Organize awesome events.Our all-in-one event management software keeps organizers sane & attendees happy.

We're big fans of this quote. The more we can help our community grow, the bigger the community becomes. And that benefits us all. 

So I searched through our blog and pulled out some sage advice on how to run great events, straight from our organizer's mouths.  Maybe you can pick up a trick or two from our experts?

A few weeks ago we posted a blog asking "do you have what it takes to be a motorsport event organizer?"  We shared 7 key skills motorsport event organizers said were must-haves.  Quick recap-

1. Organization
2. Attention to detail
3. Communication skills
4. Computer skills
5. Time management
6. People skills
7. Perseverance/ patience

One our organizers, Norm Nelson whom we featured in a Pole Position blog not too long ago, wrote in with another important skill and we just had to pass it along.

The boss was away last week, so...

Well, to be honest, it really wasn't much different than normal.

That's not surprising though, because we've worked hard to put things in place to keep MotorsportReg running smoothly, even when we're not at the keyboard.

A couple of weeks ago we shared the results of a survey we did last year to see if you have what it takes to be a motorsport event organizer. Turns out if you're organized, pay attention to details and have good communication skills, you're probably suited for the role.

Now let's look at what kind of people actually are organizers. Below are some charts that illustrate the demographics of the people who took our survey. Some surprising, some predictable, but all still interesting. 

Here at MotorsportReg we pride ourselves on having one of the best customer service and support experiences in the business.  Not only do we support our end-customers, the event organizers, but we also support their end customer, participants.  In fact many participants who email or call us, don't realize that  we're not the ones putting on the events.  That's why we promote that using MSR is like adding another member to your team!  Last week alone we received nearly 1,200 emails and 180 phone calls.

We thought it might be educational (and interesting) to share some of the gripes we get from attendees about registration forms.  Below are a few of the most common ones (in no particular order).

We work with enough event organizers to know what keeps them up at night when preparing for an event:

• Will I have a good turnout?
• Will I earn enough money to cover all of my expenses?
• Will there be enough participation/ competition for the attendees to have a good time?

While we can't predict the outcome of your event, we can help you get started on the right foot.  Encourage attendees to sign up early!  This is the best way to predict the success of your event with enough time to make adjustments if necessary.  Here's how to do it:

If you've participated in track events for any length of time, you may have thought to yourself, "I bet I could do this!" But unless you've volunteered with an organization you may not know how to get started.

With the excitement of a new season (and possibly a reality check from the weather), you might not realize that it's time to get down to business! And if you haven't started your season yet, it's fast approaching.

We've put together a pre-season checklist to help you prep for a winning season:

3. Set up a membership event- Get this annual pain in the b*tt task out of the way and make it easier for you and your members by accepting online membership renewals.

2. Create a gift certificate event - There's a whole year of holidays and special occasions ahead of us (Valentine's Day is just around the corner).  Give your participants the chance to get a gift they really want!

1. Get your events listed early - Do it NOW!  900,000 people looked at our calendar last year and they're already determining which events they're going to attend this year.

This is the second part of a blog series we started in December covering the 3 guiding principles for AWESOME registration forms:

1. Entice
2. Inform
3. Guide

Today's blog post will focus on Enticing and Informing your attendees.

Don't leave your attendees out to dry

Whether you use your online registration forms as a stand-alone event information and registration portal, or simply a means of collecting your attendees' data, you don't want to leave them wondering what to do next after they click the Register button.

Make the first thing your participants see welcoming and exciting. Let them know how excited you are that they are considering your event. And confirm that they are in the right place by repeating the event's name and date.

Why is a great registration page so important?

As motorsport event organizers, we have the privilege of hosting events that let us share our sport with others, bring friends together, and experience shared community among petrol heads. A lot of effort goes into making sure all our bases are covered at the track, and the online registration process is an integral part of setting the tone for your entire event.

Attendees don't want to "work" to get registered for an event. With lots of competition out there, having a registration process that works for the attendee, instead of against, means the difference between someone attending YOUR event, or the other guy's. Based on our experience hosting registrations for over 13,000 events, we've compiled a few guiding principles to make your registration form really stand out from the crowd.