July 25, 2011 There was a really helpful panel session at WordCamp Portsmouth last weekend, during which local group leaders discussed running a local group. The group leaders were:
- Tony Scott – WordCamp UK
- Taryn Wallis – WordPress Scotland
- Dave Coveney – Liverpool WordPress Interest Group
- Mike Little – Manchester WordPress User Group
- Paul Bunkham – WP Brighton
There was a great discussion with lots of ideas being thrown around. I took copious notes so that any of you, across the world, can benefit from the sage advice.
Tips for Running Your WordPress Group
Be Regular
Fix a regular day every month. It could be the first Wednesday every month, or the fourth Tuesday, or whatever. Just make sure that it is the same every month. This means that people who would like to attend know exactly when it is, forever – if they can’t attend one month they may be able to the next.
Avoid Clashes
When fixing your regular date, be aware of the other geek meet-ups in your area so you can avoid a clash. This doesn’t mean that you should be panicking about potential attendees’ yoga classes, but be aware of things that will affect most of the people in your group.
Use Your Connections
Your local connections can provide a great foundation for your local meetup. If there are people that you already know and like who are working on WordPress then you’ve already got a group – you just need to fix a date. Advertise on Twitter and Facebook and see who wants to sign up.
Advertise
There are a number of places that you can put information about your WordPress Meetup. Many groups have their own website. WordCamp UK links to WordPress Meetups in the UK – you could contact your local WordCamp to see if they do the same. There’s also the main WordPress meetup website. You could also contact other local meetups and see if they will cross-promote.
Use Google Groups
A Google Group can be a great way for people to continue to interact and help each other outside the group. If you’re meeting once a month this can help to keep the group cohesive while letting people get to know each other better in an online environment.
Issue Tickets
You can issue tickets without charging for them. The good thing about tickets is that it makes people feel that they should use them. Having a ticket normally means that someone else doesn’t have a ticket. Setting up that sense of commitment will help to ensure that people turn up.
Think Numbers
A group of 10 – 15 people is going to feel quite different to a group of 30-40 people. Try to gauge how many people are interested and program your event around that.
Think Format
What sort of format will suit your group? Some people are happy to just go sit in a pub and chat, others want a meetup that is more structured. Remember that if busy people are going to put in their time they’re going to want something worthwhile.
Have an Agenda
An agenda will help to focus your meetup. It will also tell people beforehand what you have planned. This will help people to make a decision about whether they want to attend that month. And it will also give them an idea of what they need to be prepared for.
Ideas for Things to Do
- Theme your events: Writing, tech, business, theme, plugin etc
- Live troubleshoot problems on people’s site
- Invite external speakers and have a Q&A
- Give everyone in the group 4 minutes to talk about something cool they’re doing with WordPress
- Take on a project for a charity or non-profit and work on it as a group
Not an Organiser but want to Contibute?
There are lots of ways that you can contribute to a meetup:
- Help with advertising on your website, Facebook and Twitter accounts
- Talk and contribute to group discussion
- Travelling? Hook up with other local groups while you’re away from home
- Offer a venue
What about you? Do you run a local groups? Got any tips for people thinking about starting or attending one?
(header image CC Attribution itselea)
Pingback: Siobhan McKeown's notes on running a local meetup | WPCandy
This is awesome Siobhan, thanks for posting the notes. I’m one of the ringleaders of a group called Refresh Austin (www.RefreshAustin.org) and have published a lot of what I’ve learned running that group over the years at http://www.KickSpark.org. I would have loved to have attended that panel, as the subject is near and dear to me, but it’s great to see that a lot of your notes match our experiences.
Your post serves as a reminder that it’s been far too long since I’ve updated that site with the knowledge gained these last couple of years.
Glad you found it useful Alex. The panel was really helpful and there were lots of good ideas.
Look forward to reading about your own experiences!
A friend of mine sent me the link to your article. I run a WordPress Group in South Carolina. It has been established for a year and I was beginning to think more deeply about ways to improve the meetup experience for everyone. I have employed several of the points mentioned above, like, regular meet day/time, using online groups, and having an agenda that is stated prior to the meetup. Seeing them mentioned in your post along with other great ideas/techniques is refreshing (no pun intended). Thanks for posting your notes! Facebook Group Page for SC WordPress Group http://www.facebook.com/groups/WordPressGreenville/
Quick question, the guys here in RVA are trying to get a wp meetup started. We have had some really great tips from Andrew Nacin and taking all his considerations into account. There happened to be a group that offers workspace to creatives that wants to start a wordpress meetup but they are charging 10 bucks to attend. Since wordpress is open source can they charge if they are not related to wordpress?
your thoughts would be much appreciated.
A local meet up sure sounds nice, I’ll have to find one so that I can stay ahead. Thanks :)
Hi Guys, have just set up my local group in Bedford, UK and will need all the help I can get, our first meeting is on the 19th April, so this advice really is great, thank you. BTW if anyone is around, the URL is http://wp-mk.org.uk. Thanks.