Your 1st Meetup in four easy steps

You've started a Meetup group- Great! Now it's time to start planning your first Meetup. It's completely natural if you're a little nervous or excited about this, since it's pretty new territory. To take the edge off, this guide will let you know what to expect from your first Meetup.

• Scheduling Your Meetup


• Promoting Your Meetup


• Your First Meetup


• Afterwards

Scheduling Your Meetup

You've started the Meetup group, the very next thing you need to do is schedule an event. Even if you're not sure where it's going to be yet, having an Meetup on your Meetup group's calendar is a great draw for potential members - it shows that there's activity and gives them incentive to join. Bottom line: if you have an event listed, more people will join your Meetup group. So definitely schedule one!

You'll probably want to hold your first Meetup event within 2 or 3 weeks of the Meetup group starting. This gives you time to figure out the logistics of the Meetup and for new members to join. So, first priority as a new Organizer: schedule your Meetup! You can always makes adjust the details later, but it's important to get something up there.

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Promoting Your Meetup

Within the first couple of weeks of starting your Meetup group, you'll notice your first members join, many of whom come from the Meetups in the Making lists. You can get even more members by taking advantage of the great tools in the "Promote!" section of your Meetup group. Want to create a buzz offline? Print out business cards and flyers to post around your neighborhood. If you're more taken by the power of the Internet, post your Meetup on Craigslist. Let your friends know about your Meetup by using the Invite Friends form on your Meetup group's Our Home page. You can also check back to your local Meetups in the Making pages and send a personal invitation to the members listed there.

How quickly your Meetup group grows depends a lot on the topic and location, but most often you'll get at least three or four members in the beginning. For more ideas on growing your Meetup group, see the Promoting Your Meetup Group section of the Meetup Organizer Center.

As your Meetup group starts getting members, encourage them to RSVP with a personalized reminder about the Meetup. This makes them feel welcome and increases the odds that they'll attend. For some great sample RSVP emails to members, check out this article.

As members start RSVPing, you can figure out an appropriate venue. For the first Meetup, a public, well-lit place that's big enough to accommodate the expected number of people is usually the best option. Check out the Finding the right venue article for great advice.

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Your First Meetup

The first Meetup allows you to introduce yourself to your members and for everyone to get to know each other. To make it a success, here's a little checklist to keep in mind:

• Call your venue a day or two in advance and let them know how many people you expect to come. This will prevent any confusion when you get there.

• Get to the venue about 10-15 minutues early. This will allow you set aside space and get there before any members do.

• Bring a Meetup table top sign - or something else that helps members find you - name tags, a distinctive t-shirt - something that lets them know who you are.

• Bring a digital camera and encourage your members to do the same! That way you can snap a couple of photos and put them on your Meetup group photo album later.

• Have some flyers or business card handy for members to give to friends.

• Finally, be on the lookout, and ready to welcome your members.

Your first Meetup might be a small gathering of 2 or 3. That's a great starting point, setting the stage for more Meetups in the future. A simple agenda for your Meetup might be:

1. Introducing yourself and getting members to introduce themselves.

2. Ask about how they found your Meetup group and what got them interested in joining.

3. Find out what they'd like to get out of the Meetup group and what activities they'd like to see.

4. Ask for their help in promoting the Meetup group and for ideas on getting new members.

Get to know your members! Ask for their ideas about how to grow your Meetup group and what kind of gatherings they'd like to see. This will help you in planning for the future!

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Afterwards

So you've had your first Meetup - Congratulations! Now it's time to make a record of it.

• Thank those who RSVPed and encourage them to complete the online survey about the Meetup. Don't forget to answer it yourself! This will get some comments on your About page, along with your Meetup group's first star rating.

• Email a recap of your first Meetup to your members and post it on your Message board - if any of your members didn't attend the first time, this gives them a better idea of what to expect.

• Post photos from your Meetup and encourage your members to do the same! If you or your members have any pictures from the Meetup, get the Meetup group's first photo album going. Even if you have only one picture, it's a great addition to your Meetup group - it let's potential members know that you've got an active Meetup group going!

Once you've got your first Meetup commemorated, the next thing to do is... schedule another one! Now that you have some experience under your belt, you can start planning for next time, and work with your members to make your future Meetups better and better!

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