practice time allocation and managing your time, the better you’re going to get at it. This is a skill that trainers can teach trainees, whether it’s by example or as part of a session.

By nurturing time management skills and showing trainees how to use their time efficiently, it’ll become easier for them to estimate how long tasks are going to take, manage deadlines on their own, and make good use of their free time.

8. Making Decisions Based on Data

Having the results of time tracking as concrete data always makes it easier to understand what’s going on, what's going wrong, and how you can make informed data-driven decisions going forward.

This way, the information and data can be available clearly to trainers and trainees so that adjustments can be made to training strategies and resources can get reallocated. It’ll also help to optimize workflows and streamline efficiency.

Trainers who use data to inform future sessions can refine them based on facts and ensure that they provide the best possible learning experience for attendees.

Conclusion

Time tracking and training go hand-in-hand. As a trainer, if you want to maintain focus and ensure the best outcomes, you need to implement time-tracking principles into your training programs. The results will not only benefit you and your trainees but the business as a whole, too.

There is a smarter approach to selling seats to your workshops and other events than slapping the same price tag on each ticket.

A successful ticketing strategy covers the following aspects:

• Event ticket types (or tiers)
• Discounts and promocodes
• Sales tax
• Payment methods
• Cancellation and refund options.

It walks hand in hand with pricing and marketing, providing a solid base for ticket sales.

Additionally, we recommend thinking out how you’re going to store the payment information. By analyzing it, you can notice important tendencies, that will become helpful in revenue management.

Event ticket types

Why do you need to divide your tickets into types in the first place?

The main purpose is to increase the range of people who can afford your services or are interested in them. By using tiered pricing you cater to people with different needs and different budgets. Someone would be happy to attend but cannot afford a regular ticket — suggest they come with a friend and charge them less. Another person, on the contrary, would be interested in discussing their personal needs and be willing to pay more for this — offer a VIP ticket to such clients.

The wider the range of tickets you offer, the more circumstances you take into account. This means more people decide that your event is worth attending.

Another benefit is the psychological effects of the choice you give. By comparing different prices for different tiers people might perceive one of them as a good deal. And by seeing that some types are sold out already, they might sense the urge to secure a seat without delay.

These factors play into your hands rising attendance numbers and convincing people they made the right choice.

Let’s see what ticket types are the most suitable for training workshops.

Regular (General Admission) tickets — just your standard type at the price which you think would be right for your workshop. It doesn’t offer any extra services or discounts. Instead, it serves as the yardstick for a potential customer to understand how profitable other types are.

Early Bird tickets go on sale before all the other types for those who are ready to commit early. Having sold several Early Birds, you can be sure that the event will take place. And this, in turn, allows you to be more confident in your schedule and your income. Early Bird includes all the usual benefits but costs less than a Regular ticket — a reward for early commitment.

Group tickets allow the attendance of 2 or more people. In exchange for securing more than one seat at once, both students pay a lower price. By offering this ticket, you make students bring more people, thus increasing attendance. It’s possible to offer more than one ticket tier for groups. For example, for a group of 2 and for a group of 3 — the more people the ticket is intended for, the lower the price for each ticket buyer.

VIP tickets are different from the previous types because they cost more, not less, and offer premium services. It can be your personal consultation which takes place after an event and is related somehow to an event topic. Another VIP option can be membership in the community if you have one. VIP ticket shows what else you have to offer apart from conducting the training session itself.

There are other ticket types for different kinds of events, which can also be applied to training workshops. For example, a one-day ticket allows attendance for one day of the event that lasts several days and an all-day pass covers the whole duration. Another approach is to charge different prices for online and in-person attendance. Charge less for a virtual event, where you don't have to rent a venue and offer more hands-on experience on the offline session for a higher price.

How to display ticket types

The trick is to show the distinctive difference between various types while emphasizing the benefits of each one. You need to explain what they include giving people a chance to compare them. It’s also important to maintain a sense of urgency in the potential ticket buyers.

What elements can help you with all these tasks?

• A type name. It’s better to stick to traditional names like “Early Bird” because many people are already familiar with them and you won’t have to explain what they mean.
• A short description of what each type includes.
• A price. Deciding on the ticket pricing strategy plays a central role in the event ticket sales.
• A countdown timer or end date. They will create the fear of missing out making potential attendees hurry up and buy tickets.
• Start of sales date if some of the types are not available yet. People need to know when they can buy the type they like.
• Sold Out label. It helps increase the sense of urgency creating an impression that other tickets might get sold out soon too.
• A number of tickets left. This parameter works especially well when there are almost no seats left.

We recommend always displaying the price for the Regular type because it highlights the advantages of others. So, even before it goes on sale and only the Early Bird is available, the Regular ticket price should already be there for people to see the benefits of early commitment.

Alternatively, you can show the percentage of the benefit for each type — e.g. 30% Off.

It’s also best to show all tiers next to each other on one page rather than making a switch between them. This way, it will be easier to compare them.

Apart from choosing the elements you will include in the Tickets block, you also need to decide where this block will be positioned on the page. Think about how you are going to describe your event and where the tickets would fit best.

One way is to place it at the top of an event page as it's one of the crucial details that everyone should see from the start. However, if a page visitor considers the price too high, they might leave without even looking at the description. Another option is to put tickets at the bottom of the page after you laid out all information about an event and showed why it’s priced like this.

Discounts and promo codes

Running discounts or including a promo code field next to your tickets is a good way to drive attendance. Different discounts can serve different purposes.

Discounts for non-commercial organizations and discussable prices

You can offer a lower price for non-commercial organizations to give them a chance to participate. You can also place a disclaimer that, if a person wants to take part in your class but is tight on the budget right now, they can contact you to discuss possible options. Depending on the circumstances, you can offer a discount or suggest taking part in a similar event.

Such offers can contribute to your reputation as a flexible entrepreneur who is willing to help those in need.

Discounts for previous attendees, for bringing a friend, or for community members

Offer discounts to those who have already taken part in your events before or for those who can bring more people to your event. This way, you will encourage people to attend your next classes.

Discounts on special occasions like Black Friday

Holidays or other special occasions are your chance to offer discounts to everyone, without any special conditions they must meet.

Discounts for cancellation

If something went wrong and one of your previous sessions got cancelled, offer a discount to those who have registered to it already. This gesture will soften an unpleasant experience, encouraging a potential participant to try another time. You can include a promo-code to the event cancellation email along with apologies.

Last-minute ticket sale

There is a good chance to secure more attendees when your event is about to start — run a sale a few days before. It might be better to sell a ticket with a discount, that to sell nothing at all. Although that's not the method you should rely on heavily. Otherwise, people will get used to it and will be waiting for it to buy tickets.

Sales tax

Taxes stand apart from the cost of the ticket. They’re the factor that can change the final price depending on the country or other circumstances.

Therefore, you need to decide how to handle them.

How to display taxes

There are two ways you can display taxes, both having their benefits.

Including tax in the final price. You can show the final price (ticket price + tax) right away, saving your potential attendees from making any calculations. Many people don’t care what the final price consists of — they’re more interested in how much they will have to pay.

Excluding tax from the final price. You can show the tax separately from the price to let people know what the real price is and how much you have to add to comply with the law.

Important points to consider

Handling taxes right means more than simply finding out the tax rate of your country. It’s a complex matter defined by many factors. Here are the main aspects you should check when calculating the sales tax:

• Tax registration threshold — for some cases, you don’t have to pay a tax if your sales are below a certain amount. This threshold can be different depending on the country or the nature of your business.
• Country your customers live in — sales tax is named differently in different parts of the world and has different rates.
• Who is your target audience — another business or a private individual? Sometimes, paying a tax for a b2b transaction becomes your prospective attendee’s responsibility and that’s what needs to be handled correctly too.
• Format: a virtual event or offline class. In some countries, certain forms of online learning are not taxed. If you’re focused solely on online training the tax burden might be lighter than expected.
• How often to submit the tax return — you need to know it to plan your budget. This parameter affects your ticket prices, your schedule, and your revenue.

Find out anything possible beforehand or consult specialists to plan your events right.

Payment methods

The country where you conduct events and the type of customers you deal with can affect your choice of payment methods.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that you need to add a new payment method every time you work in a new place. But you can choose the most popular ones in the countries you often work with or the most convenient ones for your target audience.

Bank card

Everyone has a bank card and gets used to paying with it. This way is the most common in b2c transactions because it’s fast and doesn’t require a lot of actions. However, in the initial stage, you will have to spend some time to find a suitable payment getaway (e.g. Stripe) and they will charge their own small fee for each ticket.

PayPal

If you don’t want to choose between different payment solutions trying to find the best one and would like to get a ready-to-go way, then PayPal is another good and speedy choice for b2c payments. The problem here is that not everyone has a PayPal account.

Invoicing

What if your customers are mostly organizations and not individuals? Then you might consider invoices which stays one of the most preferred methods of payment in the business world. There are a lot of apps (including free ones) for creating and managing invoices. The main downside of this method is that it can be time-consuming to send invoices and wait till everyone pays them.

Cancellation and refund

Cancellation is not something you’d want to happen, yet it’s still one of the possible outcomes.

For a ticket buyer, it’s important to know that there is a way to turn back if they can’t make it to your event, especially if it’s a long-term commitment.

And you as an event organizer need to think over your steps beforehand. This way, you will be able to react quickly and have a chance to leave a good impression even in such an unpleasant situation.

Deadline for canceling participation. Clearly specify it to avoid any conflicts.

Refund options. Will it be the whole sum or only a part of it? Naturally, for a customer, it would be preferable to get a full refund. But for all the expenses on organization and marketing, you might want to keep a part of the sum regardless of cancellation.

Sometimes, there can be several deadlines with different refund options. Canceling before the first one means a full refund, and canceling before the second one — 50% of the sum.

Replacement options. The fact that a person can’t take part in this particular event doesn’t mean that they won’t be able to attend other ones. Try offering them to participate on a different date to keep both a student and the money. Another way to keep the money despite cancellation is to allow another person to attend instead of the one who registered initially. For example, a person can bring their colleague instead of themselves.

Contact means. The most important thing is to specify how to contact you about the cancellation. Will it be email or social networks, should there be a particular subject line? Explain what a person should do to make sure you won’t miss such a message.

Storing payment info

It’s better to store the payment information about the tickets you sold so that you can quickly access it anytime.

Why would you need to store it?

First, analyzing preferable payment methods, ticket types, discounts, and other info will help you improve your strategy and cater to your customers’ needs better. And second, in case there is a dispute or some questions, you need to be able to retrieve the data quickly to deal with it as soon as possible.

What information to store

Think about what payment info you need before starting event registration. Thus you will be able to request all the necessary details and record them.

The following info might be useful:

• Billing address
• Date of payment
• Payment method
• Total amount paid
• Tax rate applied
• Commission of payment providers (e.g. Stripe fee) and any other services you use to accept payments
• The amount of tax charged
• TAX ID number, if any.

Breaking down each payment into the price itself, taxes, various fees and commissions will save you time later.

How to store

In order to quickly find the necessary information, you need to structure it and follow this structure with all the payment info you have.

One way is to organize information by events. If you keep it in the calendar order, you can easily find it by date. If you conduct several types of workshops, you can additionally sort payment details by this parameter as well.

Another way is to organize it by event attendees. You need to keep track of a participation history which will contain data about all events this person took part. By organizing it in alphabetical order you can quickly find the person you need by name.

Automating the whole process

As you see, there are a lot of factors involved in setting up the smooth process of selling tickets and keeping information about all payments. And even after all the steps are figured out, you will have to spend a significant portion of time before and after each event performing them.

We suggest considering automated solutions, which will take upon themselves the most time-consuming tasks.

You can use a special platform like Ticket Tailor that focus solely on online ticket sales and have the necessary features ready.

But there is an even more automated way that will handle for you the whole process of event management with tickets, taxes, and payment info as its parts. Workshop Butler provides such a solution.

Here, you can add ticket types and set the number of tickets, prices, and start and end selling dates. You can choose among 3 payment methods (bank cards, PayPal, invoices) and choose the way to display taxes: included or excluded from the price.

The information you add will be displayed on your website with the help of integrations allowing your potential attendees to compare tickets and choose the one they want.

When you decide which payment info you need, you can add corresponding questions to a fully customizable registration form.

The information about each payment is stored in the system without limitations. You can access it either via the list of participants on the event page or via the list of all your attendees. We break down the price into components showing you how much you received and how much went to various fees and taxes.

It might take several attempts to nail the ticketing strategy that works for you. The key here is to carefully analyze each step in the payment process for every event to see what works well and what needs revision. Don’t be afraid to test new tactics, ask your students’ opinion on what they liked and what they missed, try different services specializing in event management — and, eventually, you will be able to build the perfect plan for filling the seats at your classes and sharing your knowledge with as many people as possible.

