FAQ about organizing a content strategy meetup for six years
How long did you organize the Toronto Content Strategy Meetup?
Four years solo and two years as co-organizer. I took a two year break between the solo and co-organizer eras.
Did you write a blog post about tips from the first few years?
Funny you should ask — yes I did.
Aren’t content marketing and content strategy the same thing?
Nope.
But…
They’re not. Both are awesome, and there’s a sliver of overlap, but they’re different beasts.
Why did you decide to become an organizer?
James Houston asked me to take over the Meetup a year after it started. It felt like a good challenge, and I was interested in learning more about content strategy. And I was freelance, so I had the time to devote to it.
Why did you stop?
I now work 9–5. Hosting a Meetup until 7:30pm or 8pm makes for a long day — even if you have help setting up and tearing down. And when you’re tired you only see minor irritations, not big picture goodness.
Highlights of your six year run?
Karen McGrane gave a guest talk in November of 2014. Most of our guest speakers were local, so this was a big deal. We also had a sponsor for one event, which meant free pizza and pop. That was nifty.
Why did you charge $5 for most Meetups?
It paid for speaker honorariums and ensured reliable attendance.
Did charging $5 limit the size of your audience?
Yes and no. We had a mix of free and not-free events. In 2017 we had a free event where only 12 of the 60 people who had RSVP’d attended. Compare that with an average event where 35 people pay $5 and at least 28 show up. That’s a pretty strong data point — 80% of people show up if you charge, and 20% show up if it’s free.
Did you record any of the Meetups?
No, because then fewer people would show up. Same with sharing slide decks afterwards.
Really?
Yeah. I figured out early on that the best way to guarantee attendance was to make the event as unmissable as possible. Toronto, like a lot of big cities, has plenty of competing options and distractions. If you provide people with an escape hatch, they’ll take it. Getting people to physically arrive at a certain time and place is harder than it sounds. There are a dozen reasons to not show up for something. A bit of FOMO acts as a nudge.
Things you wished you did differently?
Community creation and maintenance is an art unto itself. I’m decent at the organizing part, not as decent at the community part. It’s the difference between a record selector (curation) and disc jockey (being the face of the evening). I liked tracking down speakers and figuring out event themes, but the pre- and post-game colour commentary wasn’t my strong suit.
Anything else?
For the past few years, we had a decent but stable number of attendees (30–40). We probably could have pushed past that plateau with a bit more effort and scheming. More cross promotion with related Toronto Meetups, multiple co-organizers, casting a wider promotional net. But this would have required time I didn’t really have.
How did you do in terms of diversity?
Over 8 years, we had 24 female guest speakers, and 14 not-female guest speakers. That’s pretty decent. This was a conscious, ongoing, effort on my part. Nothing heroic, but any kind of diversity requires effort. It doesn’t happen by accident.
About 10% of our speakers were non-white. That number should have been higher.
How irritating is it when an attendee sneaks into a roped off area, grabs a bottle of honey, and squirts some into his mouth?
Quite irritating.
That didn’t happen, did it?
Unbelievable but true. September of 2017. It was the moment I realized I wasn’t going to be co-organizer forever.
What will you miss the most?
Convincing a complete stranger to give a guest talk, and then watching them shine. It feels like conjuring beautiful magic from out of the ether.
