Sometimes when you write a book, you find yourself standing there—holding your beloved masterpiece in your hands—saying “Now what?”

If you want to reach an audience, to inspire or educate, then you can hold an event where you discuss your book. I just held a book-writing workshop this weekend (not related to my books), so here are some of the things I did to plan and get ready for the event.

• Know people who are interested in what you want to talk about, or know where to find them. As an entrepreneur, I’ve been networking with women for the past two years. Meeting these women and attending events with them has grown our connection. They trust me as a book-writing expert, so I knew I had enough of a local audience that I was ready for a workshop.
• Find out what people would like to know. If you have a book about your topic, then you likely have an idea already. As you network, though, keep track of what people typically ask you when you mention your book. If you aren’t networking, then look at the other ways you are reaching your audience and listen to what they are saying.
• Design your workshop to have a main focus and a handful of takeaways. You want to tell people exactly what they will get out of your workshop. For mine, I wanted people to discover their focused book topic, know their audience and purpose, and leave the workshop with a book outline, ready to write.
• Plan a venue that fits in your budget and sets the right mood for your workshop. For my event, I used the neighborhood clubhouse. It was $50 for the day, and I could bring in any food that I wanted. I knew it would be peaceful and relaxing, with plenty of space for us to work. The main room of the house looks like a nice, modern living room. Tables and chairs were included, and because they keep them at the house, I didn’t have to worry about picking them up, lugging them inside, and returning them after the event. Perfect!
• Cap the seating at a number that you feel comfortable working with, not just the capacity of the room. Here’s a fun fact: I used to be an adjunct English professor, teaching basic composition for freshmen. Because I had this background, I was confident that I could work with a group about the size of a regular English class. I capped my workshop at 20, though the room could hold more. I also knew that I wanted a small enough group that I could actually talk to my attendees as they worked on their assignments. A personal touch is important to me, so 20 was the perfect size.
• Start marketing your event no less than a month in advance. Make sure you have your plan laid out, and start sharing on social media and with any relevant groups far enough in advance that you can book enough people to justify having the event. Especially if you have a lot going on, you may need a couple months to really spread the word.
• When people ask about your event, be very clear about what you are giving them. Don’t promise them something that your event is not. This sounds like a no-brainer, but you may get flustered or excited about prospects and start saying “yes” to everything they ask. Remember that you don’t want to feel obligated to pack too much into the time or talk about something that isn’t your expertise. And you also don’t want people to be disappointed because the workshop wasn’t what they were expecting.
• Maintain contact with your attendees. After people sign up, send them a welcome video, a worksheet to complete before your event, or something else useful. Send out a reminder the day before, too. For my event, I sent a welcome video, letting attendees know what they should bring. I also sent a reminder email the day before (and NO ONE forgot to come!) letting them know that I would have fruit and bagels, but they could bring other food or drinks, as well as a couple other things about the location and what to expect.
• On the day of the event: set up and be ready early; connect with your attendees throughout the workshop with activities, questions, and requests for them to share; have a special offer only for attendees (if this applies to your business), and hand out a survey on the workshop. I cannot stress enough how important testimonials are for driving business and feedback for helping you make the event exactly what people want!
• Sell books. Really. If you have a book about your topic, do your talk or workshop and then offer your books to the attendees. If you want, you can include the book in the cost of the ticket, and give one to everyone who attends. Whatever you decide, get your books in everyone’s hands! (I write fiction, and I sold 3 of my books at the non-fiction writing workshop, just because I had them there.)
• Connect after the event as well. Send a thank you email, and ask if attendees have any additional questions. Though they may have your contact info, they might feel nervous about bothering you, so invite them! Build a Facebook group for attendees to connect and get more of you and your wisdom, or ask them what they would like to see in a follow-up event. If they bought from you once, then they are more likely to buy again and again!

My own workshop was a smash hit! I had 18 women attend, and they all walked away with an outline for their books, as well as special coaching offers from me. We connected, we started their book journey, and we plan to connect again in a private Facebook group that I will create this fall just for my clients and workshop attendees.

Planning and holding a workshop completely on my own wasn’t nearly as scary as I used to think it would be! I’m thrilled that I could help so many people at once, and I’m looking forward to the next one!