User:Charlie247/sandbox

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So you want to host a class or event? Great! Here are some instructions to help your event go flawlessly.

Get some help

Get expert help

Planning even a small event can be easier with someone to bounce ideas off of, and who has gone through the process of setting up an event. There are a bunch of people who have run events

To get a helper you can contact Charlie - the VP, the officers or you can post to our mailing list.

Find a minion

Somebody to greet your guests , take tickets, and point out where the bathroom is will leave you to concentrate on teaching your class. As a bonus if your minion is a member you can now host a class larger than 10 people.

Schedule the event

Look on our google calendar: http://www.google.com/calendar/render?cid=i3detroit%40gmail.com and pick an appropriate time and day. There's nothing wrong with two events going simultaneously, but try to avoid conflicts.

Publicize your event

Create it on Eventbrite

Have an Eventbrite created for your event. Eventbrite gives us a way to make sure that people show up to your class!

Eventbrite Widget

This is a little piece of code that allows someone viewing our website to see ticket prices, how many tickets are left, and different ticket types (if they are available). A version of the widget that has been optimized for our website has been included below. To use it, copy and paste the code below into the text portion of your blog post remembering to replace [Your-Event-ID-Here] with the event id that Eventbrite generated for your event. As a nicety to the website please also include a tag before the widget. Including the tag will prevent clutter on our front page and improve load times.

<div style="width: 100%; text-align: left;">
<iframe src="//eventbrite.com/tickets-external?eid=[Your-Event-ID-Here]&ref=etckt" width="100%" height="306" frameborder="0" marginwidth="5" marginheight="5" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial; font-size: 10px; padding: 5px 0 5px; margin: 2px; width: 100%; text-align: left;"></div>
</div>

Fees charged by Eventbrite

Fee Structure

Eventbrite has three ticket types: paid, free, and donation, each with it's own fee structure.

  • Free: No fee is charged.
  • Donation: The fee is only charged by the credit card processor. (3.0% for US dollars)
  • Paid: As a non-profit we pay a reduced fee of $0.99 + 2% (capped at $7.95) to Eventbrite and 3% for credit card processing.
Who pays the fees?

From the authors observations people are much happier if you choose to absorb the fees. For example, the fees on a $35 ticket will be $2.74. Even if you have to bump up the ticket price you will receive less complaints than if you choose to pass them on.

Create a Blog Post

Our blog is one of the first things people see when they look i3 up online. It also provides a nice location for us to store all of our classes. For a good example of a blog post see: Follow the steps:

  • Write the meat of your post. This should include important details such as what, where and when. (Don't be afraid to act a little salesmanly!)
  • Insert an eventbrite widget. The eventbrite widget allows people to see how many tickets are left and such right from our site.
  • Attach multimedia. Pictures or video can be added to entice people to come! You can post pictures of previous events or just related images.

Get even more people to attend your event

  • Post it to the Mailing list
  • Ask for us to advertise your event on the google. (We have many mediums send an email to contact@ to set this up)
  • Tweet about it to @i3Detroit. We will give you a retweet and we have a lot of random followers who are happy to share and participate.
  • Post it on [1] (Click Add event). This can draw a lot of interest.
  • Announce it to specific local groups whose members might not all be specifically following us. Try the Penguicon-general mailing list, and the All Hands Active mailing list, for instance.
  • The day before the event (if it's been a while since the initial announcement), repeat these steps.

On the day of the event

Be there

Remember, people that attend your event are your guests. You are responsible for having them sign a guest waiver and follow the rules.

Set out the donation jar

If you have not set a ticket price for your event consider asking for donations during it. Donations help to fund everything from the heat to super awesome tools and supplies. Midway through your class is usually a good time to take a break, talk a little bit about i3Detroit, set out the donation jar, mention the fridge, and head for the fridge. By the time you return with your drink, the jar will probably contain evidence of how well the class is going. If you're using a tool with a cost-recovery system in place, explain that at the same time.

Clean Up

Enlist the help of attendees or other members, if possible, but it is your responsibility to leave the shop clean at the end of the night.

Schedule a followup

If this is the first time you've taught a particular class, there may be some empty seats. However, if it's a good class, the attendees may want to take it again and they may tell their friends. The next time you do a class, you'll likely have more guests. You can even announce the followup at the end of class to make sure people know about it.