Using Emotional Marketing Value To Create Conference Education Titles That Attract Not Repel September 30, 2011 by Jeff Hurt You’re browsing a conference website. The dates look good. The city is appealing to you. The hotel seems to offer a reasonable rate. The schedule is jam-packed with offerings. So does the conference offer anything of education value? You click the link to the education sessions. There you see a long list of hyperlinked session … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference session descriptions, conference session titles, conferences, meeting planner, presentation best practices, professional development, writing good conference session descriptions
Do You Plan Meetings With 500+ People? September 7, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Do you plan meetings with 500 or more people? Do you secure both professional and industry speakers for your events? If yes to both questions, would you give us about 10 minutes of your time to complete this survey? Velvet Chainsaw has partnered with Tagoras, a leading market research and learning consulting company to capture … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , associations, conferences, Education & Adult Learning, meeting planner, meeting planning, meeting professionals, research
Are You A Glorified Scheduler Or Strategic Meeting Professional? September 6, 2011 by Jeff Hurt As a conference organizer, are you focused on checking off your daily to do list or focused on fulfilling your participants’ needs? When you focus only on completing your task, you deliver what’s required. But not what’s expected. You follow the standard operating procedure precisely. And yet you miss the point completely. You comply with … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting best practices, meeting logistics, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professional, strategy
The Six Essential Re’s Of Successful Conferences September 1, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Your conference is not as unique as you think it is! Most of them are carbon-copy, cookie-cutter replicates of each other. You may have dressed up your conference with some cosmetics to make it look different than others but it tastes, smells and feels all too familiar. It actually reminds people of a stale, untouched, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, Education & Adult Learning, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices
5 Ways To Ensure Your Conference Reception Fails July 5, 2011 by Jeff Hurt When do the majority of people arrive at a conference reception? In my experience, typically it is not at the beginning of the reception. I’m used to seeing the majority of guests at a reception towards the end of that event. That is assuming the reception is a decent event. And people are enjoying themselves. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices
Screening Steps To Improve Your Conference’s Health June 27, 2011 by Jeff Hurt How healthy is your conference? Is it time for your conference to have a thorough physical exam? Is your conference experience in need of a health check-up? Is it in a state of dis-ease? Why Your Conference Needs A Checkup Here are three reasons why your conference needs a health checkup: 1. Avoid Dr. Fix-it … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference tips, conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professional
How Do You Feel About The Commoditization Of Event Production? June 15, 2011 by Jeff Hurt I love a cloned conference! Don’t you? Jeff Rodgers of Zap Creative has launched The Meetings Department that offers a plug and play template for your next meeting. Starting at $5,000, you purchase a cloned conference experience with a minute-by-minute show flow, script for general sessions and awards, walk-in and walk-out music and videos to … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference tips, meeting planner, meeting planning basics, meeting planning best practices
The HIPPO In The Room: You Are Not Your Audience June 14, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Dear Conference Organizer: You are not your audience. You are not your customers. Yes, you have your own preferences, your own likes, your own tastes. But you are not planning that event for yourself. And what you like is probably far from what your audience likes. You have to get out of your own mind. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference tips, meeting planner, meeting planning basics, meeting planning best practices, speaker, Speaker Emerging Practices
Your Conference Attendance Marketing Silver Bullet June 13, 2011 by Dave Lutz It’s rare to find a silver bullet that actually works. And I’ve seen one lately. The Registrant List As A Lure For conference attendance acquisition, that bullet is the attendee list. The attendee list acts as a lure attracting those that have not registered yet. So let potential attendees see who else is already registered. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Attendance Marketing Tagged With: , attracting attendees, conference tips, meeting planner, meeting planning basics, meeting planning best practices
Your Meeting Starts In Your Participants’ Mind April 27, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Want to make your meeting more successful? Help your meeting participants visualize its purpose and objectives before they arrive. It sounds so simple. Yet it is one of the most overlooked steps in conference and meeting planning. Meetings Start In Our Minds Your meeting starts in the imagination of your attendees. Regardless if it is … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices
