5 Tips for New Meetup Organizers

Many people have asked me how my meetup grew so fast.  It had just over 100 members December 2014, and December 2015 it was just under 1,000 'movers and shakers.'  

Over the last 12 months, I've actually been doing a little bit more on Meetup than organizing Startup Denver (PS Join us right now if you're local).  I’ve organized over 30 events, and that doesn't include my other meetup groups.  Startups Drink Local, Startup Denver by Matt Holmes, and Denver Podcasters.  

Anyway, here are my top 5 tips for your new Meetup group.

Disclosure:  This worked for me from 12/14 to 12/15 and for entrepreneurial type meetups.  It isn't guaranteed to work for yours.  Be smart, take some or none of my advice and most importantly.  Keep pushing forward.

1. Get consistent. Don't do a millionaire different events at 10 different places at 2 different times.  Make it were a newcomer can describe it to their friend in once sentence.  "Yea, their pitch battles are the 4th Thurs of each month at Galvanize @ 6:30pm."
   
   
2. Ignore almost all feedback. Don’t wait for feedback before planning.  When you meet with co-organizers, make sure you are executing and not planning.  Don't listen to feedback until you can look at the last 6-9 months to analyze.  Ignore what people tell you at the event unless they've come to every single event and have expressed an interest as co-organizer.
   
   
3. Be patient.  Don't be discouraged when 33 people RSVP and 6 show up like this event that we had.  It takes time to build a group, and the faster they can describe it in 1 sentence the faster it will grow (or not, if there's no demand). 
   
   
4. Keep your event free.  Help others first, and the money will come later.  If you charge you're never going to have a huge notable meetup group that actually matters in the larger community.  
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5. Simple Reminders. Send emails 2 times:  7 days and 1 day in advance of each event.  Keep them super short and STRAIGHT to the point.  Include the date, time, and location even if you have that on the event.  People don't want to click your links.  

If anybody has other suggestions please give your tips in the comments, would love to improve with you guys :) Check out my group Startup Denver and let me know any questions you have about how I grew it.

​-Matt Holmes
​@handshakin