Guest post by Scarlet Baker, Marketing Manager at Popup Chicago.

As a business, how do you train your employees? What method works best for you? In today’s world, employees and prospective employees are essential to every business and organization. There are two different methods when it comes to training your employees. In this article, we will explore both on-site and off-site training.

On-site Training

On-site training is education provided for employees at their place of business or in other in-person, physical spaces for learning. Like with anything, there are several advantages of onsite training.

Encourages team building and camaraderie

Virtual training sessions and workshops may be easier for some people and it may seem like a better option for a company. However, it cannot replace the benefits you can get from face-to-face, on-site training. An in-person training opportunity gives people a chance to have better, more fluid discussions and conversations. Team building and camaraderie are more likely to happen when you’re meeting in person. During an on-site training day, you can have coffee and lunch breaks. This gives people an opportunity to socialize. On-site training can be very valuable.

Compels employees to be “in the zone”

During an online training session, it’s easier for people to multitask and be distracted while on the computer. The good news about on-site training is it eliminates the opportunity and temptation to multitask during the training. Employees training on-site and in real-time do not have the option to disengage and finish the training at a later date. They cannot turn off their camera or mute themselves. On-site training requires employees to be engaged, focused, and actively participate in the training.

Facilitates internal networking and relationship building

On-site training is a team-building opportunity and a chance to bring everyone together in one space. It is an internal networking event. Team members can more easily approach management, colleagues, and counterparts from other teams. When participating in an online training session, people are less inclined to approach one another. Beginning a conversation with someone is much easier in person. On-site training can open up new opportunities within the organization.

Provides a more “hands-on” training experience

Active participation is a very important part of on-site training. It gives employees a chance to get out of their chairs, move around, and get involved in practical tasks. Exercises such as role-playing, quizzes, problem-solving exercises, and games are more engaging in on-site training. This is particularly helpful for technical industries. Employees can have a “hands-on” experience and benefit from close-up physical demonstrations. It also gives them an opportunity to do a return demonstration themselves to solidify learning. Trainers can also use their body language and gestures to capture the attention of the employees.

Gauging and understanding are easier for trainers

On-site training gives employees a better opportunity to clarify any questions or confusion they may have. It is more difficult to get the trainer’s attention in an online training situation. Body language can be helpful when teaching something new. Also, during team building exercises the trainer can walk around the room, engage and observe whether or not the employees are grasping the content. With an active audience, Q&A sessions will be more dynamic. The audience can also feed off the energy in the room. In contrast, during an online Q&A, the trainers may never see the faces of the employees because they are using the hand raise signals on their computer.

Ensures data security

On-site training sessions allow for any sensitive or confidential organization data to be shared with very little risk. It is better when data is shared within the company and on a secure corporate network. Major data risks can be eliminated. This will protect both the organization and its employees. During a virtual training session employees are using their own network or possibly a network in a more public place. This can increase their risk of exposure to being cyber-attacked.

Off-site Training

Off-site training is an education method in which employees learn about their job, advancements, and their field away from their place of business. Unlike on-site training, off-site training can happen near the workplace or further away like a convention center. Just like on-site training, off-site training has many advantages.

Decreased employee turnover

Off-site employee training gives you a chance to learn more about and develop new skills in your field. Also, through the training, you can become more advanced in the skills pertaining to your job. Because of this, employers may find less of a need to replace their less knowledgeable staff since they are teaching them everything they need to know to do their job well.

Fewer distractions

You will have fewer distractions when you’re training away from the workplace. With fewer distractions and interruptions, employees can focus more on what they are learning. This will be more beneficial for them in the long run.

Feeling valued

Employers should want their employees to be successful. Providing training demonstrates to their employees that they care and value them. As an employee, this can increase your job satisfaction. It will also motivate you to be your best and loyal to the company you are working for.

Opportunity to learn from others

Training allows you to learn from others’ experiences. This can give you helpful tips you may not have previously considered as a part of your job. Also, off-site training gives you the opportunity to talk with others and experts in your field that you may not otherwise interact with. Getting expert advice and learning from them will make you feel more equipped to do your job.

Feeling confident

The more you know the more confident you’ll be in your job. You will feel more prepared. Job training will also increase motivation and productivity. Good off-site job training will prepare you to help and teach others how to do the job well.

Finally, as a company, you’ll need to decide the best method to use to train your employees. Always weigh the pros and cons of on-site and off-site training. Building a solid team will help your business run smoothly. Enjoy watching your business expand and be at its best.

What does it take to convince people that your event is worth signing up for?

Very often, a comprehensive and persuasive event description plays a central role in raising attendance. Facts you tell, words and phrases you choose, the way you position them – all of this can become a guarantee of sold-out tickets.

In this article, we’ll talk about how to describe an event to attract page visitors' attention and provide the necessary information without overloading them.

Our focus will be on training events such as workshops, webinars, and various courses. But the same rules can be applied to events of other kinds as well.

To write examples, we used the editor in Workshop Butler. It’s a training management software for trainers and training companies that automates most administrative tasks and provides quick website integrations. Here we’ll also share solutions we employ to simplify the process of creating an event page.

Main principles of a good event description

Before we start, let’s decide what defines a “good event description”.

First, it provides explicit information. After reading it, your potential participants clearly understand that this event is for them and they will be able to take part in it.

Second, it’s engaging and convincing. Not only a person realizes that the event is aimed at them, but they also see why they need to attend it and can agree with your reasoning (and pricing).

To write such a description, look at it from your audience’s perspective and think about what could affect their decision. Always remember that it’s about your attendees, not you or the event itself.

Like any customer in any business, your potential attendees want to know how they benefit from your course and how it’s better or different from others. Don’t rely solely on descriptive language, but prove an event’s quality with facts instead.

What to write in the event description

To write a compelling event description, pay close attention to the elements important to your potential customer:

1. Content: topics, solutions, and benefits this event provides.
2. Organizational details: date, address, duration, price, etc.
3. Promotional materials: testimonials, statistics, photos.

These elements should complement each other,  step by step leading page visitors to the idea that they want to sign up.

Tell about event content

Let’s start with two tips for writing about event content

Go down from general to detail. Start by explaining what your event is about, then add details one by one to draw a full picture in a reader’s mind.

Imagine a dialogue between you and a potential participant where you answer their questions. It will help you write from the attendees’ perspective and choose the tone appropriate for your target audience.

Identify pain points an event can solve

The first potential question a person who landed on your event page might ask themselves is “Why should I read it?”. It’s crucial to give an answer quickly to keep them from leaving.

If it's a training event, you can establish a connection between your page visitors and the information on it by identifying pain points your event can solve for your students.

There are different ways to do it:

• Ask questions.

• Use the first-person speech to talk about pain points in general.

• Use first-person speech to voice the most common complaints representing pain points.

Offer solutions for these pain points

People attend training events to learn how to deal with certain challenges. If you manage to get them interested in the topic, the next thing you hear is “Okay, what are you suggesting to do?”.

Briefly outline the solution you are suggesting, emphasizing the points students care about the most.

Another way is to identify a problem and offer a solution right away.

Define the target audience of an event

Signing up for an event involves expenses. Naturally, people would want to be sure they fit in. So one of their questions could be “Who is it for?”

You can outline your target audience from different angles.

• The level of expertise

• Occupation

• Demographic

Share an event's schedule

If you have managed to keep a person’s attention up to this point, they’re already interested enough but still don’t have a clear idea of what it’ll be like. Hence, the question: “What exactly will we be doing?”

As an answer, you can briefly present the schedule, especially for a long-term event that will last several days.

Knowing the specifics helps people feel more comfortable and secure when making a purchase.

The level of the specification can vary depending on how much you are ready to reveal and what you want to emphasize:

• Add start and end dates and times of each session.

• Show how the time will be allocated between theory and practice.

• List the learning modules.

Show the benefits students will get

What your potential participants would probably want to know the most about your event is “What will I get from it?”

The benefits might seem obvious from answers to the other questions, but there is no guarantee that everyone will read every part of your description.

Besides, not every benefit can be deduced from previous paragraphs.

Explain what students will get in terms of knowledge, certificates, and freebies.

Introduce an event speaker

The quality of event content and its delivery directly depend on the person who presents it.  “Why should I listen to this person?” and “Can I trust this person’s advice?” — many would want to see answers to these questions.

It’s particularly important for highly competitive niches where you need to use every possibility to stand out.

In addition, introducing a speaker in the description helps build up trust even before an event starts.

What information about a speaker can you add?

• Short bio containing facts related to their professional activities or an event topic.
• Speaker’s achievements: links to books, blog articles, social media profiles, certifications, and a website.
• A photo to show the real person behind a bunch of words and numbers.

The alternative solution is to make a separate page with the speaker’s profile and include the link to this page in the event description, thus saving space and avoiding stuffing it with too much information.

Here is an example of such a profile in Workshop Butler. Every trainer with a WSB account is encouraged to add basic information about themselves: bio, photo, links, etc. This information is easily integrated into this trainer’s or training company’s website.

Lay out the organizational details of an event

Apart from the wish to attend, a person also needs the capability to do it. To understand that their circumstances match the event’s conditions, people would want to know where, when, and in what format it will be conducted.

Providing explicit organizational details can be crucial to ticket sales. Most people make their decision based on the initially provided information and only a small part decide to contact organizers and ask questions. So it’s better to give enough information from the start.

Event format. In-person/online live/recorded video. Nowadays, everyone has their own preferences regarding how they want to participate.

Date, time, and time zone of an event. The time zone is one of the essential parameters for online events, which are not associated with any particular address.

Event location. The necessary parameter for in-person events. You can also include notes about parking fees and means of transportation.

Software for online events. Explain which apps participants will need for joining the meeting and for practical tasks.

Event language. Usually, an event language matches the language of a description, but there can be exceptions. For example, handout materials might be in a language different from the one you speak. Such exceptions should be emphasized before a person buys a ticket.

Event duration. Sometimes, it's included in the title (e.g. "Two-hour workshop"), in other situations — specified separately. If your event consists of several sessions, the total duration clarifies how much time the course takes.

Number and duration of each session. Knowing the exact schedule helps people make their plans and be sure they can join each meeting. Information about sessions can be combined with an event agenda explaining what each session will be about.

Number and duration of breaks. If it's a long workshop (e.g. 8 hours), students need to know when they will be able to rest.

Group size. Some people prefer to study in a small group and won’t be pleased to be in a huge crowd.

Privacy and personal data processing. Personal information is a sensitive matter. If you’re going to store or share it somewhere, you definitely need to warn about this.

If you want to record a meeting, clarify how you plan to handle it:

• What are you recording (only a speaker or an audience too? Will you show names if it’s an online meeting?)?
• For what purposes do you record it (promotion, internal use, distribution)?
• How long will the recording be stored?

Anything participants need to bring. If your event involves additional expenses on tools, materials, or ingredients, this should be stated beforehand.

Contact means. Predicting all questions is impossible. That’s why you should always leave a way to contact you. Just make sure you stay in touch and won’t miss any questions.

Tickets block should be treated with special attention because a good event ticketing strategy often becomes the factor that tips the scale of decisions. Think carefully about how you are going to handle the following:

• Tickets position: at the top of the page as one of the decisive factors or at the bottom after all the benefits are explained and it’s easier for readers to agree with your pricing.
• Specifics and advantages of different ticket types.
• Methods for increasing the sales rate (start and end sales dates, number of tickets left, discounts, and promo codes).
• Important payment information (available payment methods, sales tax rate, refund policy).

Sometimes, the amount of information you’d like to share is too much for one page. Including all of it in the description would make it too long and confusing. In this case, you can create a separate guide answering all questions and attach the link to the description, or hide some details under spoilers.

WSB solution: Which of the parameters to include in your description depends on the specifics of your event. But some details like date/time or format should be present on any page.

Workshop Butler notifies you if you missed them when creating an event and prompts you to fill in the necessary fields.

After an event is added, the service positions this information on the page where it can be seen easily.

Learn more about website integrations.

Promote your event

With so many sources of information all around us, it's hard to attract attention.

To make your description stand out among others, you shouldn’t neglect marketing elements.

An event title is what sparks interest in the first place. You can use different approaches to get page visitors' attention.

• Informative:

Drawing people: from basic steps to finding your style

• Appealing to emotions:

Anyone can draw: workshop on drawing people

• Putting the speaker in the spotlight (it makes sense if the speaker is a famous expert):

Drawing people workshop with Anna Kupilina

Event summary fuels the interest you've sparked with your title. Catch the essence of your event and describe it in a few sentences to engage a reader further.

