Every time I sell out a retreat, people ask me the same questions.
Was it Facebook ads? Did I hire a marketing company? Did someone else promote it for me?
Nope.
I don’t run ads (for retreats) and I don’t rely on affiliates to fill my retreats. (Nothing against either of those, they’re just not part of my strategy.) Instead, I use a marketing system that I’ve refined over the years, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀.
My Vietnam retreat sold out eight months before departure and it wasn’t my cheapest retreat. Quite the opposite. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱.
It’s also the nicest property I’ve partnered with, has the most inclusions I’ve ever packed into an itinerary (without feeling draining☝🏼) and delivers the biggest overall experience I’ve ever created.
One of the biggest advantages of 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 is that I get access to incredible properties, destination partners and experiences that many retreat leaders simply don’t know about. That allows me to create retreats that go far beyond a typical yoga retreat.
I think that’s an important distinction because so many retreat leaders are afraid to charge what their retreat is actually worth. I hear it all the time: “No one will pay that much.”
My experience has been the exact opposite.
➡️ People don’t mind paying more 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. An immersive itinerary, exceptional accommodations, unique experiences and a clear message are what make a retreat feel irresistible.
Here’s a look at the strategy I used to fill it.
𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵
I don’t just post, “Hey, my retreat is live!” A few weeks before registration opens, I’ll start dropping hints that something exciting is coming. Then I announce the retreat, followed by the early bird pricing a day or two later. Giving people a little time to get excited makes a huge difference.
𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁
If someone is ready to commit early, I want them to feel rewarded for it.
I usually offer a larger discount for the first 3-5 people who sign up, then another early bird deadline around the 9-month mark for international retreats, followed by one around the 6-month mark.
𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻
Honestly, newsletters bring me more retreat bookings than social media and in-person announcements combined. I usually send about two newsletters a month, then increase the frequency as an early bird deadline approaches. For this retreat, I consistently stayed in front of my audience over several months. Some people would probably think that’s too much. I think it’s one of the reasons the retreat sold out.
𝗥𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁
One newsletter turns into multiple Instagram posts. Those posts become stories. Testimonials become future newsletters.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every week. One piece of content can work for you in multiple places.
𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁… 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁
If you only mention your retreat once or twice, people forget.
I talk about my retreats in class, in my newsletters, on social media and in conversations. Most people need to hear about something several times before they decide it’s for them (or to even realize you have one!), so don’t assume everyone saw your first posts.
𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲
If I think someone would genuinely love a retreat, I’ll send them a message.
Sometimes it’s as simple as, “This retreat made me think of you.” That personal invitation is often all someone needs to finally book.
𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲
For international retreats, I like having about a year to market.
My goal is to hit my minimum number of guests by the six-month mark so I’m not scrambling at the last minute. It also gives my guests plenty of time to budget, request vacation and get excited.
𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
This was probably the biggest shift for me. I used to worry people would unsubscribe, unfollow me or think I was talking about my retreat too much.
Then I realized something: the people who unsubscribe 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺.
The people who stay are my people.
You can’t expect people to book something they rarely hear about. Once I got comfortable promoting my retreats consistently, they started filling earlier and earlier.
👉🏼 Selling out my most expensive retreat 8 months before it begins wasn’t luck. It was the result of creating an experience people genuinely wanted, communicating its value clearly and showing up consistently.
None of this happened overnight. This system took years of testing, tweaking, and learning what my audience actually responds to.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗜 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄.
Whether you’re planning your very first retreat or you’re ready to elevate the ones you’re already leading, I help my clients create exceptional retreat experiences and provide the tools, strategy and 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 they need to confidently market, fill and execute their retreats.
