Why They See But Don't Buy: The Conversion Event Secret

Ever feel like you’re doing all the “right” marketing moves like posting, emailing, showing up everywhere, yet sales still fall flat? This episode uncovers a simple but often-missed piece of the puzzle: conversion events. These focused experiences bridge the gap between casual interest and a buying decision, creating the urgency and connection your regular content can’t always deliver.

You’ll hear how to choose and design a conversion event, whether it’s a webinar, challenge, live training, or even a quick Instagram Q&A, so it fits seamlessly into your marketing strategy without overwhelming you. We’ll talk about where these events belong in your customer journey, why they work, and how to pick the right one based on your goals, audience, and capacity.

Chapters

• 1:18 What Is a Conversion Event?
• 2:16 Why Conversion Events Work
• 4:09 Where Events Fit in Marketing Strategy
• 5:49 Choosing the Right Conversion Event
• 8:30 Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Transcript

Janice Hostager: 0:05

I'm Janice Hostager. After three decades in the marketing business and many years of being an entrepreneur, I've learned a thing or two about marketing. Join me as we talk about marketing, small business and life in between. Welcome to My Weekly Marketing.

Janice Hostager: 0:28

Hey there and welcome back to My Weekly Marketing. I'm Janice Hostager, so let me ask you a question: have you ever felt like you're doing all the right things. You're posting,

Janice Hostager: 0:38

you're emailing.

Janice Hostager: 0:45

You're showing up and still people are not pulling the trigger. It's one of the biggest frustrations I hear from small business owners. People say I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. Why aren't people buying? Well, today I want to talk about a very specific reason that might be happening, one that not a lot of people are talking about. It's called a conversion event, and it might just be the missing link between all your marketing efforts and your actual sales. So in this episode, we're diving in to what a conversion event is, why it's so powerful, where it fits in your marketing strategy and how to pick one that fits your business. So let's do it.

Janice Hostager: 1:18

First of all, a conversion event is a focused experience that invites or leads your audience to take a specific next step, like buying or booking a call or opting in. It's not a social media post. It's not an email blast. It's an intentional event that moves someone from passively aware of you to actively considering what you offer. So, for example, it could be a live webinar or a Zoom training. It could be a free challenge or a mini course. Maybe it would be an in-person event, or maybe a one-day promotion with bonuses or a free consultation call, or even something super simple like an Instagram live Q&A that ends with a sign-up link. It doesn't have to be big, it just has to be intentional. The whole point is to focus your audience's attention and give them something to say yes to now.

Janice Hostager: 2:14

So why do conversion events work? Here's the thing Content creates awareness, but conversion events create momentum. They work for a few reasons. First of all, they create urgency. There's a clear start and end time. It's not whenever you get time to read this. It's this Thursday at noon, and that little bit of pressure helps people make decisions. Number two they create focused energy. You are showing up in a dedicated way and your audience can feel that. It's like shining a spotlight on what you want them to do next. Number three they build trust faster. People get to hear your voice, see your face, ask questions or engage with you directly. That is really powerful in building that know like and trust factor. Number four they drive next steps. You're not just educating them, you're guiding them. It's the bridge between interested and "yep, I'm in Because, truthfully, we all need a trigger to move, right?

Janice Hostager: 3:17

There has to be a reason to get us going, and these events become that reason. I think about when I am having company over. That's when I clean the house, right. It's the time in which you really know that you have to do something or that your opportunity is right in front of you. You have to act now. That's how a trigger event is. You introduce your offer and all the benefits and give them a reason to say yes now. It could be that the price will go up. It could be that a bonus will disappear. It also might be that the course is only available for a limited time. That part's up to you.

Janice Hostager: 3:51

I once ran a 30-minute webinar that resulted in way more sales than months of social media posts combined. Why? Because it wasn't just showing up. I was inviting my audience into an experience, and that's what conversion events do best. So you need to decide where this fits into your marketing strategy. If you've heard me talk about the Trail to the Sale framework, you know I break marketing down into eight steps. Awareness, where they discover you. Consider where they make a decision, whether or not you're right for them. Compare, where they compare you to others in the market. Evaluate where they may or may not try you out. Sell where they actually buy. Supersize, where you can upsell them. Serve, where you deliver and impress them. And Send, where they refer.

Janice Hostager: 4:38

Conversion events fall between the consider and the compare stages. Typically in the consider stage, I like to get interested people on my email list. At that point you want to show your customer what makes your offer unique before they start comparing you to others in the market. Your uniqueness is your strength. Also, a challenge or live training builds trust and invites that person to start considering you specifically, which really is at the heart of the compare stage. Think of the event as a structured invitation to enter a compare mode, with you at the front of the line. If you wait until they're already comparing multiple options, you've already given up a lot of control and connection. But if your conversion event starts to compare process, you frame the conversation in your favor, ideally based on your unique process approach or philosophy. That means your audience already knows you exist and what you're all about. They've been warmed up by your content and now they're asking, is this right for me? That's where conversion events shine. It gives them a clear next step toward evaluating what you offer and it gives you the chance to guide them toward a decision.

