How to Use a Blog in Event Planning (Part 2 of 4)

Sales

A lot of times speakers will have published a book, are able to offer special offers on continuing training/coaching or have upcoming events of their own that attendees would be interested in.  Assist them in extending those offers to the audience in return for a percentage of the total sales.  Partner with a travel agent and negotiate a special rate for travel and hotel accommodations.  Partner with the venue’s kitchen to arrange for a special deal on meals so that the conference attendees are not inconvenienced by having to go offsite for a meal and assist the venue in generating revenue.  Allow them to purchase conference materials (coffee mugs, stationery, t-shirts, etc.) online and ship them before the event to generate interest.

Preconference use

A room and/or ride share area can be arranged for those needing assistance with room or ride accommodations.  A forum can be put together to help future attendees to communicate and generate interest for the event.  Information about the venue and amenities can be communicated to assist attendees in getting ready for the event.  Pre-conference training calls can be coordinated via the blog along with pre-conference material lists or training materials or assignments can be posted via the blog.  Encourage potential attendees to link to the blog post via Twitter or Facebook to generate interest for their personal tribes.  Advise everyone when the Earlybird registration deadlines are approaching.  Create a tweet session the night before the big event to elevate the excitement about the upcoming event.

Tell attendees about important happenings and press releases. If you are announcing that there will be a networking reception on the first night of the conference, this is one of the outlets you should use.

Inform attendees about a new speaker or go in depth on each speaker. This is especially useful, take one speaker per week (day) and feature them. Write an article about them, their accomplishments, their expertise and why attendees would want to attend their session. You could also have the speakers write a guest post which they like.

The same can be done for sponsors. Talk about event sponsors and what they bring to the table and why attendees should visit their booths. A WARNING – DO NOT make blog mentions or blog articles part of a sponsorship package, this will free you up to talk about lower level or new sponsors that may have an amazing product or service but may not have the funds for the larger sponsorship, it shows that you value them and that they are important as well.

Announce milestones, if the conference has reached an attendance record or the early bird is ending, make it a post in addition to the other places you will announce it.