In most cases, people will visit your page via the link from an event promotional email, a post in your social media profiles, or an ad. You can use the summary not only on the event page but in these sources as well.

Pictures convey the atmosphere of your class better than words:

• A group photo showing attendees of past events with certificates
• Photos of students participating in different activities
• Works of previous attendees for creative classes
• Pictures of ingredients or ready meals for cooking workshops.

If you want to add pictures, make sure you have the permission of those who are on it.

Video is an even better representation of your event’s atmosphere capturing both the content and the reaction of participants:

• A part of the speaker’s monologue to demonstrate their presentation style
• Students performing a practical task or participating in a game
• Compilation of the most interesting moments and/or a short presentation of the course.

Testimonials are considered less biased than your own word. Since you’re the concerned party, just having your statement about the quality of your program might not be convincing enough.

Testimonials can also complement your description emphasizing the points you haven’t mentioned yet.

Just like with photos, we highly recommend making sure that you have permission to use testimonials for marketing purposes. For example, ask about it when collecting post-event feedback.

WSB solution: Workshop Butler adds the consent field to an evaluation form automatically. A trainer can check the consent status anytime in an attendance record, which contains information about this participant.

If a student has agreed with the usage of their feedback for marketing purposes, a trainer can convert it to a testimonial and add it to their website.

Learn more about evaluations and testimonials.

Hashtags and links to review aggregators are alternative ways to show feedback about your event. Suppose you ask students to post their impressions on social media using a special hashtag or to add a review to an independent aggregator. In that case, you can later use these posts as proof of your events’ quality.

It’s easier than incorporating testimonials into your page and allows you to save space.

The downside is that you can’t control what feedback others see and negative reviews will be shown along with positive ones.

Statistics about the speaker's expertise is undeniable evidence that helps others make their own judgment.

Choose the numbers that look impressive and add them to the information about a speaker: How long have they been working in this field? How long have they been conducting events? How many events have they conducted? How many students attended their event? What’s the average rating of their events and their NPS?

WSB solution: We gather statistics for each trainer about the number of events, and years of experience, as well as various ratings based on the feedback left by attendees. All this information can be displayed with website integrations.

The CTA button is the final step in getting people registered for your event.

It should be easy to notice so that readers won't have to scroll the page back and forth looking for a way to sign up.

And the wording should clearly convey its purpose:

• Register
• Sign up
• Join
• Let's go
• I'm in
• Book
• Save me a seat
• Reserve my seat.

The choice depends on the overall tone of your description page.

You can add the word "Now" and make it "Join now" or "Sign up now" to create a sense of urgency.

Use personal pronouns like "me", "my", and "I" to appeal directly to each reader.

Stylistics and formatting of an event description

Contemporary society is used to skimming texts they see on the Internet. If they don’t find what they need fast, they would move away from your page.

To prevent this, your description should be easy to navigate and read.

Here are recommendations on how to achieve that:

Delete synonyms and words explaining the same thing in different ways.

Cut out repetitive or excessive information that is evident from what you have said already.

Avoid subclauses and complex constructions that make your text harder to read and can be broken down into smaller phrases.

Get rid of unnecessary words that just make sentences much longer without adding anything to their meaning whatsoever.

Avoid professional jargon because not everyone knows it. Especially when it comes to a workshop aimed at beginners. If you still have to use terms (e.g. it’s a topic of your event), give a brief explanation at the beginning of your description.

Avoid bureaucratic language because no one will read it until they’re absolutely forced to. Simple language and commonly known words are the best way to get your message across.

Keep paragraphs (and sentences, if possible) short. Huge chunks of text are not suitable for skimming and it’s easy to miss something important.

Use bullet points to create lists.

Add titles that can grab attention and improve navigation.

Choose the right tone in accordance with the event topic and the audience. It can give a hint of what to expect from the meeting itself.

Don’t forget about SEO to raise chances for your event page to appear in search results:

• Find out which keywords people usually use when looking for similar events and try to incorporate these keywords in your text as well
• Follow hierarchy by using H1/H2/H3 title tags
• Add a meta description for your page
• Optimize images and add titles for them.

Tips and recommendations

Writing a perfect copy with the right words, appropriate tone, and comprehensible structure from the first go is next to impossible.

We are suggesting several tips on how to organize the process of writing an event description.

Start with the rough draft. Just put your thoughts on paper without thinking about stylistics. Keep writing no matter how awkward or unnatural your text look.

Edit without mercy. Work on your initial draft until it reaches the ideal form and don't be afraid to remove unnecessary or unfitting parts.

Write in pieces. Write each part of your description (e.g. identifying pain points, describing benefits, crafting a summary) separately, then combine them together like a puzzle.

How to create an event description in Workshop Butler

Above, we have already described some WSB features that can help create a description or find materials for it.

But let’s see how the process itself goes.

• A trainer subscribed to Workshop Butler can create an unlimited number of events and set parameters for each one: date and time, the number of sessions, format, location and address, language, ticket types and prices.

• It’s possible to add a cover picture that will be displayed in the event calendar on a website.
• A rich text editor gives plenty of formatting options.
• There is an option to edit HTML for advanced users who want to customize the text further.

• Once an event page is created, it can be displayed on a website with the help of integrations. You can configure what will be shown there and add a sidebar widget with other events. The event is also added to the calendar from which site visitors can switch to event pages.

Conclusion

A good description can greatly contribute to the success of your event. And it's absolutely possible to write one if you pay equal attention to every action in the process:

• Select the essential information about the content
• Convey this information in a clear and interesting way
• Create an easy-to-follow text structure
• Incorporate marketing elements into the text naturally
• Establish the tone and stylistics and follow them throughout the text
• Decide on the design of the event page.

You can do all of this if you constantly keep in mind participants' needs and aspirations. Knowing your audience will help you write not just another advertisement, but a speech directly addressing your future attendees.

Estimating the workshop duration is often as difficult as calculating the price for training. In the latter case, the difficulty is in finding out how much your customers are willing to pay and in proving the value of your services to them. Duration is tricky because it has a direct influence on the quality of your services: you need to get the maximum learning effect in the allotted time without tiring your students out too much.

In some cases, an all-day workshop could become a good solution. And in other situations, breaking your program down into smaller sessions will provide better results.

However, simply deciding what duration is fitter for your course is not enough. The planning process for each stage should be approached with all seriousness too. You also need to consider external factors that can affect your perfectly thought-out curriculum. Overseeing them may lead to a workshop session becoming longer or, on the contrary, shorter than expected, damaging your reputation and budget.

We took a look at the courses of our customers to find out the average length they tend to choose for their training. At the same time, we thought of different scenarios and circumstances that will allow you to find the appropriate duration for your course and collected recommendations to help you stick to the time frame you have chosen.

When a longer workshop (6-8 hours) is better?

The usual length for intensive workshops packed into 1 day or, sometimes, 2-3 days, is 6-8 hours per session. They include presentations, exercises, and group discussions divided by breaks. There might be several presenters responsible for different stages or providing various perspectives.

Long sessions could become a serious test for many students so you as a facilitator will have to put efforts into creating the suitable sequence of different activities and choose the right time for breaks.

With all this, running a long event may seem like a task too difficult to handle, both for potential participants and a workshop organizer. But in some cases, this is the best choice.

In-person workshop. To take part in a face-to-face workshop, students will have to get to the location first, possibly — from somewhere far away. It means spending time and money on transportation and accommodations. Therefore, attendees of in-person workshops would want to get the maximum value out of each session instead of having to travel to the venue for multiple shorter iterations.They need to feel that it was worth their time getting there and a long workshop with lots of content would be perfect for this.

What should also be taken into consideration when hosting an in-person workshop is various fees you have to pay for renting a venue each time. Making sessions longer will minimize the number of days you need to pay for, which will help cut down the expenses.

Workshop for advanced learners. In-depth topics imply thorough explanation and complex exercises that stretch out in time. Advanced level attendees would be more likely to engage in activities, maintain a productive discussion, and prepare a lot of questions that might require detailed replies from you. A long workshop would be more satisfying for this situation as it will allow you to fully respond to your students’ needs.

Compliance workshop. If a company needs to implement new guidelines or ensure compliance with certain regulations, it’s better to hurry up and run longer sessions to get the results faster so that company can start operating under new standards as soon as possible. After covering the main points, you can enhance the effect by follow-ups or additional exercises at a slower pace.

When do short sessions (2-3 hours) work well?

In many cases, there is a wiser solution than trying to cram the entire workshop into a couple of days. Your students will remember more information if it’s divided into bite-sized chunks presented in regular intervals.

Multi-session training can last from a couple of weeks to several months, with the length of each session usually being 2-3 hours. This time frame is enough to explain the new idea and give students materials to think it through until the next session.

What else is great about multiple short sessions is that they create a stronger sense of bonding in a class than intense workshops. People that are meeting on a regular basis for several weeks start to feel more like a community. It will have a positive effect on a group work and an overall impression of a course.

Find more insights about building a sense of the community among your students in our interview with Pia-Maria Thorén, the creator of Agile People.

Virtual workshop. Online training works best with short-term sessions. Sitting for a long time in front of a computer leads to serious health issues, lowers students’ concentration, and diminishes the learning effect. If you have a lot of content to cover, you can split it up into multiple short sessions which won’t exhaust attendees and will allow them to consume the information gradually.

Tip: With Workshop Butler, you can create a schedule for events with multiple sessions to give workshop participants a clear understanding of how long each session lasts and how many of them are in the course.

Workshop for beginners. Starting something new is difficult and takes a lot of our inner resources. That’s why making long workshops for beginners might be counterproductive. By trying to share as much material as possible you risk creating an incomprehensible mixture in a learner’s head. Instead, try fitting the most essential content into a shorter workshop and give your students a chance to digest a new topic.

Retraining workshop. If an organization wants to change focus or expand their line of business, their employees will have to switch on the new course too. Such transition doesn’t happen overnight. It means that you can take time helping employees adapt to changes and teach new qualifications step-by-step. Not only will it make learning stick better, but it will also allow people to understand and accept the shifts in their workplace.

Although, there might be circumstances when retraining needs to be done in a timely manner. The start of the pandemic is a perfect example for such a situation. Many companies had to drastically change their processes and switch to remote work quickly. Getting on a new track as soon as possible was essential for the stability of operations and required intensive training sessions.

When different durations can be combined?

Sticking to one duration is not always necessary. If it’s an extensive course, you can alternate longer and shorter sessions depending on their purpose. For example, make a longer introductory session in-person where you present the workshop topic, set a certain tone, and give participants a chance to know each other. After that, move online and schedule shorter video calls to handle one task at a time.

Listen to Episode 8 of our podcast, where Jeroen Molenaar shares his vision of a hybrid approach, combining several-day live sessions with online micro-learning.

Planning workshop stages

When you decide upon the workshop duration based on learning content and your audience’s specifics, the next step will be estimating each stage of your course to see how it fits into the chosen time frame.

The more thoroughly will you break down each stage, the less chances that something will interfere with your calculations.

Think how much time you will need for:

• Greetings and introductions
• "Breaking the ice" and getting the process going
• Presenting the material
• Completing exercises and discussing materials
• Answering questions
• Listening to feedback and wrapping things up.

The accuracy in calculations will depend on your time management skill and the information you have about your audience: level of their expertise in this area, their knowledge of each other, and willingness to take part in your workshop.

Greetings and introductions. If the major part of your workshop is you giving information to attendees, maybe there is no need to spend a lot of time on introductions. But if you plan active discussions or working in small groups and your students are strangers to each other, you should make efforts to create a friendly atmosphere. Take into account whether your students need to introduce themselves or they have known each other prior to an event, then think how much information about themselves they should provide in order to be able to cooperate. Based on these assessments, try to estimate how much time will be enough for it.

"Breaking the ice" and getting the process going. This part is the logical continuation of the previous one and the same aspects will be important here. You need to think how long it will take to liven up your class before getting to the main part of your session.

Presentation of the material is the easiest stage to schedule because you will be the one doing the talking. Still, even here things might not go according to your plan. If you see that your audience doesn’t get what you are talking about or looks bored, you’ll have to improvise to change the flow of the session for the better. Make sure to leave some leeway in the presentation time for such situations.

Practical work and group discussion. The duration of this stage will depend on students’ qualification and their enthusiasm. It is strongly affected by how well you handled the introductory part of your event. More advanced students will probably faster complete even complex tasks than those who have just started grasping the basics. Attendees who have come to your event of their own free will and with clear understanding of why they need it, will be more actively working on the materials you are offering them than those forced to attend by their organization. And people who know each other will perform tasks more efficiently and smoothly than strangers.

