https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF6B27tOp2o&t=1163s If you've been in the coworking industry for a while, there's a good chance you've come across Cat Johnson and her teachings. Cat has been in the industry for (I think!) over a decade and has been a …
Kevin C. Whelan
Interview with Liz Elom on the GCUC Community Podcast
GCUC Coworking Podcast · GCUC Community Podcast • Episode 44 • Kevin Whelan I recently had the pleasure of joining Liz Elam on the GCUC Community Podcast. We chatted all about the coworking/flex office industry at large, …
Aiming to be ubiquitous
One of the most practical ways to attract new members is to simply be more visible in more places—both online and offline. The broader your surface area, the easier it will be for people to find …
A system for managing your marketing
For a lot of coworking spaces, marketing can feel like a black box. You're not sure what's working, who's doing what, or what to do next when things suddenly stop working. If you're very small, you might …
What I see happening in coworking
The pandemic era was a hard period for many. But if you're seeing what I'm seeing, it's coming back. Slowly but surely, people are returning to their offices. And that's positive news! But we aren't out of …
Run your own race
When you look around at the coworking industry, coworking spaces are doing largely the same things right now. Everyone is looking around, seeing what others are doing, then trying out the same things. And that's not necessarily …
Webinar: Finances, Communications, and Marketing During Covid-19
This past week I've been talking to clients, members, and colleagues about what they're doing these days as the crisis unfolds. Almost unanimously, coworking space operators are all trying to figure out the same two things: …
The Definitive List of COVID-19 Resources for Coworking Spaces [Updated Regularly]
Last updated: May 12, 2020 With things moving so quickly these days, I wanted to give you a place to find information to help you get through these next few months. The more information you have, …
Nurture your audience
As we shift gears from reacting to taking proactive steps, there's a little mindset I want you to consider: now is the time to build and foster your audience. Some of you are losing members …
Essential services
I just got off the phone with a support representative from my home internet provider. I'm in the process of hooking up wired ethernet to my computer instead of WiFi. Yay, faster more stable internet! Anyway, when I …
A case for optimism
There's always a case to be made for optimism, right? We don't know how long it will take for things to return to normal, but there's one thing you can count on: things will get back …
Marketing advice for coworking spaces during COVID-19
The coworking industry is in for some rough times in the coming weeks and months. All industries are. And while there's no one-size-fits-all advice I can offer you, I do have three thoughts that are generally applicable. …
How to handle member communication during COVID-19
It's no secret that COVID-19 has taken over the news. You can't help but pay attention to it. And just like you, your members are also paying attention. You might even see slightly fewer members in …
What to do if you’re not sure what to do
Every so often, I get reflective and like to read a book that helps me focus on what's important. Maybe you do the same thing. One such book is Essentialism. I have it on Audible and listen …
Why you’re succeeding (or failing)
As far as movie-watching goes, this is a "high-fidelity" experience. The sound, screen, and overall experience are about as immersive as it gets. Definitely worth the inconvenience of driving, parking, waiting in lines, and paying premium …
This might be why your coworking space is struggling
This evening, I was walking two dogs: mine and my mother-in-law's. My dog, Luna, is two years old and very energetic. She loves long runs in the park and it takes a lot to tire her …
A secret weapon for your sales copy
Writing website copy is hard. Explaining all the specifics of your coworking space without overwhelming people is a tough line to tow. On the one hand, you want to give them all the information they need to …
Why you should work on your marketing daily
It's easier to do things daily than it is to do them weekly or monthly. It's counter-intuitive but it's true. When I exercise daily, it isn't even a thought. It's a habit. I make time for …
Should your marketing be “good enough” or perfect?
There are two ways to do anything: The "done is better than perfect" way, or The "anything worth doing is worth doing right" way And at different times, I advocate for either idea. Sometimes, done really is …
How important is design in your marketing?
