Category Archives: Eventsburgh

Newsletter system update

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Our recent update on the site has enabled us to accommodate event postings from any cities in the US. Now users of Eventsburgh.com can filter events based on state / city location to find events that are close to them.

We have also re-designed the email newsletter system to send out weekly email newsletters based on the location of the subscriber. The location information gathered is based on the IP and accuracy could vary widely because many people do not have a static IP address. We started sending out this week’s newsletter with the new system so if you have any input or feedback please let us know.

$25 credits give away for all new members – ends May 31st

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To celebrate Eventsburgh re-launch as an online event promotion marketplace, we are announcing  $25 credits give away for all new members who join Eventsburgh.com before May 31st 2012.

The credit can be used to purchase paid options for event post as well as the new Cost Per Click advertising.

Help us spread the word!!!

image source: http://chicagofree.info

Eventsburgh New Phase: Online Event Promotion Marketplace

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As we announced back in February, we have been working to transform Eventsburgh.com into an online event promotion marketplace where event advertisers can post their events and get social media savvy users to promote their events (event promoters).

Up till this point, we have been giving out gift cards for the top promoters but now we will implement an incentive system with the infamous “Cost Per Click” (CPC) model. Here is how it works.

1)      An event advertiser creates an event post and specify how much CPC he/she is willing to pay (minimum default value is $0.05)

2)      An event promoter grabs the unique short url associated with the event post and distributes it

3)      When someone clicks on the distributed link, the event promoter earns 50% of the CPC amount specified by the event advertiser

Short URL link

We will be implementing the new system in the next few days so the site will be out of service during this period. Please also be aware the new changes will eliminate all the social networking functions (forums, private messaging, uploading pictures on profile etc) as we mentioned in the February post.

We would like to thank you for your patience during our transition phase.  If you have any concerns or questions regarding these changes please do not hesitate to contact us.

Ticketsburgh.com, a division of Eventsburgh LLC, Launched

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Ticketsburgh.com is a new division of Eventsburgh LLC.  It was founded because the owners of Eventsburgh LLC recognizes that there’s a demand for a service that helps organizers, venues and show producers provide ticket deals to potential guests in Pittsburgh.  In essence, the site will help them sell tickets by making available attractive ticket deals.

ticketsburgh

Tony Hsieh, owner of Eventsburgh LLC and the man behind Ticketsburgh.com, issued a statement regarding the site’s launch.

“We are excited to provide organizers, venues and show producers an opportunity to reach out to more customers and help them sell more tickets,” says Tony.  “We at Ticketsburgh.com recognizes that these people produce and organize world-class shows, concerts and performances and the best way to thank them for their time and effort in putting together these events is to give them a full house.  We want to help them achieve that,” he followed.

The site has set aside a specific page wherein organizers, venues and show producers can get their businesses featured.  If you’re looking for ways to fill the house before show time, you can set up your organization profile at http://ticketsburgh.com/business/.

Before its launch, the site also created quite a stir among people in Pittsburgh and nearby cities.  This is because in essence, the site creates a win-win situation wherein guests get to enjoy discounted tickets for their favorite shows, concerts and performances.  The site aims to provide discounts from 30% off of the full ticket price!

“The whole world knows that our city plays host to world-class shows and performances and we’re just excited to provide people a good opportunity to enjoy them at discounted prices,” Tony said when asked about the opportunity to help people enjoy these events at discounted prices.  “Hopefully, people will support Ticketsburgh.com like how they supported Eventsburgh,” he followed.

The site has an easy setup process that can help you check out available deals.  You can subscribe for email alerts at http://ticketsburgh.com/.  Updates will also be provided through the company’s Facebook Fan Page at http://www.facebook.com/ticketsburgh and through the company’s Twitter account at http://twitter.com/#!/ticketsburgh so follow them now!

About Ticketsburgh.com

Ticketsburgh.com (http://ticketsburgh.com/) is a company that makes available great discount ticket deals and last-minute ticket deals for shows, concerts and performances in the Pittsburgh area.  The company is a division of Eventsburgh.com – an event-listing company located in Pittsburgh.

Eventsburgh is becoming a marketplace for event promotion

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A little over a year ago, Eventsburgh.com started as a place for event organizers and event promoters to gather and socialize. Our initial aim was to help local non-profit organizations to spread the word about their upcoming events. It turned out organizations other than non-profit were also interested in using our site and soon we expanded into other cities.

