Event Planner Blog – Pagina 13 – Fedra Meetings & Events

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5 Items Your Email Sign-Up Form Needs

Posted on 28 Settembre 201618 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

Why do people unsubscribe from your email? While there are a number of possible reasons, many can likely be traced to unmet expectations.

The content doesn’t interest me. They send too much email. The experience was not personalized.

So, how can you align subscriber expectations with your actual email program? Start with your email sign-up form. Set the right expectations here and you’ll avoid complaints and misunderstandings later on. You’ll also lay the groundwork for a relationship with your subscribers based on honesty and respect.

Here are 5 important items to include on your email sign-up form:

1) Email Descriptions

Include brief descriptions of your emails, focusing on what’s in it for subscribers. Do you announce major breakthroughs or new volunteer opportunities via email? Mention it here, along with how often emails are sent.

2) Samples of Past Emails

Allow people to “preview” your messages before subscribing by including links to past emails. This gets the relationship off to a good start by being very transparent about the type of content you send. Diabetes Research Institute’s email sign-up page below is a good example of including both descriptions and links to samples.

3) Links to Email Archives

Links to an email archives section offers potential subscribers access to news they missed. As a bonus, it adds new, search engine-friendly content to your website on a regular basis. Creating web-based versions of your emails doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s often as simple as pasting your email HTML into a web page.

4) Privacy Information

Include how your organization respects the privacy of its email subscribers and the fact that they can opt out at any time.

5) Incentives

If possible, offer an incentive with every email sign-up. Be creative here. For example, perhaps a corporate sponsor could provide a product discount or make a donation up to a certain amount for each email sign-up. Or, you could offer subscribers early-bird registration to a popular event.

While it’s a good place to start, setting expectations doesn’t end at the email sign-up form. Reinforce important information in your subscription confirmation email, offline communications and actual emails.

What tips do you have to reduce opt outs?

Essential Do’s and Don’ts for events

Posted on 26 Settembre 201619 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

When you have this kind of opportunity, it’s not enough just to have a great time. You need to take advantage of everything the event has to offer.

You don’t just want to be a passive audience member — you want to be an active participant.

Actually, there’s a whole lot you can do to completely prepare for — and get the most out of — your next event. The infographic below can provide some direction. It will tell you everything you need to know to prepare for any event:

How To Be A Good Speaker, Wherever You Go

Posted on 23 Settembre 201618 Luglio 2017 by Fedra

Whether you’re unveiling the first round of logos to your clients, walking through a data analysis with your grant funder, or even aggrandizing your work experience on that crucial face-to-face job interview, coming across as confident, prepared, and engaging is just as important as the words coming out of your mouth. So how do you do that?

“Just imagine everyone in their underwear.”

No, don’t. That’s a joke, and a bad one at that. Instead, here there are some tips and tricks on how to be a good speaker, wherever you go:

Show Up

This one seems easy. You just have to get there, wherever there is: the conference room, convention stage, classroom, etc. Always be at least 15 minutes early. This gives you time to find a mirror, check yourself out for a minute (or two, or three) and run through your presentation. Preparation is 90% of the battle with public speaking.

You also have to be mentally present. Be focused and relaxed. Breathe and focus on that exact moment. Use eye contact to check in with each audience member. Breathe…1…2…make eye contact…breathe…1…2…make eye contact. Keep that rhythm up and you’ll get through your slides in no time.

Be Creative

You can’t just take your notes and put them verbatim onto a slide to project onto a screen. Nobody wants to hear you read off the screen what he or she can just as well read along with you. Craft compelling infographics, charts, and PowerPoint presentations that can be used to spice up any presentation. Use more picture and graphics than text, and always properly credit your sources.

Get To Know Your Audience

Not every presentation should be a two-way street, but when appropriate, ask questions to your audience. Make eye contact, single someone out, and have him or her answer a semi-rhetorical question to spring you into your next point. Breaking that presenter/audience barrier, even for a moment, keeps the energy up in the room and at the very least, forces everyone to pay attention to you lest you catch them off-guard and call them out in front of the rest of the group.

Be Ready For Anything

Because anything could happen—a presenter gets sick and you’re the next one up, or an impromptu donor pitch materializes in a seminar or networking event, and sometimes you’re tasked with putting on a show with little to no warning. This is where you really have to rely on being clear, concise, and confident.

As you begin, take a deep breath, set your intention, clear your head, and trust yourself. You should still have some knowledge of the subject matter. Probably not as much as you’d like, but that’s why you focus on the most salient points, and drive them home clearly. Other things to remember: eye contact, smile, and speak loud and clear.

Know What You Don’t Know

Respond to any hard question by first identifying two solid points that you’ve already made, and then riff on a possible answer. No matter your circumstance, remember that to a degree, the information sells itself. Your job is to make the audience receptive to hearing it.

It’s certainly possible that you’ll have to field a question that you can’t answer, and that’s okay. An honest “I don’t know” is always better than a waffling, circuitous, non-answer. People see right through that.

Here are some go-tos when you are caught off-guard at a client presentation:

“I can’t speak directly to that right now, but I’m happy to follow up with you.”
“That’s a really good question. Let me discuss it with my team and get back to you.”
“I’d want to do a little research before speaking to that. Let me dig into my resources at the office and I’ll follow up with you directly.”

No matter the circumstances, prepared or not, the main thing that will help you present like a pro is to believe what you’re saying. No matter how many times you forget your place, get interrupted, or have to deal with technical snafus, leading with your heart as well as your mind will make you come across as genuine and honest.

Find your connection to whatever it is you’re talking about, remember to breathe, and trust yourself. You’re gonna do great!