How To Run Events/Create Content/Generate Interest

Jurixe

I decided to make this topic as it seems there is and has been an interest on learning more about event/activity running. I think there are actually many people who like and want to run activities, but perhaps have been discouraged for one reason or another; hopefully this can help you guys out one way or another, and the community benefits from more engaged people/more interesting events as a result.

First off, disclaimer: I am by no means any sort of an expert in the above field(s) and anything I say in this topic is derived from my experiences only. Please do not take it as the be-all and end-all. Having said that, I love planning and organising events more than just about anything in Achaea and I've done it a lot in the last 9 years, so there's bound to be some things that resonate.

I'm breaking these down into separate posts as I've apparently exceeded character limits (whoops) so please be aware that these posts can be quite long. I'm almost certain to have missed out something so fellow event/activity-runners, please feel free to share your thoughts/add in as you notice anything.

I am fully open to discussion on any of these points and welcome private messages as well if you prefer not to have a public discussion. In my view, the more people who want to run activities, the better, and if I can help you out with that I'm all for it. Activity is important for any organisation.

Most importantly, we can have all these guidelines, but sometimes you should just take a deep breath, jump in feet first, and see how it goes. If it doesn't work, you climb back out and try again. If it does, great success! You've got nothing to lose and you'll only get better as you continue.

Note: This thread is not a critique of any events or activities, past or present, in Achaea, and how they have been done. I'd appreciate it if people could refrain from mudslinging in here as I intend for this thread to be a resource, not a performance appraisal. I'm sure we are all more mature than that but I felt it was necessary to mention.

Jurixe

TL;DR version:

So You Want To Run An Event/Activity

1. Have the right reason to run an event.

2. Your event must serve a distinct purpose.

3. You must have enough time to organise your event.

4. Don't depend on admin help.

5. Be flexible. Things will go wrong. Roll with it.

Event/Activity Creation

What is the following for your event:

- Purpose

- Scope

- Audience

- Duration

- Time

- Rules

- Benefit

Interest Generation

- Make announcements through available channels

- Do the legwork and start 'selling' your event personally

- Try to persuade people, but don't be annoying

- Leverage on your network for word-of-mouth recommendation

Self Care

- You'll have to work harder than anyone else. Are you ok with this?

- Enjoy the process and the culmination, and help everyone else enjoy it too, even if your audience is just one other person

- Be the example you want to see

- Don't be arrogant. It's a turn off

- Get a good support system

- Take breaks, pace yourself

Have fun and don't give up!

Jurixe

So You Want To Run An Event/Activity

Important questions to ask yourself:

1. Why do I want to run this event?

Common answers: To generate interest in a particular area, to generate activity in the organisation. If your answer is 'to satisfy a requirement' or 'to give myself a sense of achievement', that's ok as long as it's not the primary reason. If it is, it's unlikely your event will stand out because you won't really be willing to go the extra mile for it.

2. What purpose does it serve?

The most successful events all serve a distinct purpose. A hunting contest to generate essence because your city's just had a shrine war and your God needs essence. A live raiding exercise because a lot of people in your city are inexperienced in group combat. An in-city scavenger hunt because you have a lot of newbies who aren't familiar with the city. In all these scenarios, participation in the activity helps the character grow.

You can have events just for the sake of having events (random quizzes etc) but even these usually have a point. To build camaraderie. To get citymates to interact with each other. The more distinct the purpose of your event or activity, the more worthwhile it will be to others. 'Fluff' events generally have low turnouts except in more casual cities because people dismiss them as being unimportant, which is a fair assessment.

3. Do I have the time to dedicate to organising it?

Do not underestimate this. If you don't have the time to plan it out properly and be around to market it, consider waiting until you're ready. Half-assed efforts often fall short and generally leave everyone vaguely disinterested/disappointed. If you're going to do something, do it well till the end.

4. Can I do it as a player, or will I need admin help?

It's highly inadvisable to plan your event in a way that you need admin help, unless it's something of major importance (such as a centennial, perhaps). The admin of Achaea are excellent, but they already have plenty to do and their time is not something you can control. Where possible, try to keep everything at the player level - if you get help, that's a bonus, but without it your event won't fall apart.

5. Can I be flexible?

It is almost a guarantee that things will never turn out quite how you planned it, especially if it involves other people. Have contingency plans. Be able to adapt on the fly. Consider worst-case scenarios and what you can do. The ability to think on your feet is crucial; never show your audience that everything behind the scenes is falling apart or they will lose confidence in you, and subsequently, their interest.

