Soon you’ll begin planning and promoting your 2011 national convention. Maybe you’re thinking about sending out printed invitations, professionally designed evites or maybe posting videos online. All of these are great ideas, but they can be time-consuming and costly to produce. However, one of the most effective tools in your arsenal is also one of the easiest (and cheapest) to implement—plain testimonials from your attendees. And if you didn’t collect these at your 2010 event itself, now is the time to get them!

Simply send an email to everyone who attended your 2010 event and tell them you’re looking for quotes you can use to promote your 2011 event. Ask for short comments on specific aspects of the events—the training, major announcements, guest speakers, the recognition or any special fun events you had. Invite attendees to share their photos with you as well! While many may not be useable, others may be and you’ll be glad you have them.

Comments on training are especially valuable. It’s been my experience that training, more than any other part of a convention, is what brings people in and keeps them coming back. So be sure to ask specifically for comments on training.

Your own field events happening over the coming weeks are another great source of testimonials. Many companies will be having fall meetings or Leadership events in the early part of the new year. These are great opportunities to harvest testimonials, both written and on video. These days, decent video cameras can be purchased for surprisingly little money. So use your fall/winter events to collect more testimonials. You’ll be glad you did!

Then once you have your testimonials, post them on your website, put them in communications about your convention, make them part of your printed invitations or evites. There are many places and ways to use testimonials, but first, you have to have them. So start collecting your testimonials now, and then use them to promote your 2011 national convention in the best, easiest way possible.

Dick Wilson has over 20 years experience writing and producing events for direct sales companies. Learn more how Dick can help you at http://luceandassociates.com/Dick-Wilson.html.

A theme is an important component of a meeting, but probably not for the reasons you think. So before you spend hours in brainstorming meetings in anticipation of your 2011 event themes, consider why themes exist and what they’re really meant to do. To do that, you need to understand 2 basic truths about themes.

Truth #1: Your audience doesn’t care about your theme. Really, they don’t. A theme is like so many other things at an event—it’s only likely to be noticed or remembered if it’s absent, weird or not working. If you need confirmation just ask anyone who attended one of your recent events what its theme was. Chances are they won’t remember, probably because they never knew what it was in the first place. And that’s fine, because the theme really isn’t for the attendees at all!

Truth #2: Your theme is for you. Regardless of your role in an event, a good theme is your best friend. It will help you decorate your room, design your logo, write your scripts and create your Powerpoints. So choose your themes thoughtfully and carefully. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

1. Less is more. The theme is the official name for your conference, so keep it short. For years it seemed as though “verb the noun” themes (Seize the Day, Leading the Way, etc.) would never go away. Fortunately these days one and two-word themes are more common and more workable.
2. What kind of starting point does your theme present? Your theme should be versatile enough to let you go places with it, lots of places. For example, a theme like “Imagine” opens up all sorts of possibilities… creativity in business, the future, famous artists and their works, the list could go on and on.
3. Think of your theme as the bookends for your event. Picture yourself delivering your opening and your closing remarks. Imagine what you’ll say about your theme—why you chose it, how it relates to the audience, your event, your key announcements. Then consider what your parting words will be to your audience and how you’ll wrap your theme around that. Your theme should provide the logical bookends for your event. If the words come to you naturally and quickly, you have a good theme.

Quick! What was the theme of the last event you attended?!

Dick Wilson has over 20 years experience writing and producing events for direct sales companies. Learn more how Dick can help you at http://luceandassociates.com/Dick-Wilson.html.

Logo Design: Dick Wilson

Do you spend a lot of time looking for information that you already have? I do, even though I’m very careful about creating folders, subfolders and everything else you’re supposed to do to keep computer files organized. Usually if I can’t find what I need, the reason is often the same. It has everything to do with the name of the file.

What makes a file name good or not so good? It’s all about your point of view, or rather, thinking in terms of the other person’s point of view. So many people consider only their own perspective. I can’t tell you how many documents I’ve received with names like “Speech” or “My Presentation.” Names like those aren’t much help to anyone, including the document’s creator.

So if you’re creating a document that’s likely to be shared, give it a name that makes sense from anyone’s frame of reference. Instead of “My Presentation,” name it something like “(Your Name) (Your company) 2009 Marketing Presentation.” Or if the presentation already has an “official” name, perhaps as part of an event schedule, use that name. Assigning the right file name makes things easier for everyone.

Dick’s an accomplished print writer, audio/video copywriter, promotional writer, script & speech writer, director/producer of conventions & events, . He can craft an effective message in almost any medium. He understands how to motivate, inform and entertain a direct sales audience.  Learn more about how he can help you at http://luceandassociates.com/Dick-Wilson.html

Dick Wilson

I coined the term “Revenge of the Word Processor” in the early ’80s, when I first began using a computer. The phrase refers to the unintentionally amusing, embarrassing, or goofy results that happen when people let their spell check software run, well, unchecked.

A great example of this happened last week to a luckless copy editor at Brigham Young University’s student newspaper. Spell check turned what should have been the word “apostle” into “apostate,” which means almost the exact opposite. A quick proofreading would have revealed the mistake, but that didn’t happen. Instead, thousands of newspapers were printed, distributed and then hastily recalled.

The moral? Take the time to proofread. Spell check is a great first step to help catch common spelling or typographical errors. But step #2 should always be a careful proofreading by at least one pair of human eyes. That’s the only way to make sure you don‟t fall victim to Revenge of the Word Processor.

How do you handle the copy you produce for your events and publications?  Would love hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Dick’s an accomplished print writer, audio/video copywriter, promotional writer, script & speech writer, director/producer of conventions & events, he can craft an effective message in almost any medium. He understands how to motivate, inform and entertain a direct sales audience.  Learn more about how he can help you at http://luceandassociates.com/Dick-Wilson.html