If you've found your way to this post, there's a chance you're a planner girl...so HI! On to business..how to plan a planner meetup. I know you have tons of questions and may be a little scared, because seriously..how easy is it to find other planner girls in your area? If you're unable to find local planner girls in your area..well that's a whole other post (which I would totally write for you).
Long story short, I live in an extremely small town near a smallish city. Surrounding by and inside that city, are tons and I do mean tons of small towns that I've never heard of. Yet we all go to the same craft store which is about 20mins from all of us. Needless to say, each and every one of us thought we were the only planner girl in the area. So the time came for us to meetup. Since I started the facebook group and went on a manhunt searching for members in all those tiny towns in planner Facebook groups, I needed to plan a meetup. I had no idea where to start; but with the help of my new-found local planner bestie..we pulled it off. Now it wasn't a huge crowd of attendees but we had enough swag for 15 attendees, just incase some schedules changed!
Seriously...now we're getting to business. Here are the questions you should ask yourself and the answers I'll be providing.
1. How many attendees? If you don't have a local planner facebook group yet, you should get one. If you have trouble actually getting someone to start the group with you, you should be searching your area in FB planner groups to find someone (leave me a comment if you need help). Make a post in your local planner group with a general time-frame and ask everyone when would be a good time to have the meetup aka not on a birthday or holiday.
We used bags from dollar tree, in the future we'll make canvas bags to put swag in.
2. Would they be willing to pitch in money or have a potluck since you guys have never met? The answer to this question is most likely no, they wouldn't. Chances are if you're here, you haven't had a meetup yet. Which means you all don't know each other too well. For that reason and based on the answer of #1, you shouldn't expect to host a full-on convention or potluck at a rented space..ie.hotel with 5 planner girls you've only known 2 months. In cases that the answer is no, consider having your meetup at a restaurant. My meetup was outdoors at El Chico. It has decent prices and a lot of appetizers..not to mention space for all of those planners! This way everyone can get to know each other before money or potluck is involved!
3. Will there be swag, how do you get it? WARNING: there will be those that will say you can't get "free" swag from shops because your meetup doesn't have a billion attendees. Granted a lot of attendees will get the attention of more(& bigger shops) but don't be discouraged. We advertised our meetup at 15 attendees and received several responses. We did not ask or approach any shops for swag. I will put the picture I posted on instagram (use popular tags such as #planner,#eclp,#plannermeetup,#stickers) below. I posted the picture on Instagram only a few times throughout 3 months (you can do more, but no spamming!). I'd recommend posting on insta instead of planner fb groups, unless you are well-known and aren't breaking their rules. It is VERY important that you encourage your attendees to show appreciation by purchasing from the sponsor shops and promoting their donation (big or small) every chance they get! If you don't get any donations, that's fine! Added swag could also simply be washi samples that you or someone else has offered. With some of our ideas below, everyone will leave with something regardless!
4. What in the world are we going to do at the meetup? We planned our meetup at a restaurant to help ease the expected awkwardness but it wasn't needed. There was no awkwardness. When we first arrived we introduced ourselves, which eventually led us to talking about our llama-ness(hey planners gone wild!) which eventually led us into our planners.
The first activity we did was intended to be a washi "bar" (yes you heard it here first) but ended up being a washi "pass". Basically I put all(100 rolls maybe) of my washi in a box, added plastic bobbins (optional album rings), scissors and literally it went around the table. For a big attendance, have everyone bring any washi they'd like to share and set out bowls with the supplies on a table and create your own washi bar or buffet!
Another activity involved was a stash n grab! Basically everyone brings any planner-related items they don't want and puts them in a box for other attendees to go through and take what they desire. Some of the things I included were target dollar spot items, washi rolls, and sticker sheets. I also cut up sticker kits I wouldn't use (one of them had 20 checklists left..that's a $5 value haha!).
What I left the meetup with:
Since our first meetup was small and there were other obligations, it lasted around 2 hours. With a bigger meetup (yes, I already have fun ideas), there would be more activities entailing it to last longer. If you're nervous about meeting new people, just remember that you all have something in common..your planners. One more thing, don't forget to take a #PlannerStack picture!
If you enjoyed this post, have any questions or would like more posts relating to planners and meetups just leave me a comment and I got youuu <3 I'd like to thank our sponsor Etsy shops one more time (pictured above). If you happen to stop by, tell them Keshia Glam sent you :)
Naomi Plans, Panda Bird Design, Simple Southern Mommy, The Green Grizzly, and the tassel/charm shop: Louisiana Bling !
