So you want to attract new visitors? Or maybe you want to get existing ones returning? Then think about delivering great programming.
When I arrived at Anglesey Abbey in 2010 the team had events coming out of their ears, often with one man and a dog attending - well, not a dog as we didn't allow them, but you get my point.
It wasn't that the events were bad. In fact, many were amazing but the efforts the small team had to put in for the level of return was a false economy. And anyway, what were those returns?
Well the truth was no-one really knew. So we reviewed why we ran events, what worked and why, and what was less effective. And we started again with an approach of less is more and bigger is better.
The result at Anglesey was a programme of activity focused on three times a year. The snowdrops weekends became a month-long immersive activity, the bi-annual dahlia event staged over a September weekend became an annual month-long festival full of colour and Winter Lights, which grew to 18,000 visitors, was born.
We started small and grew our resources to deliver big, bold activities and you can do that too - on any scale.
What do you want to achieve? Is it to increase visitor numbers, increase income, fill gaps in your year? Be clear on this.
Which audiences are going to help you meet that objective? What are their motivations? Not yours, theirs! You need to know who you're targeting and what they want.
When do you want to do it? Programming can be daily, weekly, monthly or ad-hoc. In fact it can be however you want it to be, but be consistent.
What's your budget? You don't need huge budgets to do great programming, but be willing to take a risk. Speculate to accumulate, but if you don't have a lot to spend ensure every bit of your experience is brilliant.
Plan as a team. Get everyone on board, invite ideas and plan together. A whole team effort will deliver better results.
Great programming needs creativity, time and planning. Do you have all of that at your fingertips? I can offer an fresh eye to support you and your teams in thinking differently about events.
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