What kind of events should a local media brand host?

Dinner clubs are a great start. But the brands that win in person will be the ones known for events people can't stop talking about. These are ideas I'm excited about, not all of them proven.

Why does an activity matter so much?

People have gotten bad at socializing. Whether it's COVID or the internet, it's awkward. An event that's just "show up and chat" scares a lot of people.

"if you have an event, like, or some sort of activity happening, then it's not awkward now."

Picture a dads' event. If it's just "meet dads, show up," it's awkward and intimidating. If you're building a boxcar with your kid, you just talk to the dad next to you about the boxcar, and it becomes way less intimidating.

Dads specifically are underserved. Moms have it way easier finding each other. Mike Richardson of Kid Friendly Seattle told me on my podcast he was planning a brewery dad event with boxcar racing, sponsored by a local toy store, with babysitting on site. That's exactly the kind of event I mean.

How unusual should the event be?

More unusual than you'd think. In Austin there are founder events everywhere, and now it's founders going hiking and founders playing pickleball. I love those, because you get to meet people and do something fun. But hiking and pickleball are kind of obvious and boring-ish.

Host something strange but interesting and people want to talk about it. "Did you hear about that event?" That word of mouth is the whole point. I'd test random things and become the brand that hosts and features really unique events.

Marissa of From Boise, who has run about 400 people through dinner clubs, shared a few she likes on my podcast: a new-to-town meetup, a brunch version of a dinner club, a flagship annual party and a neighborhood pet tour.

Who pays for it?

Ideally, not just the attendees. The normal model is vendors paying $200, $500 or $1,000 for a booth. For a first event with no track record, that's friction. Plenty of businesses will say it's too big a risk.

Mike's plan flipped it: vendors pay no booth fee and give away their product instead, like popsicles, toys or camp signups, and attendees buy one ticket that gets them everything. That's not totally free for the vendor, but giving away their stuff is what they want to do anyway. More brands say yes, which makes the event better for the families.

"I think this is literally the exact model I think about constantly with potential advertisers and businesses and directories."

The other payer is the venue. Restaurants are dead on a Tuesday night. If you can bring 30 or 40 dads, moms or families in, they'll pay you a decent amount, and now events are a profit center.

Senior living facilities are another one I want to test. What if we did AI for seniors at a facility, and you have to be a senior to come? Those places want seniors in the building. Wouldn't they pay more if they knew you'd bring 25 to 75 of them? A senior-living professional told me facilities pay entertainers about $200 to $250 for a two-hour show, so there's already a budget line for it.

Can events grow the newsletter too?

I think so. One idea I keep coming back to is running Meta ads for the event instead of the newsletter. The tickets pay for the ads, and every attendee gets subscribed too. It also builds the brand beyond "we provide information." You're building community.

Where do I start?

Pick one activity, one underserved group, and one payer who isn't the attendee. Keep the first one small. For the money side, see how a local newsletter makes money from events. To avoid an empty room, read how to test a local event without a public flop.