Answering questions is the most difficult one because you can’t predict how many questions you will be asked and how much time it will take to answer. But if you are delivering the same workshop over and over, you might start getting the grasp of what questions you are usually asked and how to answer them.

Wrapping things up shouldn’t take much time. You might wrap up fast if the audience wasn’t responsive. If a workshop was a success, many of your students might want to share their feedback and gratitudes.

Tip: use online forms to collect feedback instead of spending time on it during the workshop. See our review of the best form builders for creating evaluation forms.

Unplanned factors

Some factors may not be part of your plan, but you can expect them to happen anyway. If you take measures to avoid them beforehand, there are less chances that the workshop duration will change because of them.

Getting back after the break tends to take longer than the time limits set for it. It may not be a big deal for an online session, but if you are renting a venue with an hourly rate, this delay might increase the cost of your workshop for you. Especially, if there are more than one break in a session.

To avoid this problem, try planning a longer break initially and announce it shorter for your attendees.

Uncooperative/inactive students will drag out the exercises you offer them and will reach results longer than it would have been with an active audience. There is no 100% guaranteed method to create a lively atmosphere, but there is at least a way to minimize risks. Try learning as much as possible about your potential students before the event starts. If it’s corporate training, consult those who hired you. And if it’s a public workshop — run a short survey to find out about your students’ background on the workshop topic, their expectations, and the degree of their enthusiasm. The more knowledge you have, the better will you be able to adapt content and estimate the time needed to cover it.

The choice for the date and time can also play its role in students’ activity. For example, participants attending a workshop on a weekday evening might be more reserved and less concentrated because they are already tired from the whole day of work.

Too much time spent on familiarizing with materials/software. If your course contains lots of handout materials, you need to add time for students to familiarize themselves with it. And even with these preparations, there might be difficulties because each person consumes information at their own pace. For someone, just skimming the hand-outs will be enough to grasp what they are about, while others would prefer to take their time and read it more thoroughly. Here you will be left before a choice: wait for everyone to finish reading the materials and make some of your students wait or proceed after most of your attendees are done. Naturally, the more workshops you run, the more precisely you will be able to estimate time for such activities.

There is also a different way which can balance these two imperfect choices — distribute materials before an event allowing your students to familiarize themselves with the information in a relaxing atmosphere. Of course, it won’t work with any topic, but could become a good solution for many cases.

The same can be done with software if you are going to present an interactive workshop. Some students might fall behind the rest of the group struggling to understand how the app or program works. You can either add some time for this process or include instructions in one of the pre-event emails.

Conclusion

If approached consciously, duration can contribute to your workshop’s success enhancing the learning effect of training. Students don’t usually pay much attention to timing unless it interferes with their schedule, but this parameter can greatly affect their performance during the session.

When asking yourself how long your workshop should be, think of the following:

• Medium you are going to deliver the training through
• Your audience’s level of knowledge on the topic
• The amount of new information their minds will be able to process at this point
• Your workshop goal
• The level of urgency to achieve this goal for your client.

When you’ll get the rough idea of the perfect duration for a successful workshop, move to detailed planning and think through each stage of your course. Do not forget to take into consideration external factors like delays, uncooperative students, or difficulties with using the software during interactive exercises.Try to find possible workarounds to minimize the effects of such factors beforehand.

Being in control of every possible aspect of your training, including timing, will help you become a workshop leader not only on paper, but in reality too, and give a sense of confidence to your audience encouraging them to follow your guidance.

Just two years ago, online education was a rare beast many people found inferior to a face-to-face experience. But after the pandemic, online events have become a permanent detail on the training industry landscape.

Some trainers have adapted their classes to the virtual format. Some of them just present the course material the same way it was before. And others are designing their programs for online from the start.

Despite remote learning being a usual thing now, many trainers are still asking themselves how much to charge for online workshops and whether to lower the price in comparison to offline events.

Although some on-site expenses are indeed irrelevant to online and should be excluded, there are other unique factors that can affect the price.

Start with cost and value

In-person and virtual learning are the same in their cores and the general scheme for calculating ticket prices will be similar too.

First of all, you need to understand the raw cost of creating and presenting your workshop and its value for your customers.

Raw cost is the minimum profit you should get to break even. Whether you plan to earn this sum for one event or get it back gradually by repeating your workshop, it’s better to know how much this training program costs.

Value is what your workshop is worth regardless of the time and resources you spent on creating it. And that’s what your customers pay for. Remember that you and your clients can see this value differently.

Another point to keep in mind is that facing students via a video call instead of being in the same room with them does not diminish the value of your workshop in any way, just changes the medium.

The step-by-step instruction to calculate a workshop cost and define its value, as well as to differentiate yourself from your competitors is described in this Workshop Pricing Guide. If you are calculating a price from scratch, we recommend taking a look at it first and returning to this article.

Here we will explain the specifics of online workshop pricing and cover the unique factors related to it.

The perceived value of online workshops has grown

As it was mentioned at the beginning of the article, the perception of online training has changed.

Before, many people didn’t take online learning seriously and were unwilling to risk their money for this kind of content. Therefore, high prices weren’t really an option.

Pandemic convinced the world that online provides no less quality than hands-on experience in many spheres including education. And for businesses that switched to remote work, virtual classes and courses have become the main way to satisfy their employees’ need for professional development.

Knowing that there is a demand on the market, you can feel more confident in pricing your public workshops and setting corporate training rates.

Online also gives more confidence in creating the training schedule. Since a location doesn’t matter anymore, you can attract more people to your classes and expect higher profit than from in-person workshops.

On-site expenses are excluded from the price

A significant part of the price for face-to-face training is organizational expenses:

• Venue
• Food
• Hand-out materials
• Subcontractors
• Parking lots
• Travel and accommodation.

If you are adapting your program to online, you should subtract these fees from the overall cost and recalculate the price.

New expenses are added

Online events are not just a cheaper version of their offline counterpart. They have their own additional fees.

Internet and electricity bills

The most important technical factor in running effective online workshops is a fast and reliable Internet connection. No level of content quality is going to compensate for constant disruptions or lags. And a good Internet provider can come costly.

Electricity bills can go up too as you will be using more equipment and for a longer period of time, than when you are working from an office.

If you see that these costs have a significant impact on your budget, you should consider adding them to your workshop cost.

More subscriptions

Interactivity in virtual workshops compensates for the lack of physical presence and encourages learners to participate in a learning process. But interactivity requires different kinds of software you need to pay for.

You can divide software subscriptions into two big categories:

• Those you need to create or redesign your workshop
• Those you need during a workshop (to run it or to present a certain task).

Adding the first group to the training cost is optional. If you plan to redeliver this workshop over and over again, it’s better to make it more accessible and exclude creation costs. But in case you plan to present it online once or only for a short period of time and have to pay subscriptions for this transition, they need to be included in the total workshop cost.

The second group is what you need for every session. You will have to maintain these subscriptions constantly to run workshops online on a regular basis. We recommend including this group in the cost and emphasizing the increased workshop value when running a promotion campaign.

Expensive equipment

In order to provide a high-quality virtual workshop, high-quality equipment is a must too. Sitting in front of a blurry camera can hardly guarantee a good experience.

If you plan to run online workshops regularly, you will need:

• Camera to provide a stable image
• Microphone to make sure everyone hears you clearly and doesn’t have to suffer from noise instead of focusing on the material
• Lights to allow everyone to clearly see your face and provide a better sense of presence
• A second monitor (optionally) if there are complex operations that need to be controlled separately.

These one-time expenses will pay off over time but you still have to consider them and their impact on the budget when thinking about the price.

Duration changed

If you are transitioning from face-to-face training, you may plan to leave the same duration as it was before. However, it's necessary to take into account several factors which accompany online activities. They can affect the duration of a session and, subsequently, the price.

Technical preparations

Even if you are sure of your Internet connection and your equipment, your attendees may be different. Waiting for everyone to connect and set up their earphones, cameras, and microphones can eat up a lot of the workshop time.

Adding this preparation stage to your workshop duration could be a good idea because this way the class won’t take longer than you planned.

Another solution is asking attendees to check their equipment beforehand, although it can’t be a 100% guarantee. If you are using a training management system like Workshop Butler to control all administrative tasks for your events, you can configure automated reminders and include the request to double-check technical conditions there.

Setting the rules

Online might have become part of our lives, but people are still getting used to it and not always quickly adapt to the virtual environment. It takes longer to make sure everyone is on the same wave than when you are in one room with your audience.

In addition, students will need time to get accustomed to the software if you use any in your course.

The time required for these stages will depend on the technical competence of your students. Tech-savvy attendees or those who frequent virtual events will get the gist quickly, while people who don’t interact with online in their day-to-day lives might struggle longer.

Knowing your audience and the difficulty level of your workshop will help you assess how much time you need for preliminary explanations.

Changing the way of communication

The simplified process of organizing remote events is outweighed by difficulty in its execution. Motivating your audience or establishing a comfortable atmosphere are not easy tasks to achieve being on the other side of the display from everyone else. Even presenting the material itself and keeping students’ attention becomes a challenge.

When estimating the workshop duration, take into consideration several obstacles that can usually be encountered during online training

Difficulty in keeping students engaged. Ways of engagement in online and in-person learning are different. If you are transitioning your course content from offline, this aspect could become the one that you have to change the most.

Difficulty in presenting content. Many people find it hard to concentrate on online activities when being at home. A student might be determined to focus on the learning process, but get distracted inadvertently. It will require a significant amount of energy and skills from you as a facilitator to keep the audience’s attention and run a workshop effectively under such conditions.

Difficulty in creating the right atmosphere. Breaking the ice at the start, helping students get to know each other and feel at ease working together — all of it will take longer in the virtual classroom and we advise paying extra attention to these points when planning your event.

These difficulties and your ability to overcome them will affect not only workshop duration, but the value of your course in general. If you are making your first steps in virtual training and are not sure how it turns out, try offering a lower price or even a free session to test your abilities. When you are confident that you can reach people in an online class and engage them in a discussion despite all the obstacles, you can increase your fees.

Conclusion

The world is still learning how to conduct online training properly, but it is also learning to see its real value. It’s essential for trainers and facilitators to understand how much their own work online costs so that they can explain the pricing to their customers and help them see the value of virtual workshops.

Online events come cheaper in their organization than on-site courses. It makes the former more attractive to potential students.

At the same time, they become more complex and expensive on the technical part, requiring a facilitator to carefully consider how this complexity will be reflected in pricing.

Duration of a session is affected by not always obvious factors that can make it longer than expected and more difficult to facilitate in comparison to a face-to-face class.

A trainer's expertise, professional record, and recommendations — these factors can be equally important for an organization choosing a professional for their employee training.

However, there is one factor that can outweigh them all. It's the price a trainer asks for their services.

If a company cannot afford training or, on the contrary, finds it suspiciously cheap, other factors become insignificant. That's why many trainers are concerned with determining the right fee to ask from their potential clients.

Getting the starting number

There is a huge number of variables that go into corporate workshop pricing: topic and industry you are working with, your experience and reputation, type of client and their training need, uniqueness of learning content and the level of customization needed, demand for the topic, and finally, your willingness to ask the price you want to.

The task is complicated by the lack of information about how others charge for their private services. Unlike public workshops' prices which can be found on the net, corporate solutions are usually not listed anywhere and it's not that easy to just refer to your competitors.

So what number to use as a starting point?

Do preparation work first. Before you start doing calculations, you need to lay down some groundwork: setting an annual budget and creating a training schedule. If providing training services is what you do for a living, we recommend aligning any job you accept with these parameters.

Calculate the training costs for this particular client. That's your starting number which you can adjust to the specifics of the job you received. Find the step-by-step plan for calculating the workshop cost in our guide to workshop pricing where we break down all the general aspects from time cost to understanding and increasing the perceived value.

Analyze your situation. To put it simply, your corporate training pricing should go in direct proportion with the time, effort, and financial resources you have to invest into this job.

However, there are situations when you can settle for a lower sum in exchange for other benefits.

In this article, we have listed different circumstances and explained how they can affect your rates.  Try making a list of those points which apply to your case, then looking at the difficulties you might face and the advantages you might gain.

Once it's done, decide how much you should add to the cost of your program and what sum will make you feel that the job is actually worth it.

Understanding training's specifics

The first question to ask yourself is what kind of workshop you need to conduct. Not only will a detailed analysis help you better understand the price, but you will also be able to use these conclusions when pitching your services.

How much do you need to customize the training material?

Off-the-shelf training. If it's enough to just run a workshop you have already presented publicly, then you can name about the same price for each employee you ask for one ticket for your public workshops. You can even add a group discount since you don't have to worry about filling in the seats and you have more clarity in general about an upcoming event.

