Filling a workshop in Bologna in one week: where the people who book actually are

The workshop is published, the date is a week away and you have filled three of the eight seats. It is the most common situation for a Maker in Bologna, and it almost never means the workshop is wrong: what is usually missing is the piece in the middle, the way people who would happily book find out it exists. This is a seven-day plan, one action a day, for someone who already has a page on Handsome and little time. It does not promise a sold-out room: it lines up the things that depend on you.

Day 1: the page answers in five seconds

Before you send anyone to your page, open it on your phone as if you were a stranger. Whoever lands there must understand four things without scrolling: when, how much, what they take home and where. If one is missing, fix it today: every share over the next days brings people here.

• Title with date and neighbourhood: "Wheel throwing for beginners, Saturday 19 September, Bolognina" beats "Basic pottery course".
• All-inclusive price: materials, firing, aperitivo if there is one. The reader should not have to add things up.
• What they take home: a cup, a ring, a bound notebook. It is the sentence people repeat when they tell someone else.
• Photos of participants' pieces, not only your best work: people booking want to see what they will manage to make, not what you can do.
• Remaining seats visible: three out of eight is information, not a flaw.

A useful comparison: look at how the other workshops in Bologna are presented and ask yourself which one you would book. If the problem is the space (light, tables, how to get there), we covered it in Workshop space in Bologna: how to choose it and what to ask.

Day 2: one link, where people already look at you

Day two is about making the workshop findable by the people who already follow you. It is not a campaign: it is putting the link to your Handsome page where people actually click.

1. Link in bio: the workshop link, or your Maker page if you have several dates, in first position. One link, not a list of ten.
2. A story with the Link sticker: as soon as you publish, Handsome prepares your promo kit, free for every Maker: workshop graphic, ready caption and hashtags, plus a story version with room for Instagram's Link sticker. Copy, paste, post.
3. A feed post with a photo of a piece made by a participant, date and price in the first line of the caption. Do not hide the price in the comments.
4. The month's calendar, if you are a Pro Maker: the Social Kit generates a calendar with all your dates and the workshop carousels, already in the right formats, with no evenings on Canva.

If you are wondering whether you also need a website, the short answer is in Website or Instagram for artisans: Instagram brings the people, the bookable page turns them into sign-ups.

Day 3: craft markets, where the people who book meet you in person

Craft markets are where the people who book workshops spend their weekend. They are already there, they have time, they touch the objects and ask questions: it is the conversation no story can replicate. If there is a market in town in the next few days, going is worth more than any post. If you are not exhibiting, it is still worth going as a visitor and getting to know the organisers.

• On the stall keep one single thing that points to the workshop: a card with the date and a QR code to your Handsome page. Whoever scans it books on their own, even the next day.
• Tell the workshop to whoever stops for more than a minute: "you can make this yourself, next Saturday, in two hours".
• On Handsome you can link the workshop to a partner market from the workshop form: the market page shows the workshops of Makers in the area, so whoever looks for the market also finds your date.

Open events and calls are on the markets in Bologna page. If you have never exhibited, how to apply and what to bring is in Artisan markets in Bologna: how to apply and get a stall.

Day 4: local groups and communities, without spam

Bologna is full of neighbourhood groups, coworking chats, associations, clubs, libraries with a notice board. They are good places for a workshop, on one condition: that you write like a person, once, and not like a flyer. The message that works is short: who you are in one line, what you are doing on Saturday in one line, who it is for, the link.

• Ask first whether admins welcome proposals. A yes opens the group, a no saves you from being removed.
• One group, one message. If you repost the same thing every day you are noise; if you reply to whoever comments you are a person.
• Offer the group something: a date reserved for members, or a short demonstration at the next meeting. You pay the seat back in word of mouth.

Day 5: word of mouth from people who already came

People who have already done one of your workshops are the most underrated channel. They know what it is like, they enjoyed it and they know at least one person who would like it. Day five is for them.

1. Write to participants of past dates: "I am running the workshop again on Saturday, if you have a friend who would like it, send them this link". A personal message, not a newsletter.
2. Ask those who already booked for Saturday to bring someone: a table of people who know each other is a happier table, and they know it.
3. Put reviews in evidence. On Handsome they are verified only: written by people who booked and actually attended, at the platform's automatic request after the event. Whoever reads your page knows nobody made them up, and that weighs more than ten stories.
4. If you have none yet, do not add empty stars: the page says "no reviews yet" and the first one will come after Saturday.

Day 6: three days out, seats are missing. Do not discount

Wednesday, workshop on Saturday, five sign-ups out of eight. The temptation is the last-minute discount. It is almost always a mistake: it punishes those who booked at full price, teaches everyone to wait, and moves the problem to the next date. The alternatives are better.

• Decide the threshold beforehand: with how many participants does the workshop run anyway? If five are enough, there is no problem. If the minimum is six, write it on the page from the start.
• Last seats, no discount: an honest story ("three seats left for Saturday") with the link. It is the push for whoever was putting it off.
• Waitlist: if seats run out instead, on Handsome whoever comes later can leave their name. It is the simplest way to fill the next date without starting from zero.
• A second date instead of a discount: if you get requests for other times (evening, Sunday), open a second date and move there whoever could not make it. Two half-empty dates are worse than one full date and one waitlist: open the second only when the first is covered.

Day 7: the day before and the day after

The day before you do not have to chase anyone: automatic reminders went out three days before and go out again 24 hours before, with address and time. You prepare the table and one more thing: at the start, ask participants for permission to photograph work in progress. Those photos are the promotion for the next date.

• At the end say out loud when the next date is and that it is already bookable. Whoever is in the room is the person most likely to come back or to gift the workshop.
• The day after, the platform asks attendees for a review; you write down where each booking came from (story, market, friend, group). By the third date you already know which days of this plan matter most for you.

The plan holds because it is repeatable: the second week costs half the effort, because page, kit, market contacts and groups are already there. For a wider picture of the channels, we compared them in Selling artisan experiences online in Bologna.