I hosted another Reading Party in NYC!
We spent 2 hours reading books, discussing lessons, and socializing.
Here's what I learned and what I'm changing going forward:
1) People love the BYOB concept (Bring Your Own BOOK).
This way you can bring a book you're interested in (can be a new book or one you're already reading) instead of the typical book club format where everyone has to read the same book.
2) People love discovering new books.
Since everyone is reading a different book, people enjoy learning what others are reading and finding unique books they wouldn't have considered otherwise.
3) Name tags are MUST.
Once an event has more than 10 people it's impossible to remember everyone's name. And you don't want to constantly ask people "Sorry, but what's your name again?" Instead, just buy a pack of nametags and it'll make the event much more enjoyable for everyone.
4) It takes time to get into a flow state.
Instead of two 30-minute reading sessions, I'm going to try doing one 1-hour reading session. It takes time for people to get into a flow reading state so I think one longer reading session will work better than two shorter ones.
5) Life happens.
29 people paid for the event, 22 confirmed attendance, but only 13 showed up. Some people had to cancel because of work, kids, or other life events. Life will happen so plan for about a 50% attendance rate.
6) People who read books are default interesting.
One person ran an inspirational agency, another person worked at a Fortune 100 company, and another person founded a startup. People who read, especially non-fiction, are usually ambitious, creative, or a combination of both.
7) Incentives work.
For this event, I added an option that if you bought 2 tickets (1 for you and 1 for a friend), you got a free book. As a result, this event had 29 signups, an 81% increase over the last event which had 16 signups.
- - -
Overall this event was super fun and I plan on hosting another one in September.
If you're interested in attending, comment "NYC" below!
We spent 2 hours reading books, discussing lessons, and socializing.
Here's what I learned and what I'm changing going forward:
1) People love the BYOB concept (Bring Your Own BOOK).
This way you can bring a book you're interested in (can be a new book or one you're already reading) instead of the typical book club format where everyone has to read the same book.
2) People love discovering new books.
Since everyone is reading a different book, people enjoy learning what others are reading and finding unique books they wouldn't have considered otherwise.
3) Name tags are MUST.
Once an event has more than 10 people it's impossible to remember everyone's name. And you don't want to constantly ask people "Sorry, but what's your name again?" Instead, just buy a pack of nametags and it'll make the event much more enjoyable for everyone.
4) It takes time to get into a flow state.
Instead of two 30-minute reading sessions, I'm going to try doing one 1-hour reading session. It takes time for people to get into a flow reading state so I think one longer reading session will work better than two shorter ones.
5) Life happens.
29 people paid for the event, 22 confirmed attendance, but only 13 showed up. Some people had to cancel because of work, kids, or other life events. Life will happen so plan for about a 50% attendance rate.
6) People who read books are default interesting.
One person ran an inspirational agency, another person worked at a Fortune 100 company, and another person founded a startup. People who read, especially non-fiction, are usually ambitious, creative, or a combination of both.
7) Incentives work.
For this event, I added an option that if you bought 2 tickets (1 for you and 1 for a friend), you got a free book. As a result, this event had 29 signups, an 81% increase over the last event which had 16 signups.
- - -
Overall this event was super fun and I plan on hosting another one in September.
If you're interested in attending, comment "NYC" below!
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