Imagine your commercial real estate broker picked you up in a broken-down old beater to go look at a new location. The car was visibly dirty on the outside, the wheel wells were rusted, and when …
The lost art of social media
I don't claim to be a social media guru. There are plenty more qualified social media gurus out there than me, I'm sure. But I do know a few things. For one, I believe in showing up daily. …
How to balance short-term and long-term thinking in marketing
Ever hear of the term "hangry"? I'm sure you have. It's when you get so hungry that you start to get a bit angry. Admittedly, I get like that sometimes. My wife and family will attest. 🙄 And …
Why you should actively seek critical feedback like your business depends on it
I've had more than a few bad haircuts in my day. I'm sure you can relate. I recall a time when the barber screwed it up badly. I was left with a way-too-short, hack-job of a …
Nobody wants to read your sh*t
Author, Steven Pressfield, has a great book called, Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t. The core premise of the book is—wait for it—nobody wants to read your writing. People are too busy. It's just true. It's been a …
How to get business results with your blog
A lot of people struggle with their blogs. They want to know what to write about that will actually lead to business results (more members). The thing about blogging is that there is no silver bullet. There …
The first thing I notice when looking for a coworking space
I recently moved to a new city and I'm on the hunt for a coworking space to work from. It's fun being in the mindset of an actual prospective member again. I get to watch my …
How to generate “marketing gravity” for your coworking space
There's a concept in the consulting world known as "marketing gravity". I'm not sure who coined it, but the idea is pretty simple: the more marketing activity you generate, the more people you'll attract to your …
What does this say about you?
The things you buy say something about you. The drink you order at the restaurant. The car you drive. The shoes you wear. The phone you use. They all send a message about your self-identity, to varying …
How far would you travel?
There's a great little road-side restaurant in Southern Ontario called Dairy Freez. It's only open during the Summer and has been in operation since 1954. It's located in the countryside about 30 minutes from the nearest …
How marketing compounds like interest
Albert Einstein allegedly said that "the power of compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe." Whether he actually said that or not, you can't deny that compound interest is a powerful force. To give …
Momentum and inertia
Cough, cough, sneeze. Repeat. Last week, I had bronchitis. I spent most of the time coughing and sneezing. Luckily, I'm feeling better this week. But here's the thing: I haven't exercised properly since I got sick. I used …
Values-driven marketing
Every community has a built-in culture, whether people are conscious of it or not. And the quality of that culture has a major impact on who joins and who stays. Since culture is driven by values, it means you–the …
Why you should have a ‘Why Us’ page on your coworking space website
Last week, I gave a presentation in New York for the Global Workspace Association called, The Anatomy of a Perfect Coworking Space Website. If you're a Everspaces Nation member, you'll have seen a version of the presentation already in last …
The tangible benefits of surveying your members
Surveys aren't that fun to read about. I get it. But stay with me. Running surveys can have a massive impact on your business. Over the last couple of emails, I've talked about: the kinds of surveys to run. the …
How to do surveys without annoying your members
In the last article, I talked about the four types of surveys you can use to improve your marketing and retention. The article began with this: People have a love/hate relationship with surveys. Nobody loves them and everyone hates …
4 surveys to improve your coworking space’s marketing and retention
People have a love/hate relationship with surveys. Nobody loves them and everyone hates them... unless you keep them short and/or incentivize the completion. There are four main surveys that you can use to make everything about your business …
How to choose a domain name for your coworking space
Picking a domain name for your coworking space is not a "forever-set-in-stone" decision, but it is one that you should take seriously. Over the years, I've bought and sold a few thousand dollars worth of domains. You're …
Why retention is so important for your coworking space
Raising your retention rates by even 5% could increase your profit by 25% to 95%. Did you know that? Intuitively, it doesn't make sense, right? How could it? Here's a quote pulled from a study by the Harvard Business …
Marketing your coworking space when you have no direct competition
Today, someone referred me to a coworking space owner who is familiar with my ideas but thinks they are best suited for big, competitive markets like New York or Toronto. It's true, I often pick the …
How to create a core strategy for your coworking space
You can have a core strategy for nearly anything. All you need is a goal and the ability to work backward from it by inspecting the ingredients that make it work. What is a core strategy? Having a …
Which would you rather be?
