No event on the marketing calendar of a typical software company seems to suffer more from lack of planning than the annual user conference. Tell-tale signs of last-minute planning are often most apparent in the conference brochure - missing abstracts, keynote speakers "TBD", etc. This lack of detail causes attendance to suffer. The reason: informal surveys show that as much as 70 percent of user conference attendees make their decision whether to attend or not based on what they see in the conference brochure.

These days, a user event has to compete with seminars, training, trade shows, workshops and of course, vacations. That means a successful conference program or brochure has to present detail - lots of it - if your target reader, whether a developer, end user, or MIS manager, is going to a) want to attend and b) be able to convince his/her manager of the merits of the event.

To aid in planning your next conference, and to ensure that your conference program is as successful as it can be, here's a laundry list of items to include, gleaned from past programs we've designed and produced for some of our software clients:

1. Welcome Letter - These two or three paragraphs from the board chair or user group president should stress the benefits of attending. It's okay to cite potential gains for an attendee's organization or product, but put the emphasis on what attendees themselves will experience, learn, and take home with them. Keep the letter short (use bullet points where possible) and action-oriented.

2. Conference Highlights - A real attention-grabber. Use bullets to tick off the benefits of each major feature of the conference. Use motivating copy: "Live, fast-paced demonstrations" sounds better than "Exhaustive technical presentations." Focus on what's new, exciting or popular. Note: if you find yourself listing more than five items, you're creating an agenda, not a list of highlights.

3. List of Exhibitors - If you have the space, a paragraph for each exhibitor helps, but only if the copy communicates a benefit to those attending, and doesn't just sing the praises of the company running the booth. Consider giving your exhibitors guidelines and a sample paragraph (then be prepared to edit if necessary).

4. Table of Contents

5. Floor Plan

6. Keynote Presentations - A big selling point for your event. Sell the most important benefit: If the speaker is well-known, show his/her name and photo prominently. If less well-known, emphasize how the content will help attendees.

7. Conference "Quick Guide" - List every breakout session, demo, workshop, keynote and special event, then build a matrix that categorizes each line item according to the following:

• Job categories (Executive, Management, Professional, Technical)
• Experience (New User, Veteran, Power User)
• Products
• Hot issues (example: Year 2000)
• Conference tracks

8. Expos & Demonstrations - Evaluating new products and services is a big part of why people attend conferences. Show what attendees can do ("hands-on demos"), learn ("user tips," "technical details") and take with them (contact names, demo disks, premiums).

9. Networking Opportunities - Use sidebars and boxes to highlight every opportunity your conference provides for comparing notes with colleagues or making new contacts. Explain how attendees can "leverage the experience of other companies" and "form new partnerships."

10. Session Descriptions (Abstracts) - Possibly the single biggest reason for production delays, session descriptions are the "meat" of your program and vitally important, so start early! Stress the value of each session and what the attendee will learn. Use bullet points, if possible. Create an ideal, "boilerplate" description with crisp, compelling benefit copy and provide it to your speakers well in advance.

11. Conference at a Glance - In addition to the detailed agenda (see below), a one- or two-page layout of the entire conference should quickly yield information on daily schedules, arrival and departure dates, and a general feel for the breadth of breakout sessions. Think of this as a graphical version of the conference highlights.

12. Detailed Conference Agenda

13. Information on Sponsors/Partners

14. Companies That Attended Last Year - Attendees want to keep pace with the competition, leverage the knowledge of industry partners, even make contacts with prospective employers! A list of selected companies represented at the previous year's event adds a degree of credibility to your marketing message.

15. About the Hotel/Conference Location

16. List of Other Hotels with Map

17. Guest Activities/Resources

18. Who Should Attend - To some, a list of job titles seems like wasted effort. But used appropriately, a detailed list can add credibility to your event with a message that says in effect, "we're not for everybody." The more potential attendees feel that the event is designed with them in mind, the more likely they are to register in the first place. Be careful, however, not to litter this section with every job title you can think of that might be remotely appropriate, because you'll defeat the purpose.

19. How to Register - Give registrants every option possible - that means mail, fax, toll-free 800 number, and Web. Make the information prominent and easy to read, and place it in at least two locations in the brochure, near the front, and then again on the registration form.

20. Free Gifts for Attending - There are two categories of reasons for why people attend user events: 1) the business reasons (increase productivity, leverage software investment) and 2) personal reasons (travel, networking). Most conference brochures focus on the business reasons, but ultimately the brochure is about convincing an individual to take action, especially when the boss is footing the bill. A compelling list and a photograph of specific, tangible items each attendee receives (documentation, Software Developer Kits, demo CD-ROMs, tote bags, t-shirts, etc.) may not be the single reason a person attends, but it could motivate them to act.

22. Hospitality Suites

23. Quote from Satisfied Attendees - Use your post-conference survey as a vehicle to generate quotes from satisfied attendees. Use an incentive - say, 50 percent off the registration fee for next year's event - if you use the person's quote in next year's program. With the right job title or company name, these "peer" quotes can carry a lot of weight.

24. How to Get the Most from This Year's Conference - A list of recommendations for how to maximize time at the conference suggests that a) the reader should have already decided to attend, and b) the conference is so jam-packed with information, it will take special planning to ensure that the attendee gets the most out of the event. Use suggestions like: "Confer with your team beforehand to make sure that you get maximum coverage of concurrent sessions," and "Take the time now to review the presentation descriptions so you know how best to schedule your time."

25. Conference Web Site - Web sites are a tremendous boon to event planners. Most importantly, they can give the potential attendee instant access to detailed information that's updated daily. However, conference Web sites can also be a crutch. Don't let yourself fall into the trap of omitting detail in the conference brochure because you'll "cover it on the Web site." The conference brochure is your main selling vehicle - make it as complete as possible.

26. Special Events

27. Group & Early Bird Discounts - Group discounts encourage multiple registrations and get customers talking about the event with their colleagues. Early Bird discounts help minimize the last-minute stampede of registrations and also encourage people to register now, today, before scheduling conflicts and other demands catch up with them.

28. Call Today to Register - Condense your call to action into a simple phrase (Call 1-800 ... today to register, Visit the Conference Web Site at www..., Register Now: See Page XX ...) and litter your brochure with reminders. Ideally, you should have one of these phrases on every inside spread.

29. Conference & Exhibit Hall Hours

30. Advertising - A two-edged sword. Ads help defray the cost of the program, but they distract from your selling message, and the "look" of a particular ad may jar with your creative scheme.

31. Pre-Conference Seminars/Workshops

32. Panel Discussions

33. Travel Arrangements & Hotel Reservations - Don't let the pain of corporate travel be the reason a customer hesitates about attending. Spell out as much detail as possible about airline discounts, preferred hotels, central reservation hotlines, etc. If you're not providing centralized travel arrangements with your own service bureau, then at least include as much detailed, helpful information as possible.

34. Cancellation Policy

35. What's New This Year - Avoid the "Been There, Done That" syndrome. Highlight what's new, different and exciting about this year's event: more sessions, more speakers, more customer experiences, more restrooms.

36. What to Bring to the Conference - Besides helping attendees enjoy a more productive event, a reminder of "what to bring" can also suggest reasons to attend. For example: business cards (meet new people), athletic gear (enjoy hotel facilities), tape recorder (don't miss a word).

37. Send this Brochure to a Colleague - It's an unfortunate fact of high-tech business that companies don't often know who all their customers are. Maximize the value of your mailing list by including a toll-free number (better yet, a bind-in, magazine-type reply card) that offers to send a free copy of the brochure to a colleague. You'll expand your reach and add one more name to your marketing database.