Events

Good stuff Richard.

1. Why aren't there more events? I think people are going more and more to online events - both producing them and hosting them.

Look at how many business owners you know are hosting web interviews, Spreecasts, Google Hangouts, webinars, Skype events, the list goes on!

I think the cup for our ability to be social is only so full.

We have a finite ability to give ourselves to events, wether they are virtual or IRL. Especially when Biznik members are noses to the grindstones (you better be!) with their own businesses.

I think the value of online events is best when there is engagement. As you may have seen in this Biz Talk post, I am trying to find ways to promote alternatives to face to face events. And I am starting to see the light. Stay tuned!

2. Why aren't more people going to events? I think people are and will go to the events that have value. Just this month, Tracey Warren has brought together over 100 people at two different events. Carl Larson does an SEO event every month!

Yes, the majority of events that are being published on Biznik are in Seattle. But when members were hosting SHINE On events in other cities, people were going to them.

So the magic, is finding what people care about, and then hosting events that relate to that.

3. What can be done about it? I think if members were able to intuit what the hopes, pains, and desires were for other Biznik members, and hosted events around those topics, then the events would be full.

In the context of Biznik, I think one possibility is that the elimination of free memberships shrunk the pool of potential event attendees. When fewer people sign up for events, the folks holding those events start to reconsider doing more (or as many) of them.

I know that I’ve seen fewer listings for events that I want to attend since Biznik eliminated the free memberships. As a result, it has been a few months since I last attended one.

The main reason I became a Biznik member is the offline events. They are what makes Biznik more than just another social media site.

Personally, I won’t sign up for online-only events. They’re not conducive to meaningful interaction, as they end up being more of a video presentation and/or chat-room experience. I can get that kind of experience for free on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook…

It might help if the "ticker" at the top left of the website was linking to FUTURE events and not PAST events! A curious happening...

I agree with Kevin, live events are still KEY. Yes, there are more online events than ever, as Matt observes, and they can be great for a "shot of learning," but they are not a substitute for live events.

I do wonder what impact the membership changes have had on events... from traffic to events page to fewer events...? (I'm not looking at the numbers, so I don't really know.)

I completely agreed with decision to only let only "pro" members host events and publish articles, but I wonder what "energy" is missing from having a larger membership. (Again, I don't know the real numbers as far as how activity has been affected.)

On the upside, although I've had some smaller events recently, I've also experienced a decline in "no shows". We've had great participation and quality people at both larger and smaller events.

There aren't more events because we, as members, are putting on fewer events. Why is that?

One change is obviously the membership changes in Biznik. I can only answer for me, and I'm still weighing out what affect those changes are having. It does seem like there are fewer people going to events, but I still see quality events with topics in demand drawing attendees.

Another somewhat recent change, locally (Seattle area) is that two places where I used to host events for free now require $ to reserve the room. And of course, gas is sky high.

It's not that much money, but it does make me "think" - "Will I be able to monetize this (now or down the road), if so, how, or am I just going to be 'out' the room rental (plus $20 in gas from Duvall!) to put on this event?"

It used to be a no-brainer to put on events just for the experience - to test some ideas, meet a few nice folks, etc. - but now it costs perhaps $50 to put on a "free" event (plus any materials involved, and more for hosts bringing refreshments). It's certainly not a deal-killer, but it makes me consider ROI for my money as well as my time, and I'm probably putting on fewer events because of that.

Why aren't more people going to events?

THIS probably could and should be an article, so I will save some for later... but a couple quick thoughts:

1) Are the topics in demand, and are they being promoted effectively? Oftentimes, I would have to say "no." It's easy to blame people for not coming, but I think we need to look at what we're doing as event promoters, if you will.

Is the title of the event an effective headline that prompts people to click for further information? Is our copy effective? Does it build enough desire to make people take action? And are we addressing their primary concerns, desires and fears, and offering real solutions? (Matt hit this one square on the head.)

2) I think there is also such a thing as "market saturation." For instance, a lot of people interested in Wordpress have already learned from the excellent Bob (and sometimes Judy) Dunn. A lot of people interested in book publishing and professional speaking already know about Patrick Snow and have attended our classes.

We've done quite a few classes, often with full rooms, rave reviews, and repeat attendees. But repeated offerings to the same group of people won't necessarily generate the same interest as previous offerings. (And I suspect the pool of people we're drawing from is not growing/changing as fast as it once did with membership changes.)

Pinterest and YouTube, however, are "fresher" topics that have not been covered in this community. (At least, not recently.) It makes sense that we'd see great turn-outs, live or web.

What can be done about it? Well, you've started the conversation, Richard, and that's a great start!

Maybe other good question for this thread would be, "What inspires you to GO to events? What kind of events would you attend? What's not being offered that you'd like to see?"

And yes, I think there is also an opportunity for venues of many kinds who would like more Bizniks through their doors to extend an invitation to workshop and seminar leaders.

