On May 21st, 50 Meetup organizers and aspiring organizers met in Berlin to discuss best practice. If you are interested in knowing what makes a good Meetup event or how to nurture a good Meetup group, here are our collective insights and recomendations.

1. Our Lessons Learned
Berlin Meetup Organizer´s Workshop // May 2015
Contact:
Founder: Berlin Peace Innovation Lab
Anne Riechert anneriechert@gmail.com

2. • First,
consider
your
target
audience;
who
you
would
like
to
join
your
group
or
event?
Then
make
sure
to
design
your
communication
(tone
of
voice,
keywords
etc.)
to
fit
that
specific
audience.
• Make
sure
to
invest
in
nurturing
a
good
community
culture.
The
longevity
and
success
of
a
group
depends
on
its
ability
to
define
itself
as
a
community
(ex.
soccer
enthusiasts),
and
not
as
a
list
of
activities
(playing
soccer
every
week).
• Name
your
group
in
a
way
that
attracts
the
audience
you
hope
will
sign
up.
Use
key
words
and
even
humour,
if
appropriate.
• Make
sure
that
the
“topic
tags”
of
your
group
are
correct,
when
you
create
the
group.
It
needs
to
match
the
“interests”
of
your
target
audience,
for
them
to
easily
find
you.
• Event
titles
are
vital.
“Don´t
call
it
“Meetup
#4”.
It
is
boring
and
people
won´t
know
what
will
happen.
Instead,
try
to
capture
the
spirit
of
the
activity
you
will
do
together.
Use
key
words
to
capture
the
attention
of
your
target
group.
Make
the
event
title
memorable
and
persuasive.
• Have
a
set
topic
or
purpose
for
your
event.
People
need
something
to
meet
around.
Lessons learned

3. Lessons learned
• Write
an
attractive
invitation,
which
sets
the
expectations
in
advance
and
lets
people
know
the
agenda
beforehand:
What
will
we
do
when
-­‐
and
for
how
long?
• Attendance:
Expect
around
50%
of
RSVPs
to
show
up.
• Make
sure
to
put
up
location
signs
in
advance,
so
people
can
find
your
meetup.
• Taking
attendance
is
a
good
way
to
keep
people
accountable.
Use
the
Meetup
mobile
app
or
print
the
attendee
list
and
people
sign
in
by
themselves.
• Use
name
tags,
it
makes
networking
smoother.
Masking
tape
is
a
cheap
and
easy
way
to
do
it.
Or
print
out
badges
via
Meetup.
• Have
snacks.
It
costs
so
little
and
means
so
much!
M&Ms
and
pretzels
are
great.
• Create
an
event
program
which
encourages
interaction
and
has
a
good
flow
of
activities.
People
want
to
socialise
and
learn
together,
not
just
get
lectured
to.
• Use
icebreakers
in
the
beginning
to
set
the
tone
and
make
people
feel
welcome.

4. Lessons learned
• Be
mindful
of
people´s
time:
start
on
time,
stick
to
the
program
&
finish
on
time.
Go
for
drinks
or
food
after
the
event.
It
is
fun,
helps
people
network
and
strengthens
your
community
• To
grow
your
community,
encourage
your
core
group
to
bring
their
friends
next
time.
• Involve
your
group
to
find
speakers,
locations,
topics
etc.
• Have
empathy
with
your
members!
Know
who
is
in
your
group
and
what
their
expectations
are.
Talk
to
your
audience
about
what
they
want
-­‐
when
-­‐
where
-­‐
how
often
-­‐
how
long
etc.
You
can
use
free
online
surveys
or
questionnaires
e.g.
Survey
Monkey
or
Google
to
ask
participants
for
(anonymous)
feedback.
• Connect
your
Meetup
group
and
events
to
other
social
media
e.g.
Facebook
event
or
Facebook
group
to
drive
traffic
to
your
group.
• Create
a
Twitter
handle
(@)
and
hashtag
(#)
for
your
group
(if
appropriate
for
your
audience).
It
will
allow
you
to
connect
to
connectors
who
can
amplify
your
message.
• Make
sure
there
is
wifi
in
room
if
you
want
people
to
tweet.
Make
posters
with
wifi
name
and
password.
And
make
sure
people
can
read
it
from
afar.

5. Lessons learned
• Document
your
Meetup
event
with
pictures.
A
picture
speaks
more
than
1000
words
and
lets
new
members
know
what
to
expect.
Let
people”
opt
out”
(if
they
don't
want
to
be
photographed),
instead
of
“opt
in”.
• You
can
live
stream
for
free
via
the
Bambuser
app.
It
can
connect
directly
to
your
Facebook
group.
For
better
sound
quality,
use
a
bluetooth
microphone.
• Maintain
communication
with
your
group
out
of
event
situations.
Get
them
excited
in
advance
of
Meetups!
Get
them
chatting
in
the
comment
section.
Humour
is
a
good
community
building
tool.
So
joke
away!
• Use
the
Meetup
communication
tool
to
avoid
“spamming”
your
community
with
messages
they
might
not
want.
• Build
human
connections
to
your
community.
Create
a
leadership
team
to
share
the
community
interactions
if
the
group
is
too
big.
• If
you
organise
quality
content
it
is
only
fair
to
get
paid.
Experiment
with
payment,
to
find
out
what
is
appropriate
for
your
audience.
But
don’
t
make
it
too
“business
like”
-­‐
people
want
to
feel
part
of
a
community,
not
part
of
your
business
plan.
• Create
a
Meetup
organizers
Meetup
group
in
your
city
-­‐
to
get
better
together!

6. GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN
For questions contact: anneriechert@gmail.com