How To Improve Your Postings
Event Posting Do’s and Don’ts
An event posted on the
LocalWineEvents.com calendar must have a food, wine, beer or spirits theme. If
your event includes food/drink, but the main “theme” is something else (such
as: fund raiser, art exhibit, entertainment, networking), the posting must
emphasize the prominence of food, wine, beer or spirits at your event. Otherwise, the event might not be
suitable for our calendar.
- If your posting needs clarification, we may
ask you to edit or resubmit it. Postings that do not meet our
guidelines will not be allowed on the site.
- Your posting should mention a specific
activity, taking place at a specific time on a specific day.
- We don’t accept postings that simply indicate,
"We're open for business," or, "We're having a sale."
That's an ad, not an event. However, if customers can taste what you
are offering for sale, you can post the event. Always mention the cost (if any) for the
tasting.
- An event where tastings are available usually
qualifies for our calendar so you should always mention if tastings are available – even if tastings are not the main theme of
the event. Always mention the cost (if any) for the tasting, especially if
the tasting is priced separately from the rest of the event.
- Be careful if your posting includes a link to
an online ticketing service. If the link goes to your own, in-house ticket
system, that's fine. However, a link on LocalWineEvents.com that goes
directly to a third-party ticket seller in competition with our own
ticketing service will not be allowed. The solution: Use a generic phrase in your posting such as:
"Visit our website for ticket information." Then, from your website you can send visitors to your
preferred ticketing service. If you would like more information about the
LocalWineEvents.com ticketing service, including a long list of
references, go here: http://www.localwineevents.com/tickets/ticket_overview.php
- You may not post your in-home wine tasting
business. To inquire about
advertising, look for the “Advertise” link at the top of every
LocalWineEvents.com page.
- Your posting must provide at least a brief
description of your event. You cannot simply say, “Details TBA,” or “See
our website for details,” and nothing else.
Free Registration
vs. Anonymous Posting
During the event-posting
process, you will be asked if you want to register with
LocalWineEvents.com. Registration
is free. It
requires giving us your name and e-mail address. This information will not
appear on your posting unless you want it to. You’ll also have to choose a
password. We do not provide your private information to others.
If you do not
want to register with us, you can still post your event anonymously, but registration
offers many advantages,
including some that speed the posting process:
- You automatically avoid the “Do you want to
register?” step when you post your next event.
- You can store venue information so you don't have to re-enter it every time you post
an event.
- If you submit an event anonymously we take
time to authenticate it before allowing it on the site. The process can
take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours and possibly a day or
two.
- If you register, your posting will appear on
LocalWineEvents.com immediately because we know who submitted it. Note: We will remove postings that make it onto
the site if, in our view, they don’t belong there. If you see one, please
let us know.
- If you register, you can edit your postings
yourself at any time. Anonymous postings cannot be edited. You have to ask
us to do it.
Get The Juice
If
you register to post events, you are automatically subscribed (free) to The
Juice, our food and drink newsletter.
The Juice, e-mailed every week, includes a calendar of food/drink events for as many cities/regions as you want. Each issue
also contains a wine-related article, a wine tip and a wine quiz. To see a sample issue of The Juice, click here.
Note: You can subscribe (free) to The Juice, even if
you don’t post an event on the
LocalWineEvents.com calendar. Just fill in the blanks here: http://www.localwineevents.com/be_notified.php.
- You must subscribe (free) to The Juice if you
want to be included on our list of professional food/drink educators.
- You
must subscribe (free) to The Juice if you want to submit an article for
publication in the newsletter.
- From time to time we have
contests. Only people who subscribe (free) to The Juice are eligible to
enter.
What is a “standard
event”?
When you post an event,
you have two categories to choose from: “standard event” or “ongoing event.” Your choice determines how your posting will appear on the
LocalWineEvents.com calendar. Select "standard" for an
event that will take place on a single day. Or, over one weekend. Or, over a
small number of consecutive days.
For example:
- Wine Tasting, Beer Tasting,
Spirits Tasting, Food Tasting.
- Retail store: In-store
tastings, samples or demonstrations.
- Wine-Pairing Dinner,
Beer-Pairing Dinner.
- Wine Festival, Beer Festival,
Food Festival.
- Holiday/Special Occasion
Meals (examples: Mother's Day, Thanksgiving), Prix Fixe Meals.
- Cooking Class, Wine School,
Wine Auction.
- Fund Raiser, Book Signing,
Personal Appearance.
- Seminar, Workshop,
Conference.
- A media event taking place
just once, such as a TV program or radio segment.
What is an “ongoing
event”?
