I have known (though somewhat vaguely) about meetup.com for some time now. It's a website where people list meetings, right? Single people use it I think and I guess other people? Not sure. I have some friends who have gone to meetups for both personal and professional reasons and found the groups to be great. But that was all I knew and I just never looked into it beyond that. Until the other day.
So first let me say that what I thought I knew was true - but meetup.com is actually way more than that. It's not only a good way for anyone to find events in their area of ANY KIND, it's also a really great place to organize events and members which makes it GREAT for book clubs. There is a nominal fee that you pay to be an "organizer", but if you split it among the group it's like a buck or two a month. Then you can put all your events on the calendar, email all members with the push of a button. RSVP to a meeting so the person hosting knows how many are coming and much more. You're group can be public of private which is also really cool for getting new members.
I started my account on meetup for an existing book club that I lead that needed members. And bam - just like that, new people have signed up. You can even set limits as to how many people etc. I honestly think I have barely scratched the surface of this thing, but I was so excited about it's potential for book clubs that I had to share!
Have you used it yet? Any great tips? Let me know at [email protected] or as always, feel free to share your thoughts right here!
-- Dana Barrett, Contributing Editor