Some customization is needed. Clients might ask you to adapt your material to their circumstances so that employees can better relate to learning. It calls for a higher price since you have to spend time researching their needs, thinking of a way to reflect them in the course, and making changes to the training content.

Fully customized training. Custom solutions are expected to be expensive so there is no need to be hesitant about it. First of all, it takes up much of the time and effort you would have otherwise spent on other activities. And second, if a client relies on your expertise that much, they are probably confident in your abilities and prepared the corresponding training budget.

What's the format?

Before the pandemic hit, face-to-face training was an undoubtful choice for the majority of organizations and trainers. But in the post-COVID world, online learning and blended learning are now on equal footing with on-site classes so any of the three can be requested.

You may have one format you are especially comfortable with or the one where your course can show its full potential. If the request is different from your own preferences, the fee can change as well.

And there are factors you need to take into consideration in any case.

Classroom training. Include in your price travel expenses needed to get to the training location. If you have to travel somewhere far away, add the cost of your accommodation too.

Online training. Software subscriptions are not cheap so it makes sense to include them in your training rates.

Blended learning can include the expenses listed in both formats above. You need to decide which of them will be reflected in your fee.

What's the training method?

Some organizations will leave the choice of a training method at your discretion. Others will request a particular technique right from the start.

If it's something you have little or no experience with and you still accept the job, there are two opposite paths for you to take.

Charging more for higher difficulty. You will need some time to familiarize yourself with the new method so you can charge more for agreeing to this condition.

Charging less for the new experience. It's a great chance to broaden your specialization and offer a wider range of services later. You can go for a moderate price in exchange for a new experience, given that your employer understands you are trying something new for you.

Consider both options with your future in mind. If you think that you can employ the new skill in your other projects, the latter path is a more logical option. But if you don't see yourself using it ever again, then the first path is a better choice.

Who is your target audience?

Are you going to work with top management? HR department? Regular workers?

Leaders and top managers. Working with leaders usually requires a deeper level of preparation.

Regular employees might come in greater numbers which raise the level of difficulty. It's harder to engage many people at once and, if you need to track completion rates, it will take a lot of time.

Find out who you will have to work with and think how difficult it can be for you.

How experienced is your audience?

Beginners. When teaching the basics, you work with well-known topics and can predict most of the questions that might come up, which means that no special preparation is needed. In addition, the competition can be rather intense among those working with beginners. Therefore, your client would expect a reasonable price for this kind of training.

Experts. Running a course for a group of professionals with a bunch of tricky questions in stock will take more resources to prepare. By entrusting you to train experts, an employer recognizes you as an expert yourself. And the higher level of expertise is needed, the scarcer the market becomes. In this situation, you can charge whatever you see fit because gaining all this knowledge is worth a lot and it should be valued properly.

Number of training sessions

The number of training sessions, their duration, and frequency matter too.

The longer - the higher. In general, it goes like this: the more sessions you need to run and the longer each training session is, the higher the price will go.

Moderate price for long-term commitments. However, you can look at it from a different perspective. If you commit yourself to a long-term job, you don't have to worry about your financial situation for a while. You can compromise on some costs in exchange for the stability you get.

Level of participant engagement

Participant engagement in training directly correlates with its effectiveness and the workshop fee a client is ready to pay.

Just a presentation. A presentation in PowerPoint with you doing all the talking is not something that would be worth much in the eyes of your potential clients. Especially, when they might as well purchase an online self-study course with similar effect.

Active discussion. A workshop with a high level of attendee engagement is not what you can get from a self-study course. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and communication skills from a facilitator: from breaking the ice at the start to maintaining students' interest all the way through the training course and motivating them to employ learning experience into practice. Here you can feel confident in pricing because your potential clients will be more willing to pay for the services of such quality.

Level of facilitator involvement

The next aspect to pay attention to is the level of engagement expected from you. Services including a follow-up (e.g. a one-on-one coaching session with each team member) are more expensive than simply presenting the course materials.

Without a follow-up. When your responsibility ends with the workshop itself and you just walk away, leaving the employer to figure out for themselves how effective your training was, they won't see any need to pay much for your services, because they will have to do half of the work for you.

With a follow-up. Offering some form of help in applying the things students learned to their job and helping measure the training effect will become an additional cost and can increase the risk of being turned down because of this. But at the same time, it will bring more value to those who decide to book such a workshop and will turn this job into a success story you can use later to promote your services.

Who will handle organizational tasks?

While the number of changes to the training content can become a pivotal point in determining your fee, administrative work such as registering attendees, collecting feedback from them, and issuing certificates play an important role too.

A client will handle administrative work. If an employer takes most of these tasks upon themselves, the problem is solved. There is no need to think about how to reflect this part in your fee.

You will handle administrative work. In this case, you will need to consider two aspects: the time you spend on this work and subscription fees if you use any paid software for it. If included in pricing, they affect it significantly.

To lower the impact of organizational tasks on your fees and to make your services affordable for a wide range of clients, we recommend using a training management system like Workshop Butler. It deals with the organizational routine allowing you to exclude the long hours of manually handling these tasks from your price.

Understanding your client

All companies are different in size, activities, and problems they want to solve with your training. Sometimes, you can decide on the price depending on the client you will be working with.

Small companies vs large enterprises

You might have the same rate for anyone or change it based on the scale of operations and the amount of work that needs to be done.

Large enterprise means multiple employees, tons of data to research for preparation, and a whole set of pain points originating from different sources. Developing an effective program in these conditions is a real challenge so organizational leaders are prepared for significant expenses.

Small or medium-sized businesses don't have impressive training budgets. They wouldn't be able to afford an expensive corporate workshop. But in exchange, identifying the problem and implementing a solution is easier in a small group, than in a huge corporation. You can finish your work quickly and move to other contracts.

Commercial vs non-profit

Professional development is equally necessary for both non-profit organizations and businesses, but the approach to pricing your services for them can differ.

Commercial organizations can become your main source of income where prices are higher.

Non-profit organizations are usually not looking for expensive training. Working with them is not profitable but can contribute to experience and reputation. That's why many training companies offer discounts to them.

What do you need to achieve?

The more visible and measurable the results of your training are to an employer, the easier it will be for you to justify a higher price.

Increasing revenue (e.g. sales team training). The effect of such training becomes clear relatively fast and can be measured. Your client understands what exactly they pay for, even if it's a high price.

Improving customer service/decreasing high employee turnover don't generate profit directly, but affect it quite significantly. Its value is easy to prove too.

Developing soft skills/team building can help with all the previously mentioned goals if done properly. But the changes from such a program will be kicking in gradually and won't be that obvious. Many employers would be unwilling to pay large sums for something they won't be able to see straight away unless you have means to prove it. For example, case studies or testimonials collected from your past attendees and their employers can become a very convincing tool for your potential clients.

Who initiated the contact and why?

Was it you who reached out to a client or the other way around? Did they find you via advertising or come through a recommendation? Is it a returning client or a new one? This information might help you to decide upon the price too.

A facilitator contacts a client. If you decided to be proactive and offered your services, then it hardly makes sense to ask too much.

A client contacts a facilitator. If your schedule is packed or you're not sure whether you should take this gig, you can shoot for a higher price. If they agree, then you've got yourself a sweet deal. If they walk away, well, they probably didn't need you that badly.

A client coming through a recommendation already knows how good you are so you can try charging more.

For a long-term client, you can compromise on some costs for the sake of maintaining a good relationship and increasing your chances to be invited again.

Understanding your purpose

Not all jobs are done to make a profit. Some of them help you gain experience or increase your presence on the market.

Gaining reputation or experience. If you are just starting with your training business or you are trying to establish yourself as an expert in a certain niche, you will need a lot of practice. Potential employers might be reluctant to pay much to a new player. And you will get more chances to prove your value by getting as many jobs as possible, even if they are for a lower price at the start.

Earning money. Going cheap should not be an option for experienced trainers who fully realize their potential and the benefits they can bring to their customers. Many trainers say that their services started to sell better after they had decided to increase their rates. Consider raising your training rates once you gain a certain level of publicity and feel confident in your abilities to help organizations with their troubles.

Conclusion

Each corporate training job is unique. Even if you have a fixed rate for such services, most probably, you will have to make corrections to it to adjust to the client's request.

We recommend thinking about corporate workshop pricing with 3 main aspects in mind:

• Type of training you need to deliver: you need to clearly assess the amount of work that needs to be done not to underprice your services
• Type of client you work with: it's essential to understand your client to find the right number both sides can agree with.
• Your purpose in taking this job: seeing the benefits you can get from each job allows you to utilize them to the fullest and grow as a training professional rather than just finishing a job and forgetting about it.

Have you already decided which questions to ask your attendees after an event ends? Great then, because the essential part of the training evaluation process has been cleared.

But there is still a technical side you need to think about. How to design an evaluation form and distribute it? The easiest way would be to get software where you can do all this.

In this article, we will compare tools for training evaluation by the most important parameters. What to choose if you have a tight budget? What would be the best for those looking for thorough analysis? What are your options if you prioritize time-saving and like everything automated? We will try to find out today.

And if any particular tool caught your attention, check out our detailed reviews for each of them:

• Google Forms
• SurveyMonkey
• JotForm
• Typeform
• Workshop Butler evaluation forms

While the first four are professional form builders, Workshop Butler is a complex solution for trainers and training companies that handles all administrative processes from accepting registrations to collecting feedback.

Table of contents:
Pricing
Configuration
Customization
Data collection
Data analysis
Data storing
Privacy and accessibility
Overall recommendation

Pricing

Before you set out to explore functionality, it’s worth checking out the pricing.

• Is the price reasonable for you?
• Can you pay every month or do you have to make a year-long commitment from the start?
• Is there a free version?

Our recommendation

Google Forms. Yes, it’s really minimalistic in comparison to other tools, but it will provide you with the most basic features and will cost you practically nothing.

JotForm. If you don’t run a workshop for a big audience every week, then 100 monthly submissions and 5 active forms provided by the free plan would be enough for your purposes.

Workshop Butler. Apart from collecting evaluations, you also need software for accepting registrations, collecting payments, setting up your website, etc. And all of them would probably cost money too. Unless you have a solution which covers all of these steps. That would be Workshop Butler where you get all services with just one subscription.

Configuration

How fast and how easy it is to set up a form might be a deciding factor for many users.

• Are there any event feedback templates?
• Which question types are available and which of them are suitable for training-needs?
• Can you add a translation for a multilingual audience?
• Is it possible to structure your questionnaire to improve the respondent's experience?
• Can you personalize your form with conditional logic?

Our recommendation

SurveyMonkey offers you the list of most popular questions and answers written and verified by experts. And the functionality of paid plans can satisfy even the most demanding users.

JotForm has many different templates for event feedback, allows to add translation easily, and gives full access to the builder on the free plan.

Typeform has well thought-out conditional logic if you are looking for smart surveys.

Workshop Butler contains only question types essential for event feedback, without making you scroll through all possible options for all possible purposes. It chooses the appropriate template automatically once you create and save it.

Customization

A pleasantly designed evaluation form can melt the hearts of those who don’t feel like replying to your questionnaire. That’s why you might want to check how each builder approaches customization.

Our recommendation

JotForm. Rich customization options on the free plan and custom CSS for experienced users.

Typeform. Easily customizable slides and a decent choice of free themes.

Data collection

There is a wide range of data collection methods for different kinds of surveys. Your preferences in this matter might affect your choice of the evaluation tool.

We have already reviewed some of the methods in terms of how suitable they are for event evaluation.

Our recommendation

JotForm and Typeform. All most popular data collection methods are available on the free plan.

Workshop Butler adds an attendee’s address to the mailing list after registration and can send a form automatically after an event ends.

Data analysis

Some builders pay the same amount of attention to analyzing responses as to gathering them. And others contain the bare minimum to see the data collected.
You need to decide which level of analysis you expect from your builder.

• How data is visualized?
• Is it possible to compare responses?
• What formats can data be exported to?

Our recommendation

SurveyMonkey. Results can be presented in different ways and compared to benchmark data in the industry. Paid plans open more possibilities for research.

JotForm. Several ways to view and compare the results. Data can be easily structured with JotForm tables.

Data storing

Past evaluations might come in handy even after a long time so it’s better to keep them. Different builders have different policies concerning the data you collect.

• Is there any expiration time or storage limit for keeping responses?
• Can responses be structured?

Our recommendation

Google Forms. Responses to each survey will be stored as long as you need them.

Workshop Butler. No limitations on how long the responses can be stored. In addition, all evaluations can be viewed per an event they were submitted for or per an attendee who submitted them.

Privacy and accessibility

Who will have access to a form, how safe it is, and can you work on it together with others — it’s important to check these aspects before you start distributing your questionnaire.