A while back, I had pain in my knee from an old injury. It was enough that I needed to take some pain killers. I went to the drug store and found a wall of ibuprofen. …
My stats in April (and some takeaways)
Last month, I set a goal to write and deliver value to you five days a week during the month of April. While I missed a couple of days, it averaged out to five, so I …
How to turn your website into a well-oiled sales machine
Imagine a prospect walks in off the street to tour your space. It just so happens, you are available to give them a personalized tour immediately. What do you do first? You ask them some questions. You find …
Four-word positioning statement
If your members could only use four words to describe your business, what would they say? And if you had to do the same, what words would you use to describe your space? Good positioning makes it easy for …
Do good things
In Toronto, black plastic containers are not accepted by the city for recycling. Apparently, black plastic can't be made into other colour plastics, whereas clear plastics can. As a result, there's a much smaller demand for it, …
The art of pre-selling anything
Imagine you could open the doors on a new service or location and have it be sold out the moment it becomes available. It's possible, and many have done it before. But it requires an intentional …
Start loose, then tighten
I saw a great thread by April Dunford on Twitter today about positioning. April is a marketing consultant for startups and her idea agreed with my 10+ years of marketing experience. Positioning a product (or company) when you have no customers …
Analyzing the website of a 99% full space
A few people replied to my email yesterday asking which coworking space I was talking about that is 99% full. I am ever so sorry to leave you in suspense! The space is called Shift Workspaces (Bannock St.) in …
99% full
This is a story worth reading. Today, I toured a few coworking spaces in Denver on the last day of my GCUC trip. While the spaces were all very strong, one in particular stood out. This space was …
How to start pre-selling your first location
I spoke with someone today who is considering starting a coworking space for personal care workers. First of all, I love the fact that she had a clear target market in mind. It makes it so much easier to …
Is there such thing as bad marketing?
I'm in beautiful Denver for GCUC. It's lovely this time of year. The weather is warm and the air is fresh. I was hungry for dinner, so I took a walk to find a restaurant nearby. I headed down …
How to write words that get read online
When you went to school, your teachers taught you to write in a specific way. State your premise, tell them what you're going to say, say it, then tell them what you just said. The typical …
Law of incremental change
You've been open for a while. You have filled some of your space, but you have offices left to sell. Maybe you're profitable, but you sure aren't laughing to the bank. You're in the dreaded middle zone. You're two …
Don’t make me think: a tip for designing a coworking space website that converts
There's a great book called by Steve Krug called Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. It's mostly about designing websites that are intuitive to the user. It was first written in 2000 if …
Rivetingly remarkable
I recently saw a video on Today.com with The Riveter founder, Amy Nelson. I encourage you to stop and watch it (4 mins): The Riveter: How 1 workspace is redefining women in work Today.com is a big news …
Positioning the competition
Positioning is a marketing term that is deceptively important. Positioning basically means describing what your business offers, how you do it, or who you serve in relation to others offering a similar product or service in your …
How to see your competitors’ Facebook and Instagram ads
Today I'm going to get a bit tactical; a quick tip to take with you over the weekend. I'm going to tell you how to look at any of your competitors' Facebook and Instagram ads. If you have …
Getting specific on who you serve (and why)
It's no secret that I love almost anything made by Patagonia. Firstly, the product quality is just great. The things I own have endured over the years and they even fix things when they wear out, …
Nothing is for everybody
Franks Red Hot has been around since 1920. That's almost 100 years—an impressive legacy for any company. In 1964, the sauce became the "secret ingredient" in Buffalo Chicken Wings at the now famous Anchor Bar in …
How to create your own reputation
Your company's "brand" is what people say about your business when you're not around. It's your reputation. In most cases your company's brand or reputation is based on: What people think about your space. What people experience about your space. …
