Using Workshops to Test a New Niche with AnnMarie Rose

Let’s get brutally honest: Free workshops are great for Instagram engagement, but they aren’t moving the needle in your business the way you think.

If you’re hustling for every lead, feeling like you’re stuck in an endless cycle of giving value away for free (and losing sleep wondering if anyone is actually listening), you’re not alone. I sat down with business scaling expert AnnMarie Rose for my BrandWhys podcast to uncover the strategy that’s helping coaches, consultants, and creative experts finally scale—without burning out or giving everything away.

Spoiler: There’s a reason AnnMarie is ditching the “free everything” trend and turning her attention (and that of her clients) to paid workshops. And her numbers? They’re seriously jaw-dropping.

Let’s dig into why, if you’re thinking about repositioning, niching down, or just wanting to work smarter instead of harder, paid workshops should be your new favorite marketing weapon.

The Harsh Truth About Free Workshops (And Why I Don’t Love Them)

Think about the last free resource you signed up for. Did you use it? Or did it end up in that black hole called your inbox, buried under a hundred other freebies you never even finished?

Exactly.

As AnnMarie Rose put it: “People are so busy and there’s so much free content out there that it gets ignored.” You might get more people signing up for a free workshop, but how many of them actually show up, engage, and—most importantly—convert? Not many. The urgency just isn’t there. If they didn’t invest even a dime, there’s zero incentive to put your workshop on their calendar.

That’s why AnnMarie’s only “freebie” is a quiz—everything else, from mini-courses to full workshops, is a paid experience. And here’s why that’s downright brilliant.

When People Pay, They Actually Pay Attention (And Take Action)

Let’s get nerdy with some hard numbers from AnnMarie’s experience and client data:

• Free Workshop: 100 signups
  • Show up live: Maybe 15 people (15%…if you’re lucky)
  • Conversion rate on the backend: 5–15%
• Paid Workshop: 50 signups
  • Show up live: 25–45+ people (a rock-solid 50%–90%!)
  • Conversion rate on the backend: 30–50%

Let’s do the uncomfortable math. With 100 people in a free workshop, maybe you sell to 1-2 people live. With 50 people in a paid workshop, you could sell to 15-20.

The difference? The people who pay to be there are already committed. No pity participation, no ghost signups. They show up, ask questions, and are way more likely to invest at a higher level because they’ve already demonstrated with their dollars that they care.

I’ve seen this firsthand: Paid attendees arrive with pens ready, cameras on, and notebooks open. They want solutions, not just information.

“But Jess, I Still Want to Give Free Value!”

Let’s set the record straight: You should absolutely still provide free value—just not in the form of long, labor-intensive workshops that drain your time and energy.

Free value can (and should!) show up everywhere:

• Instagram content that educates or inspires
• Replies to genuine DMs and comments
• Actionable insights in your emails

But the magic of the paid workshop is this: You’re not just serving up knowledge. You’re creating an implementation experience. As AnnMarie says, “They leave saying, ‘great, I’m glad I did that now’”—not just, “‘I’ll get to that someday.’”

People get results in the moment during your paid workshop. And when you stack those quick wins, you’re prepping them perfectly to invest in your bigger offer.

Paid Workshops as Your Shortcut to Rebrand and Niche Down Testing

Let me guess: The idea of niching down or niche-pivoting has you sweating. Total branding overhaul? High-ticket website redesign? New copy for every offer??

AnnMarie’s method: DON’T do any of that—not yet. Instead, test your “niche fit” with a paid workshop aimed specifically at your potential new audience. Did you enjoy supporting them? Did they show up hungry? Did it spark the kind of questions you love answering? That’s data, and it’s priceless.

And if you flopped? You only spent 2 hours and maybe a simple checkout page—not $20k and six months.

Even better? If your audience is adjacent (for example, you currently help parents of kids 0–18 and want to zoom in on just toddler moms), you can run a paid offer today and get instant clarity on whether this is your new jam.

What If I’m Testing and Don’t Have a Fully Fleshed-Out Offer?

Let’s kill the “build the whole airplane before you even taxi down the runway” mentality.

If you’re not sure about going all in, you don’t have to. Pitch what you already sell—just repackaged for your new audience—or invite workshop attendees to a simple follow-up call. Or, if you feel confident, offer a “pilot” version of your new program at a discounted rate. If no one bites, you’ve lost nothing—and gained audience clarity.

I’ve done this myself, and so has AnnMarie. It’s the fastest way to test without a ton of risk.

How to Attract the Right People

Here’s where the real magic of a paid workshop kicks in: It self-filters for your ideal client at every step.

• Your workshop topic should speak directly to a clear, present problem for your intended niche. Example: “A Week of No-Fail Toddler Meals” is going to attract exactly the right mom (and repel everyone else).
• If you want commitment, don’t underprice (AnnMarie recommends $27–$97 as a sweet spot—less than $27 and people treat it like a freebie).
• Those who attend a paid workshop are showing real intent. As AnnMarie put it: “They’re already committed to solving the problem—they paid to be there and showed up. Or they even email you in advance to say they’ll be there for the replay.”

Could some people still just want the low-cost quick fix? Sure. But your pitch and the experience during the workshop will quickly show who’s ready for deeper transformation.

What to Do After Your Paid Workshop

This is where most people drop the ball: They disappear.

DON’T ignore workshop attendees! Here are three profit-boosting things you should do:

1. Send attendees a targeted follow-up sequence (think: replay plus an invitation for your next step).
2. Survey them—find out what questions remain and what transformation they’re still dreaming about.
3. Offer a post-workshop call. Use it for both deeper sales and invaluable market research.

AnnMarie did this even when her workshops were small. Her “let’s connect after” calls gave her exactly the insight she needed to refine her niche and build the right bigger offers.

Case Study: Testing, Tinkering, and Turning Workshops into Offers

AnnMarie shared multiple real-world examples:

• A mindset coach who narrowed from “female entrepreneurs” (eh) to “money mindset for women in business” using a paid workshop as her test balloon. With only about two dozen signups, she got crystal clear on her ideal client’s needs—and actual buying behavior.
• AnnMarie herself pivoted from quizzes to workshops only after running paid workshops (not months of hypothetical brand planning).

Don’t wait for a Thunderbolt of Clarity or a fancy new website to test a new direction. Run the live workshop, keep your costs—and your nerves—low, and follow the data.

Ready to Ditch the Freebie Trap?

Here’s the recentering message: Paid workshops are the business owners’ tool for scaling smart, refining your audience, and positioning yourself as a premium expert. You get paid upfront (no more giving away your best stuff for “exposure”), attract committed leads, and identify exactly what your niche wants from you.

No need for a multi-thousand dollar rebrand BEFORE you know your next move is right. Test, refine, repeat—all while getting paid.

Want more of this? Connect with AnnMarie Rose on Instagram at @askannmarierose, or check out her next workshop (maybe you’ll catch me there, too).

Frequently Asked Questions about Paid Workshops

Want help getting your own paid workshop off the ground? DM me, or connect with AnnMarie! And if you want to find out where your brand stands, don’t forget to take my squiggle-or-square quiz; your clarity starts here.