12) New routine
12) New routine
The most important and impactful part of running your local event list comes down to keeping it updated.
When folks know you always have the most complete list of local events they'll keep coming back AND continue spreading your name in the community. That's what you want because it helps build your local authority and ultimately drive clients your way.
Now being a fan of the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule), I'm always looking for ways to make the biggest impact in the least amount of time.
Below is the simple routine I follow to keep my local event list always updated for my community in under one hour a week (high impact, little effort).
Copy this directly or adapt to your own liking.
Weekly Batching
Once a week I plan an "event adding hour" to get as many local events added to my calendar as possible in one go. This is typically a Monday afternoon or evening since there isn't much happening in my area that day. If I miss it I'll just do this on Tues. or Weds., but I usually knock this out on Mondays.
- Using my phone, open up the FB events tab (local/this week sub-tabs) and add any new events for the week to my calendar.
- On my laptop, go through the local sources in my bookmark folder adding any events for the upcoming week not already on my calendar.
- Last, check the calendar for any duplicates this week. Delete any.
- Done in 30-45min.
- On laptop, open up ConvertKit (or whatever email provider you use) and craft a new broadcast email to all my local subscribers.
- "Hey [first name], Lot's of cool events happening in town this week, here are a few highlights (list a few in bullets), for the full list click here [insert link to event list page on my site]."
- Send email to local subscribers only.
- Done in under 10min.
Remainder of week
While most of the local events are now on my calendar, a few more will likely pop up last minute. When spotted I'll just add them to my phone's calendar right there on the spot (takes 1 min). Here's a few places to keep an eye on where these last minute events often appear:
- Local FB groups - Sometimes folks make text posts announcing events like "garage sale this saturday at [time] & [address]" or they will post a picture of the their flyer. If local, I will make an event on my phone and transcribe the info. Then I'll add a comment letting the person know I've added it to the Fairfield Event List.
- Local bulletin boards - There are a few in my town I see regularly (library, rec center, & grocery store). My coffee shop also has a wall for these. I'll add any new events I see or take a picture to add via my phone later.
- Local shop windows - When walking in our downtown area I'll watch for event flyers taped up in windows, will add then or snap a pic to add later.
- Road signs - Typically announcing garage sales but may also be events. If locally relevant I'll add it or snap a pic to add later.
Wrap up
Keeping your event list updated should be quick and easy. Weekly batching helps you do this by adding most upcoming events in one swoop, allowing you to focus on other important business tasks for the rest of the week.
That one extra hour of work you do early in the week "batch-adding" events to your calendar will come back 10-fold in the form of MORE site visitors and MORE mentions of you in the local community... Ultimately increasing your authority and ability to get more local clients. So it's a good idea to make a routine of weekly batching.
When ready, start the next step.