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b'A lot of you have asked me if it\'s a good idea for you to start planning live events. You see the entrepreneurs\\xa0you admire staging weekend retreats where they get up and set their audience on fire with excitement, education and motivation. Maybe you\'ve even been to one and thought "Hey, I could do that!"\\nThe short answer is\\xa0Yes!\\xa0I started planning and participating in live events very early in my business, and while my inexperience made it a little terrifying at first, I couldn\'t deny the powerful boost it gave me--not just in terms of leads, but also in terms of confidence.\\nThat\'s why I invited Rich Brooks to join me on the show today.\\xa0Rich is a small business owner who just happens to be an event-planning powerhouse.\\xa0I asked Rich to let me pick his brain for\\xa0the fundamentals of planning a successful live event.\\nThe Who and the Why\\nIf you\'ve ever attended Rich\'s amazing Agents of Change conference in Portland, Maine, it may surprise you to learn that his live event track record began with a simple lunch meeting.\\nThe purpose\\xa0of a live event isn\'t to wow everyone with your multimedia presentations and dynamic speeches. Those are great bells and whistles to add as you gain experience, but the real heart of a live event is to do four things:\\n\\nGet your name out there and establish your\\xa0credibility\\n\\nDifferentiate yourself from competitors\\n\\nGenerate leads for business\\n\\nTurn a profit\\n\\nThe more you work on your online marketing, the more you start to notice how crowded it is out there. It\'s getting harder and harder to get noticed in people\'s social media feed, no matter how valuable your content is. So why not get the edge on your competitors and take your message directly to your audience, face to face?\\nYes, it takes more time and effort to plan an event than to post something on Facebook. But, Rich says,\\n"A\\xa0live event could be that thing that really separates you and raises you above all of the other people out there in your industry. If you are looking to kind of change up the way you engage with people, a live event may be the perfect thing for you."\\nEPISODE FREEBIE Get the "7 Mistakes to Avoid When Planning a Live Event"\\n FREE DOWNLOAD\\n3 Phases\\xa0of a Live Event: Speakers, Sponsors and Seats\\nRich says that all live event planning boils down to these three phases.\\n\\nSpeakers -\\xa0Getting people to offer valuable content for\\xa0your audience\\n\\nSponsors -\\xa0Getting\\xa0people\\xa0to contribute to\\xa0your audience\'s experience\\n\\nSeats -\\xa0Getting people to show up in your\\xa0audience\\n\\nFirst Things First - Who Is This For?\\nBefore you start worrying about getting people to show up (we\'ll talk about that later), spend some time thinking about who you want to show up. The key thing here is quality over quantity. Here\'s what Rich has to say about it:\\n"The #1 is that you are putting on an event for people. Who is this audience? What do they look like? Who is your avatar? What kind of information do they want to consume? What are they looking to accomplish? What are they looking to do?"\\nAs in all other forms of marketing, you need to narrow in on your ideal audience member, and design the perfect event for them. I know it\'s counterintuitive, but being super specific\\xa0will actually help you attract more people.\\nOnce you know who you\'re planning this event for, you\'ll have a firm foundation to build on with the three phases.\\nPhase 1: Speakers\\nPhase 2: Sponsors\\nClick here to download this week\'s free giveaway.\\nEPISODE FREEBIE Get the "7 Mistakes to Avoid When Planning a Live Event"\\n FREE DOWNLOAD\\nPhase 3: Seats\\nFind out more ways to fill the seats at your live event!\\xa0Listen to the full episode here.\\n...And Just\\xa0One\\xa0Two More Things\\nWhat do I charge?\\nHow much should\\xa0I promote?\\nTry to time your more obvious promotions around FOMO-inducing moments in the sales process. Announcing Early Bird discounts, One Day Only specials, "Seats Are Rapidly Selling Out!" messages, etc. are perfect opportunities to jog people\'s memories that they want to attend.'