APPENDIX F
The Promotion Countdown Calendar
A day-by-day run-up to a launch or a big event — so the doors open on a warm, full room instead of an empty one.
You don’t advertise a dance floor so much as host it — but you still have to get the first crowd through the door, because an empty opening night can end a night before it starts. This calendar is the promotion countdown from Chapters Eighteen and Twenty-Two, laid out as a timeline you can run for a launch or any special event. The goal is not a viral campaign; it’s a warm, full, guaranteed room on the night. Use it, and never launch on hope alone.
Event / launch:
Date:
My target headcount:
30+ Days Out: Build the Foundation
☐ Announce the date everywhere and start building anticipation
☐ Set up ticketing or the sign-up, if the event is ticketed (see Chapter Twenty-Two)
☐ Begin the personal-invite list — everyone I know, every dancer in my network
☐ Line up the venue and the scene to help spread the word
☐ If there’s a guest, coordinate promotion so their audience hears it too
14 Days Out: Widen the Reach
☐ Steady content and reminders across my channels (see Appendix G)
☐ Personal, direct invitations to my most likely attendees and evangelists
☐ Ask my regulars and ambassadors to bring people and share the word
☐ Feature the scene, the venue, the music — generous, community-first promotion
7 Days Out: Lock In the Core
☐ Collect real, named commitments — not vague maybes — for a guaranteed core crowd
☐ Follow up personally with the people who said they’d come
☐ Confirm all logistics: room, music, staff, floor, timing
☐ Push a clear, warm reminder wave
48 Hours Out: The Final Push
☐ Send the last round of reminders and personal nudges
☐ Confirm the committed core is still coming
☐ Make sure everything is ready so the night runs smoothly
☐ Build excitement — the anticipation itself pulls people in
Day Of: Host It
☐ A final warm reminder / “see you tonight”
☐ Everything set up and ready well before doors
☐ The seeded core lined up so the room feels alive from the first minute
☐ Ready to welcome, teach, and convert every newcomer who walks in
After: Follow Up
☐ Thank attendees warmly and personally
☐ Capture new contacts onto my owned list (see Appendix G and Chapter Sixteen)
☐ Invite first-timers back to the next one — the conversion is the point
☐ Note what worked and what I’ll change for next time
My Countdown Notes
Who I’m personally inviting (the committed core):
Which channels and partners I’m using:
How I’ll guarantee the room isn’t empty:
THE COUNTDOWN IN ONE LINE One big marketing push to get a warm crowd through the door; then the floor markets itself. Get real people to the opening, give them a genuinely great time, and you’ve done the hardest part — lit the spark that the weekly reliability and the warm welcome keep burning. |
A NOTE This is a general planning tool, not professional advice. Handle ticketing, money, and any event agreements with the appropriate care and professionals. See Appendices C and K. |
Put this chapter to work
Continue the lesson with connected resources
The chapter explains the principle. These resources help you practice it, document it, calculate it or train it in the room.
Use the resource that matches the decision in front of you. A tool supports judgment; it does not replace current law, venue policy, qualified professional advice or the person responsible for the operation.