Janice Hostager: 5:47

So here's how to pick the right conversion event. Number one decide the step you want them to take after the event. If you want to book discovery or sales calls. You could run a mini workshop, a free training or a free strategy session that ends with the call to action to book a call. If you want them to buy your offer, you might want to run a limited time offer, a bonus promo or a live demo event. The more high touch that your offer is, the more personal and trust-building your event should be.

Janice Hostager: 6:18

If your product or service requires a bigger investment of time, money or trust from the buyer, then your conversion event needs to do more to build a personal connection and establish credibility. On the flip side, if your offer is low-touch like, say, maybe, a $27 template or a $97 self-paced course you can get away with a lower effort conversion event, like, maybe, a recorded training. Number two, you want to meet them where they already are paying attention and engaging. If your audience is most active on Instagram, host an Instagram live Q&A or a behind-the-scenes walkthrough or a DM-based challenge. If your audience regularly opens up your email, consider a mini-course or a live training via Zoom. If you often connect with people at in-person events, offer a post-event bonus workshop.

Janice Hostager: 7:08

You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Build your event around the channels where people already know, like, and trust you Then finally match the event to your capacity. Ask yourself what type of event can you realistically deliver? Well, in this season, we all have busy times of year. We all have lives outside of work. Conversion events do take time, so don't bite off more than you can chew. If you have low capacity right now, you might wanna choose a simple format like an Instagram or Facebook Live, with a single topic that leads to a free resource and then a link to book a call. That's something you could do in just a few hours. If you have medium capacity, you might wanna choose something like a live training with a workbook or a webinar I'm a big fan of webinars and if you have high capacity right now, you could go big with a five-day challenge with video content or a multi-part launch event or a full conversion funnel leading to a live sales event. But just a warning it's better to run small, consistent conversion events than to burn out trying to do something flashy, especially if you haven't done this before, if you're new to this. If you're new to conversion events, I would go with the easy, like Instagram or a webinar or something that's easier to set up than a live event. You can always scale up.

Janice Hostager: 8:30

Okay, so let's talk about a few common pitfalls to avoid things that can go wrong with conversion events and how to avoid them. First of all, no clear call to action. If people don't know what the next step is, they won't take it. The entire point of a conversion event is to move them into taking action. A conversion, moving them to a call to action can feel awkward, I totally get it, but when you build it into your process maybe into your webinar script or your slides it can feel a whole lot more simple.

Janice Hostager: 9:01

Pitfall number two is trying to do too much. You don't need video. Pitfall number two is trying to do too much. You don't need video music, guest speakers and a fancy follow-up funnel. Simplicity sells too. A simple webinar or a sales call works just great. Do what's best for you, your audience and your offer. Number three no follow-up. The event is not the end, it's the beginning of the conversation. So send the emails. Have DMs. Make the ask. I send multiple emails after every webinar. Typically, when I do a webinar, that's the beginning of my card open time and I continue to email until the card closes. You don't have to email everyone every day, but if they have shown interest by clicking on an email link, then those are the people to follow up with and make sure that you answer all their questions.

Janice Hostager: 9:50

And mistake number four is thinking that your audience is too small. Even with a tiny list or a few hundred followers, you can absolutely create momentum with the right message and a well-structured event. In fact, your event will become a good way to grow your list and also a really good way to connect with people. If you've only got a few people on your list, or a few people that are interested, you can certainly connect with them easier and make it a very personalized experience for them. So, to wrap up, if your offer isn't moving, you might just be missing the bridge between awareness and action, which is your conversion event. And that's what conversion events give you a clear, intentional, result-driven way to move your people closer to buying.

Janice Hostager: 10:37

So here's what I want you to do this week Pick one conversion event you could run in the next 30 days. Small is totally fine. Done is better than perfect. Just put it on the calendar. But if you're ready to build a full marketing strategy that includes conversion events and all the other pieces of the puzzle, get on the wait list for my new course. I just finished with my beta launch, Modern Marketing Mastery. Just head on over to janicehostagercom. Forward slash MMM and you'll be the first to hear about it when it launches. You can also find the link in the show notes at MyWeeklyMarketingcom forward slash 121. So thank you so much for joining me today. I'd love to connect with you. Find me on Instagram at Janice Hostager Marketing. Send me a DM if you have any questions. I'll see you next time. Bye for now.