eply White Paper Plan Business purpose(s) Three audience segments as of June 3

Transcription

1 eply White Paper Plan as of June 3 Business purpose(s) 1. To generate quality leads 2. To educate prospects about key requirements of effective online registration systems 3. To highlight the differences between eply and other vendors Three audience segments Audience A: Seasoned professional organizers in event-planning companies with multiple clients. Most likely have a planning designation such as CSEP. Titles could be event planner, meeting planner or conference planner Often an owner/manager and decision-maker. As shown in the graphic, this segment s familiarity with online registration services varies. Audience B: Seasoned professional organizers in companies, not-for-profits or associations working as part of an internal planning group. Many have a planning designation. Titles could be event planner, meeting planner or conference planner. An influencer and possibly decisionmaker. As shown in the graphic, this segment s familiarity with online registration varies. Audience C: Associates organizing their first meeting or event for a company. Few have much experience or any planning designation. Titles could be marketing manager or assistant, communications manager or assistant, office manager or assistant. A researcher or influence, not a decision-maker. As shown in the graphic, this segment is not familiar with our services.

2 Demographics for all segments: 80% female 25 to 50 years old, wide range $50K to $80K annual income (middle class) some college to university degree located in North America (although software can use any currency) mainly English or French (although registration forms can be in any language) Psychographics for all segments: Familiar with Google, Facebook, , MS-Office, smartphones, apps Have positive view of web and consumer electronics Some have been exposed to online registration systems Some who handle registrations fear losing their jobs to software;; once they experience it, most realize it will freed them up to do other tasks All value expert advice, custom forms, and reliability not just lowest price Sales cycle About 2/3 of all prospects today follow this process: 1. Prospect has an event to organize, starts to look into online registration systems, comes across eply s website. 2. Prospect starts a free account and builds a registration form. 3. eply follows up to qualify that prospect and give a custom quote if needed. The revised process using the white paper: 1. Prospect has an event to organize, starts to look into online registration systems, comes across eply s website. 2. Prospect downloads the white paper and gets interested in trying out eply. 3. Prospect starts a free account and builds a registration form. 4. eply follows up to qualify that prospect and give a custom quote if needed. Promotions Download on website (needs effective landing page) Google AdWords PPC campaigns Banner ad Offer in postcards given out at tradeshows Sent out as attachment after outbound calls For other ideas, see the chapter on Promotions from White Papers For Dummies...

3 Call To Action To find out how eply answers these five tough questions, watch the 1-minute video [link] If you ve already seen the video, why not open a free account to explore the system and start building your online registration form? Or if you d prefer us to set up your registration form for you, or to ask any other questions, please call us toll-free at or sales@eply.com Likely keywords Conference registration software / system / systems Event registration companies / form / software / system / tool Meeting registration software / system Online event form / registration / software Registration software / system Sample registration form + plural forms where applicable Recommended flavour Problem/solution is best for generating leads. Numbered list is better for attracting attention with provocative views, casting FUD on competitors, or nurturing leads through a sales cycle. In this case, audience C likely won t take much time to read a white paper. I recommend we rervise your white paper draft to become a combo problem/solution + numbered list. This will work for segment C and anyone from A or B who is not familiar with online registration systems. Reviewers Looks like 3, which is a good number for quick reviews: name 1 name 2 name 3 Page Design Guidelines The existing white paper does need a redesign to look more inviting and easier to scan. More white space, larger type, more graphics and a photo on the front cover would help the revised document stand up to the competition.

4 Research Aberdeen report on MMSP from July 2012 Gordon found a quote that calls event planner the most challenging job in the world... the wonderful process of buying enterprise software infographic Here are some placed articles or roundups on the same general topic that Gordon found on the web. Some are from competitors, so we don t want to quote them. 101 Key Benefits and Features to Look For in Online Meeting Registration and Management Systems from an independent consultant/reviewer A Few Good Online Event Registration Tools may have a good snippet we can use How to Evaluate Online Event Registration Systems has a bit we could use on customization Registration-Systems.htm Here s a decent article written by Jack Smith from ActiveNetwork (regonline.com) Digital Registration Tools: A Comprehensive Guide #sthash.uZxLuGse.dpbs The Capabilities of an Event Registration System RegFilter: Find the online registration system that's right for you (lists 120 includes eply) Here s a brief excerpt from RegFilter that sounds like the intro to our white paper: There are so many online registration systems out there, figuring out which one will be a good fit for your event can make your head spin. No one wants to waste time or lose money by making a poor choice. With every online registration provider claiming to be experts with a system that is innovative, easy-to-use and designed specifically to meet your needs how can you be sure that you are making an informed decision?

