My sister-in-law Gail turned 75 last month and we staged a celebration for her at the
Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, MA. The event featured great food and performances by attendees, including the guest of honor.
Invitations were by
EventSpot, the
Constant Contact event product. Gail is an actor and has recently discovered a clowning workshop called
Nose to Nose. The party was also a fund raiser for her to attend Clown2. (That explains the photo.)
EventSpot has three elements: an invitation, a registration and a webpage. It tracks responses, allows you to print a list of attendees and makes it easy to remind people of the event via email.
The ElementsTo start, you fill out a form with answers to the obvious questions--where, when, what, cost etc. The system works for online events, too. Then you have a choice of what to create next.
All the elements are optional. If yours is an open event and you don't need to know who is coming, you might just want the webpage. If, like ours, you want RSVP's, but it's a closed invitation list, then you can skip the webpage and just use the invitation.
The elements you choose to use are all customized to the same theme so they match.
As with email marketing,
Constant Contact has a huge selection of pre-designed themes that include specific events like Halloween and Father's Day, general templates for business or charity events, personal celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries and then some all-purpose templates that will do for anything. It was easy to find a theme that everyone liked.
The registration form has check boxes for information you might want to collect from attendees, or you can choose to customize your questions. For example, if your event is pot luck, you can ask people to list what they are bringing. If there is a charge for your event, you can collect online via credit card or PayPal, ask for checks by mail or payment at the door.
The event webpage is hosted by
Constant Contact with text and images to help promote your event. If you include a webpage, it will be the first stop for registrants. Otherwise, invitees will get an email invite with a link to the registration form.
If you'd like to try EventSpot, be in touch. I'm still looking for six new customers, so my offer of an hour's free consulting is available. And the system is so easy, that's probably all the help you'll need.
OutcomeWe got lots of positive feedback from the attendees--they loved the party. They liked the invite, too. And Gail was so happy with the email process that she asked me to help her send an electronic thank you. And yes, she's going to advanced clown school in April.