Dos & Don’ts for Starting a Content Strategy Meetup

Starting a content strategy meetup? Excellent. As the founder of Atlanta Content Strategy, sometimes I’m asked how I kicked it off and keep it going. To help you get going, here are some quick dos and don’ts.

DO

START SMALL
Atlanta Content Strategy (ACS) didn’t start with 200+ members. Our first couple of meetings were simply 8-10 people chatting about our interests in and needs for content strategy. From there, we thought of ideas for topics and logistics.

DRINK BEER
At least for some meetups…it helps introverted content strategists open up.

OFFER GREAT CONTENT
We have some socials, but most of our events involve speakers on a relevant topic. Out-of-town speakers and well-known brands or organizations help draw a crowd. Atlanta has been lucky to have Kristina Halvorson, Karen McGrane, Margot Bloomstein, and Jeffrey MacIntyre all speak. We also have had presenters from UPS, CDC, HowStuffWorks, Philips, Newell Rubbermaid, and AutoTrader.

A mistake I made in the past for a different organization was not planning a panel well. I planned the panel as a series of small presentations, which was a bit boring. Feedback taught me that panels are most interesting when they’re conversations driven by good questions and a variety of perspectives. Panels, however, are a lot more coordination than a single presentation.

CHARGE
People value what they pay for. They also are more likely to show up if they paid to register. What’s more, charging allows you, the organizer, to cover expenses such as speaker travel costs or light refreshments.

TRY PARTNERING
If you want to cover a topic that relates to a larger organization, try partnering with them for a bigger event. For example, last August we partnered with CHI*Atlanta and Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association for an event that drew about 170 people.

DON’T

SELL STUFF
“I could tell you actually cared and weren’t selling anything,” Mike Schinkel, a successful organizer of two meetups in Atlanta, told me. He also noted that’s his number one tip for other meetup organizers. If you organize the meetup to push a product or service, people can tell and won’t be interested. Instead, good opportunities for everyone involved flow from a meetup that cares about a larger goal—in our case, content strategy.

DO IT ALL YOURSELF
Organizing a meetup takes time and planning. I don’t want to be an event planner, and you probably don’t, either. Get a few motivated people to help. Divide and conquer membership; space and food; speaker coordination; and promotion. I’ve been very fortunate to have Kim Ware, Richard Sheffield, Barbara Prebble, and Will Sansbury help out. (Katie Riddle was instrumental to our very first events, before she moved up north.)

BECOME BUREAUCRATIC
Although organizing a meetup takes more than one person, I feel it doesn’t need a very formal structure. What counts is gathering people together to move content strategy forward. As long as you’re doing that, you’re in great shape.