Join Hank Orenstein, Meetup organizer (Exploring NYC History and Neighborhoods and Thinking of Moving? Get to Know NYC Neighborhoods!) for a session that’ll set you up for success. Learn the steps to take before you start, best practices for setting up your group, and how to attract members to your group. He’ll share how to write a compelling group description, how to engage your group members, and how to take advantage of Meetup tools like messaging.
Main Takeaways:
- I have learned that people are really curious. They want to get some sense of what you have planned.
Consider the following points to include in your group description:- Details such as typical length of group activities and when you plan to hold them (e.g. weeknights, weekend, etc.)
- Will group activities be free? Or are costs involved?
- How will prospective members know that this group is for them?
- Have your group information ready to post when you start.
- Tips during your event:
- Acknowledge new members and first timers to make them feel welcome
- Have members introduce themselves
- You may include other questions depending on the nature of your event
- After your event, share relevant links, videos, recommended reading to enhance your members’ experience. Share a recording of the event for those who could not attend.
Top Q&A Questions:
- How do you recommend organizers who have events that require the organizer to pay for a venue ensure that they aren’t left footing the bill with no shows.
- You can require people to pay, as part of registering for the event.
- And then you have people invariably try to cancel at the last minute. You also want a no refund policy within a certain timeframe.
- When you first started your Meetup group, what was your number one rule for engagement with your group members?
- I think probably the single most important thing that I did that really made a difference is having group members at an event briefly introduce themselves. People started to make interesting connections.
- Why do you choose to have time between when you post the event and when people can RSVP?
- By having immediate sign up, it’s benefiting people who spend more time on their phones and computers. I learned I was starting to see, with immediate sign up, a very similar group of people. So that’s why I have a delay to give people a chance to plan ahead to sign up. On occasion I actually do immediate sign up, just to kind of mix things up
- Helpful links:
- How to start a Meetup group
- How to contact members: Group message tool, welcome message, discussions, etc.
- How to edit your group description
- Announcing your events and automatic reminders
- How to edit my email settings
Last modified on June 23, 2021
