From my own personal experience there seems to be a logical pattern to the response to an “e-vite” to an event, whether it’s online (webinar, webchat, etc.) or an actual live event (seminar, concert, party). About 50% of the people who click “yes” or “attending” won’t show up. 75% of the people who click “maybe” won’t show, and then actually, 15-20% of the people who click “not attending” will show up. These aren’t actual statistics, just rough guesstimates based on my own experience, and I’ve created a lot of online events.

So how do you boost those numbers to make sure people show up?

Obviously, you’re always going to have people who just aren’t interested in your event. It could be a seminar that someone just isn’t into, or a band that certain people just don’t like. Those people aside, there are definitely ways to increase the probability of people actually showing up or at least making a solid connection.

Create a Buzz

Just creating the event and sending the invitation out to your friends isn’t the end of the road. You need to continually update your event so it shows up in their notification feeds. Add YouTube videos, photos, inspirational quotes, lyrics to a popular song by one of the bands that’s playing (if it’s a concert). You can even get creative and see if you can score unique content like a video interview, or promo from whomever the event is centered around.

Network!

Yes, I talked about this in my last post (check it out if you haven’t seen it yet) but you have to network! Groups on Facebook are a powerful mode of communication because they have the ability to message their entire membership. Find groups within your city or that have a common theme with your event and get them involved. Cross promote them. You’ll expand your events exposure quickly and effectively. Everyone trusts someone they already know more than a complete stranger.

Manual (yet shameless) Promotion

Yes, I understand it’s tedious, but manually copy and pasting the event link on your friends profiles, or replying the link on Twitter to people who you know would be interested in the event is a great way to increase your connectivity. First of all, they can’t miss it. It’s on their wall/twitter. Second of all, you’re more likely to get them to press that “share” button or “RT” something because it’s personally directed at them.

Contests and Promotions

Everyone likes to win something. So create a contest where people can win tickets to the event, or some type of prize package if they share the event. But, they obviously have to show up to claim their prize.

All of this has to be done tactfully. No one likes to be spammed a billion times a day with event notifications. Eventually, even if it’s something they were interested in at first, they’ll delete it from everything completely because they just get annoyed. Once a day AT MOST is all you need. It keeps things fresh in peoples minds, and it’s not blasting them out of the water.

Stick to these methods, and I guarantee you’ll see more success and a higher turn out. I’ve tried it. I should know.