If you’re looking to buy a car, you’d want to test drive it first. Before buying a pair of shoes, you’d go to the store to try them on. In video-based online learning, it’s common for course creators to offer a few free videos to draw you in.

The marketing term for this is “lead magnet”—a free service or item you give away in exchange for your leads’ contact information. A free workshop is the best kind of lead magnet because you’ll acquire new leads, get valuable face time with your prospects, and it’s highly leveraged.
​
Let's dive in.

Think of your free workshop like a movie trailer. Movie trailers show the most exciting action scenes and the biggest set pieces to get you hooked. Similarly, free workshops should showcase your best content and frameworks.

You might be wondering: “If I reveal my best content in a free workshop, won’t that reduce my overall sales?” Ironically, the opposite is true. If you give your best content away for free, your prospective students will trust you and assume you have more to teach them. Plus, it will be easier to show your credibility when you have a public body of work to point to (such as a free workshop).

To pick a compelling topic, ask yourself these questions:

I recommend two ways to start promoting your workshop—email and social media.

For example, here’s an email that Amanda Natividad (MVN4 alum and instructor of Content Marketing 201) sent to her waitlist.

I'm hosting a free workshop next Friday, April 22, 10am PT— on headlines and hooks!

I'll cover effective formats, frameworks to use, and some harsh truths about why certain types of content flop. I'll even do a couple teardowns of my own past Twitter threads or blog posts, and I'll dish on what I should have written instead — a self-roast, if you will.

If you want feedback on your own work, you can bring it and get live feedback from me. But of course, you don't have to do that. You can just sit back, bring your own popcorn, and enjoy the show. 🙂

At the end of the email, she plugs her next cohort, when it starts, and a link to her page. The main focus of this is to re-engage cold leads on her waitlist and to build trust with people who aren’t familiar with her.

Pick an appealing topic that your target student cares about. Here’s an example from Andy Gupta (MVN3 and instructor of Anyone Can Invest Now). He’s a Wall Street-veteran with a rich network and <2.5k LinkedIn followers.

I didn’t grow up wealthy. I worked 5 jobs at college to stay in school. But after 20+ years working 80-100 hour weeks, I learned what I know today.

Last year, I started a company to teach rockstars -- just like you -- how to invest in the stock market and avoid risks most average investors unknowingly take. For example, being invested just in single stocks. Very risky. (I would know. I worked on Wall Street).

50+ students have felt empowered after completing my signature course. Many said their lives have changed.

Do you want to be next?

Join my free mini-course next week to learn 3 valuable skills, and experience your possibilities in my 10-week signature course.

Notice how Andy plugged his credibility (“I would know. I worked on Wall Street”), social proof (“50+ students”), and picked a juicy topic (“3 valuable skills”). He got ~70 free workshop sign-ups from a series of LinkedIn posts and followed up with attendees to nurture them in his marketing funnel.

Schedule your free workshop 1-3 weeks before your upcoming cohort. Some instructors run one monthly to build up their email list. They’ll bring in guests, present to communities & professional groups, or use it on the conference circuit. Your free workshop is not just for marketing your cohort. It helps build your brand as a go-to-expert too.

We recommend two ways to host your free workshop:

If your cohort is coming up in the next few weeks, schedule it now and give yourself a week to promote it.
​

In your workshop, interactivity is key. Most prospective students are new to the modern cohort-based course format. When they hear “course,” they think of boring college lectures or passive video-based learning.
​
Activities like guided brainstorms, share-outs, breakouts, Q&A, and chat will offer a richer, more dynamic experience (learn more about engagement techniques in this guide). Once your prospective students experience learning with a community, they'll be even more excited to join.

So, what format should you use for a free workshop? Aim for 50% content, 50% interaction. You should be selling your cohort throughout. If you have a 45-min workshop, try this minute-by-minute format. I’ve included sales scripts too, so you can promote your upcoming cohort without disrupting the flow of your content.

Most webinars get 35-45% attendance on average. So if 75 people sign up, it’s totally normal for only 25 people to show up. A lot of attendees sign up for free events but skip it when a conflict pops up. The places where some instructors stumble when planning a free workshop is the the follow through (closing the deal). Here's what to do to maximize your success.

During your workshop, you’ll be in the zone–interacting with prospective students and presenting your best material. You won’t have time to track who’s there and who’s engaging in the chat. Why is it important to know this? Because the most engaged participants might be hot prospects for your course.

That’s why Zoom reports and chat logs are so useful. Learn how to download attendance reports and chat logs here.

Once you’ve identified your top prospects, you can pull their profiles, contact info, and key quotes to highlight in your follow up email.

If a prospective student attended and actively participated in your free workshop, that means they’ll immediately enroll in the cohort, right? Not necessarily.

A short, free workshop is low risk. If it sucks? Oh well, that was one hour of my life and it was free, so not much of a loss. On the other hand, a $1,000 course is a significant financial and time investment. It’s reasonable for your students to feel confident that your course is the right fit for them before pulling out their credit cards.
​
So what should you do? Follow up, and make it personal.

Feel free to use this template:

Hey {first name},

I noticed you joined my workshop yesterday. Thank you for being so engaged and open. I was blown away by what you said about [Insert actual quote]. I saw a bunch of heads nodding in agreement. So many of my clients/students have had similar experiences of feeling [insert challenge].

I think you’d be an amazing addition to my 2-week cohort starting on [date]. There are a few other folks like you joining: [insert professions, name companies]. So many people would love to hear about your journey and experience as a [insert their role]. I would be super excited to have you in the cohort and to guide you to [insert transformation].

Here’s the link to join: [insert course link]. The last day to enroll is [date].

If you have any questions, just hit reply or book a 10-min call here if that’s easier for you: [insert booking link]. I can offer some tips on how to get the course reimbursed by your employer. Looking forward to hearing from you!

[Your name]

Even if you build hype and send reminders, not everyone will show up. That’s normal! It’s important to remember that every prospect matters—even the ones who didn’t show up. If you follow up with your no-shows effectively, you may even gain a new student.

Here’s how you can follow up effectively:

Hey {first name},

Sorry I missed you at the workshop yesterday! We had 20 people from companies like [name companies] join us in a lively discussion on [topic]. I saw that you work at [role] and was looking forward to hearing what challenges you’re dealing with right now.

Here’s the recording: [link]

Would you like a PDF of my framework? It includes the exercises from the workshop. Just reply and I’ll share it with you.

[Your name]

P.S. This workshop was a sneak peek of my upcoming cohort on [topic], starting on [date]. A few other folks like you are joining: [insert professions, name companies]. I would be super excited to have you in the cohort and to guide you to [insert transformation]. Here’s the link to learn more: [insert link].

If the prospective student replies to you, you should try to get them on the phone. Check out this article on how to get prospects on the phone and scripts for what to say.