What You Need to Consider When Planning a WordCamp Event
by Lorelle VanFossenAaron Hockley put together a summary of the lessons he learned from producing WordCamp Portland recently, a fantastic collection of tips that everyone considering a WordCamp should know, including:
* Plenty of wifi and power – bloggers need to plug in and get connected.
* Have a schedule; stick to it – we kept pretty much on track all day. I’ve run other events that have gotten behind schedule and it usually throws everyone off-pace and into a situation of uncertainty.
* Include an Unconference Component – even if you go for some pre-planned sessions, include an unconference-type component so that folks can gather and discuss topics that come up during the event.
* Length of the day – we scheduled our day too long (12 hours). Keep it shorter or folks will fade. I’d recommend two short days instead of one long day.
* Reliable volunteers in key roles – Delegate, delegate, delegate, and do it to people who will follow through.
* Cold, hard cash – we went for a revenue model that charged $10 per person, which covered about 1/4 of the expenses for the event. The rest was made up by sponsors. Even with a free event, you’ll need an organization to collect money from sponsors (and/or attendees) and disburse funds to vendors. Look for a local business that it tied into the community and see if they’ll help out.
Like many past WordCamp organizers, Aaron is reaching out to the WordPress Community to help out future WordCamp organizers. Contact him and get to know other WordCamp organizers, sponsors and volunteers and learn from them. They know what you are up against.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:30 am
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