How to run a great creative workshop - and keep them coming back for more

When you're an artist or creative practitioner, running creative workshops and classes is a great way to bring in income to your business. 
It's a brilliant way to meet new people, introduce them to your work, and grow your audience authentically and sustainably.

Personally, I've also found that it's way easier to sell 10 workshop tickets at £30 than it is to sell one £300 piece of art.  I don't know if the effects of the pandemic are at play here, but I've noticed that in recent years, many people would rather have the experience of learning, making and doing the thing you're selling than simply buy the thing itself.

Our social media dependent society could be part of the reason for this too.  Customers want to share the experiences they've been on rather than the things they've bought.  In a FOMO obsessed world - experiences are vital currency.

In the spirit of that, I want to share some of my top tips for making a creative workshop a success - right from selling the tickets to making them come back again and again.

But Rachel - what do you even know about workshops?

Fair question! I've been running creative workshops for myself and for other companies since 2019, and last year I delivered an average of one per week. I also manage the workshop programmes for Juice Studios and Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, so I'm often chatting with other workshop artists too. 

Without further ado, let's start at the beginning:

The Basics
What is your workshop idea? It goes without saying, it's pretty important to create something that people want to come to.  Is it a workshop where participants will be able to make their own version of your most popular product?
Is it based around a technique you're often asked about? Having that in place before anything else will make the rest so much easier. 
So you've got your idea - how does it work in a workshop format? I find that workshoppers want to make a specific 'thing' - having a workshop that is teaching a technique is fine, but make sure there's a defined outcome.  'Learn this and go home with this', that sort of thing.
Leaving it too open ended might seem nice, but I find that actually it puts people off booking because they can't envisage an end product for their new found skill.

So how long will your session be? If you can, maybe try to run the workshop with a friend or relative, ideally one that has no experience of the topic.  See how long it takes them and use that as a guide.  Where possible, I try to keep workshops within a 2-3 hour session, unless it's a very involved technique that requires a day session - and if so don't forget to account for a lunch break.

How many people can you accomodate? This is sometimes dictated by venue - more on that in a minute, but also by how involved the process is and how much attention you need to give to your participants.  For example, when I run a weaving workshop, I can do a demo to the group at the beginning and then they can all work on their own, with just a little supervision from me as and when an individual might need it.  But for my learn to knit or learn to crochet sessions, I need to be ready to repeat steps, help them out when they've gone wrong, and generally just give a lot more of my attention.  For this reason, I limit classes like that to 6 people, whereas I've ran weaving workshops to 20+ people.

It may also be dependent on materials and equipment.  Previously I've ran sewing machine workshops. which naturally the capacity is determined by how many sewing machines I have access to.  It may be that you work with very expensive materials and that puts a limit on how many people you can include at once.

Now let's talk venue.  A good venue can make your workshop a huge success, and alleviate a lot of stresses that can come with running a workshop.  A venue is essentially your partner in this endeavour, so choose one that you can trust, that has a good reputation, ideally one with an audience that mirrors yours.  
Accessibility is another huge factor here. I was once asked to run classes from a venue with no central heating, no wifi, and it was on the second floor with no lift access.  That's a hard no from me! Don't exclude potential participants before you've even started with something as simple as access.

A good venue might also have helpful amenities.  Do they have tea and coffee facilities that you can use for your guests - I find that most participants expect to have drinks provided, and a few biscuits are always appreciated too.

The venue will ideally have it's own audience, and will push your workshop out to them. At Juice Studios, we promote the workshops via our What's On page, make posters for upcoming events and share them on social media.  Being able to share the marketing with your venue and reach new people is invaluable.

You might want to try a few venues before you settle on your favourite, or you might always rotate workshops around a handful of venues! It's finding out what works best for you and your audience.

Selling Tickets
Now that the logistics are sorted, you just need to sell some tickets! 
When booking your workshop date, I always recommend to make it at least two paydays away so that you've got enough time to promote it and get people interested.  The last thing you want is for people to be interested but they didn't know about it in advance so haven't got anything left in their budget. 

Go to your usual customers first, whether that's via social media or email.  It helps to let people know it's coming up before you're even ready to sell tickets too.  Get people excited for the event so that when you launch the tickets, they're ready to commit.

I keep a local email list, separate from my main email list so that I can email workshops to the people that live within the same region as the venue without bothering all of my UK and international subscribers.

Once you've got the word out, keep going! They say people need to see something seven times before they buy it.  Keep mentioning it, especially around payday time, and update your audiences with how the tickets are selling.  Saying things like 'only three tickets left!' encourages people that are on the fence to book - as long as that's true! Don't make up numbers just to create FOMO, it only builds distrust.

Before The Workshop
So you've sold the tickets and you're good to go!
I always send a reminder email out the day before. It's surprising how many peple will forget they had an event booked in, particularly if they booked early. 
Use this as an opportunity to give them some info on what to expect; how do thwey get to the venue, is there parking, do they need to bring anything etc.
Pack your supplies - always more than you think you'll need, get your tools together and bring a bin bag. Do the participants need a bag to take their things home in? - Try and make it a branded one with a flyer or leaflet already inside it!

It's Workshop Time!
Let the venue know what time you'll be coming to set up.  Know what the plan is for a tea/coffee break and set up a refreshment station if needed.  Bring flyers and have them out, and you could even set up a little shop if it's appropriate.  Some artists will bring kits to sell, which participants might buy if they've enjoyed the class so much that they want to immediately do it again, or if they think a friend will enjoy it.

Then welcome your guests! Give them a little intro, then jump into the workshop. Don't forget to take photos and encourage your participants to take photos too.
Most importantly, enjoy it. They are booked on because they are interested in what you're doing.  Don't doubt yourself!

After The Workshop
Breathe. You did it!
Ask the participants to share their pictures on social media, leave a review on your website/google page.
Share details of your next one if you've got one booked in!
Share the photos you've taken on your own social media, and keep them to advertise your next one.  Thank your venue and take your rubbish with you if you can.

Book the next!

If you're local, feel free to contact me about booking a workshop at Juice Studios - we're always keen to have new artists! More info and my Juice email can be found here: https://www.juicehull.com/runaworkshop

Photos by Emma Gibbon