Encourage your members to create their profiles

As soon as a new member joins, send them a personal email, welcoming them to your Meetup group- and encourage them to fill out their profile if they haven't done so already (this includes uploading a photo). There are several reasons it's important for members to fill out their profiles:

1. The more members who fill out their profiles, the more vibrant your Meetup group will seem to current members and potential members. People like looking at faces and introductions, not a bunch of "No Photo Yet" copy.


2. It will be easier for potential members to decide, "is this group right for me?" For instance, if you are interested in joining a Meetup group called, "Women Non-Fiction Writers in Springfield" and all 12 of the members have added pictures of themselves with green hair, it will be easy to decide if this Meetup is right for you! (Maybe it is, maybe it isn't! - you'd be able to figure that out at a glance!)


3. If you and your members know what each other looks like, it will make meeting up with them at your next Meetup that much easier. You'll be able to find each other in that crowded park, and it's great fodder for conversation: "Hi Sally, I'm Becky. I love the scenery against which your profile photo was taken. Were you in Buenos Aires or Barcelona?"

Also note: You can also create custom profile questions for your members to answer. To do this, go into "Group Settings" Then click on "Your Members" and then scroll down to the "Profile Questions" section.