How to Market an Event on a Budget

Hosting an event can sometimes feel like a catch-22: you need successful events to make more money for your company, but you need more money to throw these events. 

It’s true, you will likely need some sort of a budget to get the word out about an event. But don’t think that the only way to market an event and host one of these dinners, conferences, webinars, or trade shows is with tens of thousands of dollars. You can market them with much less if you just know how to. 

We’ve compiled a list of ways you can cut costs in your event marketing plan, while still successfully getting the word out to market an event. 

Social Media

When done thoughtfully, social media marketing can be a free or cheap way to tell people about your event. And depending on your audience, which social media platform you market on can make a difference. 

For professional events like conferences and trade shows, LinkedIn will be your best bet to market an event. You can post a digital flier and event info to your company’s page, then encourage your employees and network to share it. Make sure you include a link to register! 

Another tip to boost your viewership is to include relevant hashtags that the appropriate people may be searching for. You can also pay to sponsor your post and target your specific audience more acutely. 

Other platforms to take advantage of are Facebook and its Events feature, Instagram, and TikTok. Post yourself for free, sponsor your posts, or create a partnership with micro-influencers to get the word out. Micro-influencers have smaller audience sizes but can be more targeted to who you are looking for. They will be less expensive to utilize, or some may be open to other forms of payment, like free merchandise or tickets to your event. This mix of DIY event marketing and affordable event advertising helps you stay agile.

Word of Mouth 

Tagging on to the social media aspect of event marketing, your network is one of your greatest resources. From sharing events on their accounts to sharing information during in-person conversations, people talking about your event is going to generate buzz.

And best of all, this is one way to market an event that costs nothing! Encourage simple guerrilla marketing for events tactics, like street-team volunteers sharing QR codes, or branded stickers that point to your registration page, to extend word of mouth in creative ways.

Email Campaigns

Email campaigns are a straightforward way to reach your audience with details about your upcoming event. If you already have an email marketing system and an email list full of customers and potential customers, it shouldn’t cost you much more, if anything at all, to send out a dedicated event email or two.

Use segmentation to tailor messaging by interest or job role, and add referral CTAs so subscribers can forward invites to colleagues. This pairs well with event marketing on a budget and functions as affordable event advertising when you’ve already invested in your email platform.

Only Print On Demand 

Printing marketing materials has been the gold standard when it comes to event marketing for decades, but its relatively high price point compared to online marketing tools can be a tough gatekeeper to cross. 

But custom postcard printing, printed fliers, and other physical marketing materials in hand still have some of the best ROIs. So how do you find a document printing service that will get you high-quality event marketing materials printed, without maxing out your budget? 

Choosing the right online, on demand printing service like Mimeo makes it easy to get what you need, and nothing else. With no order minimums, you won’t end up with more corporate merchandise sitting in a warehouse than you’ll ever give away, hundreds of print catalogs you’ll never use, or stacks of event fliers for 10x the event capacity. 

To keep costs down, print posters and banners for event marketing online too, to keep all of your marketing files in one place and maintain consistency across every branded item. Consider simple guerrilla marketing for events plays, like posting tear-off flyers for event promotion on community boards where permitted, to complement your paid efforts.

Network at Other Events

Finally, take advantage of the time you’re dedicating to other events. Whether you’re hosting it yourself or just an attendee, if your audiences overlap, talk about your event to people you meet.

If the host allows it, distribute previously printed on demand event materials to other attendees, leave a stack in the bathroom, or add one to each cocktail table or drink station. These are classic DIY event marketing actions that rely on hustle instead of heavy spend.

Making a good impression on people and getting them to sign up to attend your event doesn’t need to cost an arm and a leg. Utilize these cheap, free, or cost-saving measures to increase your attendance without increasing your budget to market an event. With a blend of event marketing on a budget, affordable event advertising, and smart guerrilla marketing for events, you can drive registrations and ROI without overspending.

Ready to print on-demand event materials without breaking your budget? Get started with Mimeo today.