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.

What is a blog?

Wikipedia defines a blog as (a blend of the term web log)^[1] is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.  Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites.^[2]

^{In case you were not aware, you are currently reading a blog.}

How long does the event occur?

Let attendees know in advance when the event will occur.  Also advise them the hours of the event.  Sometimes events are scheduled earlier than 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m.  Typically your event will last 3-5 days.  Typically people travel the day before and the date after.

What happens at the event?

Travel, sleeping accommodations, networking, sales, coaching, food consumption, gift consumption, entertainment, sightseeing, training, event testimonials, speaker feedback.  These are all topics that can be covered in the blog and points that could be coordinated with reliable sources at the venue.  Addressing these topics ahead of time will generate interest for the event and set the expectations of the event attendees.

What is needed at the event?

Tell attendees what to bring, what to leave a home, what the weather will be, remind them to bring business cards for networking.  Will they need paper and pens for note taking or are you supplying those materials?  Will recording and videoing be prohibited?  Advise attendees of the expected attire (high heels or hiking boots, shorts or slacks, polo shirt or sport coat and tie).  Will there be any formal events?  Advise attendees of any special points that they would want to be aware of such as being prepared for a day at the beach or morning yoga or whatever you might have planned that they would like to be aware.  Will you have special accommodations for disabled attendees?

Generating interest

Interest can be generated by giving prospective attendees a brief overview of the benefits that will be gained by attending the event.  Will they also receive a DVD of the event?  Will they receive valuable knowledge at the event?  Do you have testimonials from past attendees?  All that can be shared via e-mail.  Invite them to bring a friend/business partner/team for free or at a deep discount.