How to Drive Conference Attendance?
Posted by John
Many event organizers that we work with are very concerned about their event's attendance. What's worked in the past is often no longer working. As a result, event organizers are working harder than ever at finding relevant content and expanding their audiences.
We hear many questions about content - What topics are compelling this year? Should we stick to the tried-and-true or branch out to new topics? Which speakers will be a draw this year? Should we change our format?
Equally common are questions about building out the audience: How can we increase repeat attendance? How can we appeal to the younger members of our audience? What can we do to retain current exhibitors and attract new ones?
We've worked with a number of events that are growing - some of them significantly. When you step back and look at what they are doing differently than their peers, you see that the event organizers are addressing these questions creatively and early on in the planning cycle.
A great example of this kind of approach is outlined in Chris Brogan's excellent post The Art of Butts in Chairs.