Aloha on Rails Debrief
Aloha, I wanted to drop some knowledge in the hopes that it might help others with their own conference. Here's what I learned from putting on Aloha on Rails : * People wait until the last minute to sign up. I thought I knew what this meant, but it's quite literal. Certainly, people signed up with the early bird discounts, but I had signups all the way through the end. * I sent out marketing "care packages" to user groups (including posters and hawaiian chocolates), however I don't get the sense this actually helped with registrations. * Oddly enough, a lot of my marketing was through Twitter. * I did exchange sponsorship for advertising with Ruby Row, and I know that some people signed up because of those ads. * I invested a lot in hiring and working with a professional Design firm (http://www.ocupop.com) This helped make the conference look professional and legitimate. I can't stress the importance of having a professional firm han...