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If you book and sell services—like a coach, consultant, or creative—hosting workshops or retreats is an excellent way to earn with your expertise and engage your audience or community. Face-to-face events can help you build strong relationships, foster collaboration, and create a lasting impact for your clients.
Selling, managing, and running virtual workshops or in-person retreats can be streamlined through your website. Read on to learn how to determine the right type of event for your business, and how to plan and promote it effectively.
Do workshops and retreats make sense for your business?
Workshops and retreats are a great option for service providers who want to offer unique learning experiences and create a community with clients. They work well if you already have a strong relationship with your audience or want to build an audience through more personal interaction. Try reaching out to clients to gauge interest in these events and what they’d want out of them.
Workshops are short-term, skill-based sessions designed to offer immediate value and hands-on learning. A florist might teach a floral arranging workshop, for example. Workshops are an excellent choice if you want to teach, mentor, or collaborate with clients on a specific topic in a short timeframe.
Retreats, on the other hand, are longer, immersive events that can span several days in a relaxing or inspiring setting. They are a good fit if you want to offer a deep-dive experience, combining teaching with personal growth or wellness, for example. Retreats provide participants with an opportunity to step away from their daily routines and fully engage in learning and community.
3 types of workshops and retreats
Workshops and retreats fall into a few main categories: virtual workshops, in-person workshops, and retreats. The focus of events can be more specific within those categories, like wellness retreats, in-person art workshops, or virtual career growth workshops.
Virtual workshops are low-cost and accessible. Some examples include:
A digital marketing consultant offering a 2-hour SEO optimization workshop where participants can learn and apply strategies in real time
A life coach conducting a virtual workshop on stress management, teaching mindfulness techniques and offering personalized advice through breakout rooms
In-person workshops offer face-to-face interactions that build rapport, strengthen relationships, and allow for hands-on learning. Examples include:
A fitness coach running an in-person, full-day workshop on the fundamentals of strength training, where participants could take part in live demonstrations and get personalized feedback
A graphic designer holding an interactive branding workshop where entrepreneurs work on their brand identity with immediate guidance
Some workshops could be set up as a series, like a three-workshop program or six-week live course where each workshop builds toward a final goal.
Retreats are immersive, multi-day events that provide a holistic experience combining work and relaxation. Examples of retreats include:
A yoga instructor leading a 3-day wellness retreat focused on mindfulness, meditation, and deepening personal practice in a nature setting
A personal development coach hosting a weekend retreat where participants can set goals, strategize, and engage in one-on-one sessions for personal and professional growth
Each format offers unique benefits. Virtual workshops are cost-effective and easy to scale, while in-person workshops and retreats provide the chance for deeper interaction and networking.
Learn how to sell event tickets on your website
How to decide what type of event to host
Choosing the right event format for your business depends on a few key factors: your goals, your audience, and your available resources. Here’s how to decide what kind of event to host and how to plan for it.
1. Identify your goals
First, determine what you want to achieve with your event. Is it to teach a specific skill? Create a transformative experience? Provide a space for relaxation or creativity? Your goal will inform the event’s format, duration, and structure.
If you want to teach a specific set of skills that can be covered over a short period, a virtual or in-person workshop may be your best option. If you’re aiming for deeper growth or engagement, a multi-day retreat could be more effective. For example, a chef might run a one-day dinner party workshop but host a retreat focused on sourcing and cooking with local ingredients.
2. Understand your audience
Consider your clients’ needs and preferences. Think beyond things like age groups and experience levels.
Are they looking for convenient, short-term learning opportunities? Virtual workshops might be ideal. Do they prefer hands-on, personal interactions? In-person workshops or retreats would provide more value.
Take into account factors such as budget, location, and flexibility. A local audience may prefer an in-person event, while a dispersed client base will benefit from virtual offerings.
3. Plan the logistics of your in-person event
Staging an in-person event, whether a workshop or retreat, requires planning and attention to detail.
Venue selection: Choose a location that fits the event’s goals. For example, if you’re hosting a creative retreat, a peaceful, scenic venue may help spark inspiration. For a professional workshop, opt for a well-equipped, centrally located space.
Timeline and agenda: Decide whether the event will be a single day or multi-day affair. Break down each day or hour into manageable, engaging segments that keep attendees active and involved while allowing time for breaks.
Budget considerations: In-person events require more investment—think about venue costs, catering, transportation, materials, and potential guest speakers or facilitators. Make sure to build these into your pricing.
Being meticulous about the details will ensure that your event gets people excited to sign up, runs smoothly, and creates a positive, memorable experience for the attendees.
Best practices for hosting workshops and retreats
Once you’ve decided on the type of event, focus on how to make the experience valuable for your participants. Following these guidelines will ensure attendees have a great time and attend future events or spread the word about you and your business.