I was recently poking around online to try to find an affordable place in Seattle for a Saturday workshop. One venue (a coffeehouse that sells food) charged MORE to provide adequate staff to serve the customers.

In other words, if I wanted to bring 20 customers into their place of business, I had to pay to reserve the space (a conference room.) Fair enough. Then, if I encouraged the people I invited to SUPPORT the venue with purchases, it was going to cost me extra.

What's wrong with this picture!? Perhaps I'll find another venue that wants the business...

Let's face it Richard, we are dinosaurs. The generations behind us grew up with computers and consider texting on par with a face-to-face discussion. An online event is an invitation to multi-task through an entire event. At best your audience is half with you. So sad.

Kate, what's wrong with this picture? Maybe it's a bad economy and people not putting a premium on being physically present. If life was good, would peole still resist paying up to be physically present? I hope so.

Hmm, I'm not understanding your point, Richard!

My point was that it was ironic that I would be charged LESS to book a conference room if I asked attendees to bring a brown bag lunch than if I booked the conference room and asked attendees to support the venue with their purchases.

Put another way, the coffee shop views extra customers as an expense, not as revenue.

But I think you're right on about online events being an invitation to multi-task! (Guilty! - at least on occasion.)

Okay, I've waited this long and have finally had to chime in... as someone who has done 100+ events, I have been watching these changes carefully, testing different approaches, and this is what I'm seeing.

I first started noticing my numbers going down on events when Biznik made the decision to stop sending out the event hot sheet every week, and moved to every other week instead. So if your event wasn't in the upcoming week, people didn't sign up. It became clear to me how important that mailing was; it drastically affected my numbers—up and down. Also, it showed me how few of people were coming to the site to check out events, as opposed to getting informed via email.

I talked with Matt and he explained what they were trying to cut down on the emails sent out and doing some other testing. And it made sense, but that didn't help me any. : )

Then when the membership changes came, I saw them affecting events as well. The number of free members decreased, so my event attendance numbers went down again. The event emails started going out weekly again, but that didn't bring my numbers back up. I cannot say for sure whether it was because so many of those members were no longer interested in Biznik events, or if more people had closed their free profiles. But I know that there was a huge difference in numbers when the changes took place, and while it might have been coincidental, I don't think so.

I also agree with Kate. I think some of our topics have been saturated, maybe the pool is all fished out. But I still think that the changes here are a big reason. Because before all of this happened, I had no problem getting good numbers.

What did I do? I rolled with the punches. I am sure that the changes were based on a solid business decision on Biznik's part. I continued to do events, but I made each one a "Beyond Biznik" event. (With all my other sources of getting the word out on my events, especially on my many social media platforms, I was pulling in numbers again. I tested the two models—Biznik Only and Beyond Biznik— for some time. I found that I wasn't getting as many Biznik members signing up, and the non-members did not want to join Biznik just to attend my event. In the end, overall, whenever I did a Beyond Biznik event, the majority of my signups were outside of Biznik.

I do believe that the topic is a huge predictor of a successful event, but when I look at the events, I don't think that is all that affects attendance. Sure, if someone is getting big numbers, it may be because their topics are more trendy: Pinterest strategies, Facebook tools and other social media "shiny object" subjects. But there is also the issue of free vs paid. It's understandable that free events will pull in more people than paid. But, on the other hand, I've found that if people recognize the value, if the content is good, and if there are clear takeaways, they will pay. You just need to find your audience, and all of your attendees may not be Biznik members.

Since all of this has happened, and for more reasons than just what I'm seeing here, I am moving to more online events, workshops and classes. I will be hosting no more free events. But I will probably still do some in-person paid events, because I still believe there is a need. Some people definitely still crave that interaction in real time. My last in-person paid event was only two short of filling up. But, at the same time, online is much more convenient, requiring less gas and time commitment for the presenter and attendees. You just need to find what works for you, whether you are someone who uses events to gain clients or to bring in direct revenue.

Again, I am not saying that what Biznik did was wrong, or that I'm blaming them. Just trying to offer my perspective—what I have seen, and what direction I am deciding to move in. All of us in biz know if we aren't flexible, we'll crash and burn. Great conversation here!

Richard Just a point of clarification.

New member growth remains consistent, even after the changes we made to the membership levels earlier in 2012. (This fact, I must say, we are very pleased with, though we continue to strive to bring new members into the community every day.)

The ability for Lite users (the free level) to RSVP for events remains intact. Lite users continue to receive the Upcoming Events mailing, and can RSVP for any event at any time.

I think there is a larger issue at play around events - in attendance as well as in hosting.

Also, and this is important: The Beyond Biznik classification is an editorial decision that Biznik makes, not the member.

Richard, if you want to start promoting your events on other platforms other than Biznik, then we may chose to promote them to the main calendar (and I so no reason why we wouldn't).

