10 + bonus tips for growth hacking (yeah, yeah, just marketing) for event marketers, although useful for others, too. Also available at: http://chw.ag/ZGfbT0

1. 10 Growth Hacking Tips
for Event Marketers
Sam Michel, Founder - Chinwag
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

2. 10 Growth Hacking Tips
for Event Marketers
Sam Michel, Founder - Chinwag
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

3. hello. I’m Sam Michel and
usually, I forget to introduce myself.
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

4. Background
founded 1996, UK’s first digital marketing
community
built Social Media Week London from 35 to 270+
events in 4 years
ran UK’s first Facebook marketing conference,
launched Chinwag Psych - psychology, marketing,
neuroscience conference
hosted 20+ international trade missions: startups,
agencies, robotics, satellite applications to US &
China
consultant for Open Data Institute Annual Summit
2013/4 - get to hang out with Sir Tim Berners-Lee!
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

5. “Growth hackers focus on low-cost and innovative
alternatives to traditional marketing”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth_hacking
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

6. Ten minutes (less now), let’s go…
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

7. • Plan ahead - build Reciprocity
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip
your social capital
• Help promote /
support relevant
events
• In return, ask for
promo for your
events
• Use social, email,
blogs, etc
• Will build your
reputation & influence
• Then…ask for help
for your event!

8. Call to action
• Ask for the sale
• Ask for it again!
• Use your verbs…buy, book, reserve, grab
• Don’t forget screen sizes:
65% of email gets opened first on mobile
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

9. Images on Social
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip
• images promote conversion, feature
speakers, venues, themes, food
• add to event pages and use social media
tools SproutSocial, Hootsuite, Buffer, etc.
• N.B. Image ratio 2:1- avoid embarrassing
crotch cropping!
• Size guides:
Facebook / Facebook Events
Twitter cards
Social Media image dimensions
Twitter card masterclass @whatleydude:
http://chw.ag/1rxLChy

10. sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip
Killer content
• Infographics
• Speaker profiles
• Guest blog posts
• Top 10 Lists
• Surveys for marketing
• Link Bait
Starting points:
1. Create great content that drives traffic
2. Secret psychology of persuasive content
3. 10 free tools to create infographics
Source: Eventmanager Blog

11. Speaker Promos
• Ask them to share: social, email, WOM
• Offer discount codes for their network
• Speaker features - Q&A, audio, video, hangouts
• Make it easy:
• ready-made sharing links
• copy/pastable blurbs
A thought: as well as speaker/acts fit for event,
consider their potential network
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

12. FOMO
Testimonials
(don’t forget to collect them)
- can also relate to your other events
Brands, acts, speakers who have booked to attend
Consider seeding delegates with influencers
Create ‘authority’ - your event is must-attend
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

13. Email signatures
• Old-school - but cool
• Simple (and team can get involved)
• Can track links (and incentivise!)
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

14. sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip
Event listings
• Obvious: Lanyrd (Eventbrite
integration, yay!)
• Plancast, other specialist event
listing sites
• Trade sites - for tech: Chinwag,
TechCityNews, Mashable
• Check back links for similar
events using Ahrefs or Majestic
SEO
• Relevant bloggers - offer event
round-ups that include yours!
Techcrunch example

15. Upsell
• Bring your friends - discounts for colleagues
• Upgrade for webcast, streaming, merchandise, webinar, etc.
• Don’t forget to invite previous delegates - Eventbrite has an
awesome tool with great tracking
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

16. Templates
Will save you a tonne of time, examples:
• approaches to speakers - will you speak, why you should
speak, time/date
• media partners - contra deal, competition, promo, copy/
pastable blurbs
• personal invites - ready to personalise (you can do mail
merge with Gmail)
• blurbs - ready for event site listings, promos, press, queries
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

17. Bonus Hacks
• Scarcity - early-bird, time limited offers, flash sales, showing ticket sales
• 2-for-1 vouchers - in advance of sales, offer vouchers a la WebSummit
• Remarketing - target visitors to your sites with paid-for ads on
Google’s network & Facebook, use MailChimp’s goal tracking to target
email users who visit website
• Sponsors - mutual interest, help them to market to their potential
customers, they want a good audience, too!
• Social proof - don’t skimp on event assets, high quality video, photos &
testimonials make future events a lot easier to market
• Thank You page / email - ask for social shares on page / in email, upsell
opportunities, suggest next steps book travel (less likely to cancel if
plane/hotel booked)
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

18. Pretty sure I’m out of time…
Thanks....Questions?
hit me up on email, twitter, over coffee
Sam Michel, Founder - Chinwag
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip

19. Pictures
Thanks for sharing…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jillclardy/5069059182
https://www.flickr.com/photos/id-iom/10835459353/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/edkohler/484322226
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathanmcintosh/3746142610
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kevindean/4200937765
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stavos52093/12544827224
sam@chinwag.com - http://chinwag.com - @toodlepip