My thoughts on organising networking events

I've organised the Books & Networking events for around three years now (with the first event in October 2021) - with the book group and plans for the events being around for longer.

Here are my thoughts, views and approaches to organising networking events...

• Never cancel! Mark Orr has an excellent blog post on why you should never cancel at: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/never-ever-cancel-event-particularly-you-already-have-mark-orr/ - it's worth reading the comments too - I could add a few more, e.g. people may not get the message an event is cancelled and still turn up! In many ways, this has become my golden rule.
• On the day of the event, I like to have the rest of the day off (apart from following up). This means that at the event itself, I'm focusing on hosting and the attendees - rather then thinking about what I'm doing later that day. I understand this is not practical for everyone, and things can come up at last minute.
• Evolve. One of my favourite parts of organising the events is that they become what the people who attend make them. Recent events are different to the very first meetings in 2021 - for example we now have a guest speaker, use the flip chart, I meet/welcome people when they arrive at the building, adjusted the days/times, etc.
• People who have booked will cancel for a variety of reasons. Especially at last minute and even the morning of the event. Keep going - pick up the phone if you need to get those spaces filled. Look at how you can address some of the cancellations - e.g. adjusting the ticket price so you don't have a "it's just a tenner" attitude.
• Can your networking event go ahead without you? An interesting question to ask yourself if you organise an event - whether you can't make a particular month, or something happens at last minute. You don't necessarily have to have a detailed plan, however its worth thinking about (even if its a scenario that is unlikely to happen).
• You won't be flooded with lots of bookings the moment your event is live on EventBrite. It can take time and a lot of hard work to get bookings for events, especially during the early days. You may find you have a few initial bookings, and then more bookings nearer the time of the event.
• Marketing. Most of my bookings come from LinkedIn (including the event pages). Very occassionally bookings from the book group on Facebook itself - although strangely that's rare. Don't rule out other methods of marketing, even if you think they go nowhere. I'm always exploring new tactics, including more recently building a mailing list.
• Not everyone uses Facebook. Or LinkedIn or Twitter etc. Don't rely on one social media channel or one method of marketing/promoting your event. Sometimes you even need to pick up the phone or send an e-mail!
• Listen to feedback. Adapt and make changes depending on what does and doesn't work. However ultimately as the event organiser/host you will need to make the decisions.
• Avoid clashing with other events or activities in your area. However it's not always possible, so don't worry too much about this or spend countless hours trying to figure out when other things in your area are happening.
• Don't worry too much about what other events are doing. There may even be potential to work and collaborate with other events and groups. Don't try to be the next BNI etc.
• Sometimes there may be opportunities to work alongside other groups. Even if its support from them or potential guest speakers - when I started Books & Networking there was a national networking group (that unfortunately doesn't have any events in Aberdeen) that was really supportive, offering advice, encouragement, introductions, etc.
• Everyone at the event will have different aims and goals. There's the regular networkers, people who are interested in more the book club aspect, etc. Everyone is just as welcome.
• You'll get a mix of regular and one-off attendees. Again, each is just as valuable as the other.

Some events may end up being small numbers (especially after a few people have cancelled) while others end up being sold out.

A tip that I often give to new attendees of events - which is worthwhile for event organisers too - is that event organisers are probably just as nervous as the attendees - even if they are good at hiding it. Even experienced networkers can feel like this - even when most of the people attending are people they already know. However the event will (and does) go very well!

A mistake I find with a lot of other networking events is that they try lots of gimmicks or rules/conditions for attending. E.g. 30 second pitches and a bell rings when those seconds are up. Or end up being filled with people the organiser meets at other events. I've also seen other organisers give up too quickly - expecting to be flooded with people on day one.

You'll sometimes hear people say "you can't do this" etc. or being snobbery towards what you are doing - however don't worry about them - and focus on what you are doing.

Remember a networking event is not the "Simon show" (replace Simon with your own name if you organise an event) - it's an opportunity for attendees to network, achieve their aims for attending the event - always think about what they will get from attending.

I always enjoy seeing the new contacts (and friendships) from people attending the events, reading books recommended at meetings, etc.

In this blog post, I could have covered topics including aims of event, what people get about them, etc. however these are often covered in detail when talking about organising events.

Hopefully this blog post is helpful if you organise your own events, or otherwise provides an insight into my approach to organising and hosting events.

Do you organise networking events? Do you have any thoughts or tips that you would add to the ones in this blog post?

Here's the networking event that I organise - Books & Networking!

Meet other business owners, network, and discuss the books you are reading.

More info at: booksandnetworking.co.uk