5 Timeline Finish new white paper ASAP to use for PPC early June My quote Jim wants the whole revision not to exceed $4,000 including this plan and the re-design. Gordon thinks that s possible, if we define the scope and audience carefully. Likely competitors = great website, big-name clients, 5 white papers including 10 Questions to Ask... 5 case studies, publicly-traded company, simple pricing with registrant up to 999, discount for 999+ and NFPs = reasonable website, buyer s guide (but poor design + boring content makes it ineffective), 6 white papers (+1 from Aberdeen), 1 infographic = good! 5 videos, 6 success stories including Sanford U and IEEE = website clunky, quite a meaty blog, big-name clients interesting bog post is a 2-screen post with call to action to watch a webinar Possible titles 5 ways to weed out registration companies when digging for your ideal system 5 ways to weed out providers when digging for your ideal registration system 5 ways to weed out providers when digging for a registration system 5 ways to weed out companies when digging for a registration system 5 ways to weed out suppliers when digging for a registration system 5 weeding out strategies when digging for your ideal registration system 5 ways event planners can weed out registration systems Gardening imagery may appeal to mainly female audience. Question: What will work better with our audience, positive or negative spin? Avoiding painful mistakes or profiting from a pleasant experience? Answer: Client answered POSITIVE suits the rest of their marketing better.

6 Draft executive summary and conclusions Here s a positive spin on the title that s lively for SEO: 5 Tough Questions to Help Pick the Perfect Online Registration System a special report for event planners Executive summary (draft) So you have to organize an event, and you re looking into online registration systems to save time and effort. If you re like most event planners, you ll soon find dozens of different companies to compare. The problem is, their websites all sound the same. And they all make the same claims. How can you possibly tell them apart? You can try comparing feature lists, but that won t tell you what the company is really like to work with. You can pick the lowest-cost service, but what if you get what you pay for? Picking the wrong registration system can be costly and embarrassing. If your registration system fails, or if it s so clunky it turns off attendees, that can seriously damage your event. How can you possibly pick the best system for you? This special report can help. It provides five tough questions you can ask to weed out the systems that aren t right for you: 1: How do you like their sales approach? 2: What really happens when you need support? 3: What dirt does your due diligence turn up? 4: What s in the fine print that they don t want you to see? 5: What happens if it s not working out as you expected? After that, you should have a shortlist of two or three likely vendors, and you ll be well on the way to picking the perfect system for your event.

7 Conclusions (draft) Looking for an online registration system isn t easy. Every vendor tends to make the same promises, so they re not easy to tell apart. This special report provides five tough questions to help you weed out the systems that aren t right for you: 1: How do you like their sales approach? 2: What really happens when you need support? 3: What dirt does your due diligence turn up? 4: What s in the fine print that they don t want you to notice? 5: What if it s not working out as you expected? By eliminating any vendors that don t measure up, you can prune down your choices to a shortlist of two or three possibilities. We hope you ll seriously consider working with eply. To find out how eply answers these five tough questions, watch the 1-minute video [link to]. If you ve already seen the video, why not open a free account to explore the system and start building your online registration form? Or if you d prefer us to set up your registration form for you, or to ask any other questions, please call us toll-free at and sales@eply.com About eply (draft) eply Online Event Registration grew out of an idea founder and president Jim Romanik had in 2001 while attending business school. After writing the business plan, he decided to start the company when he graduated. Jim joined forces with co-founder Terry Haroldson who has been eply s main software developer. Tens of thousands of hours have been invested in building the eply registration system into a powerful, reliable application. The name eply stands for?? More specifics: How many customers? Many registrations handled? How many events supported? Any awards or credentials earned? eply has handled events including banquets, conferences, galas, sporting events, workshops and more for clients including corporations, event-planning companies, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations and universities. eply is a privately-held corporation based in Vancouver, BC.