Designing Events People Actually Want to Attend

If you run events for a club or community, you’ve probably tried everything: more emails, more reminders, better event titles, social posts, even personal nudges. But attendance still doesn’t move. Because the problem usually isn’t promotion—it’s your event design.

Good event design reduces uncertainty, lowers emotional friction, and makes the decision to attend feel obvious. People don’t skip events because they’re lazy or flaky. They skip events because the event wasn’t designed in a way that fits their time, energy, or social comfort level.

This article explores four levers that matter more than promotion:

• Choosing the right event format
• Setting clear expectations and commitment levels
• Making intentional pricing decisions
• Consistency.

Choosing the Right Event Format

Event format is not just logistics. It’s a signal.

Before someone ever checks their calendar, the format answers three subconscious questions:

• What will I actually be doing?
• Who will I interact with?
• How awkward or effortful will this feel?

Different formats serve different human needs. A casual hangout supports low-pressure connection. A workshop signals focus and learning. A volunteer workday appeals to people who want purpose and contribution. A lecture-style talk works best when people want structure and clear value.

Attendance drops when there’s a mismatch between the format and what the community is actually seeking. A group craving connection won’t show up for a lecture. A group seeking skill-building won’t rally around an unstructured hang.

Smaller, repeatable formats tend to outperform big, rare events. Familiarity lowers the mental cost of deciding to attend. When people know what usually happens at “the first Tuesday meetup,” they don’t have to think as hard about whether to go.

It also helps to design events that scale down gracefully. Ask yourself: if only five people show up, is this still a good experience? Events designed for a minimum viable group feel safer to commit to than events that require a crowd to succeed.

Setting Expectations and Commitment Levels

Attendance is a trust contract.

When expectations are unclear, people hedge. They say “maybe,” wait to see how they feel, and often don’t show up at all. This looks like flakiness, but it’s usually uncertainty.

Uncertainty shows up in small but important ways:

• Not knowing who else will be there
• Not knowing how long the event actually lasts
• Not knowing whether they’re expected to participate or just observe

Clarity builds confidence. Clear start and end times matter. Stating whether it’s okay to arrive late or leave early matters. So does saying whether people need to prepare anything in advance.

Commitment isn’t binary. There’s a difference between “drop in if you feel like it” and “please RSVP so we can plan.” Being explicit about the level of commitment you’re asking for helps people make an honest decision.

Visibility also changes behavior. When people can see who’s going, attendance feels safer. Social proof reduces anxiety, especially for newer or quieter members. Knowing that a real person is hosting and expecting attendees adds another layer of accountability.

People don’t flake on events. They flake on ambiguous obligations.

Pricing Decisions and Tradeoffs

Price is not just about revenue. It’s about signaling.

Free events are easy to say yes to, and even easier to skip. A zero-dollar price communicates that attendance is optional and that nothing is lost by not showing up.

Even a small price changes behavior. Paying five or ten dollars creates psychological buy-in. It signals that the event has value and that attendance matters.

Pricing also communicates what kind of event this is. Free often means casual or exploratory. Low-cost means “please show up.” Higher prices signal structure, seriousness, or limited capacity.

Refund and transfer policies often matter more than the price itself. Transferable tickets and clear refund windows reduce the fear of committing, especially for people with unpredictable schedules.

Accessibility and equity don’t have to undermine commitment. Sliding scales, scholarships, or comp tickets work best when they’re intentional and transparent. The key is to remove financial barriers without removing the sense that showing up matters.

The goal isn’t to monetize attendance. The goal is to filter for intent.

Consistency

Go ahead and look at your calendar of events. Which events are repeating, and which ones are novel?

Members need a mix of both—but more importantly, they crave rhythm.

A reliable monthly event on the same day each month builds trust and habit in a way that a flashy one-off never will. People plan their lives around rhythms, not surprises.

For experiential events, novelty often is the value. But even novel experiences can fit into a repeating pattern.

In these cases, consistency still matters—but in a different way. The rhythm might be seasonal rather than monthly, or tied to themes, formats, or availability rather than specific dates. Members learn what kind of experience to expect, even if the specifics change.

Consider a repertory cinema that regularly shows curated selections of films—often classics, themed series, or special programs—instead of repeating the same current-release movie. An effective repertory cinema doesn’t show random films. It creates recognizable series or seasonal themes, so moviegoers know what they’re signing up for.

If you can plan your experiential events this way, people have something larger to look forward to than a single one-off event.

Events Are Systems, Not One-Offs

It’s tempting to treat each event as a standalone thing: did this one work, did people show up, should we promote harder next time?

But attendance is shaped by systems, not individual events.

Format tells people what kind of experience this is. Expectations define the level of commitment. Pricing signals how much it matters. Consistency determines whether it fits into someone’s life at all.

When these pieces work together, showing up stops feeling like a decision. It becomes a default.

If people aren’t attending, the answer is rarely “try harder.” More often, it’s “design better.”

Design events that respect people’s time, energy, and uncertainty. When you do, attendance becomes a natural outcome—not a constant struggle.

After the Event Is Designed

This article focuses on event design.

For guidance on helping people follow through once an event exists, see Getting People to Show Up.