Through out this period, we added features and gathered feedback on how they were utilized and came to realize that there wasn’t really a need for yet another social community. Therefore, we started to look for a new business model and now we are getting close to reveal what we have been working on. It is not ready yet, but we are getting close.

The new system will convert Eventsburgh into a marketplace for event promotion. The main function will focus solely on promoting events and spreading the word about upcoming events.

Because of this new system, many of the existing communication tools that allow users to communicate and make friends will disappear as many of our users find the social community components of the site confusing and not very useful.

If you have any questions concerning this change please feel free to contact us.

We appreciate your patience in this transition phase and look forward to more feedback on the features and services we provide.

Brownielocks and the Three Bears

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Brownielocks and the Three Bears is a website that has been around for more than 10 years but I only bookmarked it a little more than year ago or so when my friend, Becky, talked about it at a meeting. If you are an event planner, school teacher or anyone looking for a theme for an event or school project then Brownielocks is the place to go. Pick a month — any month — and there are listings for holidays, weeks of or month of celebrations and awareness. For example: Did you know there was a National Hot Dog Day? (July 17th) or that May is Family Wellness Month?

Brownielocks and the Three Bears

The person who started Brownielocks said they did it as a fun way for older children to learn. Which means to me that listings on the site are actual days, that the illustrations are cute without being silly and the content is “G” rated.

For people like me who like to plan ahead the listings are for all months and not just one at a time. While the current month is the centerpiece, you can still access previous months or go click to choose future months. If a day or month as a link, they are also posted.

One caveat is that it doesn’t seem to work in Google Chrome. At least it didn’t work for me.

Brownielocks and the Three Bears is great site to spend some free time.

Mary Pam Kilgore, CMP, helps corporations and nonprofit organizations serve their target market with effective meetings and events. She is the owner of Kilgore Business Services, LLC, www.kilgorebusiness.com and teaches Event Planning As A Career at CCAC.  She may be reached by email at marypamkilgore@gmail.com

Post-it® brand Name Badges Review

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You have the perfect setting for a meeting. The attendance is higher than last year. The program will be amazing. The food had been ordered. The Audio Visual is in place and working. The registration list is in alphabetical order and triple checked. What final thing are you missing? Oh yeah, name badges.

Name Badges

Name badges. They can range from personal pieces of art to “Hello My Name is …” written with a Sharpie. Name badges show everyone that you belong in the event and help in making connections from one person to another. Most people don’t think about name badges until there isn’t one with their name on it at an event.

I don’t remember when I bought my first box of Post-it® brand name badges. I do know I haven’t purchased another brand since then. They seem heavier and more substantial than other badges. They are perforated around each badge and separate easily. They stay on longer but don’t leave a residue. Like all adhesive name badges, the Post-it® brand is not recommended for certain fabrics including suede and silk. One more thing is the name badges don’t work with my laser printer even though they are supposed to work with laser printers. It could be that Post-it® brand name badges are thicker than other name badges. I also have an ink jet printer and have no problems with the badges. Post-it® brand name badges also work with Avery name badge templates so you don’t have to change your badge set up.

If you are using adhesive name badges, try Post-it® brand and you will be glad that you did.

Mary Pam Kilgore, CMP, helps corporations and nonprofit organizations serve their target market with effective meetings and events. She is the owner of Kilgore Business Services, LLC, www.kilgorebusiness.com and teaches Event Planning As A Career at CCAC.  She may be reached by email marypamkilgore@gmail.com

Photo from jason_one

Parking in the Cultural District — Yes! There’s an App for that!

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Parking in Pittsburgh

One of the biggest complaints that I hear for not going to downtown Pittsburgh for events is that you can’t find parking. Now thanks to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and various partners including Carnegie Mellon University’s Traffic21 Initiative, there’s an app for that!. ParkPgh, which was launched in 2011, enables you to find parking spaces in the 10 parking lots that populate the Cultural District. The lots combined offer more than 5,000 spaces, roughly 25% of all parking in downtown Pittsburgh.

You can access the information in ParkPgh several ways. Try the web site http://parkpgh.org, Select the Cultural District destination from the drop down menu and it will show you the closest parking lots and how many spaces are available. It will also show using color codes if a lot has reached capacity, approaching capacity or what percentage of the lot is available. If you have an Apple iPhone or iPad then you can get the app from the App Store. If you have an android phone select http://m.parkpgh.org and get the mobile site. If you want, you can text “parking” to 412-423-8980 (standard message rates apply) to get a list of garages. The website also has a list of shortcuts for getting the information via text. Finally, you can phone 412-423-8980 and follow the commands to get the latest parking information.