Some members continue to host 100% Biznik event with great aplomb, Tracey Warren, for example has brought together over 100 members just in the past five months.

Kate It is completely short sighted and protectionist for a venue to not see the benefit of an organized business meeting group to convene at an otherwise unbusy time.

Bob I have been doing these Google Hangouts in creative class cities, and it is super fun. But you are right, I think the thirst to meet IRL is still very strong.

To ALL I will continue to do all I can to promote your events on Biznik. I tweet them, post them to FB and forward them onto other members I think would be interested in them.

Hey Matt, just to clarify... when you say

Also, and this is important: The Beyond Biznik classification is an editorial decision that Biznik makes, not the member.

I always found when creating an event and also after it was published, if I chose to have people sign up outside of Biznik, eg. eventbrite, the event was always classified at Beyond Biznik. Am I misunderstanding something here?

thanks!

Kate, not in my shop. Somebody needs pricing advice. Please send them my way.

Bob Dunn, with most relevant and direct experience on the subject has some important points.

In my view, the real issue is overall numbers. At the end of the day, its all about ratios. Yes, the topics and presenters are strutted, however, the key issue is that overall Biznik numbers have not grown. I could be wrong, as I understand it, the overall membership numbers have stayed pretty much the same in the 2+ years that I have been a part of Biznik. Not just the events, even the participation in discussions are considerably down.

Wow - I'm having a hard time believing smaller events are not going on. We are seeing the opposite when it comes to venue inquiries across nation.

According to Scott Heiferman, CEO of MeetUp, there are 20K per month. Skillshare and SideTour are also grabbing major headlines for jump-starting new group learning.

I am talking with both of them about their venue needs. Our goal remains finding the most affordable venues for hosts can build a profitable speaker business.

We're preparing some material to host a "How to Plan a Killer Event" and run it for Biznik. It sounds like we could have a good turnout.

David - So glad you found your way to this conversation.

As some have suggested, there are less events in the calendar since we removed the privilege of hosting events at the free level.

We continue to see it as a privilege to do so, and feel confident that members who are inclined to host events see the benefit and value of reaching the Biznik audience.

Congrats on your conversations with Meetup and Skillshare - I hope that goes really well for you.

Lastly, I am eager to see the material for "How to Plan a Killer Event" - and will definitely be there myself!

Hey David, sounds like a great event, but also there are a lot of variables going on that have transpired over time here at Biznik... for someone who has done tons here, I have seen them.

I am involved with meetups and have had very good success with our Seattle WordPress meetup.

Best of luck with you event.

Kate: The venue who wanted to charge you more to purchase food is probably run by someone from a hotel/hospitality background. That pricing schedule is pretty standard at larger hotels.

I'm wondering outloud if some of the independent coffee shops would benefit from that pricing model. After all, most established coffee shops have adequate customers. They don't really need to attract new customers as much as 10 to 15 years ago.

It takes money to provide that space. I'm a bit surprised how much free space there is out there.

Nadir,

I'm a member of the welcoming posse. I assure you that the new member numbers are not static! In fact, the welcoming posse has trouble keeping up with the emails.

Laura

Indeed Laura, thanks a million for all your hard work in that group. I'll see if I can find some more reinforcements.

Side note: I just circulated 6 high quality events to the Beyond Biznik calendar from Seattle to LA.

Laura.

Welcoming posse was introduced just about 2 years ago. I was a member at that time, so am familiar with it. I am sure that a lot of new members join. That indicates a retention issue. The fact is that 2 years ago, Biznik membership hovered around 11000, give and take about 500. 2 years later, it hovers around 12000, give and take 500. These numbers speak of themselves.

At the end of the day, its all a number's game. When you look at other online communities, you see a much broader membership with much higher participation ratios. Meetup will be one example.

Then there is the question of •participation*. Usually, its no more than a handful of individual who start and/or participate in various discussions.

Matt,

Of course new member growth is critical and I am sure you are doing a great job at it. However, engaging, and providing real value to those who join is just as important. Perhaps you could apply your knowledge and skills in that tea as well.

Nadir,

That is just the number of Seattle members, not the worldwide numbers. So I think your math is off a bit there.

Laura

Spikes in both growth and engagement are fun, no doubt.

But I've heard of too many businesses that put on 100k members in a 8-12 week time span that are no longer in around.

Biznik has maintained slow and steady growth and engagement throughout the years.

And I assure you Nadir, I apply a lot of my focus with members on engagement.

Like a cheese-maker friend of mine says, he is in the business of building good soil first, and from there he can make quality cheese.

I view my job as encouraging current member engagement, and then member growth.

Laura,

You are correct. I was referring only to Seattle, which is where the membership is the highest. Most other cities, membership ranges between 3/400 to 12/1500 - not high enough to be even measurable.

Nadir: I not only measure, but I respect each one of those members from Dallas, Philadelphia and Chicago, etc..

Together, they have helped to build the fabric of Biznik.