Email and E-Marketing. In this article, Corbin Ball of Corbin Ball Associates advises and supplies tips on ways to promote your meetings and events by using the different options readily available.

General Site Construction

• Craft your site so that it will come near the top of the list when searching with your prime keywords with the various search engines. If you're not in the first couple of screens of results, you won't be found. See searchenginewatch.com for information on how the various search sites rank web sites.
• Make sure your site is registered with the major search directories: Yahoo, OpenDirectory, Zeal, LookSmart.
• Make sure your site is registered with the major crawlers: Google, AllTheWeb, Teoma, AltaVista.
• Craft your site's title, introductory paragraph, and metatags (hidden key words). These are important parts of how search engines (and therefore people) find your site.
• Make your site is fast and easy to navigate (slow and confusing sites are not read or used).
• Be visual – use photos of past meetings, of the hotel, or venue to add sizzle and interest.
• Be interactive – give viewers the means to navigate easily and find the information desired.

Content, Content, Content

• The key to a site being book marked is content -- give viewers a reason to go there in the first place and then come back!
• Put the conference program and agenda on-line and make it searchable by topic, speakers, dates, times, key words, etc.
• Include statistics of past meetings (charts & graphs of attendance and demographics, past exhibitor lists). Make them as visually interesting as possible – use graphs over tables.
• Post the pre-registration list on-line – people may wish to contact others in advance, which can encourage attendance.
• Have on-line pre-conference forums, electronic bulletin boards, and chat rooms. Establish a virtual community around the event.
• Create a virtual exhibit section to increase traffic, promote the exhibit, increase exhibitor visibility, and generate revenues through sales of links to exhibitors' web sites.
• Update your site frequently with press announcements and news releases about the event.
• Put past keynote addresses and other speakers on-line (using streaming video and audio software programs that bring sound and motion pictures to your web site). See ConferZone for links to many web casting sites.
• Send out "save-the-date" e-mail announcements well in advance of the meeting.
• Use appropriate forums to advertise your web site and the meeting when appropriate. (Note: crass commercialism is not considered proper "netiquette" – so be aware of the rules of the particular forum before you list.)
• Use your member/customer e-mail lists to promote the meeting. Directing them to your web site – offering a single click, one-stop shopping for registration, housings, air, car, entertainment, site information (see items below).
• Offer freebies (free books, drawings, registration, etc.) at your site to increase traffic and, while there, entice viewers to sign the "guest book."
• Utilize these "guest book" signatures as a mailing list for further promotion.
• Offer a registration discount for those registering via the web.
• Include an exhibit pass at the site – which can be printed for a discounted or free exhibit entry (if you charge for admission to your tradeshow).
• During the meeting, upload pictures of the event to encourage local walk-ins and to make others wish they were there for the next time.
• Use reciprocal linking to other complimentary or related web sites to bring in additional traffic.

Convenience & Usability

• Develop and promote on-line registrations at your web site.
• Make the on-line registration form user-friendly, allowing for individual session sign up.
• Utilize an automated e-mail confirmation system giving immediate feedback that the registration has been received.
• Use a secure server and allow credit card purchases of on-line registration and products. This increases your site legitimacy – in fact, many savvy surfers will only use secure sites for on-line purchasing.
• Give people multiple purchase options (credit cards on line, snail mail, print form and fax, toll free phone).
• Link your site to on-line housing (adding convenience).
• Link your site to your official air carrier (adding convenience).
• Link your site to your official car rental agency.
• Link to area and city information sites.
• Link to area sports and event attraction sites.
• Link to area restaurant and club sites.
• Link to area weather information sites

Surveys/Forums

• Use advance e-mail surveys to determine attendee expectations, interests and desires.
• Use post conference e-mail and on-line surveys to determine customer satisfaction level, areas that need improvement, new topics for presentation.
• Have an "ask the presenters" forum, or "ask the conference chair" forum where prospective attendees can pose questions in advance.

Corbin Ball, CMP is a professional speaker and consultant focusing on meetings technology. With 20 years of experience running international citywide technology meetings, he now helps clients worldwide use technology to save time and improve productivity He can be contacted at his extensive web site: www.corbinball.com.