Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Duncan Haldane" data-source="post: 630667" data-attributes="member: 514">I've been involved with organising conventions in Australia for nearly 10 years, and the helpful hints are many and varied.I'll try to list some I can think of...1.  Figure out why you want to do it, and if it's the right reasons.  DO NOT expect to make much money.2.  Try to get someone else who has run conventions before to help.3.  Go to other conventions and ask if you can help.  Find out what works, and what doesn't.  Then figure out *why* they worked or didn't work.  Steal the ideas that worked for your con, and avoid those that didn't work.4.  Determine who you want to run a convention for - ie, are you running a roleplaying convention, a gaming convention (including board games, computer games, etc), how large you want it to get, and what you are trying to get out of it.  Also remember that making the convention bigger won't always make it better.5.  Ask for help.  You may find that a friend can help you get a venue  for free, or cheaply.  You may find that someone will build you a webpage, or print flyers for you.  Use what help you get offered.  Try to figure out  what people are good at and what they want to do, and work with that.6.  Figure out your budget.  You have to work within it.  Don't forget to include things like mail boxes, incorporation costs, insurance, etc.7.  Look for sponsorship.  If you are printing flyers, running webpages, etc, then you have points for advertising.  Look at who your market is, and who might appreciate advertising.  Remember that money has been relatively tight in the gaming industry over the last few years, and that they don't have a lot to give away.  You need to look in other areas - for instance, one convention I was involved with bring a lot of travellers to town, so we managed to get a fair bit of sponsorship/advertising money from hotels.8.  Enjoy yourself.  You're not doing this to make money, so you've got to enjoy it.  However, don't forget that it can make a good line on your resume.I think that's enough for now...Best of luck,Duncan</blockquote>

Verification