Measuring success on social media
There's a quote that says, "If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." And it's the same in marketing. If you …
The Top of Mind Strategy
Being the first option that comes to mind when someone is looking for a coworking space is a big advantage. It's not always easy to do—especially when you have "competition"—but there are ways you can help it …
The myth of competition
Imagine two people are buying a mattress. We'll call them Melissa and Thomas. Melissa can practically sleep standing up. She's never experienced aches, pains, or discomfort in bed. She doesn't have any injuries or disabilities either. Thomas, …
I just bought a $479 ebook
Could your members move to your competition and get the same level of service from them? If so, you have a problem. And the problem gets bigger as your space grows if you don't fix it. The …
How to turn your coworking space features into benefits people buy
People don't buy features, they buy outcomes. There's an oft-quoted saying that, "People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole." I disagree. The reality is they want the pride and joy of seeing a shelf full …
Using features AND benefits to make your marketing stronger
When you write marketing copy (i.e. words that sell), are you focused on what you offer or what your prospective members get? That’s the difference between features and benefits. Great sales copy uses both. Features are what you offer. Benefits are the positive outcomes they …
How to create a marketing strategy for your coworking space
I get a lot of very specific questions about marketing from people I don't formally advise. Typical questions include topics like search engine optimization, web design, or some form of advertising. If I don't have a lot …
How to turn sales conversations into powerful marketing
If you think about it, marketing is just sales done at scale. In a sales conversation, the job of a salesperson is to start by determining the needs and wants of the prospect. Assuming they can deliver …
The second most powerful force in marketing
There's an oft-quoted saying (allegedly by Albert Einstein) that says, "compounding interest is the most powerful force in the universe.” Whether he actually said that or not, I'm not sure. But if there is a most powerful force in marketing, …
How to make your coworking space less intimidating to potential members
As humans, we have mental blocks about some things. One such thing is that we've evolved to fear the unknown. After all, the unknown presents risk. What if that cave is full of mountain lions or if the …
How to out deliver the competition with the Plus One Principle
Some principles apply to almost all businesses, regardless of your industry. One of them is what I like to call the Plus One Principle. I'll give you an example. I buy my coffee beans from a specific coffee shop each …
4 steps to defining what makes your coworking space unique
In the last article, I talked about making yourself a "Category of One". In other words, it means knowing your uniqueness, delivering on it relentlessly, and using that message consistently in your marketing. How do you find …
The 3 principles of world-class marketing
If you ask me, world-class marketing is founded on three core principles. The principles are easy to understand, but doing them well requires thought and effort (like all important things). Luckily, it's something you can spend the rest …
11 things to do for free before you hire a marketing agency
Does your marketing allowance resemble more of a shoestring than an actual budget? There's still lots you can do to help fill your space. Even as you grow, there are plenty of things you can do …
Strategy is making tradeoffs
When you run a coworking space, there are a million decisions to make. Every little detail becomes a choice. Should you install more phone booths or more desks? Should you focus on attracting freelancers or corporate clients? Should …
Why people choose your coworking space (or not)
There are at least two coffee shops in my immediate area. One is two doors down from where I live and the other is about a five-minute walk away. When I buy coffee locally, I almost always go to …
How to make your competition irrelevant
Are you worried about the competition? Do you have competitors that could easily be interchanged with your coworking space? If so, you aren't being bold enough with your positioning. You're trying to play it safe and appeal …
Is your analytics a leaky ship?
For most people, Google Analytics is not a fun place to be. But if you aren't tracking key activities in Google Analytics, there's a good chance you don't know how well each marketing channel is performing. Since …
Should you offer founding member pricing for new locations?
