Every once in awhile, I am able to sit down and read some of the various industry publications that accumulate on my desk throughout busy season. In these magazines, I find inspiration and ideas that I can apply to Client events, to my own business, and to my Catalyst Call event planning consulting hours.

The events I work on vary, from private invitation-only conferences to public celebrations, but the desire to increase attendance is shared across the board. I was thankful to find an article full of ideas in this issue, and want to share in the hopes of filling the room with the right people at your next meeting or program.

Budgets Count—to a Point

Pre-pandemic travel and education budgets (and the way that organizations think about them) are a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean that your audience won’t want to meet. Drew Holmgreen, CED, chief experience officer with MPI, offers this insight: As long as you add value, and can articulate a valid, personal reason to join in on the experience, you’ll be surprised at the result. Attendees need to know what they can expect to learn, who they can expect to meet, and what they can expect to see. If you can’t articulate your event’s value in one sentence, work on refining messaging before decreasing your ticket prices.

Networking is a big reason for attendance

Learning outcomes aside, the people in the room are what your stakeholders are interested in. While Masterclass and other online learning programs allow us to access content and learn at our own pace, there is still nothing that can fully replicate the in-person networking experience.

Nothing beats a personal invitation

When I was the President of a local Philadelphia women’s networking association, one of the things that my Board of Directors and I implemented is the personal invitation. If we had an introduction networking event, the Board would divide up the list of people who checked in to the event and reach out with a personalized email or phone call, thanking them for joining the meeting and inviting them to the next one.

The reason it worked?

If you made the call, it meant you had a personal interaction with them at the event or during the ticketing/onboarding process. Connecting names to faces and humanizing the invite process works wonders for increasing your attendance.

Source: Association Conventions & Facilities Magazine, November Issue