Determine the base fee for enrolling in your course or seminar event. This fee should take into account the amount needed to pay the lecturer and cover the costs of the facility. At minimum, the fee per registrant should equal the cost of the course or event divided by the minimum number of students needed to cover the costs, within reason; for instance, if it will cost you $500 to run the seminar and you anticipate 10 students minimum, charge each $50 so that any students above the minimum expected number will provide a return on the event.
Set an absolute cut-off date for enrollment in your course or lecture beyond which you will not accept any more applicants. This date will give you a benchmark for setting the rest of the goals.
Set the date at which you will begin accepting enrollment in the course or event. This date occurs when you send out your mailing and advertising about the class, or when the registration office releases its catalogs or marketing materials.
Pick a time between the cut-off date and the opening registration date by which you want to know that the class will fill up and that the course will cover costs and provide a return. Call this date the "early bird" or "discounted" registration date. Make this date no later than two weeks before the cut-off date so that if you need to cancel the class, you can inform registrants in a timely manner.
Set a different price that incorporates a late fee for anyone who does not register for the course by the early bird date. Make this fee no less than 25-percent of the amount of the course enrollment. This fee will give potential registrants incentive to sign up early so that they feel as though they're receiving a discount on the course.
Advertise this fee not as a late fee but as a discount for early membership. This distinction will encourage potential students to see early registration as receiving a benefit for enrolling early rather than incurring a penalty if they apply late.
Post new fliers and advertisements and send out an update to your mailing list of potential students one week before the early bird date to remind them about the upcoming fee change if they do not register by a certain time.