Although you may be inspired to pull together a seminar on short notice, you'll typically experience greater success - and less stress - if you allot adequate time to plan and promote your event.
Successful seminar producers plan their events as far as a year in advance.
Although this may seem excessive, especially if you are new to the business, there are three reasons you should consider scheduling your events at least several months in advance: 1.
Your prospects are busy and very choosy with their time.
If they commit, even mentally, to attending someone else's event, the chances that they'll automatically dismiss your seminar skyrocket.
There's no time like the present to make sure you get penciled in on your prospects' calendars.
2.
Something will go wrong at some point with your seminar planning and promotion.
Scheduling your events far in advance allows you to pad your schedule, so that the inevitable delays, problems and setbacks don't keep you from meeting your hard promotional deadlines.
3.
You can put "First things first.
" If you want to maximize your registrations, seminars need to be a top priority, not an afterthought.
Scheduling your events far in advance lets you block out adequate time for the myriad planning and promotional tasks you need to complete...
rather than trying to squeeze tasks in here and there.
Do you need to schedule your events a year out? Not necessarily.
But at the very least, start each year by identifying the quarters (or months) in which you want to hold events.
Then set a date by which you'll formally schedule your events.
For instance, let's say you want to hold a seminar during the fourth quarter.
Set a goal that by April 1, you will have a picked a date and location.
Here are some additional rules of thumb to follow when determining the timing of your promotions:

1. If attendees need to travel, allow more time for marketing.
   You need to get your marketing materials in prospects' hands so that they have time to make travel arrangements.
   (Yes, some people can scramble and get their schedules rearranged to attend a seminar next week - but this is the exception, not the rule.
   )
2. If attendees must get someone else to approve and pay for the attendance (i.
   e.
   , their bosses), allow more time for marketing than if you're marketing directly to the decision maker (e.
   g.
   , entrepreneurs).
   
3. If you're marketing a national event, you need to get your materials in the mail further in advance than if you're marketing a local event.
   One, it will take time to get your mail distributed across the country.
   Two, see Guideline #1.
   
4. The longer the event, the further in advance you want to market.
   Attendees need more lead time to clear their schedules for a 3-day boot camp than for a 2-hour evening seminar.
   
5. Allow more marketing time for paid events than for free events.
   It's easier to say "yes" to something that's free.
   Ask people to fork over their money, and all of a sudden they'll need time to "think about it," to ensure they have the funds, to get the powers-that-be to approve their attendance, etc.
   

The bottom line: for national, multi-day events, start promoting 8 to 12 weeks in advance.
One-day local events can be market successfully with three to four weeks' notice, though a better bet is to allot six to eight weeks for promotion.
Plan on two to four weeks to promote events that are only a few hours long and one to two weeks for virtual events.
A final tip: when building your calendar, don't forget to allow time for the creation of your marketing materials.
If you are outsourcing the writing, design and even management of your marketing project, you'll need to add extra time to your schedule.