Marketing Your Training: How to Turn Internal Invitations into Irresistible Events

We’ve all faced that awkward moment of low turnout for a training session. The key to boosting attendance isn’t just having good content; it’s about creating real interest. Whether you have a leader backing you or not, effective marketing—like personal invites and engaging pre-session activities—can make a huge difference.

We’ve all been there—your slides are ready, the playlist’s humming, and you’re standing in an empty room.
One person trickles in. Then another. You start to feel hopeful… until the clock hits five past the hour and no one else shows.

I’ve felt that sting both in-person and online.

Once, a follow-up leadership session was scheduled for January 2 at 8 a.m. (yes, really). One lonely email went out a week before, and half the invite list didn’t even get added until two weeks prior. Two brave souls showed up. We postponed.

That’s when it hit me: even the best-designed learning experience can flop if no one shows up.

Marketing your training isn’t about “getting butts in seats.” It’s about creating genuine demand for learning—so people show up curious, not compliant.

The Shift: From “Mandatory” to “Magnetic”

For a long time, I hoped great content sold itself. If the training was good, people would come. (Spoiler: they didn’t.)

Here’s the truth: people don’t attend training because they should—they attend because it feels relevant, endorsed, and worth their time.

That’s where smart marketing comes in. Over the years, I’ve found there are two distinct paths to drive attendance, depending on what kind of support you have behind you:

With Senior Leader Sponsorship: when leaders visibly champion the learning and tie it to business goals.
Without Senior Leader Sponsorship: when you build momentum through advocacy, storytelling, and peer credibility.

Both paths work. They just require different plays.

The 3 Plays of Training Marketing

1. With Senior Leader Sponsorship: Co-Create and Cascade

If a senior leader is sponsoring the training, bring them into the process early.
When leaders help build it, they’ll help sell it.

At one company, the CEO and CFO, and I co-created a training that helped people leaders understand how the business makes money. The CEO announced it in a town hall, HRBPs tracked registrations, and department heads followed up directly with teams.

The result? Every people leader completed it.

Why it worked:

The message came from the top.
It was tied to a clear business outcome.
There was accountability and visibility.

Pro tip: Don’t stop at the announcement. Give leaders a toolkit—sample messages, visuals, and quick blurbs they can drop in meetings or Slack/ Teams. When you make advocacy easy, it actually happens.

2. Without Senior Leader Sponsorship: Build Grassroots Buzz

When executive sponsorship isn’t on the table, lean into peer influence.

For my Leader Lab programs, we started by partnering with HRBPs to personally invite high-potential leaders to the first pilots. Those learners gave feedback, helped us refine the program, and became our biggest advocates. Once word spread about the impact, registration started to sell itself.

Here’s what made it work:

Personal invitations from someone they respected.
WIIFYs (What’s In It For You) that hit real pain points: “If you’re navigating tough feedback conversations or trying to delegate better, this session’s for you.”
Outcome-focused language: “You’ll build X skill,” not “We’ll cover X topic.”
Using “workshop” instead of “training.” (People want to do, not be trained.)
A focus on practice and real challenges, not lecture or theory.

For a different training, we launched a Champion Program—volunteers who promoted upcoming trainings to their teams. We gave them a briefing, a communications toolkit, and a “meeting-in-a-box” so they could lead launch and debrief discussions.

Champions work because people trust their peers more than they trust announcements.

3. Convert Registration into Attendance: Create Connection Before Day One

Getting registrations is one thing. Getting actual attendance is another.

The key? Start building connection before the session begins.

Here’s what helps drive conversion:

Cohort Slack or Teams channels where participants engage before Day 1—sometimes with something as light as, “What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?” (Low-risk, high connection.)
Pre-session touchpoints: quick notes on what to expect, short pre-work, or reflection prompts that build anticipation.
Leader or Champion mentions: when a respected voice says, “This will help us hit our goals,” attendance jumps.

The secret sauce is social accountability. When learners feel part of a group—or when their leaders visibly care—they’re far less likely to ghost your session.

Try It: Build Your Mini-Campaign

The next time you launch a training, don’t start with the slide deck. Start with the story.

Ask yourself:

Who can endorse this?
Who can champion it?
What problem does it actually help people solve?

Then, build your mini-campaign:

One leader or champion endorsement.
One short, outcome-focused WIIFY message.
One pre-session touchpoint to build connection.

Try it once and see how it changes the room. You’ll notice more people show up—and show up ready.

Because great training doesn’t just need great facilitation.
It needs great marketing.

👉 Want to turn “mandatory trainings” into must-attend experiences? Explore Letskillup Train the Trainer programs—built to spark engagement, boost confidence, and turn every session into lasting skill change.

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