Jurixe

Creating An Event/Activity

Important questions to ask:

1. Define your event.

You must be clear about the following things for your event:
- Purpose
- Scope
- Audience
- Duration
- Time
- Rules
- Benefit

These will be explained in more detail below.

a. Purpose

See answer for question 2 above.

b. Scope

How big is this event? House-only? City-only? Public? The larger it is, the more planning and the more time you will need to run it. It's a mistake to think that only 'big' events can be significant events. That isn't true at all. What's more important is is it interesting, can it contribute to a character's growth, is it memorable?

An example: I once ran an event where I asked participants to describe themselves in three words, and then we dissected those words over HT and made a lesson about perception from it. Easy, small, but thought-provoking and character-building. Events or activities don't always have to be grand to be relevant.

c. Audience

Who are you creating this event for? What is the personality of your audience? To get the highest chance of participation, you must know your audience well and tailor the programme to them. I wouldn't, for example, hold a dancing contest for Mhaldorians because I consider it too frivolous (personal opinion). However, I would hold a martial arts demonstration or ritual duelling, which is basically the same thing (emotes) except in a setting more appropriate to my audience.

I discourage generic, least-effort formats because they just don't inspire interest and action. You want your audience to be excited and join? Or better yet, to remember your activity? Then you better put in the work to enticing them and making it memorable.

d. Duration

This depends on your purpose and scope. For short-term events (ie a flash quiz), I recommend no more than 15 minutes as that's about the limit of time people are willing to spend on trying something new. They don't like it, it's only 15 minutes that they've spent; they like it, then next time they'll ask for it to be extended and you can tailor accordingly.

For long-term events, I don't recommend anything longer than an IC year. That's already almost two weeks, which should have been plenty of time for people to get involved. The longer something runs, the higher the chances of people forgetting about it/getting bored of sustaining the momentum of participation.

e. Time

Timing, the bane of all activity/event organisers. This one is a very difficult thing to decide; if it's an event that requires everyone to be there, I would suggest somewhere around Serenade on the American weekends is safe numbers-wise. That way, Asia-Pacific people can still join if they wake up a bit earlier (sorry Europeans). 

If you want to let as many people as possible to participate, however, then it's almost certain that you'll need to run it over a length of time, perhaps via news posts or other mediums. Point collection scoring systems are great for this, as long as everyone keeps records properly.

If the time you planned to run your event is just not a good time, don't be afraid to change it. Sometimes things just don't go as planned and that's ok.

f. Rules

Make sure the rules of your event are clear and don't change them too much unless you find you've made a mistake or the event will run better once it's modified. Most rules should be common sense, but there are always one or two who will try to manipulate wordings etc. If you think your audience has participants like these, try to anticipate how they might try to game the system and warn against it, but avoid trying to make a rule for every possible situation as it will confuse people. Past a certain point, people have just got to be more mature about things.

Plus you can always warn/disqualify them if they aren't playing with the proper spirit, it's your event/activity after all. It's ok to make follow-up posts or announcements to clarify the rules if necessary.

g. Benefit

People want to be part of storylines because it can help their character grow, give them an important memory and add to their own story. Random quiz #300 probably isn't going to do much for them, but if you can position the event or activity in a way that participating in it is depicted as a sign of progress for both character and organisation, that will greatly increase people's interest. Especially if it is something unique to that organisation's culture.

On a world level, the Asterian Restoration in particular has been an excellent training ground on how to convince vastly different organisations to participate in our events. We must think as they do: what would convince Targossas, for example, to join a convention with Mhaldor? The answer: our world stage gives them greater visibility and they can counter Mhaldor's proselytisation efforts. Your event must offer a significant enough benefit to a reluctant participant to convince them to join, and even better if the benefit you offer is unique to you or your organisation.

Where possible, organisations should try to have unique traditions that help build pride and distinction. The community is getting smaller, yes, but strong organisational identities and culture are instrumental in building distinct characters, and having unique practices and traditions is part of that. I'm not just talking about full House member stuff, either.

Beyond intangible rewards, some form of practical reward also goes a long way towards getting participation in general events. Credits, gold, etc may motivate those less moved by character or story-building rewards, and can further incentivise those who may already be interested. It's a tangible, universally useful reward and encourages them to participate fully so they can reap the rewards for their time. Most organisations are only too happy to support such events, so speak to your leader and see if you can't raise some funds.