Should you offer early bird/pre-launch/founding member pricing when you open a new location? The answer is 100% up to you and situations vary. But I vote yes. In this email, I'm going to make a case for why …
Ask these two simple questions to new members
Do you have a hard time articulating why people should sign up for your space vs. the competition? If you do (and even if you don't) I recommend adding a simple question into your onboarding process. Ask new members this …
Using a CRM to track the source of leads to your coworking space
My mother sells traditional Irish Aran Sweaters through her online store. Real merino wool, the whole deal. She used to have a brick and mortar store but turned it into an online store when she moved …
Podcast Interview: Demystifying Google Ads for Coworking Spaces
If you're in the coworking industry, no doubt you have heard of Jamie Russo before. If you haven't, you need to follow her work. Jamie is a coworking space owner, host of the Everything Coworking podcast, Executive Director of …
The premise of your coworking space
When you first started your coworking space, you had a vision. Your vision must have been strong enough to compel you to get here today. I would argue that inside your original vision is the core …
Being Remarkable: The Waffle House Index
There's a massive restaurant chain in the US called Waffle House that is known for staying open 24/7. If you live there, it's likely you have heard of them. Over the years, Waffle House has built …
How to do influencer marketing for coworking spaces (the right way)
Coming up with content marketing strategies that actually attract new members is hard. There is the usual stuff, like doing member interviews, creating thought leadership, and sharing resources. But chances are you're seeing mixed results from those at best. So …
How to get two ads to appear in Google search results
In the last article, we talked about how to compete with WeWork's insane budget. In that article, I mentioned that you can have up to two of your Google Ads showing at a given time on a …
Can you compete with WeWork’s SEO budget?
Someone asked me the other day how to compete with WeWork using SEO when WeWork has a budget of (presumably) $20k/month. My answer below applies both to search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click advertising (PPC) because …
How to compete with WeWork
Competing with a billion dollar company when your profits are in the thousands can be a frightening idea. Who would have the audacity to think they could compete with such a force? We all want to work in a …
Tracking your Acquisition Cost (AC) to help calculate the ROI of your marketing
Ok, so if you read the last two articles, you now know your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV). You also know your Allowable Acquisition Cost (AAC). Now comes the moment of truth. Is your marketing profitable? The only way to know …
How to come up with an Allowable Acquisition Cost (AAC)
Yesterday, we talked about Customer Lifetime Value and why it's important. Today, we'll talk about how much you should allocate to acquire each new member. Knowing this number will make it a lot easier for your marketing team …
Knowing the lifetime value of your members
How much should you be spending on your marketing? The simple answer is: spend less on acquiring each new member than you will generate in profit over the lifetime of their membership. You knew that. But in case …
10 features your coworking website should have before you start advertising
Advertising can be a highly lucrative way to attract new members. It can also be extremely expensive if you're doing it wrong. The first challenge is to get your ads shown in the right places, at the …
Three Things Politicians Taught Me About Marketing
It's municipal election season here in Toronto, and tomorrow I will vote for a mayor and local councilor. Whenever election season rolls around, I like to think about the factors that are influencing me so I …
How to think about choosing your next location
Take a look at the spider web on the left. You probably can't see it too clearly, but the web is mostly empty. The spider is not having a great night. Now, take a look at …
The “Be Everywhere” Strategy for Coworking Spaces
Imagine for a moment that you don’t own or operate a coworking space. Instead, you're looking to join one in your local area. What would you do? Chances are, you would start with a Google search. And …
These people are the best marketers of your coworking space
I get paid to consult and advise coworking spaces on their marketing. And over the years, I've gotten reasonably good at it! But whether I'm advising on or running the marketing for a coworking space, there's …
3 things to know about advertising
If you’re thinking about doing some Google AdWords or Facebook advertising, there are three general things to know before going into it: Don’t do it yourself - hire a professional Know your Customer Lifetime Value Know …
What makes you different?
My number one goal is to help coworking spaces to stand out in competitive markets. Some people don’t see it yet, but the coworking industry will mature dramatically over the next 5 to 10 years. To give …
Marketing to your members – part two
In my last email, I spoke about the concept of “marketing” to your current members to increase your retention rates. It might sound like a strange concept to market to your members, but think about it: …
“Marketing” to your members
According to Harvard Business Review, acquiring a new customer is anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. I’m willing to bet that the coworking industry is on the mid-to-high side …