Contacting Your Meetup Group — Newsletters, Templates and More

Okay, now you've found the Email Group link on the home page of your Meetup group. Here are some ideas to make the best possible use of it:

When writing group emails...

• Keep it short and relevant. Most people don’t read past the second paragraph, so make sure you cover the important stuff first. Even more importantly, don’t spam the group with trivia that has little to do with their interests.


• Make it personal and inviting. Vary your content with a few lines of news about other members, or other upcoming events. This will keep your e-mails fresh, and give people another reason to read them.


• Ask for ideas and feedback. The more you involve the members, the more excited they will be about being part of your Meetup group.

The power of newsletters

Michael Phipps has found newsletters to be very successful in the groups that he organizes. Here is what he has to say:

As an Organizer, use the ability to contact your group to send a regular newsletter out to everyone.

• Show Someone Cares.Your members are aware that the newsletter is human written, and know at least someone is getting of their backside and putting some effort in the group. It makes the group seem active, and an active group is what attracts more members who turn up to meetings.


• New Members. Take the opportunity to welcome any new members that have signed up since your last communication. It makes them feel they have been noticed, and they are quite likely to attend the first meeting because you acknowledge their presence.


• Highlight Your Meetup Group's Home Page. Advertise a poll, get opinions, include links to articles on websites your group may find interesting. Encourage discussion in the forum.


• Remind Them About the Next Meetup. Always mention the next meetup is ON - particularly if members are used to the old system of meetups being cancelled due to lack of interest.


• Thank Sponsors. If businesses are supporting your group, it is a great opportunity to promote them.

Don't go into too much detail in your newsletter. You want to plant seeds for topics to discuss either in the forums or at a Meetup. Newsletters work. I've used the above techniques to bring my old dead group back to life.

A Sample Letter

This sample letter comes from veteran organizer Pat Finegan

Subj: friendly reminder: German Meetup Thursday 8/19 at Loreley
Date: 8/16/04 2:22:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: PatFinegan

There is a German Meetup this Thursday evening, August 19th, at Loreley Restaurant, 7 Rivington Street between Bowery and Chrystie, beginning at 7 p.m. As always, there will be 35 to 45 participants, including many native and fluent German speakers. The sessions are a wonderful opportunity to enjoy German conversation, bask in the moonlit glow of Loreley's beer garden, and expand your network of German-speaking friends. All ages and abilities are welcome.

Also, Katharina W----- wrote me to inquire whether any of our members might have a spare room for her to crash in or rent during her next 3 weeks in New York. She is a graduate student at Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany, but is conducting field research on urban amenities (i.e., "nightlife") in downtown Manhattan (no, I didn't make this up). She is a close friend of Johannes A----, whom you may recall from his internship last summer with the Pratt Institute. If you or someone you know can help Katharina out, please let me know and I will have her contact you. She arrives this coming Saturday and departs on Saturday, September 11th.

Last, Amy S-----'s plan to host a potluck German picnic last weekend on Roosevelt Island fell through because of a bad head cold, but she is considering a substitute picnic around Labor Day. An exact date hasn't been established, but please let us know if you are interested and have a preference (Saturday, Sunday, Monday). Our previous picnic was a blast. Hope to see you all on Thursday.

mit herzlichen Gruessen,
Pat Finegan

Some suggested templates

All these templates come courtesy of Organizer Renee Alper:

Template 1: New Organizer

I bit the bullet and signed up to organize the YourCity ________ meetup, just so we can meet already! Please contact me with ideas for when/where/what time this group should meet, as well as ideas on what we should do once we do meet. Remember, a group no longer needs five RSVP's in order to meet -- it's up to us now!

(Please also send me your e-mail address and your phone number, to help facilitate contacting you for future meetups!)

Thanks for your help. Hope to meet you all soon!

Your Name
(Organizer -- YourCity ________ Meetup
(E-Mail Address)
(Phone Number)

Template 2: More RSVPs Needed

Not enough members have yet RSVP'ed yet for the next YourCity _________ meetup. If you are interested in meeting in December, please e-mail me with any dates that you are available. If meeting at YourVenue is inconvenient for you, please let me know that as well.

Now that there is an Organizer for each group, we can move the date, time, and venue to whatever is convenient for those who wish to attend. With the new version of Meetup, we also can meet with as few people as we wish.

As Organizer, it is helpful to me to have members RSVP with 'no' and 'maybe', as well as 'yes' responses. This lets me know that you are interested in the group, even though you can't make this particular meetup.

