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For Noel - creating a convention
Jun. 5th, 2003 11:08 amCon organizing can be a tricky thing, especially for a first time convention being run by somebody who hasn't run a con before.
You'll have to design the thing from scratch. You already have the theme but you'll need to design the programming: what each item is, however long each item runs, when the breaks are such as for meals, and so on. Determine how many days this will be and if you'll have one track or multiple tracks. Start it with as many as needed. Future cons can have multiple tracks. Lots of SF and related cons are Friday to Sunday but there are plenty of week long events, single day functions and extended weekend holidays too.
Figure out target audience and attendance. Your first year may be light. The more programming you plan the more you may overextend yourself but the more people you may get. Balance is key.
Plan where it will be. Most conventions happen at some sort of hotel or resort and a lot of those are well set up to handle conventions. They make good money from 'em. You will likely need to sign a contract; I would suggest that for a first time con you set a minimum threshold of how many people you want to show up and get a firm commitment from that many people that they will attend if you hold it. Otherwise you may end up owing a hotel a lot of money.
Plan for ancillaries. Some conventions hold a banquet or a brunch or other food-related social. Some conventions have babysitting. Some of these features are optional and cost more, some are part of the cost of the convention. Bear in mind that if you have a banquet you can negotiate for reduced costs for cuntion space. Don't be afraid to talk with multiple hotels and appraise them of the other hotel's offers.
Plan for silly extras if you like. Don't wreck the tone of the con but be ready to break the tension if it gets too serious.
Try to make sure that you can cover your monetary costs or at worst only lose a little money. To properly budget, figure out how much you plan to spend per person, such as printing costs and badges and food; how much fixed expenses will run, such as the programming space and consuite; and what your minimum target attendance will be. Don't be afraid of having a higher at-the-door price - you have that because the pre-reg money helps pay for the con and the last minute people pay a premium for indecisiveness. Pre-reg is good.
Don't worry about your mental costs - you lost those as soon as you decided to run a con.
If you run a surplus, be happy and prepare to plough it into next year's con. You were planning on running it again next year after all, right?
You'll have to design the thing from scratch. You already have the theme but you'll need to design the programming: what each item is, however long each item runs, when the breaks are such as for meals, and so on. Determine how many days this will be and if you'll have one track or multiple tracks. Start it with as many as needed. Future cons can have multiple tracks. Lots of SF and related cons are Friday to Sunday but there are plenty of week long events, single day functions and extended weekend holidays too.
Figure out target audience and attendance. Your first year may be light. The more programming you plan the more you may overextend yourself but the more people you may get. Balance is key.
Plan where it will be. Most conventions happen at some sort of hotel or resort and a lot of those are well set up to handle conventions. They make good money from 'em. You will likely need to sign a contract; I would suggest that for a first time con you set a minimum threshold of how many people you want to show up and get a firm commitment from that many people that they will attend if you hold it. Otherwise you may end up owing a hotel a lot of money.
Plan for ancillaries. Some conventions hold a banquet or a brunch or other food-related social. Some conventions have babysitting. Some of these features are optional and cost more, some are part of the cost of the convention. Bear in mind that if you have a banquet you can negotiate for reduced costs for cuntion space. Don't be afraid to talk with multiple hotels and appraise them of the other hotel's offers.
Plan for silly extras if you like. Don't wreck the tone of the con but be ready to break the tension if it gets too serious.
Try to make sure that you can cover your monetary costs or at worst only lose a little money. To properly budget, figure out how much you plan to spend per person, such as printing costs and badges and food; how much fixed expenses will run, such as the programming space and consuite; and what your minimum target attendance will be. Don't be afraid of having a higher at-the-door price - you have that because the pre-reg money helps pay for the con and the last minute people pay a premium for indecisiveness. Pre-reg is good.
Don't worry about your mental costs - you lost those as soon as you decided to run a con.
If you run a surplus, be happy and prepare to plough it into next year's con. You were planning on running it again next year after all, right?
