Part 6. Final Lessons Learned

Use email effectively — We could’ve used email better. Reaching out to past attendees should’ve happened earlier on. We could’ve reached out to attendees earlier as well, and enlisted their help in advertising the event. Email user groups. Email businesses. Create things that can be easily shared by user group organizers.

Delegate — Don’t try to do everything on your own.

Engage local media — Local advertising and promotion didn’t happen soon enough. I should’ve delegated the responsibility to others to execute. I created posters too late in the process that weren’t used at all. Reach out to local media. Reach out to user groups. Give free tickets to user groups in exchange for promoting the event to their members. Do whatever you can

Don’t wait too long — Waiting on sponsors will delay promotional efforts. Getting sponsors is hard work, especially if your event is unknown to your local community. I went back and forth with several companies about sponsorship and had a few of them ultimately decide not to sponsor. I waited on printing posters because I had hope to include their logo on it. If you don’t get a commitment from someone, don’t let that delay your promotional efforts. Their delay will impact the amount of exposure they ultimately receive from supporting the event.

Hotels — Work with a local hotel close to your venue to get a discount for your speakers. Have them extend that rate to your out-of-town attendees. When budgeting for hotel rooms, don’t forget about taxes and additional fees when making your budget. In Augusta, this increased room costs by at least $25 per person per day. If the host hotel is $100+, don’t be afraid to suggest cheaper alternatives to out-of-town attendees if they’re looking to save some money.

Getting Sponsors — Reach out to as many local companies as possible, even if they’re not industry-related. Don’t be afraid to reach out to larger companies that you know and respect. The worst thing that’ll happen is they’ll say no. Some will say yes. And those that don’t may send employees to the event. Some might not be able to send money, but they might be able to provide services or goods in exchange for sponsorship. Not asking will create missed opportunities.

Schedule — I should have made the schedule publicly available somehow and been more clear with speakers upfront on when they’d be on-stage. Post something on your event’s site sooner rather than later. Your speaker’s will appreciate knowing their timeslot and it’ll help attendees plan their day in case they can’t be there for the full event.

Web Afternoon Augusta (WAAUG) wouldn’t have happened without the support of people like J Cornelius – who leads by example and encourages people to #SUGTW. It couldn’t have happened without great people like Grace Belangia and Keith Pickett who helped get things done leading up to the event. It couldn’t have happened without people like Eric, Jessica, Farhan, Moses, Nic, Matt & Adam, and countless others. It couldn’t have happened without friends like Gene Crawford and the UnmatchedStyle.com crew who took a leap of faith and sponsored the event before we had anything in place.

I’m a better person having put WAAUG together, and I’m already thinking about what to do next. What’ll it be and when will it happen? We’ll just have to see what 2014 holds.

Want to plan your own Web Afternoon? Check out the Web Afternoon Planning Guide.