I received an e-mail from somebody that was unfamiliar with the unconference format, they wondered if there was a 'catch' to this free event called BlogOrlando?
Thinking about it more, it does make sense. Many times financial planners or timeshare reps will hold a 'free' seminar to 'pitch' their services to the attendees. Well there are no pitches or hidden agendas, everything is out in the open.
The next question was how could I make money on this event? Simple answer, I'm not.
One of the great things about an event like this is that the costs are relatively low. I am very fortunate that the Rollins College PR department is helping cover half the cost of the facility rental which is $300. So there I am out of pocket $150. The wifi comes free with the facility, so no cost there. I need to buy some extension cords and power strips for the venue, but that's around $50. There is no breakfast planned since we start at 9 am, and lunch is on your own in the Winter Park area. There will be some basic printing/copying costs for the handouts and badges, but nothing huge.
In reality it's mostly my time that I have invested in the event. I am also fortunate to have two great helpers in Chris Scott from BlogZerk and Jeremy Harriington from Crawl Space Media. The two of them have provided hours of volunteer support and design services.
The only other real costs are the small deposits I had to put down on for the two dinners. When you tell a restaurant you're bringing 40/70 people they want some sort of guarantee.
To be honest, the restaurant reservations were the biggest issue I had. Since the event is free we could get a number of people that register and then don't show up, after all it's not costing them any money. I did have an idea to handle this though. I considered charging a basic registration fee, say $50, that would be returned to you when you showed up. With that process, the event would still be free, but it would make sure that those that registered showed up. It might be a good solution for other free events. What are your thoughts?
Visitor Comments
Free wifi. That alone makes it worth the $50 fee. I've held events for clients that were free and we had falloff the day of, but nothing too huge. It's all based on the schedule of events in my opinion and it looks like you have a good draw.
By the way, a few of us will be up in Chicago for the Strategic Public Relations conference. I'll be relying on your how to blog a conference notes extensively. Thanks for that post and have a great conference!
Posted by: Kevin Dugan | September 18, 2006 9:26 PM
You should post a list of no-shows to shame the deadbeats!
(Now watch, I'll get sick that day or have car trouble.)
Posted by: Bob | September 19, 2006 9:43 AM
I would be up for the $50. I also think public humiliation would be cool. hahahah. Free wi-fi? Worth the $$$$. Your faith in us all? Incredible. I would do whatever. I am excited about the whole event.
Posted by: drew | September 19, 2006 2:12 PM