So, speak out! Tell me what your ideal YourCity ______ Meetup would be like! I'd love to hear from you!

Your Name
Organizer -- YourCity _______ Meetup
(E-mail Address)
(Phone Number)

Template 3: Thanking Members Who RSVP'ed with a "No" or "Maybe"

Renee notes:

This template is EXTREMELY useful to the Organizer. We all want our members to RSVP, even if they can't make the event, as it lets us know who's really still interested in the group. To reinforce a desirable behavior, all psychologists know that a positive stimulus in response to that behavior will tend to reinforce it. In other words, if you tell somebody that an action they have done is good, they're more likely to do it again!

Remind these potential future attendees that you are an active (or are working on being an active) meetup. If they like the direction the group is going, they will eventually make time in their lives for an in-person appearance (or so we all hope)!

How can you reach these RSVP'ers directly, in order to thank them? There are two ways:

1. Buy Meetup+, which allows you to e-mail any meetup member who has not turned off their e-mail in their preferences (denoted by a red diagonal line through the envelope icon next to their name); or
2. Send an e-mail in the "Contact Group" section of your Organizer tools (located on the left side of your group's "Welcome" page). Select the current meetup date, and click on the 'maybe' and/or 'no' RSVP's for that particular meetup. Since the message applies to ALL members who RSVP'ed 'no' or 'maybe', this works even if there is more than one person in a RSVP catagory. You can also edit this to work for 'yes' RSVPs.

Thank you for your '____' RSVP for the YourCity _________ Meetup. Believe it or not, this really helps, because it lets me know you are visiting the website and/or reading the e-mail I send.

(If enough other members are unable to attend the ThisMonth Meetup), I would be delighted to move the event to a better day of the members' choosing (provided I am available). We could also change the venue, if that is the problem. If there is sometime (or someplace) better for you, please e-mail or call me, and I will change it.

(In this section, you can give a brief description of your group's goals, reminding members that you value their input in the group's future course.)

(If you are willing, please also send me your e-mail address and your phone number, to help facilitate contacting you for future meetups!)

Thanks again for your RSVP, and I look forward to seeing you at a future YourCity _______ Meetup.

Your Name
Organizer -- YourCity _______ Meetup
(E-mail Address)
(Phone Number)

Template 4: Cancelling the Meetup

I'm so sorry to have to cancel the upcoming YourCity ________ Meetup. Since no one else RSVP'ed, I feel I have no choice but to cancel. If you were interested in attending, but did not RSVP, I have no way to know about it. This is why RSVP'ing is so important, even if its 'Maybe' or 'No'.

Remember that the day/time/venue for meetups are now changeble, to suit the preferences of our members. Just let me know what works for YOU, and I will coordinate the best meetup possible based on the members' answers.

We can even schedule another meetup for later in ThisMonth, if members are available.

Please let me know your preferences, and let's start meeting (or YourMeetup'sActivity-ing)!

Your Name
(Organizer -- YourCity ________ Meetup
(E-Mail Address)
(Phone Number)

Template 5: Welcoming New Members

Renee notes the following about this template:

There are only two ways to contact a new member directly:

1. Buy Meetup+, which allows you to e-mail any meetup member who has not turned off their e-mail in their preferences (denoted by a red diagonal line through the envelope icon next to their name); or
2. One alternative is to post a message like this on your group's message board, rewording it a bit to make it make sense (addressing the group instead of the member, telling them that there is a new member, and without the other more personal touches -- although the description of the group's goals or of the last meetup are perfectly fine here as well).

In addition to (or instead of) a personal letter or a post on your group's message board, you can acknowledge a new member (or their RSVP) in the comment that follows your RSVP, e.g. "The YourCity __________ Meetup welcomes new member TheirName!" This comment feature is another great reason for an Organizer to RSVP for his own group's meetup!

Welcome to the YourCity _________ Meetup! I'm glad you joined our group.

(In this section, give a brief description of your last meetup or two, or, if you have never had a meetup, describe how you would like your group to be. BE HONEST, but with a light coating of idealism. For example, if you and one other person met at your last meetup, talk about the things that happened, like "At our last meetup, we discussed ________" -- but you don't need to mention that there were only two of you!)

(If you are willing, please also send me your e-mail address and your phone number, to help facilitate contacting you for future meetups!)

I look forward to seeing you at the next YourCity _______ Meetup on DayofWeek, Month Day, at Time, at YourVenue. Thanks for your interest, and see you there!

Your Name
Organizer -- YourCity _______ Meetup
(E-mail Address)
(Phone Number)