Extra: How can it be better than previous events?

If similar events have been run in the past, analyse them if you can. What worked in the way they were run? What didn't work? Did a lot of people join the design contest because the prize was good and they got constant reminders? Did a lot of people not want to join raid simulations because they would die and lose XP? Apply these lessons to your new event or activity.

You don't need to change things for the sake of changing things, however. Keep what works and find a fix for whatever didn't. One of the best things about organisational culture is creating, maintaining, and being a part of tradition and history. Tradition is what connects people of an organisation; if your event can be part of or contribute to a good tradition that drives organisational identity home (e.g. Naga assassination runs), it has the indirect benefit of consolidating identity.

Every content creator has the desire to stamp their mark on something, but that doesn't always mean you have to do things totally different to achieve that. You can do something that is in your own style, yet still contributes to the greater whole.

Extra: Do you have a backup plan for yourself?

If, for whatever reason, your PC dies, Internet cuts out etc, do you have someone that can run the event in your stead or at least make the announcement that it's postponed? 

Neraeos

I've pinned this as an announcement so it'll stay at the top. This should almost be mandatory reading.

Jurixe

So I got hit with a spam block for posting too many times too quickly..ahem. Last part for now, which is basically a repeat of the post I did in Rants:

Self Care

Truths you can't run away from:

1. You are going to have to work harder and put in more effort than everyone else combined.

Why should people give a damn about your event? What makes it special that they should go out of their way to participate? Just the fact that you're doing the event isn't enough. You have to give them that reason, that incentive, and you also have to be the chief marketer so people don't forget. You need to have a handle on everything, even if you aren't the person doing everything.

However, don't forget you can ask people for help, and most people will be more than happy to be part of making something happen. Don't try to take it all on yourself. Delegate where you can and let people share in the joy of creation. But make sure you know what's happening.

2. Enjoy every experience, and help other people enjoy it too, no matter how many show up. 

Don't scale your effort to amount of interest. You can't force interest, but you can control the experience that your audience has, however big or small it is. Even if it's only one person, knock their socks off. Reward them well. They'll feel accomplished and this will also have a spillover effect; now that they know what they missed, maybe next time more people will join.

Plus, who cares if it's one person or one hundred? As long as you gave someone a good memory and had fun yourself, I call that a win. Don't forget; you're also doing this because you enjoy it. If your enjoyment hinges on other people's enjoyment of your event, that's pretty precarious. Do it for you, too! Why waste the effort?

3. You have to be an example that can inspire people.

If you can't walk the talk, why should anyone listen to you? If you aren't one of the most prominent or at least active people in the field you're trying to raise interest in, if you're not constantly doing combat/rituals/events, how will you inspire people to follow your example? You are a walking advertisement for what you're trying to sell, and if people don't like what they see, they aren't buying it.

4. Never be arrogant.

So you held an event. So what? Content creators (occasionally me included) have a tendency to think that just because they're Doing Something (tm), it's automatically awesome and everyone who isn't participating is a bunch of ungrateful idiots. This immediately comes off as condescending and can very well turn people off, especially if it's followed up by a rant or snide comments as 'well I see no one is interested in free credits'. 

Don't be that person. It just leaves a sour taste in everyone's mouths. Do what you do because you love doing it, not because you want bragging rights or an excuse for a power trip. That basically just guarantees no turnout for your next events.

5. You must have a genuine desire to help the field grow.

Content creation and interest generation is an incredibly patience-testing, labour-intensive, often discouraging task. Don't expect immediate or even short term success. If you're just doing it to stroke your ego, you'll get discouraged pretty quickly, as said above.

But if you can find satisfaction in every little success you can get, and you're willing to settle in for the long run, I promise it's worth it. You're helping build a culture (of combat, RP, what have you). You can't expect that to change in a day, but when it does, it's incredibly exciting - and if you manage to inspire people, even better.

6. A good support system is extremely helpful.

It is an intense and often thoroughly thankless task to run regular events or activities, particularly if they are large-scope. A good support system where you can vent or bounce ideas off is often invaluable - and if they play when you do, they can also step in if you need help (if they are capable). It takes an enormous amount of determination to persevere, and often I have found that my support system has gotten me through some of the worst times when I probably would've just given up otherwise.

7. Take breaks and pace yourself.

Don't burn yourself out. That's the number one mistake everyone makes, especially for events. They get excited by some success and immediately make a thousand new plans, only to come off the high, get overwhelmed and start to qq because it isn't fun any more. If you aren't having fun creating content, it is perfectly ok to stop and do other things until it becomes fun again.

