---
name: event-marketing-plan
description: "Creates event marketing campaigns with timeline, channels, early bird promotions, and attendance forecasting."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# Event Marketing Plan

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Create a marketing plan to promote an event and drive registrations
- Design multi-channel campaigns with email, social, and paid promotion
- Build early bird and urgency-based pricing strategies
- Forecast attendance based on marketing efforts and conversion rates

**DO NOT** use this skill for post-event marketing, general content marketing plans, or product launch campaigns. This is specifically for filling seats at an event.

---

## Core Principle

EVENT MARKETING IS A COUNTDOWN — EVERY MESSAGE MUST CREATE URGENCY, DEMONSTRATE VALUE, AND MAKE THE COST OF MISSING OUT FEEL GREATER THAN THE COST OF ATTENDING.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Event name and date** | "What is the event and when is it?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Registration goal** | "How many attendees do you need?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Ticket price** | "What is the pricing structure?" | Single tier, $97 |
| **Target audience** | "Who are you trying to attract?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Existing audience** | "What is your email list size and social following?" | Email: 1,000, Social: 2,000 |
| **Marketing budget** | "Budget for paid promotion?" | $500 |
| **Marketing timeline** | "How many weeks until the event?" | 8 weeks |

**GATE: Confirm the brief before building the plan.**

---

## Phase 2: Strategy

### Pricing Strategy

```
## Tiered Pricing (Urgency-Based)
| Tier | Price | Deadline | Savings | Target Sales |
|------|-------|----------|---------|-------------|
| Super early bird | $[X] | [Date — 6 weeks out] | [X]% off | [Y] tickets |
| Early bird | $[X] | [Date — 3 weeks out] | [X]% off | [Y] tickets |
| Regular | $[X] | [Date — 1 week out] | Full price | [Y] tickets |
| Last chance | $[X] | [Event date] | Full or +$X | [Y] tickets |
```

### Channel Strategy

```
| Channel | Role | Frequency | Content Type |
|---------|------|-----------|-------------|
| Email list | Primary driver | 8-12 emails over campaign | Announcements, speakers, urgency |
| Social media | Awareness + social proof | 3-5 posts/week | Speaker reveals, testimonials, countdown |
| Paid ads | Reach new audiences | Continuous (adjust budget weekly) | Retargeting + cold traffic |
| Partners | Audience expansion | 2-3 sends per partner | Co-promotion emails, social shares |
| Community | Grassroots buzz | Ongoing | Forum posts, group mentions, word of mouth |
```

### Attendance Forecast

```
## Registration Forecast
Email list: [X] subscribers × [2-5%] conversion = [Y] registrations
Social: [X] followers × [0.5-1%] conversion = [Y] registrations
Paid ads: $[X] budget ÷ $[Y] cost per registration = [Z] registrations
Partners: [X] partner audience × [1-3%] conversion = [Y] registrations
Walk-ups/direct: [X] estimated

**Total projected registrations: [Sum]**
**Target: [Goal]**
**Gap to fill: [Difference]**
```

**GATE: Present the strategy for approval.**

---

## Phase 3: Build

### Email Campaign Sequence

```
## Email Campaign (8-Week Timeline)

**Week 8:** Announcement — "Save the date" + super early bird pricing
**Week 7:** Value — Speaker or agenda reveal #1
**Week 6:** Deadline — "Super early bird ends [date]"
**Week 5:** Value — Speaker reveal #2 or attendee testimonial
**Week 4:** Social proof — "[X] people registered, here's why"
**Week 3:** Deadline — "Early bird ends [date]"
**Week 2:** Value — Full agenda + "what you'll walk away with"
**Week 1:** Urgency — "Last week to register" + countdown
**Day before:** Final reminder — "Tomorrow is the day"
**Day of:** "Join us NOW" (for virtual events)
```

### Social Media Content Calendar

```
## Weekly Social Template

**Monday:** Speaker spotlight or session teaser
**Wednesday:** Testimonial or social proof ("X people already registered")
**Friday:** Behind-the-scenes or countdown post

**Add for deadline weeks:**
- Countdown graphics (3 days, 2 days, 1 day, LAST CHANCE)
- Instagram/LinkedIn stories with urgency
```

### Key Marketing Assets

Create or request:
1. Event landing page with all details, speakers, agenda, and registration
2. Speaker announcement graphics (one per speaker)
3. Countdown graphics for deadline promotions
4. Email templates for partner promotion
5. Attendee testimonial graphics (from previous events)
6. Social proof banners ("Join 200+ attendees")

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### 1. Conversion Optimization

```
## Landing Page Checklist
- [ ] Headline communicates the #1 benefit of attending
- [ ] Speaker names and photos are visible above the fold
- [ ] Agenda is scannable (not a wall of text)
- [ ] Pricing is clear with urgency (deadline or limited seats)
- [ ] Registration button is prominent and repeated
- [ ] Mobile experience is seamless
- [ ] FAQ addresses top objections (cost, time, value)
- [ ] Social proof is visible (attendee count, testimonials, logos)
```

### 2. Tracking Dashboard

```
## Daily Tracking
| Date | Email Sent | Opens | Clicks | Registrations | Revenue | Cumulative |
|------|-----------|-------|--------|--------------|---------|-----------|
```

### 3. Contingency Plays

```
## If registrations are below target at each milestone:

**50% mark (4 weeks out):** Under 40% of goal → increase paid spend, add partner outreach, create flash sale
**75% mark (2 weeks out):** Under 60% of goal → add bonus incentive, personal outreach to warm leads, extend early bird
**90% mark (1 week out):** Under 75% of goal → final push email, social blitz, consider scaling down logistics to protect margins
```

---

## Example 1: 200-Person Business Conference

```
Timeline: 10 weeks
Channels: Email (primary), LinkedIn (secondary), Facebook ads (paid)
Pricing: $197 early bird → $297 regular → $347 last minute
Email sequence: 12 emails over 10 weeks
Budget: $2,000 paid ads, $500 design assets
Forecast: 80 from email, 30 from social, 40 from ads, 50 from partners = 200
```

## Example 2: Free Virtual Summit (500 Registrations)

```
Timeline: 6 weeks
Channels: Email, Instagram, partner promotion (speakers promote to their lists)
Pricing: Free with VIP upgrade ($47 for replays and bonuses)
Email sequence: 8 emails
Budget: $200 for social ads
Forecast: 150 from email, 100 from social, 250 from speaker promotion = 500
```

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **Starting promotion too late** — 2 weeks is not enough time. Start 6-8 weeks before for paid events.
- **No urgency mechanism** — without deadlines or scarcity, people "plan to register later" and forget.
- **Sending the same message everywhere** — each channel needs adapted content. A LinkedIn post is not a tweet is not an email.
- **Ignoring partners** — speakers, sponsors, and community members have audiences. Make it easy for them to promote.
- **All promotion, no value** — every email and post cannot be "register now." Mix value content with promotional content.
- **No tracking** — if you do not know which channel drives registrations, you cannot optimize spend.

---

## Recovery

- **Registrations far below target 2 weeks out:** Launch a flash sale (48-hour discount), add a bonus for immediate registration, have speakers personally promote.
- **No email list to market to:** Focus on partner promotion and paid ads. Offer speakers and sponsors a registration tracking link and incentive to promote.
- **Budget is $0:** Lean entirely on email, organic social, and partner cross-promotion. Create shareable graphics that make it easy for others to spread the word.
- **First-time event with no social proof:** Use speaker credibility as proof. Feature speaker bios, past talk recordings, and endorsements instead of attendee testimonials.
