Rule -- ALWAYS first class stamps!

Mostly, this rule is for fundraising events, but it really applies to everything. And I'm sure there is an exception, but I haven't found it yet.

People are much more likely to open a piece of mail that has come from a real person that they know. So my overall rule of thumb is that you want letters of any kind -- in this case, invitations to an event -- to follow the same rules as for a letter to your grandmother. You want the letter to feel as personal as possible to whomever is receiving it, increasing the possibility that they will respond favorably.

1. If what you are sending is an actual letter, make it to "Dear Bob," not "Dear Supporter," or "Dear Friend," or whatever. You wouldn't send a letter to your grandmother starting with "Dear Senior Citizen" would you?

2. Have the return address be yours or that of some other person (such as the chair of the board, if the event you are doing is for a non-profit), NOT an organization. Nothing seems less personal than a letter from "National Association of...".

3. Use a hand-writing font for the outgoing address (and blue ink, if your printer can handle it).

4. Use stick-on, first class stamps! In the long run, it will be worth the extra expense because more people will open what you have sent them. If you are fundraising, you'll raise more money, and certainly enough to cover the extra postage cost if your list is good. If it is just a social or PR sort of event, these are the kind of personal touches that will set you apart from the very beginning.

- sean

Sean Spence
Community Events
www.commevents.com
seanspence@earthlink.net

Success secret -- Hand-written notes

Yesterday I spent about forty-five minutes writing personalized, hand-written notes to VIP attendees at an event I had co-chaired.

Note writing is something of a lost custom (much to the chagrin of our grandmothers). Because it so seldom happens anymore, people remember it when they get a hand-written note on appropriate paper. It reminds them of the event; it reminds them of you; and it increases the chances that you will be the one they remember the next time they need someone to do whatever it is you do.

- sean

Sean Spence
Community Events
www.commevents.com
seanspence@earthlink.net

What time should I schedule my after-work reception?

At 5:30 last night I tried to go to an event. I got there right on time... but not really.

The event -- a downtown, stand-up reception targeting business folks -- was actually scheduled for 6:30-8:30, NOT 5:30-7:30, as I had thought.

Total rooky mistake.

If you're hosting an event targeting the after-work crowd, the best time to do it is 5:30 until 7:00 or 7:30. This gives people plenty of time to wrap up work and just go straight to your event. Doing it at 6:30 is about as bad a time as you could possibly choose because a lot of folks won't want to just stick around work, and if they go home, they will be less likely to go out again.

- sean

Sean Spence
Community Events
www.commevents.com
seanspence@earthlink.net

Always get more volunteers than you need

This evening I helped execute an event that I had co-chaired for the Mizzou Alumni Association, Boone County Chapter. It was a state legislative forum and, honestly, there was very little for me to do. My major responsibility was to get volunteers to help with set-up, to staff the sign-in table, and to do a few other odds and ends.

As is pretty typical, one of the volunteers e-mailed at the last minute to say that he couldn't make it.

No panic, though, because I had recruited about twice as many volunteers as we really needed. Why? Because some percentage of people who say they will help you, will let you down every darned time. My estimate is a third to a half.

Always get more volunteers than you need; twice as many couldn't hurt.

Sean Spence
Community Events
www.commevents.com
seanspence@earthlink.net

Piggybacking

This evening I attended the Columbia MO Chamber of Commerce new member meeting. I alwas like Chamber events; they tend to build effective mingling events -- plenty of business people, good food, nice locations, decent give-aways.

What most impressed me today, though, was not something that the Chamber or the event organizers did.

The mixer was held at the University Club at the University of Missouri (www.uclub-mu.org), which served tasty finger food (including homemade guacamole) in a spacious, well-lit room.

The organizers introduced the manager of the club, and after talking about his establishment he asked for a few extra moment to introduce someone else.

Apparently, the boys at Hot Box Cookies (www.hotboxcookies.com), members of the Chamber, had learned of the meeting and had badgered the club manager until they were allowed to serve their cookies at the event and get an introduction.

With persistence, willingness to part with just a little free stuff, and the initiative to try, these young business owners received all of the benefits of event sponsorship essentially for free.

Sean Spence
Community Events
www.CommEvents.com
seanspence@earthlink.net