Don't do this when starting a Meetup.com group
Been wanting to engage with the local community here in Nashville, TN about automations and no-code tools so I decided to start a Meetup. Figured it'd be a good way to get in front of some folks to hear about problems/ideas firsthand.
Went through the process of starting the Meetup which is set up in such a way so that you create a Group and then an Event.
I thought the trick was to submit the Group and then just make sure you create an Event within the 24-hour review period they have for making sure your Group isn't violating any of their guidelines. That way, when the Group is live and promoted to people interested in similar topics, they'll land on your Group page and already see there's an event planned.
Well, I thought you'd be able to work on your Group and then maybe press "Submit" somewhere to start this review period.
Turns out they only let you fill out a few things before automatically submitting your Group.
I had to rush to get a Group image, proper description written, Event information filled out, settings updated, and the list goes on. Gotta make the most of the free promo nahmsayin.
TL;DR Have everything you need for the Group + the first Event before even starting the process (I'll likely writeup a post soon on all the things you need)
For those of you interested, here's the Meetup.com group: https://www.meetup.com/Nashville-No-Code-Tools-and-Automation/
Sad to see Meetup still isn't so friendly for hosts. I started the London Lean Startup meetup ages ago, and over the years, they did a few things that make things harder for me.
One other tip from that experience: sign people up to another email list that you control.
I noticed about half of my attendees on any night were people just popping in once or twice to check out what Lean Startup was about, but the other half were core community members - and over time, Meetup .com took steps to make communication harder with the community. They cut off access to the email list, limited messaging, etc. It was weird to do all this work to attract people to the meetup, only to have meetup later say that my attendees were meetup users first, and lean startuppers second.
What helped was simple, starting with having an optional email list signup at the door. Most people were happy to sign up to know about other Lean Startup events I ran. Those were more geared for regulars and more serious startup people, things like knowledge-trading sessions, a few bigger unconferences. (Turns out the unconferences were the big hit anyway. The origin story on that is here if anyone's interested: https://peerlearning.is/communities-conducting-knowledge/ )
Thanks for this helpful advice. Yeah, I was a bit surprised that Meetup wasn't super easy to use. It's like they gave up half way for the hosts.
I'll check that story. Thanks for the share!