Wondering how to start and grow a community, especially a LUG? Here are the basics for a great event

1. How to Start and Grow
A Successful Lotus
User Group

2. Agenda
Know your audience
Pick the right topic
Pick the right speakers
Promotion - more than
an email blast
Is it worth it?

3. Know Your Audience

4. Pick the Right Topic
“Now tell me something I don’t already know.”

5. Pick the Right Speakers
“…leveraging strategic messaging analytics enablement collaboration in the Gartner-magic-
quadrant by socializing ROI and synergizing TCO with IDC in the virtual private on-premises
cloud…”
= WTF?

6. Promotion – How?
Multi-media
promotion
Phone - yes,
phone
Paper – yes,
paper
Online/email
5-7 times to get
awareness

7. Promotion-Who?
Customers
Partners
IBMers
People with Lotus
history
Community sites &
influencers

8. Promotion-Timeline
8 weeks out: speakers, location
6 weeks out: email and paper invites, post to sites, start
calling
4 weeks out: post to other sites a few at a time, continue
calling, promote through blogs and podcasts
1 week out – email reminder to those who got initial blast
but have not registered. Email details to those who
registered
Day before/day of – send reminder email to those who
registered
During event – Tweet, live blog, post pics. Those who did
not attend should feel like they missed something.
After the event – send a thank you note to attendees with
links from meeting, links to social media groups

9. That’s Too Much Work, Lisa! I just
want to shoot out an email or two
and see who turns up! I’ve got a lot
of other stuff to do! One or two
customers are plenty!
The only thing worse than no user group is a lame user group.

10. How’s This Going to Make Us
Money?
People do business with
people they know, trust, and
like.
IBM is trusted but not known
and not always liked.

11. Contact
Lisa Duke
687 638 6688
info@simplified-tech.com
Simplified Technology Solutions, Inc.
3330 Cumberland Blvd., Suite 500
Atlanta, GA 30339