• Are there any additional protection methods?
• Is collaboration on a form possible and in what way?

Our recommendation

Google Forms. It’s easy to collaborate on a form for anyone with the link or anyone within the same domain, depending on the privacy settings.

JotForm. Access to a form is provided similar to Google Forms. And what’s more, the other person doesn’t even need a JotForm account.

Workshop Butler. Other WSB users with the access can collaborate on a form and help manage results.

Overall recommendation

JotForm. With full availability of all features on any plan, you don’t have to compromise on how many questions to ask or what options to choose. The limitations are not that strict allowing you to keep several different forms. Add to this plenty of room for customization and analysis, and an easy way for collaboration — and you will get really powerful and affordable software for collecting evaluations, be it training evaluation or anything else.

Workshop Butler is aimed specifically at event management. Evaluation process here is handled in connection with the other stages of the event lifecycle which means that all event-related data is safely stored in one place. The builder itself has been created with one purpose — collecting training participants’ feedback. It contains only relevant question types and settings, and has a convenient template system which can save a lot of your time.

Podcasts have been growing in popularity for the past several years. Be it hobbies, education, business, or news — someone is podcasting about it.

As one of the highly adaptable and rapidly evolving sectors, learning and development could not stay on the sidelines. Podcasts related to it usually feature industry experts and prominent figures in this field. They share their vision, talk about real case studies, and recommend tools and resources. In other words, it's a great source of inspiration and support from those who understand your pains and problems like nobody else — your peers.

We decide to compile the top of the most interesting training and development podcasts about different aspects of this industry. What's important is that all shows on the list keep delivering new episodes touching upon the latest and actively discussed trends.

So, what podcasts to listen to in 2021?

TrainingBusiness

The title of this show goes straight to the point. The host, Mark Garrett Hayes, and his guests talk about a wide range of problems from learning solutions to business aspects, like establishing your own training brand, designing a website for it, or getting leads from Facebook Ads.
Being a learning professional himself, Mark can often relate to the guests' stories and goes solo in some episodes. In the most recent solo episode, he gave recommendations about planning revenue for the year ahead.

Number of episodes (as of October, 1) - 159
Frequency - once a week
Approximate length of episodes - 30-50 minutes.

First Time Facilitator

This show is made by a facilitator for facilitators. For almost 3 years already, Leanne Hughes has been asking her guests to tell their recipes of success — how to stay confident and deliver engaging workshops. This show takes on all aspects of the training industry, inspiring and giving advice to those who are making their first steps in this field. For example, one of the latest episodes focuses on evaluating the financial risks of becoming an independent facilitator and making decisions on this path. Apart from traditional one-on-one interviews and solo episodes with Leanne, there are occasional group conversations.

Number of episodes (as of October, 1) - 204
Frequency - once a week
Approximate length of episodes - 25-45 minutes.

Workshops Work

Many podcasts do not have any visible plan or structure, relying on the natural flow of the conversation. But Myriam Hadnes brings some constant elements into her show without disrupting this flow. Each guest is asked to answer a certain set of questions at the beginning and the end of an episode like "When did you start calling yourself a facilitator?" or "What makes a workshop fail?". Workshops Work concentrates on the ways to make events engaging for a modern learner. Why mental fitness is important, how to create a winning company culture, what Taoism and Agile have in common — answers to this and many other questions is what can make your workshops really work for you and your audience.

Number of episodes (as of October, 1) - 138
Frequency - once a week
Approximate length of episodes - 50-60 minutes.

Leading Learning

The oldest training podcast on our list has been on air since 2015. That's plenty of time to talk about different topics on a weekly basis and move to experiments with the format. Recently two hosts, Jeff Cobb and Celisa Steele switched to a 7-episode podcast series related to one topic. This way, they can dig into the matter deeper and reach critical insights that are hardly possible within one episode. So far, four series have been completed.
Jeff and Celisa are founders of the Tagoras company, whose purpose is to help learning businesses succeed and thrive. Together with thought leaders from L&D industry, they explore current problems and future prospects of professional development and lifelong learning.

Number of episodes (as of October, 1) - 278
Frequency - once a week
Approximate length of episodes - 25-40 minutes.

The Business of Learning

This show is a part of Trainingindustry.com, a great source of information for L&D professionals. Apart from the podcast, it also has a blog, webinars, articles, courses, and research. That's a lot of materials, which are organized and supplement each other. In each podcast episode on the website, you can find a link to other information related to it.
The Business of Learning is hosted by Training Industry staff who discuss with their guests various approaches to employee training, ways to build a learning culture, and different learning experiences.

Number of episodes (as of October, 1) - 54
Frequency - one or several times a month
Approximate length of episodes - 30-40 minutes.

Mind Tools L&D

(previously Good Practice podcast)

This show attracts its listeners with a lively atmoshere where knowledge sharing and discussions are mixed with friendly banter. It's hosted by the staff of Mind Tools For Business, a company that delivers learning solutions for organizations. Together with their guests, they address a vast variety of topics: organizational learning strategies, recomemmendatons for employee engagement, business aspects of managing your own company in the learning industry, workplace culture, and career development in L&D.
And at the end of each episode, hosts add a pinch of fun and relaxation by sharing interesting things they have discovered during the previous week: books, comics, stories, YouTube channels, or fun facts. These discoveries might have no connection to learning at all, but be a good opportunity to expand your horizons in an unexpected direction.

Number of episodes (as of October, 1) - 268
Frequency - once a week
Approximate length of episodes - 30-40 minutes.

Powered by Learning

Powered By Learning is a podcast from d'Vinci Interactive, an eLearning platform that employs the latest technologies to provide modern learning solutions for its customers. The show is presented by d'Vinci Interactive staff who talk to experts about different learning experiences in various sectors — medical organizations, customer support, sales, and others.
d'Vinci Interactive employees themselves can also provide interesting insights about eLearning. Some episodes of the show feature company employees in both host and guest roles.

Number of episodes (as of October, 1) - 22
Frequency - one or two times a month
Approximate length of episodes - 20-30 minutes.

Learning Uncut

Let's return back from the podcasts hosted by learning companies to podcasts hosted by experienced facilitators. Every week Michelle Ockers asks her guests to tell how corporate learning is handled in their companies. Some of her guests have quite unique stories like the role of board games in truck drivers training in South Africa or leadership development in the expedition to Antarctica. And all of them provide listeners with useful recommendations and case studies. Some of the episodes are compiled into series with a common topic.

Number of episodes (as of October, 1) - 136
Frequency - once a week
Approximate length of episodes - 40-60 minutes.

Prosperous coach

This one is different from the previous shows in many aspects. The host, Rhonda Hess, helps coaches gain confidence and find their niche in the competitive market. But the recommendations she gives could be useful to other sectors as well. In each episode, Ronda brings up one tip on how to make your business profitable, attract clients, and manage your professional life without burning out. Most of the episodes are really short so even the busiest person can find the time to listen to one. And if you prefer to read, there is a text version as well.

Number of episodes (as of October, 1) - 147
Frequency - once a week
Approximate length of episodes - 5-20 minutes.

Training Business Anatomy

There are podcasts about learning methods and techniques, about approaches to learning in different companies, and about a little bit of everything in the industry. But recently started podcast, Training Business Anatomy concentrates solely on one aspect — how to build and scale a training company. The show is hosted by Sergey Kotlov, CEO of Workshop Butler, training management solution that automates administrative processes for events and workshops.
What does it take to establish a training company? What obstacles are waiting ahead and how to overcome them? How to choose the right moment to go full time?
Sergey asks these and other questions to the founders of training businesses. They reminisce on their professional journey and outline biggest challenges, turning points, and key factors that shaped their success. Learn about what stays behind the scenes of effective workshops and gain the courage to set off to your own journey with Training Business Anatomy.

Number of episodes (as of October, 1) - 4
Frequency - once a week
Approximate length of episodes - 40-50 minutes.

The process of collecting feedback is a dialogue between an interviewer and a respondent. And like in every dialogue, there can be misunderstandings. Due to the indirect form of the conversation, they become even more troublesome than usual.

If you want to receive valid and useful feedback from your survey, you need to express your thoughts clearly and concisely, avoiding biased questions.

What is a biased question?

A biased question is an unquiry asked in a way to solicit a certain answer from a respondent or unclear to them. Sometimes, they are born from wrong choice of words and questions order, sometimes - caused by social and psychological factors. Both surveyor and respondent might be unaware of it, still falling to its trap subconsciously.

Biased questions prevents people from sharing honest impressions and damage the feedback received. Although eliminating them completely is next to impossible as you cannot predict the reaction of each person, but knowing what types of bias are out there will help you watch out for them and mitigate their influence.

Types of biased questions

Just like there are many ways to affect a respondent's choice, there are many different types of biases and questions born from them:

• Double-barreled question
• Absolute questions
• Leading questions
• Loaded questions
• Dichotomous questions
• Vague questions
• Social desirability bias
• Demand characteristics bias
• Assimilation effect
• Contrast effect
• Acquiescence bias
• Straightlining.

Double-barreled questions

A double-barreled question combines two questions in one and asks for one answer to both. It is easy to miss because adding more information often seems like a good idea.

This sentence asks about two different matters: the effectiveness of the materials and their structure. It’s not necessarily that both of them are on the same quality level. A respondent might find materials extremely helpful, but not very well organized. Thus, they will be at a loss as to what to answer. And when you will be reading their replies, you also won’t be able to pinpoint which of the two matters caused problems.

How to avoid double-barreled questions? Try to be concise and simple whenever possible. Stay away from long descriptions that use several words to define one point. Make sure that you address only one side of the topic in each field.

To check yourself, imagine how you would be analyzing results. If you receive a negative answer, will you be able to understand where the problem lies?

Absolute questions

Absolute questions include such words as “all, always, every, none, never”. These ultimate terms carry an extreme connotation making people want to deny it.

This question sounds too pushy. If a respondent liked only some of the tasks, their first impulse will be just to say No, without looking at the other options.

For someone, it might sound almost like you are accusing them of not participating in your events earlier.

How to avoid absolute questions? It’s best not to use absolutes in your form except when it’s unavoidable. In most cases, these words can be omitted or the sentence can be rephrased.

Leading questions

A leading question is a statement that a surveyor wants to be confirmed or denied asking it in a way that leads to a certain answer.

It’s obvious from this sentence what answer is expected. You risk receiving negative feedback or no answer at all because no one likes being manipulated.

The example above expresses an interviewer's preferences explicitly. But not all leading questions are that obvious.

At first glance, there are two choices — old and new programs. But are there really? This sentence clearly favours the new program by emphasizing that it was enhanced. Whether your respondents subconsciously follow the lead or realize it — the outcome will be biased anyway.

How to avoid leading questions? Carefully check if you give respondents enough freedom. Do not include your personal opinion keeping the sentences neutral.

Loaded questions

A loaded question contains a certain assumption that might be false for some respondents. It is similar to a leading question as it implies the direction of an answer too.

The interviewer is certain that all participants have enjoyed the event and all that’s left is to find out to what degree. What if someone did not enjoy it at all? Even if you include the corresponding option in the list of responses, the question will still leave a negative impression.

How to avoid loaded questions? The countermeasures are similar to those for leading questions. Take all possible outcomes into account and stay neutral allowing respondents to decide for themselves.

Dichotomous questions

Dichotomous questions always have only two possible answers, with yes/no being the most frequent options.

Using two definite options is tempting because it makes the analysis of the results an easy task. But at the same time, it backs some of the respondents into a corner. They won’t be able to give a reply if they have not decided on their future attendance yet. Consequently, they will either drop out or pick an answer randomly.

How to avoid dichotomous questions? Include the middle option that expresses the uncertainty or neutral position — for example, “Maybe”. Or give a way out by adding the “I don’t know” answer. It’s not that convenient for analysis but provides a suitable choice for those who do not have a clear opinion on a matter.

Vague questions

In contrast with the previous types of bias that limit respondents’ freedom, a vague question gives too much of it.

A vague question includes words that can be interpreted in different ways: "good, bad, interesting, many". People define them depending on their values, beliefs, experience, and goals. If you use these words in your questionnaire, there is a high chance that each of your respondents will be answering their own question and you won’t know which one.

Are you sure that you and event participants have the same understanding of success? For you, the criteria might be delivering new knowledge and teaching new skills. And for others, it might be an engaging and lively discussion or the level of organization.

How to avoid vague questions? Focus on the qualities and parameters that matter the most for you and ask as precisely as you can. Try not to leave the room for different interpretations.

Social desirability bias

This type of bias is different from previously mentioned biased questions. Social desirability is a response bias that makes the survey participants choose a socially-approved answer.