Set clear expectations
Communicate clearly to participants what they can expect from the event. This starts with the way you promote and communicate about your events. Think back to your goals—emphasize what attendees can look forward to by joining. Your tone of voice and design should reflect the energy of your event too.
In the lead-up to your workshop or retreat, provide a detailed agenda outlining the key activities, goals, and what they’ll achieve by the end. This helps manage expectations and builds trust.
Create an engaging experience
Make your event interactive. You want participants to actively engage in learning rather than passively consume information. Use group exercises, hands-on activities, or discussion periods to keep the energy high and get everyone involved.
Balance learning or skill-building sessions with downtime for reflection, relaxation, or socializing. This is especially important in multi-day events where participant energy levels can fluctuate. You know your audience, so consider what type of schedule would be most pleasant for them.
Be professional
The setting may be casual, but maintaining professionalism is key. Make sure the space, technology, and hand-outs or other materials are high-quality. Test any tools you plan to use in advance. You want to avoid any tech snafus and have a backup plan in case any issues come up.
Make sure the venue is set up comfortably with all necessary supplies (notebooks, pens, water, etc.). Plan meals and refreshments in advance and double check scheduled deliveries before your event.
Establish a pricing strategy
Pricing should reflect the value you’re offering and cover your out-of-pocket costs. Consider the length, depth, and exclusivity of the experience and price accordingly. It’s often a good idea to offer different packages to appeal to a range of attendees.
For short workshops, offer tiered pricing or add-ons based on access to materials or additional coaching. For retreats, consider including options for early-bird discounts, premium packages, or payment plans for higher-priced events.
Read our guide to setting your prices
Collect feedback
After the event, ask participants to share their experiences through feedback forms. Send an email in the days following the event or retreat so you can get feedback while their experience is fresh. This will help you improve future events and give you testimonials and reviews to promote your next workshop or retreat.
Tips for selling and promoting your events
Promoting your event effectively is just as important as organizing it. Building awareness and generating excitement both before and after an event will drive ticket sales and boost attendance. Here are some tips to help you sell and promote your workshops and retreats.
Build buzz early. Start marketing your event well in advance—ideally, two to three months before the workshop. Create a sense of urgency by offering limited-time early-bird pricing or bonuses for the first sign-ups. For a retreat, you could offer a 10% discount for those who book within the first month, or a special gift for early registrants.
Leverage your network. Tap into your existing audience by promoting the event to your email list, social media followers, and past clients. Personalize email invitations and announcements with exclusive offers for previous participants.
Use social proof. Testimonials from attendees can motivate new sign-ups for your events. Share images, video clips, and testimonials on your website and social media channels and ask attendees to do the same.
Offer special deals. To incentivize sign-ups, consider offering referral discounts (e.g., “Get 10% off for every friend you refer”) or group pricing for participants who sign up together. This not only increases registrations but also encourages connection among attendees.
Be authentic. People are more likely to sign up if they feel a genuine connection to you. Share your personal story—why you’re passionate about hosting the event, what attendees will gain, and how it aligns with your overall mission. Avoid salesy tactics and focus on the benefits. Use conversational language that reflects your voice and values.
Checklist: Selling workshops and retreats on Squarespace
If you’re using Squarespace to host your website, you can manage every aspect of your workshop or retreat on the platform, from setting up event pages to selling tickets and tracking attendee details.
Create an event page for your workshop or retreat. Add details like date, time, location, agenda, and pricing.
Add visuals to build excitement for the event. These could be photos and videos from the retreat space or similar past events.
Include a call to action. Add a “Register now” button or sign-up form so visitors can book or show their interest right away.
Create a new product listing for your event. You can add a Service or Product to enable ticket sales and registrations.
Add pricing tiers for any group rates, packages, or early discounts. Packages could include basic and premium tiers, like VIP access or extra perks, like 1:1 coaching.
Add a payment solution if you don’t have one already. Choose a payment tool like Squarespace Payments that accepts multiple payment methods, including ACH and buy now, pay later, to offer flexibility.
Promote your event across platforms. Share registration links with your email subscribers, add pop-ups or announcement bars to your website that drive traffic to your event page, include relevant search keywords on event pages, and link to your events on social media.
Track registrations. You can see who has signed up, monitor ticket sales, and send follow-up emails to attendees with event details or reminders. You can also export attendee lists to organize in-person events, such as printing name tags or preparing seating arrangements.
Stay connected after the event. After your workshop or retreat send thank-you notes, follow-up materials, or reviews and surveys for feedback.
Workshops and retreats offer coaches, consultants, and other service providers a unique way to earn from your expertise and build lasting relationships. You can manage the entire process through your website—from planning and promoting to selling and following up. Focus on delivering a valuable, engaging and profitable event and you’re on your way.