The discussion of how to earn money by organizing an event is an extension of how to acquire followers.
One way to begin the process is to take an inventory of what you have to communicate that is special enough to make an event of it. Then,
1.) Define the Theme
Even if your event is part of a series, having a theme focuses interest around a singular topic. That topic can then be expressed in the event title which will keep you focused on the objective and purpose of the event. For example instead of “A Live Party with Your Favorite Actors” how about “Jiu-Jitsu James and Karate Karen Finally Meet at Fergie’s Funeral”. Being specific draws more attention, creates more interest, and makes the purpose less broad.
Ask yourself:
- What do you want to have happen?
- Among your clients who would be most interested in attending?
- What value will attendees gain?
Doing this will shape your entire strategy, from content creation to marketing approach.
2.) Make a Plan
Create a detailed outline for your event. This will provide direction, even if the event should be creative and spontaneous. Like going for a drive, even if there were no destination you would still be aware of the general parameters such as time, fuel, the roads, and your speed. A general format for your outline could include the following:
- Introduction: Welcome attendees, introduce the participants, and explain what will happen.
- Main Event: Plan the phases and time frames you want to have. See yourself executing each phase like a director of a movie.
- Conclusion: How the event ends is so important as to what attendees will remember. Plan a grand finale to drive home the main points. Live events for example often have the participants share a summary of what happened, like the comments given by a fighter after having won an event.
3.) Promote the Event
Promotion within Tacos (for existing clients)
The Tacos platform makes event promotion automatic. Just create posts on your events page about the event and they are included in your clients’ content feed. That said, be careful not to appear desperate or to not have anything else to offer by over promoting the event. A balance should be kept between event posts and regular posts. More than 18 hours prior to the event our recommendation is to keep event posts to no more than one third of your total posts, regardless of the type of post. Within 18 hours prior to the event it’s okay to hammer promotional posts as long as it doesn’t become annoying. A few days before your event for example, if you want to post about your event today and you didn’t say anything about it the day before, it’s a good idea to have already made a regular post yesterday and to make another regular post today.
Promotion outside Tacos
This falls under the category of general promotion which is a huge topic discussed everywhere for both in-person and online events. We do not have any special secrets as to how you might go about it, however we would mention a few things to be aware of.
– AI is your friend. At every step including how to do promotion an LLM could give you good advice when you share with it a detailed description of exactly what your situation is and what you are trying to accomplish.
– Think about collaboration with third parties. “The power is in the list” as they say. Aside from your list, who else might have a list of interested people? Co-hosting with another creator is not out of the question. What could you offer them to promote your event toward their list?
– Promoting an event is the same as promoting your profile! Since you are already doing the work to organize an event you could use it as a tool to get more followers. Many creators find it quite effective to invite people from social media channels to attend a specific event instead of inviting them to simply “check me out” or “follow me on Tacos”.
4. Practice
It goes without saying that practice makes perfect, so be familiar with how to use the Tacos platform and check your equipment. Do a dress rehearsal if applicable. Communicate with your technical help to make sure everyone knows the plan.
5. Execution
How the event starts is highly related with how it will go. Of course you will be starting on time, yet rather than drive energy down by killing the first few minutes waiting for everyone to arrive, begin immediately blasting those who are on time with the high energy message of what to expect. You cannot control when attendees arrive nor is not your responsibility. You should not reward those who come late by holding off, especially when it punishes those who do arrive on time. The expectation known by all is to start at a specific time so build trust by coming through with your commitment. Start with a bad-ass-attention-grabbing introduction as if your ratings depend on it, because it does!
Know that it never goes as planned, which is actually your true plan. In other words you make your plan and do what you can to follow it, but when it doesn’t go as envisioned stay calm and laugh it off. Keep going with something no matter what as the show always must go on. It may even be best to tell the audience what is happening so they can be involved and stay together as a group. Do not apologize too much or at all but rather ask the audience for their patience and understanding. They will most likely relate and be forgiving thus making whatever may have gone wrong part of the entertainment.
6. Follow Up
Once the event ends it’s still not over as you can maximize its impact by doing the following:
- Post about what a great time everyone had, giving thanks to and mentioning some those who attended.
- Provide any after event resources if applicable.
- Share links to related content, courses, products, or upcoming events.
- Ask for feedback which will not only help you but also stimulate discussion which actually doubles as advertising.