What are Waiting Lists?
Let's say you're on Meetup.com looking for a Meetup group in a specific topic near you. Let's say...oh...a Knitting Meetup group in Needles, California.
If you find that there isn't such a Meetup group in that area yet, you can sign up to get free email alerts when someone starts a new Knitting Meetup Group near you. Then when a Meetup group in that topic and location gets started, you and all the other Waiting List members will be notified. So when a Knitting Meetup group in Needles, CA gets created, everyone on the Knitting Waiting List for Needles will hear about it!
Here's how to sign up for a Waiting List:
- Find the homepage of the topic in which you're interested. If you wanted to find a Knitting Meetup, that page would be http://knitting.meetup.com. Pugs, http://pug.meetup.com. You get the picture. (Want to browse our topics? Click here!)
- Once you're on a topic homepage, click the "Your City" link on the left.
- Click the "Sign up" link under "Didn't find the right Meetup Group for you?"
Once you're a Waiting List member, you can adjust your Waiting List settings and/or cancel your Waiting List notifications through your account page, http://www.meetup.com/account/?tab=comm. Just go there and under the "Your Alerts" section, you'll see how to make any desired changes.
How do Waiting Lists help Organizers?
If you're thinking of starting a new Meetup group, Waiting Lists can show you that there are members
waiting for just such a Meetup group in your area. 72 hours after you
start a new Meetup group, all the Waiting List members for that topic
and area receive an email telling them about your new Meetup group and
inviting them to join.
Why wait 72 hours? Good question. This gives you time to get your Meetup group in order. Add a photo, set up an event, etc. That way your Meetup group will look great when members hear about it!
So we automatically contact Waiting List members about your new Meetup group. You can contact them, too! As an Organizer, you can send an unlimited number of messages to Waiting List members in your topic. Just go to the Waiting List page and click the "Invite XYZ to your group" link next to each member. Here's a super simple way to do that:
- Click the "Promote" link on the Meetup group you run.
- Click the "Invite Meetup members" link.
- Presto! You'll see the Waiting List page for your topic and city!
You can also contact and invite Waiting List members in other topics, but in that case, there's a limit of 12 messages per day. For instance, if you organize a Chihuahua Meetup group, and you want to contact the Small Dogs Waiting List members, you can email 12 of those members in a single day. Want to contact more than 12? Just wait till tomorrow.
So, if you've just created a new Meetup group, know that in 72 hours we'll tell the local Waiting List members about your new Meetup group and invite them to join. Use that time to make your Meetup group look and sound great! And consider sending those Waiting List members your own follow up invite. It's a great way to personally encourage them to join your Meetup group and will get you more members!