People want to look good in front of others. Even without realizing it, they usually deny traits that can be viewed negatively by those around them. This makes it difficult to receive honest answers to sensitive questions and to make accurate statistics.

It’s considered that learning and self-improvement are essential qualities of any successful person. If a respondent doesn't have any intention to learn anything new, there is still a high chance they won’t admit it and give you a positive answer that would be socially approved.

How to avoid social desirability bias? Making a questionnaire anonymous helps people relax and share honest thoughts.

If anonymity is not an option, at least assure participants that you will keep this information private (for example, in an attached letter).

You can also try to rephrase a sentence to make it sound less aggressive.

If you list possible directions and include “I haven’t decided yet” or “I don’t know” options, it will help two groups of people. You will give hints to those who want to grow but haven’t yet decided how to proceed. And you will add a way out for those who do not intend to raise their skills for now.

Demand characteristics bias

Demand characteristics bias make respondents give answers based on their assumption of what you need the most. They do not reflect on their actual thoughts and emotions but try to pick the most favorable answer.

Respondents might think that they help you by choosing “Yes”, so they will mark this reply solely because of this reason. At the same time, they could be satisfied with the current location and don’t see any need to change it.

How to avoid demand characteristics bias? Do not leave the ground for assumptions and stay as neutral as possible. Ask participants to share their impressions on the current location or write their suggestions on what can be improved on this matter.

If you get a lot of negative feedback, changing a location can really be a good idea, even if you don’t ask about it directly.

Assimilation effect

Survey results can be negatively affected not only by the wording of questions but by the survey structure too.

The assimilation effect takes place when a respondent uses their reply to the first question as a basis for a reply to the next question.

Let’s look at the order of the following fields:

Knowledge of the topic can be considered as a part of a trainer's performance, which means that the detailed question here precedes the general question. In this situation, when a participant is asked to rate the performance in general, the first thing that comes to their mind is how knowledgeable the trainer was because it has been mentioned just before. And they might give their rating based on it alone, ignoring all the other aspects of the performance.

It happens because our mind always looks for a shortcut. To find an answer, we go through the data stored in our memory. Of course, we stumble upon the most recent information first. If it suits our purposes, we tend to use it and don’t try to look further.

But the most recent information is not always what we need. A participant might be impressed with the trainer’s profound knowledge, but have complaints about the presentation style or the way the trainer interacted with the audience. If they rate the performance high thinking only of knowledge, some serious problems might go unnoticed.

How to avoid the assimilation effect? Placing a general question first is the easiest solution. It helps get rid of the assimilation effect because this way you don’t give respondents any hints.

If there are several detailed questions related to one topic, it’s safe to put them before a general question. A respondent will have a broader picture and will be less susceptible to the assimilation effect.

If, for some reason, you still need to put one detailed question first, and a general question second, try providing an explanation for the second case. For example, elaborate on what you mean by performance in brackets. Not a very elegant way out, but still better than invalid results.

Contrast effect

Contrast effect occurs when in their next answer, respondents exclude the aspect they were asked about before. That’s because they think that if you have already mentioned this one aspect you mean something else in the next field.

In their answer about the event’s venue, respondents might not take transportation into account. Thus, you will get confusing data when participants had various troubles with getting to the location, but at the same time, they gave the venue 5 stars out of 5.

How to avoid the contrast effect? The contrast effect can be avoided the same way as the assimilation effect — either put a general question first or precede a general question with several detailed questions.

Acquiescence bias

In some cases, the problem is not how you ask questions or position them. Sometimes, respondents don’t feel like answering so they just pick options randomly.

You can’t really control their motivation, but you can at least help them find it. One way is to explicitly convey the importance of their feedback and design a feedback form with respondents’ convenience in mind.

Read our recommendations on how to collect event feedback effectively.

And another way is to wisely use question order and question types to keep respondents focused.

Two effects caused by low motivation are acquiescence and dissent biases. Acquiescence or agreement bias means a respondent agreeing with everything in a survey. And dissent bias is a respondent always choosing “No”.

How to avoid acquiescence bias? Maintain the balance by using different question types. It will help participants not to get bored while answering them.

Do not ask for agreement or disagreement and offer different options instead.

There is still a chance that some respondents give random replies, but others will feel interested to share their real thoughts.

Straightlining

Straightlining means marking the same option in all questions. It stems from the same reason as the acquiescence bias — respondents are not motivated enough to think about their replies.

It happens with ratings but can affect multiple choice questions as well.

How to avoid straightlining? The advice is the same here — the balance of question types. It’s better to avoid several rating scales in a row or matrix questions, asking to rate several aspects.

It will be harder for participants to click on the same answer, if a multiple choice question is followed by an open-ended question, then a Likert scale. Or when answer options in multiple-choice are different from the previous field.

Conclusion

It will be harder for the survey bias to get in your way if you stay alert of it. Step back to look at your questionnaire from your respondents’ perspectives before sending an email with a survey link or handing out a form.

If you are collecting feedback for your event, staying impartial might be difficult because you have put so much effort into it and you are rooting for its success.

But that’s exactly why you have to keep your head cool and your questions neutral. It will allow you to transform surveys from a mere formality into a really powerful tool that will support your events and give them additional value.

And to enhance this tool even further, you can automate the whole process of collecting feedback — sending evaluation requests, structuring and storing reviews, and converting them into testimonials.

You can easily do it with Workshop Butler's evaluation tools — a set of features designed specifically for the needs of training businesses.

Collecting workshop feedback may seem like a simple task — just ask what attendees think and wait for submissions. But is it really all there is to an evaluation process?

You should not expect good results if you rush headlong into creating a survey without properly thinking it through. There is a high chance that respondents will get frustrated at a poorly planned evaluation form and won't tell you anything useful. On the contrary, a well-designed and structured questionnaire can make your attendees actually reflect on their impressions and provide you with valuable insights for your future workshops.

So, how do you get feedback from a workshop with maximum effectiveness?

Table of contents:
Ask for feedback beforehand
Keep your goal in mind
Structure matters
Be careful with questions
Collect feedback effectively
Distribute thoughtfully
How can Workshop Butler help?

Ask for feedback beforehand

Say it out loud. During an event, you are the focus of it. That's why it's a great opportunity to tell your attendees personally how important their feedback is for you. A verbal explanation will be more effective than a written request.

And if you plan to send an evaluation form later, you can emphasize its significance one more time in the attached letter.

Be honest about time. Another thing you can inform your attendees about beforehand is how long this survey is going to take. If people know that it's just a couple of minutes, they will be less reluctant to open and answer it. And if it's a long list of questions, they will feel prepared and won't become annoyed that it takes longer than they expected.

Summary
Do not neglect preparatory work — explain the importance of constructive feedback and define the estimated time of completing a form.

Keep your goal in mind

"General impression about the event" is a field you most certainly come across in event survey templates. This universal question makes participants sum up their thoughts letting you know if this event was a success or you still have some work to do.

At the same time, it's very vague. Usually, attendees can outline a couple of traits they liked or disliked, but they don't elaborate on them, which means that you will have a hard time figuring out what affected their verdict. For this, you need more detailed questions. And here's the challenge.

An event has many aspects: content, materials, performance, organization. Naturally, trying to go into the details of each aspect would make your form painfully long.

Ask about everything. One way is to try and cover them all equally. For example, you can ask attendees to rate each topic and ask if they have any suggestions on how to improve it. If there was any problem, you will be able to pinpoint where. But it will only work if a student has formed a concrete opinion on this matter. If they haven't reached a conclusion yet, you will need to guide them to it.

Choose one topic. Another approach is to prioritize what you want to learn more and focus on this aspect while briefly touching upon the rest of the topics. Generally, content and performance seem to be more significant factors to event success than organizational matters. So, if you have to choose, it would be more logical to ask whether attendees found learning engaging than how good coffee was.

If an event has been altered, you can shift the attention to these changes. For example, you have moved your events to a new location. Then it would be worth asking more about it to see if it was a good choice.

Summary
An evaluation form for a workshop is usually rather short so you should be careful with what you want to ask about. Define your objectives, then start writing questions.

Structure matters

The structure of a feedback form is one of those things that respondents don't pay any attention to, but which nevertheless influence their attitude.

A well-structured list of questions will help participants consolidate their feelings and maybe even realize something they haven't thought of before.

It's generally considered that detailed questions are better off for later. Diving straight into specifics might be confusing as you don't give respondents time to tune in.

General question first. Start with a general field like the one we mentioned earlier - How was your impression of the event?

Not only will this question allow your respondents to recall their experience, but answers to it will also show you raw emotions the workshop has left.

Details second. Once the tone is set, dissect an event into particular aspects and ask about them. You know your workshop better than anyone else so it shouldn't be too difficult for you to decompose it into logical parts.

Make sure that questions about one aspect stick together so that respondents won't have to mentally jump from one topic to another. It will negatively affect their concentration and won't allow them to fully immerse themselves.

Dividing your evaluation form into sections is the best approach in this case. Give each section a name (e.g. "Content" or "Facilitator's performance"), thus defining the common point of the following questions and reducing cognitive effort.

And rating in the end. You can wrap up your evaluation form with another general field asking attendees to rate your event. It will be easier for them to give it a rating based on the analysis they made when answering previous questions.

By structuring your form this way you will also be able to compare the immediate reaction of a student to an event and the conclusion they came to after reviewing it.

Summary
Precede questions about details with general inquiries giving respondents time to tune in to the topic. Allow better focus on each aspect by breaking fields into logical sections to receive thought-out replies.

Be careful with questions

Completing an evaluation form itself requires effort from respondents. Your job here is not just to ask whatever you need but also to keep it as light and easy as possible. If respondents have to rack their brains trying to understand your questions, it would significantly affect their disposition during form completion.

Stay concise and friendly. It's only natural to ask things in a simple way. If you have to explain something first, try breaking it down into several easy-to-follow sentences.

Unclearly-stated questions can lead to biased responses not reflecting the real impressions about a workshop.

Do not overcomplicate your language. Not only sentences, but language itself should be simple and clear as well, which means less jargon or formal terms. Even if your attendees belong to the same line of business, it does not mean that they know all the professional slang common in this field. And too formal language will make the tone of your questionnaire unnecessarily dry and boring, while you probably would like to maintain a friendly atmosphere.

Explain explicitly. The conversational tone of your form implies that the respondents are comfortable with giving you the information requested. If you are going to request sensitive information, show how you are going to handle it - either in the attached letter or in the text of the question.

For personal data, you can explain how it's protected and why you need it. And if this information can affect a person's position in their current workplace, emphasize that it's only for your research.

Keep it short. Even friendly questions might become irritating if there are too many of them. For a facilitator, each small detail about their workshop matters and they would be happy to know attendees' opinions about it. Unfortunately, the more questions you ask, the faster lowers respondents' concentration and the less inclined they become to continue. In other words, they reach the state of survey fatigue.

To prevent it, try not to go overboard with the number of questions. Setting an objective, like we described above, can help you with this. If you stick to a certain strategy, you can cut off unnecessary questions.

The ideal survey length would be 5 minutes or less. People would certainly appreciate it and be more generous with answers if they don't have to spend much time answering your questions.

Keep it balanced. Another thing to take care of is the balance of different question types. If your feedback form consists of 20 open-ended questions requiring respondents to come up with opinions on different matters, you could hardly expect detailed feedback as people value their mental resources no less than they value their time. Similarly, if there are too many multiple-choice or rating fields on the list, answering them will quickly turn tedious.

Including different question types in your evaluation form will help avoid such problems preventing respondents from becoming bored or frustrated.

Ask in your attendees’ language. Speaking in the native language of your audience has obvious advantages both for you and your attendees. It significantly raises the chances to convey your questions right. It also gives your attendees more confidence in answering these questions and allows them to clearly express their thoughts.

If there are no language restrictions from the company that organized the event or other related parties, using your audience's language would be the best choice.

Summary
Maintaining a friendly conversational tone, using simple-phrased questions, and speaking in the attendees' native language will help respondents feel comfortable when filling the form. And a good balance of different types of questions will lower survey fatigue and yield more positive feedback.

Collect feedback effectively

Sometimes, forgetting a small detail might cause serious damage to the final results. You have carefully designed your questions and structured them well, but have you looked into form settings?

Know your settings. Different survey tools have different default settings which may or may not suit your purposes so it's important to check them before you start sending out evaluation requests.

Do you want to allow answer editing after the form has been submitted? Have you turned off form resubmission? Which email address will be used to send an evaluation request? These options are usually present in survey tools.

If you don't want submissions to be anonymous, you will need a way to collect the names. While some builders like Google Forms can track at least respondents' email addresses, with others you need to include the fields requesting relevant information in the form.

