One of the best ways to connect with your ideal customers is to host a workshop that shows them how to do something. Workshops are an excellent way for entrepreneurs to interact with and educate their customers. Hosting at least one workshop for your ideal customers that focuses on a specific outcome can work wonders to create awareness.
The Benefits of Hosting a Workshop
Here are some of the reasons why you want to host a workshop:
1. Builds Trust and Authority
A live or recorded workshop gives entrepreneurs a chance to showcase their expertise and deliver real value upfront. When your ideal customers see you teaching and solving problems in real time, it builds credibility and positions you as the go-to solution provider in your niche.
2. Warms Up Leads With Purpose
Workshops naturally guide your audience through a transformation — even if it’s a small one. By aligning the workshop content with your lead magnet, you’re helping participants get quick wins while understanding how your free resource can help them go further. This makes your audience more engaged and likely to opt in.
3. Creates a Clear Path to the Next Step
Workshops help you bridge the gap between free value and paid offer. When you design the workshop to focus on a positive outcome, it naturally sets the stage for a related low-friction upsell. Attendees who experience the value of your teaching will be more open to investing in your next-level product, course, or service.
4. Increases Email List Engagement
Hosting a workshop tied to your lead magnet encourages subscribers to interact with your content immediately instead of letting your emails sit unopened.
When people sign up for a workshop, they’re more likely to show up, pay attention, and respond to follow-up emails, boosting your overall email engagement and deliverability.
5. Creates Evergreen Marketing Content
A well-structured workshop can be repurposed into an evergreen funnel. You can record it once and continue using it as an automated training or challenge that consistently introduces your lead magnet and pitches your upsell. This allows you to grow your audience and revenue on autopilot.
How to Set up an Automated Workshop
Here’s how you can set up an automated workshop for your ideal customers using Thrive Suite:
1. Plan Your Workshop and Build the Content
- Define your workshop’s goals and target audience. What specific problem does it solve, and for whom?
- Outline your workshop content. Consider the format (e.g., videos, text, downloads) and structure it logically into modules or lessons.
- Create engaging and high-quality materials that resonate with your audience and deliver on your workshop’s promises.
2. Build the Workshop and Related Pages with Thrive Architect and Thrive Apprentice
- Create the core course/workshop in Thrive Apprentice. This plugin allows you to organize your content into courses and modules, control access, drip content if desired, and track student progress.
- Develop a high-converting landing page using Thrive Architect to showcase your workshop and entice sign-ups.
- Craft a captivating headline, clearly communicate the workshop’s benefits, and include a call to action (CTA).
- Consider adding elements like testimonials, a sense of urgency (e.g., a countdown timer with Thrive Ultimatum), and an FAQ section to boost conversions.
- Create a confirmation page to acknowledge successful sign-ups and guide participants on the next steps.
- Build a “Thank You” or download page where participants can access workshop materials or be redirected after completing a specific action (like registering or paying).
3. Capture Leads with Thrive Leads
- Integrate an opt-in form on your landing page using Thrive Leads or a Lead Generation element in Thrive Architect.
- Ensure your form is visually appealing and easy to complete. Keep the required fields minimal to maximize sign-ups.
4. Set up Automated Workflows with Thrive Automator
- Access Thrive Automator from your WordPress dashboard.
- Create a new automation.
- Set the trigger: Choose “Form Submitted” if using a Thrive Leads form for sign-ups. Select the specific form you created.
- Add actions to the automation:
- “Find or create user”: This adds new registrants to your WordPress user base (e.g., with the “Subscriber” role).
- “Grant access to product”: Connect this action to the Thrive Apprentice course (your workshop) you created.
- “Add user in autoresponder”: If you use an email marketing service (like ActiveCampaign or MailChimp), integrate it via Thrive Dashboard > API and automatically add new users to your email list, potentially applying a tag specific to this workshop.
- “Send webhook” or additional actions: Explore other actions available in Thrive Automator to customize the experience, such as triggering a webinar platform, sending specific emails, or updating user roles based on their interaction with your workshop.
- Configure your email marketing service (if using) to send welcome emails, follow-up sequences, and other relevant communication to your workshop participants.
5. Test and Launch
- Thoroughly test your entire funnel to ensure the sign-up process, access to materials, email delivery, and all other automations function smoothly.
- Go through the process as a user, testing on different devices and browsers.
- Once everything is working correctly, activate your Thrive Automator automation and launch your automated workshop!
By following these steps, you can harness the power of Thrive Suite to create an automated and efficient workshop experience for your audience.
Simple Workshop Funnel Outline for Entrepreneurs
STEP 1: Lead Magnet (Free Resource)
Purpose: Attract your ideal customers by solving a specific problem or delivering a quick win.
Examples:
Checklist (“10 Things Every Handmade Shop Needs Before Launch”)
PDF Guide (“Your First 100 Email Subscribers: A Starter Strategy”)
Template or Swipe File (“3 Ready-to-Use Social Media Captions for Product Launches”)
Call-to-Action (CTA):
“Download your free [lead magnet] and join my free workshop to put it into action!”
STEP 2: Workshop Registration Page
Purpose: Capture signups and explain the value of the live or recorded workshop.
Headline:
“Learn How to [Positive Outcome] in Just 1 Hour—Using Our Free [Lead Magnet Name]”Details to Include:
Time/date (or “watch on demand”)
What they’ll learn
Who it’s for
Bonuses or what they’ll leave with
CTA:
“Reserve your spot + get the free guide to follow along!”
STEP 3: The Workshop (Value-First Training)
Structure:
Warm Welcome & Why It Matters
Walkthrough of the Lead Magnet
Show them how to use it to get a result.
Teach a Simple, Actionable Strategy
Focus on a positive transformation.
Introduce the Next Step (Your Paid Offer)
Make it feel like the natural progression.
Use testimonials, demos, or limited-time bonuses.
Pro Tip: Use phrases like:
“If this workshop helped you get clarity, imagine what [Product/Course] can do for you.”
STEP 4: Upsell Offer (Optional but Powerful)
Purpose: Convert warm leads into paying customers right after the workshop.
Offer something that complements the workshop:
A digital product, course, toolkit, or service
Price range: $17–$97 works great for workshop follow-ups
Bonus: Add urgency (limited-time discount, bonus, or fast-action bonus)
STEP 5: Email Follow-Up Sequence (Nurture + Sell)
Purpose: Stay top-of-mind and convert fence-sitters.
Suggested 3-email sequence:
Thank You + Replay
“In case you missed it…” with replay and reminder of what they’ll learnMore Value + Soft Pitch
Share a related tip, case study, or story + CTA to your offerLast Chance / Fast-Action Bonus
Remind them of the upsell offer deadline
Example Funnel in Action
- Lead Magnet: “Free Printable Etsy Shop Checklist”
- Workshop: “How to Launch a Profitable Etsy Shop in 30 Days”
- Upsell: $47 Digital Product Bundle or Etsy Shop Toolkit
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