Last week I shared some tips for ensuring that your GS, General Session, is a have-to-be-there affair. Here are some more tips for ensuring that those RSVPs show up!
Ask: If no shows are a past issue, reach out to past no shows and ask them for feedback. This may provide you with all you need to know in order to effectively address the issue.
Explain: Provide attendees with “the why”. Let them know the knowledge they will acquire, the amazing entertainment they will experience and the takeaways that will be shared so they are well informed as to the importance of their attendance.
Guide: Provide clear direction on location, how to get there, and what to expect. If parking is involved, provide information on where to park. And don’t forget signs, signs and more signs. Sometimes it’s simply the lack of basic knowledge that makes it easy for people to skip.
Invest: Make attendees a part of the event. Attendees become invested if they know they have a part to play.
Provide: If they do miss, make sure they will not miss again. Provide them with a what-you-missed-out-on update so they make sure to not miss out next time.
Remind: Send out reminders via email, text and social postings.
SRO: Create the illusion of standing room only by including wording about wait-lists and preferential ticketing. Set up the room to make it seem as full as possible and request that RSVPs be in attendance at least 20 minutes before the start of the event; at that time tickets will be given away to waitlisted people.
Glow: Provide glowing testimonials about last year’s General Session, the speakers, the entertainment, the food and more!
Value: Show value for attendance. Being in the energy of the session holds so much more value than the after materials and videos.
Community: Create community before the event. Invite the attendees to participate in an online group so they can get to know each other before they show up.
Collaborate: Provide exhibitors, vendors, speakers and presenters with information for posts and eblasts to send to their lists to talk up the event.
Contest: Run a contest with prizes to be awarded, and that they must be in attendance to win.
What do you do to ensure great turnout at your GS? Share it with me here!