Test then test more. When all settings are finished, take one more step to be 100% sure you are good to go — test your form. First, try to fill it in yourself to check if it's configured exactly like you planned to.

Ask for peer review. If possible, ask someone else to test it. While you mostly will be paying attention to settings, other people will be able to tell how the structure and questions feel like. Are the questions comprehensible? Is the structure clear? Do respondents get frustrated or bored when filling it? As the form creator, you cannot evaluate these parameters objectively so you need help from others. Listen to the impressions of one, or preferably, several people and make adjustments if necessary.

Summary
Correct form settings are as important to the survey's success as well-composed questions. Double-check all options, then try answering your form yourself and ask others to do it to see if the questionnaire works the way you intended it to.

Distribute thoughtfully

The delivery method also plays its role in the completion rate and respondents' attitude. There are lots of ways to distribute an evaluation form among attendees:

• Hand out printed forms on site
• Send email
• Share on social media
• Use a QR code.

If you stick to traditional methods with paper forms, you can distribute and get replies back right after an event ends. On the plus side, everyone submits their feedback before leaving. On the downside, there might not be enough time for your attendees to collect their thoughts. If they are in a hurry or simply not ready to answer yet, they will just write whatever seems fitting for such a review.

Analyzing paper forms will pose another inconvenience. Going through all reviews and summarizing the results might be rather tedious. Add to this the fact that you have to decipher handwriting — and the process starts looking unreasonably time-consuming.

Email communication is probably the most popular form method. Request attendees' email addresses during registration and send them the link to a form.

What you should worry about is that mailing service algorithms might mark your message as spam by mistake and a recipient won't see it.

SMS is another way to gather feedback from your attendees. As our smartphones stay with us almost all the time, it's hard to miss a new message. Although not all people want to write feedback on their mobile devices and prefer a laptop instead, so SMS would not be the most convenient method for them.

Just like smartphones, social media has become a part of our daily lives. Why not use it for reaching out to your attendees and asking them to share their impressions of your event? The tricky part is that you need to make sure that attendees know where to look for the form and won't forget to do it.

QR codes are on the other side of the spectrum from traditional paper forms — they have become widespread relatively recently. All your attendees need to do is scan a code and the form will be downloaded on their phones.

The problem here is the same as with SMS — not everyone likes to write their feedback using a mobile device. Besides, unlike email or SMS, which has been with us for a long time and everyone has the necessary tools to handle them, to create a QR code, you will need to find software first.

Summary
With all said above, email proves itself as a reliable and time-tested method to send evaluation forms. The Email Address field is present in most registration pages and people generally have no problems with sharing it.

Although, the best method for each particular event may vary depending on the trainer's and attendees' preferences. Learn your audience and the tools you have at hand, then decide which way is the most effective.

How can Workshop Butler help?

Workshop Butler is the service that helps you streamline event management processes and handle them in the most efficient way. With it, you can solve some of the challenges in collecting evaluations.

Add templates for different purposes. WSB allows users to create and save evaluation form templates for different events, then applies these templates correspondingly. If you have just started a new event and would like to know more about its content, you can design a template specifically for this event, while using a different template for a different event you have been running for a long time already.

Select appropriate question types, combine them into sections, and translate them into different languages. Our builder has several question types: open-ended questions, close-ended questions, and ratings. Switch between them to keep respondents engaged and group fields into sections to make your form more structured. You can add translation to several languages for each question and section.

Request an evaluation in email. Email is the most common and convenient way to request an evaluation so we employ it in our system. WSB can automatically send feedback requests and reminders from your own domain without involving you in this process. Or you can distribute the form yourself by simply choosing attendees from the mailing list.

Write your own evaluation request. You can change the default text and emphasize the importance of feedback or simply thank attendees for participation in your own manner. Furthermore, each message is personalized as WSB pulls up the data from a registration form when creating an evaluation request. People definitely love letters addressed to them directly more than impersonal messages.

Know exactly whom you receive feedback from. As we have already mentioned, WSB makes use of the information received during registration. It means that you don't have to worry that you forgot to ask attendees' names or email addresses. If you have requested this information in your registration form, the system stores it and adds new evaluations received from this attendee to their profile.

WSB cannot tell you how good your questions are or choose the most effective question order, but it can free your time for doing it by taking small administrative tasks upon itself.

Learn more about tools for collecting event feedback in Workshop Butler, how they can save your time and provide you with effective and structured data for your future workshops.

Online forms are used for hundreds of purposes — collect feedback, accept orders, schedule appointments, create quizzes. The list can go on and on.

It’s only logical that form builders strive to bring functionality suitable for them all. Consequently, each builder contains an overwhelming number of features among which you should choose those that fit your purpose.

But wouldn’t it be more efficient to use software that has been designed specifically for your business? The one that contains all the necessary instruments with only relevant features?

Workshop Butler is such a solution for training companies. It’s an all-in-one system that provides a seamless transition from one stage of event management to another, at the same time delivering a personalized experience so that our customers feel complete freedom working with WSB.

For quite some time, we have been focused on reworking our evaluation forms to make them more flexible. And now we’re ready to show the renewed version of WSB evaluation forms to the world!

Table of contents:
Fully automated process
All-in-one system
Form builder just for trainers
Structured results
Promotion material
Final thoughts

Fully automated process

One of our main principles is that you should not waste time doing something by yourself if the system can do it for you. It applies to gathering feedback too.

Automation handles the following operations:

• Chooses an evaluation form template that matches an event settings
• Sends an evaluation request from your own email domain the next day after an event
• Reminds attendees about this request twice
• Approves an evaluation upon receiving
• Sends a post-event email with a certificate, if there is one.

If you don’t want to configure your own form or you are not sure what to ask, the system will use the default template containing two most important questions — Rate your overall experience and Share your overall impression.

Thus, the whole process of collecting evaluations can be done by Workshop Butler without your involvement. However, it does not mean that you cannot control it by yourself. Every step can be configured and handled manually:

• Create your own templates
• Configure the text of an evaluation request
• Send a link to the form
• Generate certificates.

It’s possible to mix up these two approaches by doing some operations manually while allowing automation to perform other steps.

Conclusion:

Workshop Butler is a highly flexible software where you decide the level of your involvement:

• completely entrust feedback collection to the system
• adjust some steps to your needs
• perform all the operations manually.
  

All-in-one system

One of the biggest advantages of having all the tools in one place is that the event data can be instantly accessed and utilized.

Make your data work for you. When it’s time to collect evaluations, WSB uses the information submitted by attendees during registration. It creates an email list to send requests and generates personalized messages with attendees’ names.

Apart from saving your time, it saves your attendees from having to fill in the same information twice.

Store as much as you need. Submitted evaluations can be viewed by events or by attendees. There are no limitations to how many responses to collect or for how long to keep them.

Collaborate with others. “All-in-one” solution applies not only to features but to users too. WSB brings together people who work in this industry — trainers and training companies, allowing them to exchange information within the system. You can give access to the data in your account to your colleagues and they will be able to manage forms on your behalf and analyze results.

Conclusion:

• All information about events is stored in WSB and can be accessed anytime
• Data gathered on earlier event stages can be used to collect evaluations more effectively
• WSB users can share access with others to work on events together.

Form builder just for trainers

Up till now, we’ve been talking about what WSB can do for trainers. It’s time to tell what trainers can do with WSB. And that’s the aspect which has been refined and improved recently.

With fully customizable evaluation forms, only you decide what to ask your attendees.

Add templates. Each form has several general settings:

• Private/public event
• Free/paid event
• Event type.

By defining these parameters, you will let WSB know for which event you plan to use this form.

After you finish configuring a form and saving it as a template, it will be automatically applied to the events that match the template settings. Thus, you don’t need to create a new form for each event.

The number of templates and the number of questions is not limited so feel free to experiment with configurations.

Add questions and sections. The initial set-up includes several most common questions, which you can use as a basis for your template, then extend it with your own questions.

Of course, it’s also possible to remove them. The exception is two fields which we mentioned earlier — Rate your overall experience and Share your overall impression. They are present in every form because the system uses them to calculate event ratings and create testimonials.

For custom questions, we offer several question types:

• Short Text and Long Text
• Dropdown
• Checkbox
• Rating, Star Rating, and NPS/Percents.

The selection is not as wide as in SurveyMonkey or JotForm, but that’s because our goal here was not to impress you with the variety of types, but to give you only the choices most relevant to event evaluation. With them, you can ask attendees to share their thoughts in a free form, state their preferences from predefined options, rate different event aspects, or give their consent.

To logically divide questions and add structure to your form, use sections. Not only do they allow respondents to concentrate on a certain topic better, but they also help you make sure that you have covered all the points you wanted to know about.

Form elements can be reshuffled with the Drag and Drop feature which seems to be a must-have for the majority of the form builders. And no wonder why — it’s intuitive and very simple to use.

Add translation. Asking the right questions is only one part of the challenge in collecting evaluations. You also need to communicate these questions well to receive answers to the point. And for this, nothing can be better than speaking to attendees in their language.

Workshop Butler enables you to add translation to one or several languages for all elements in a form. When it’s time to request evaluations, the system will use the spoken language of the event to choose the language of the form.

Right now, 7 languages are supported: Dutch, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish. But it’s not the limit. You can always contact us and request to add a translation to another language.

Add labels. When configuring a form, it would be nice to think a little bit ahead - about the time when you will view the collected evaluations. For your convenience, each question in the form has its short version — a label. It shows up when a trainer checks evaluations or exports them. Labels serve for a more concise representation of information, without long lines of text.

Conclusion:

• Create templates with different settings so that WSB could use them for the corresponding events
• Use pre-written common questions as a basis for your own form
• Add your own fields with 7 question types most suitable for evaluations
• Add translation to several languages to be sure that you get your questions across
• Add labels for better representation of results.

Structured results

WSB may fall short in analysis, especially in comparison with professional form builders. But it does a great job in organizing your data.

You can view the participation history of an attendee to compare several evaluations submitted by one person. Or check the evaluations for an event and sort them by rating, submission date, or attendees’ names.

And of course, the data you collected can be exported in .csv format. It’s up to you to decide which information you want to include in the file — event fields, attendees’ data, or evaluation results.

Conclusion:

• WSB lacks in analysis aspect but structures all the data and allows to view it from different angles
• The data about events, attendees, and evaluations can be exported in .csv.

Promotion material

Strictly speaking, the evaluation process can be considered completed when all attendees have submitted their feedback. But WSB doesn’t stop there and uses the evaluation results as promotional material for future events and for trainers who run them.

Social sharing. Trainers and training companies don’t even need to do anything for this one. After an attendee sends an evaluation, they are offered to post their positive impressions about an event on social media. We have made sure to design a nice looking post that just asks to be shared.

Event rating is calculated from one of the obligatory fields in every form. It’s added to trainer profiles and can be shown on websites that are integrated with Workshop Butler.

Testimonials do need actions from your side, but no more than several mouse clicks. If there is a review that caught your attention, just click Convert to Testimonial and it will appear on your profile. To prevent possible legal issues, WSB asks for attendees' consent to use their review as a testimonial.

Conclusion:

• Attendees can share positive reviews about your events on social media profiles
• Overall event rating submitted by attendees is added to the total rating for each trainer
• You can turn reviews into testimonials to display them on websites if your attendees gave their consent for it.

Final thoughts

Workshop Butler is not a service that shows you what it’s capable of, then leaves you to decide how you are going to use its capabilities. It’s a solution that clearly demonstrates what it can do for your training business and how it’s going to make your professional life easier.

Every tool it incorporates has been boiled down only to the features that training business needs. And each one of these features is utilized by WSB to handle as much administrative work as possible, delivering you the results with superb quality.

So, what is it that Workshop Butler can now offer to trainers and training companies in terms of collecting evaluations?

• Fully automated process of gathering feedback from sending a request to issuing certificates, with the possibility to control every step manually
• Storing all data about events, evaluations included, inside the system and using it to enhance trainers’ and attendees’ experience
• Collaboration on forms with other WSB users
• Unlimited number of templates for different event types
• 7 question types with additional settings (translation to different languages and adding labels)
• Sections to add structure to a form
• Results sorted by events and by attendees
• Export all event data in .csv format
• Possibility for attendees to share their reviews on social media
• Option to turn reviews into testimonials after receiving attendees’ consent.

WSB evaluation forms have been designed with trainers’ needs in mind. Even without additional changes from the user side, the system will be able to handle evaluation requests on the basic level and ask the most important questions.

By the time Workshop Butler hands results to you on a silver plate, your students will already be enjoying their certificates and sharing stylish posts about attended events on their social media profiles.

Please find more information about WSB evaluation forms here.