A friend ask me over email “3 tips for using Meetup.com to generate buzz for events”…

Since no one has ever asked me before… I decided to put it on my blog so I would remember.

1) Be Relevant
Why would people want to attend your meetup?
Why would people ever want to spend two precious hours of their time with you?
Give them the benefits. Give them a reason that matters. Give them something relevant that they feel it’s worth while. At the end of the day, if you want people to come to your meetup. Think from their point of view and give what they want and hungry for.

If you are running a classical music lover group, may be “An intimate evening with Yo Yo Ma”?
If you are running a cooking group, may be “5 Cooking Tips from Thomas Keller?”?

2) Be Unique
What make you different from everybody else? May be the people, the benefits, the vibe, the meeting spots, the whatever, however, or the whoever.
Whatever it is… It got to be something that worth talking about. And something that YOU can truly stand by.

Your meetups are like one of those many magazines on the rank. Think about the one that you would pick up. That’s the one you want your meetup to be.

3) Be Real

I tried to copy other gurus and their marketing styles before. Trust me. I tried. And it was a disaster and it did not work.
Not because the tactics weren’t good. It just wasn’t real and I couldn’t stand by it. When you are not being you, people could smell it and sense it. Meetup is about people, face to face. People know when your tone changes. People know when you sound different. Just be yourself and you will be a lot happier being an organizer.

Anyway… being a meetup organizer is not easy.

Being a successful one is definitely hard work.

Being a successful and happy organizer is even harder!

At the end of the day, don’t try to be everything for everyone. Create your own rule and own niche. Do your best to serve and give your people (whoever they are) your best (your standard, not theirs). That’s what meetup is all about.

Your pal. Your people. Not all people, but your kind of people who really gets you.

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