Not only can ParkPgh give current information, but it can also tell you when it expects a bump in parking lot usage in certain lots. For example when there are multiple events going on such as the Pittsburgh Symphony performing at Heinz Hall and a play at the O’Reilly Theater on the same evening would certainly mean a crowded parking situation. If you have the information ahead of time, you can avoid the busier lots. This ability to predict the future usage is unique among other parking programs.

Since I downloaded the app to my cell phone, I have used it several times to find parking in the Cultural District. It was easy to use, and knowing what lots were more available than others saved time and attitude. It would be wonderful it this program was expanded to other city parking lots.

Mary Pam Kilgore,CMP, helps corporations and nonprofit organizations serve their target market with effective meetings and events. She is the owner of Kilgore Business Services, LLC, www.kilgorebusiness.com and teaches Event Planning As A Career at CCAC.  She may be reached by email marypamkilgore@gmail.com

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Business Etiquette is in season all year long

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The holidays are here. A time of great food and good cheer. And a time to remember our manners.

Business Lunch

A Business Lunch

1. Dress Professionally. It doesn’t always mean a suit, but clean and neat is necessary. Tip: Dress like the people you are going to meet. If you are attending a meeting on behalf of your client, ask if they have a dress code.
2. Arrive on time. Arrive 10 minutes early. If you are meeting for lunch, let the people know that if you arrive early you’ll get a table. Have cell phone numbers in case you are running late.
3. Have a clear agenda on what you want to accomplish with your meeting. It doesn’t need written down, although that’s a good idea.
4. Schedule as much time as you need and don’t short yourself. Allow at least one hour for a one to one meeting.
5. If you are the one who did the asking, offer to pay for the meal. The other person may say, “Dutch treat is fine.” If doing separate checks, say so when you are ordering.
6. Order food you are comfortable eating.
7. Do not order alcohol at lunch.
8. Remember all those things your mother tried to teach you as a child about chewing your food. Don’t talk with your mouth full. Butter your bread one bite at a time. Cut your meat two bites at a time. Don’t shovel your food; it’s not a race.
9. Remember that meeting a new or possible client for the first time is a lot like a first date.
10. Keep the table as clear as possible when you are eating.
11. Once the person you are meeting has arrived, put your cell phone on mute and put it away.
12. Keep the lunch conversation professional, but light. This is Pittsburgh. You don’t have know the winning play, but at the very least know the score.
13. Remember that a meeting is a conversation, not an interview
14. Listen to what other people are saying. Try not to formulate your response while they are responding to your questions.
15. Follow up with a Thank you note. Handwritten is best. Use a “fun” stamp.

Mary Pam Kilgore, CMP, helps corporations and nonprofit organizations serve their target market with effective meetings and events. She is the owner of Kilgore Business Services, LLC,www.kilgorebusiness.com and teaches Event Planning As A Career at CCAC.  She may be reached by email marypamkilgore@gmail.com

Photo from PhillipC

Catering Terms: Knowing the right terminology is half the battle

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Menu TerminologyWhen you are reading catering menus you will see terms that may be unfamiliar to you. Here are a few definitions to help you when planning the food for your next event.

Hors d’oeuvres: An appetizer served before a meal.

Displays: These are foods that are placed on a table and people serve themselves. Fruit and cheese are often presented in this manner at receptions.

Crudités: Raw vegetables cut into bite size portions and served with a dip. Usually presented as a display.

Canapés: Bite sized hors d’oeuvres served on bread or toast.

Butler served: Hors d’oeuvres passed by a server.

Stations: Think buffet, but broken up and placed around the room. Sometimes stations may have a theme such as Italian or Mexican. Others may be carving stations such as a turkey or beef carving stations. Or a station may serve mini burgers with all the fixin’s.

Heavy hors d’oeuvres: I am not sure how this term originated, but it has come to mean by some as a combination of different types of passed hors d’oeuvres, displays and stations. It is sometimes being used in lieu of a sit down meal. People sometimes think that having heavy hors d’oeuvres will be cheaper than doing the regular dinner, this isn’t true.

Reception: A reception is a stand up social event. In other words, you may not see a lot of tables with chairs. It may be held prior to a meal or banquet.

In conclusion, menu terminology are sometimes confusing, I hope the above definitions helped.

Mary Pam Kilgore, of Kilgore Business Services, LLC You may reach me through my website www.kilgorebusiness.com

Photo from Muy Yum