A Tale of Four Events, Told by an Editor

As webmaster for three guilds, event organizers often ask me to spread the word.

I usually oblige. Google will see that our site links to your site, and know that we think your event and your website are valuable. This is good for you. When people look up your event, they might find our site’s listing. Both guilds win.

Event 1

Hi Sandy. Here’s a five-page letter describing our event. Date and location are buried in it somewhere, maybe. Please let your members know. We don’t have a website, or if we do it’s impossible to find event information on it.

My reaction: Is it worth looking up where and when, only to learn it’s on another continent? Or to reduce your letter to just a few sentences, so you get the same amount of space as other events on our calendar?

Event 2

Hi Sandy. Here is a poster for our great event. You can read the details on it.

My reaction: I have to read and then type the information so our members can read it easily. If it’s PDF format, I have to convert it to JPG, since free WordPress sites don’t display PDF. Also, Google cannot reliably read images, so if I don’t type the information, Google won’t see it. Our members who have difficulty seeing or use their cellphones will not be able to read it. Is it worth my time?

Event 3

Hi Sandy, Please let your members know of our event at Local Venue on Date.

My reaction: What city? Is it close enough to interest our members?

Event 4

Hi Sandy, Please let your members know of our event. A poster is attached.

The Wonderful Event will be at 6pm on July 3,
at The Beautiful Venue, 123 Main Street, Nearby City.
email@email.com, phone number, http://www.example.com

Another hundred words describing it.

And another three hundred words if you have room.

My reaction: Two minutes to forward to my guild’s email list, and another five to put the text and poster on our website. Another minute or so to read and add as much extra text as fits our calendar format. That includes logging in to the site. They respect my time. Under 10 minutes to get a high-quality result.

Our members can quickly decide if they can and want to go, see the poster, and look at your site to learn more about you. Everybody’s happy.