Case study: From strategy session to sold-out room
How menopause naturopath Sally Maverick turned a film night into 200 conversations, a list of new clients and a stronger voice in the menopause space.
Menopause has finally stepped out of the shadows. More women are talking openly about what they’re going through, and more of them are searching for real answers. That surge in interest has brought a flood of information with it, and a lot of conflicting advice.
Sally was midway through writing her book on the topic when we connected. What she needed was a way to grow her audience and her digital footprint, so more women could find her at the very moment they were looking for answers.
At a glance
| Client | Sally Maverick, naturopath and founder of Sparkle Well School |
|---|---|
| Field | Women’s health, menopause and natural medicine |
| What we did | Strategy session, content marketing roadmap, customer journey mapping and lead generation event design |
| The result | A sold-out, ticketed screening of The M Factor with a live Q&A, around 200 paying guests, over 20 new clients and a growing reputation as a trusted voice on menopause |
The challenge
Sally knows menopause inside out.
She has spent 20+ years helping women move through perimenopause, menopause and beyond with natural, evidence-based care. She had built two programs to match:
Shape Your Menopause
A 12-week guided program.
Change Fast
A gentle introduction to fasting and deep nourishment.
What she didn’t have was a clear way to reach the women who needed them.
Her audience was there. Women in their 40s and 50s, feeling dismissed by “it’s just part of ageing”, overwhelmed by conflicting advice online, and quietly looking for someone who would actually listen.
But like so many practitioners, Sally was trying to be educator, marketer and business owner all at once, and posting into the void wasn’t building the trust her work deserves.
Strategy: getting clear on who she serves
We started where we always start, with a strategy session.
Together we got clear on Sally’s goals for the next 12 months and the next five years, from filling her programs to writing the book she has been carrying for years. Then we got to know her customers properly. We mapped two women:
Rose, 42 to 49
In perimenopause, juggling career and family and asking: “Why do I feel so different?”
Rachel, 49 to 60
Through the transition and asking a bigger question: “What do I want this stage of life to be about?”
Each had different fears, different questions and a different idea of what feeling better would look like.
From there we mapped the journey each woman takes, from first noticing something has changed, to weighing up her options, to trusting Sally enough to join a program. Every piece of content in Sally’s plan was built around a real question one of these women was asking.
Experience: designing a night, not just a launch
Sally’s content plan covered the everyday work of building trust: educational posts, recipes, Q&As, case studies and email. But we also wanted one moment that would bring her community together in a room.
Menopause is still too often whispered about, and many women go through it feeling alone. So rather than another webinar, we proposed a screening of The M Factor, a documentary about menopause, followed by a live Q&A with Sally and menopause doctor Dr Jane Reffell of Women’s Health & Wellbeing Newrybar, hosted by MC Mandy Nolan.
It was designed as an experience from first touch to last. We kept the promotion local and personal, leaning on the people and places women already trust:
- Interviews in the Byron Echo told Sally’s story
- Local Facebook groups carried the conversation
- Sally’s own database heard about it first
- The speakers shared it with their communities
- Local clinics passed the word on to the women in their care
- Posters went up around the Shire
On the night, guests got to watch, laugh, nod along and then ask the questions they had never felt comfortable asking their GP.
Transformation: creating the conditions for the next step
We can’t change anyone’s mind in a single evening. What we can do is create the conditions for women to take the next step when they’re ready.
So the night didn’t end when the lights came up. Guests were invited into Shape Your Menopause with an M Factor bonus of 20% off, and to join Sally’s email list for ongoing support and a clear path into her programs.
The women who weren’t ready yet left with Sally’s name, her voice and the feeling that someone in their community understood.
The result: trust
- ~200paying guests, sold out
- 20+new clients
- 200+new email subscribers
- Sold out: around 200 paying guests at the Drill Hall Theatre in Mullumbimby in March 2024. A ticketed event, so every seat was a woman choosing to invest in hearing from Sally.
- New clients: 20+ women joined Shape Your Menopause or booked with Sally.
- A growing list: over 200 new subscribers, now hearing from Sally regularly.
- Authority: press, podcast invites, speaking requests and referrals.
- Conversation: a room full of women talking openly about menopause, and still talking about it afterwards.
What Sally said
“I knew what I wanted to say to women going through menopause. Kellie helped me work out who I was really talking to and how to bring them together. Seeing that room full, and hearing women ask the questions they’d been holding onto for years, was the moment it all came together.”
Sally MaverickNaturopath and founder of Sparkle Well School
What other wellness businesses can take from this
Know exactly who you’re talking to
The event worked because it answered the questions Rose and Rachel were already asking. Clear customer profiles made every decision easier, from the film to the flyers.
Give people a reason to gather
In a world of endless feeds, an in-person experience stands out. People came for the film and stayed for the connection, and that connection is what turned guests into clients.
Plan the next step before the night begins
The offer, the follow-up and the email sequence were designed in advance, so the energy in the room had somewhere to go.
Ready to design an experience your customers will come back for?
Every business has its own version of Sally’s night. Let’s find yours.
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