Lessons from My Meet-Up

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I organized an informal meet-up last night for local indiepreneurs. It was a great event, with a lot of meaningful discussion. However, I learned a few lessons that will help me organize an event better next time, and I hope that they’ll help you as you plan future events.

Make sure to strategically target attendees, and use your network to garner connections with targeted invitees. It’s also about quality over quantity. Last night, I was able to develop solid connections with attendees, and I value that over meeting a dozen new folks.

Ensure that your attendees know what to expect from the meeting. What’s the purpose of getting together? What do you hope to achieve? Who’s invited? I assumed that the ability to see invitees and RSVPs would be enough to prompt interest and great attendance. Let them know your agenda and guest list ahead of time.

Make personal connections. Facebook has great reach, but approaching a new connection with an invite on Facebook is not as compelling as connecting in person. Your effort will be rewarded. Again, quality, not quantity!

Follow up. Thank the venue (Thanks, Tall Pauls!), connect with the attendees, and let those who didn’t attend know they were missed (and what they missed!).

It won’t be perfect the first time! Use what you learned from a past event, edit your approach, and keep moving forward!

I hope this helps. Good luck with all of your endeavors this week!
Cheers,
Carrie