People will give you all sorts of reasons why they canโt come to a retreat: money, kids, work, their foot hurts, whateverโฆโฃ
โฃBut hereโs the truth: ๐ถ๐โ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐. Or those other reasons.โฃ
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โจ People will go ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ to invest in something they ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ want or need. So if your retreat isnโt selling, itโs likely one (or a few) of these five things:โฃ
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๐ญ. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒโฃ
โฃJust had a successful retreat at a venue you love? Feeling inspired to go back right away?โฃ
Pause before you book it again.โฃ
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If your most loyal students joined you last time, they might not be eager to return so soon. For most people, travel is a big investment of time and money, and going to the same place again too quickly can lose its luster.โฃ
โจ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฝ: Give it some time before returning so your next launch feels fresh and exciting.โฃ
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๐ฎ. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐๐ปโ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ดโฃ
โฃYour sales page needs to do the heavy lifting- it should ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ people that your retreat is worth their time, energy, and money.โฃ
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๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ:โฃ
โขSpeak directly to your clientsโ pain points (what keeps them up at night?).โฃ
โขShow that you understand them and that you have the tools to help.โฃ
โขAvoid coaching jargon or therapy-speak. Talk like youโre chatting with your best friend.โฃ
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Itโs also not enough to say, โPayPal me a depositโ with vague details.โฃ
People want to see something professional and trustworthy- with photos, clear inclusions/exclusions, FAQs, and a sense of what the experience will actually feel like.โฃ
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๐ฏ. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐โ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐โฃ
โฃKnow your audience inside and out. Once you do, youโll understand what theyโre craving and how your retreat can deliver it.โฃ
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Your retreat canโt just be โa nice vacation.โ It needs a ๐ฝ๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ- a transformation, experience, or solution that they canโt create on their own.โฃ
That doesnโt mean it has to be serious; โfun and freeingโ can absolutely be the purpose. It just needs ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.โฃ
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๐ฐ. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐โฃ
โฃYou canโt post about your retreat once a month and expect it to fill.โฃ
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You need to talk about ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐น๐- in your newsletter, on social media, in-person conversations, etc.โฃ
People often need to hear about something ๐พโ๐ท๐ถ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด before it even registers. (Side note, Iโve been promoting my retreat for 6 months and someone *just* reached saying they noticed.)โฃ
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Be creative and strategic with early-bird specials and sign-up incentives, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ!โฃ
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๐ฑ. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐โฃ
โฃThis oneโs big.โฃ
Many retreat leaders get the โI want it nowโ bug and throw something together too quickly.โฃ
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๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ:โฃ
โขReputable venues are often booked a year in advance.โฃ
โขYour travelers need time to plan.โฃ
โขAnd you need time to market effectively ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐จ๐บ (which, by the way, people can feel a mile away).โฃ
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โจ Itโs always better to plan ahead, launch with excitement, and ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ถ๐ป ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐.โฃ
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โก๏ธ Are Youย Ready to Plan Your Retreat Like a Professional?