Besides, some events become more special when they're rare, so nothing wrong with keeping supply scarce to create greater demand. A ball every week just gets tiresome, but if it only happens once every 20 years, then suddenly things are different.

Don't forget that you are the most important resource of all - without you, none of these things happen. So take care of yourself and don't suck the enjoyment out of running events for yourself.

8. Don't fear feedback or criticism.

Nearly forgot this. Not everyone is going to love your event or activity (see: the forums every time something is released or some event happens).

That's ok.

I know, you poured your blood, sweat and tears into the event. Criticism feels like it's a criticism of you as a person and it's hard not to take it personally (something I often still struggle with). But it's important to be able to look back and review things objectively to see if that criticism has any merit. If it does, take it and remember it for your next event so it can be better.

Sometimes, some things you just can't change or you made the active choice to take that path because of other factors. If it was a point of criticism and, after an objective review, you still stick by that reasoning and think it was still the most valid, then fair enough. Not all criticism is applicable. However, don't discount it just because it's not what you want to hear. You want the good, you've got to take the bad with it, too. Everything is a learning opportunity, so just try to keep that in mind and don't let it discourage you from running further things!

Stheno

@Jurixe, thank you for this! It's great to have a comprehensive guide for old and new players.

A few things I'll add, based on experience and personal preference. This is just what worked well for me.


You are the prelude to your events.

The first time I met Jurixe, I was following my mentor phased and they met to discuss business. A very excited Stheno burst out of phase and hovered in the background until introductions were made. Thanks to Jurixe, this was an event in itself, where we toured the Asterian Restoration and talked about our aspirations over fireflies.

I was very new and shy. Impromptu can be "events without a purpose" done right, and the scale really can be small and personal.

When she invited me to her next big thing, I accepted because I had a kind of safety net in her—an experienced writer who wasn't going to let me write myself into a corner. Content creation takes patience and confidence in your ideas, both of which can be developed with the points above. It helps to cultivate a presence and personality that draws people in. Jurixe isn't what I would call a friendly character, but she comes across like an elegant diplomat, someone who knows she needs others to achieve her grand machinations. A way to have this feel natural is to lead with your character. Approach event planning like it's all IC—a thought that germinates in your character's mind, a guest list that pulls from their associations and their goals, and an execution that delivers on the little promises made along the way. You'll be better for it, and you might find they start coming to you.


Play to their strengths.

Not everyone will want to spend the same time and effort on written content. That doesn't mean they can't get involved.

Say someone you know is a taciturn PK badass, and you'd like their involvement in a ritual. If they're at all interested, make it simpler for them to step in. Write an outline of their part and have them contribute pieces. Let them say nothing and take part purely through action. Weave them into your story, and thank them for their efforts at the end.

You should always be looking for opportunities to involve your audience. A monologue is generally less interesting than a debate that poses questions throughout, a ritual that demands volunteers, or (if you're Mhaldorian) making a fun example of someone.


Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere!

You can source inspiration from many different things, but if you're ever stuck or curious, look at the world around you. The Prime Material alone is a diverse plane, full of climates and empty auditoriums and crumbling stages and garlanded outdoor spaces. Using landmarks and points of interest will ground your event in the setting and decade you've chosen, which makes for a more immersive experience than an event that could've happened anywhere, anytime. It also encourages your audience to LOOK and react to what's unfolding.


Words in, words out.

As mentioned, creating can often feel like an exhausting and thankless task. To create content long-term, you have to do it for the love and the sport of it. To keep from running on empty, I try to refill the tank by consuming as much creative media as I put out. I like all mediums, but you might have a favourite show or a book series you can't put down. Anything that makes you think "damn, I wish I'd thought of this!" is good creative fuel, and serves to reintroduce you to different perspectives, voices, and narrative structures. It's like editing without having written something—a foundation for your own creative voice.

Most thoughts aren't wholly original ones that sprang like Athena from their creators' heads, but a retelling of something that came before, as far back as myth.


Know when the moment is passed.

Occasionally you'll pour a lot of love into something and it just won't pan out. Everything from bad timing to city budget to population can affect the outcome of an idea. Sometimes an admin will have the same idea and execute it better, or a protégé will delight you by surpassing your original plans. These are all blessings in disguise.

Know when to gracefully step back and let someone else assume the spotlight. Taking a deep breath is an important part of self-care.