Select
"ongoing" if your event takes place more than once, over a longer
period of time. For example:
- A winery, brewery, distillery
or food/drink retail store that offers tastings on a recurring basis.
- A restaurant or wine bar with
weekly half-price specials.
- A food or drink-themed event
that takes place every day, once a week, every weekend, once a month.
- A group or club (with a food,
wine, beer or spirits theme) that meets on a regular schedule.
- A recurring media event such
as a Webcast or Podcast.
A posting for an “ongoing”
event can remain on the LocalWineEvents.com calendar for up to three (3) months
so don’t include information that will become dated before the posting expires.
If you are registered with us (free) you will be reminded by e-mail when it’s
time for you to repost your “ongoing” event.
Tips: Headline/Event
Name
The headline (“event
name”) of your posting should be short, but informative. You cannot use HTML
code in the event name.
- Bad headline: Wine Tasting
- A little better: Red Wine Tasting
- Good headline: Zinfandel Tasting
- Best headline: Tasting of California
Zinfandels
Headlines written in a
mixture of upper and lower case look best. We do not allow these kinds of
headlines:
- WITH UNNECESSARY CAPITAL LETTERS, ESPECIALLY
ALL CAPS.
- With excessive exclamation marks (!!!).
- With other unnecessary keystrokes.
Headline OK: VIP Tasting Sponsored by AIWF, RSVP Required
Headline Not OK: **** COME TO OUR WINE TASTING!!!!
Tips: Location/Venue
Name
The information you write
in the "Location/Venue Name" box should only be the name of the business or building where the
event is taking place (Example: Eric’s Egg Nog Emporium). This information will
appear in bold text in your
posting as “Place.”
- Do not write a street address in the
"Location/Venue Name" box. There is another space for that.
- If there is a local landmark reference you
want to include to help people find your location, enter that information
next to what you write under “Location/Venue Name.” (Example of a local
landmark reference: “Next to Jumping Jim’s Jellybean Joint”).
- Using this example, here’s what you would
write in the “Location/Venue Name” box: Eric’s Eggnog Emporium – Next to
Jumping Jim’s Jellybean Joint.
- Do not enter a local landmark reference in the
box called “Street Address". If you do, the “View Map” link in your posting
may not be accurate.
Tips: Street Address
Write a complete street
address, including city, state/province and zip code/postal code. Otherwise,
the “View Map” link in your posting may not work. And, in some cases,
incomplete address information can create a map to the wrong location.
- Don’t say: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
- Do say: Heinz Field, 100 Art Rooney Avenue,
Pittsburgh, PA, 15212
Tips: Cost to Attend
Always write something in
the “Cost to Attend” box, being as specific as possible. Reason: Some consumers
use price information as the key factor in deciding whether to attend an event.
- Don’t say “free,” unless everything at your event is free. Be clear about what’s
free and what isn’t. (Example: Wine tasting and concert are free;
additional food/beverages for sale at regular prices).
- If the cost of your event cannot be expressed
as an exact figure, give generic information (Examples: Regular Menu
Prices; or, Tasting Room Fees Apply). Or, give the cost as a price range
(Example: $5-$15).
Tips: Choose Your Region
(Where to Post)
LocalWineEvents.com has
more than 400 “city/region” pages covering the world. In most cases only one
posting per event is necessary. You must post your event on the one
“city/region” page that corresponds to where the event is actually taking
place. However, if you feel an
additional posting is justified, it must be on a “city/region” page covering an area adjacent to your own.
- Example #1: An event taking place in Northern
Virginia (within metro Washington, D.C.) must first be posted on our
Northern Virginia page. We would then allow an additional posting of the
same event on our Washington, D.C. page.
- Example #2: Federal Way, Washington, is midway
between Seattle and Tacoma. An event in Federal Way could be posted on our
Seattle page and on our Tacoma page.
You are limited to a
maximum of three (3) postings of the same event.
Tips: Link To Your Own
Website
Your posting
gives you an opportunity to link to your own website, but in order to use this
feature you must fill in the spaces marked “Web Site URL,” and “Web Site Name.”
- Example of Web Site Name:
Atlanta Wine School
- The link to your website will
appear at the bottom of your posting as clickable text next to the words,
“More Info:”
Online Ticketing for
Event Organizers
Use
LocalWineEvents.com to sell tickets online to your event. We offer a secure,
affordable service with many satisfied customers. No merchant account or credit
card capabilities necessary. For more information on this optional feature, go here: http://www.localwineevents.com/tickets/ticket_overview.php
Free RSVP Service
for Event Organizers
LocalWineEvents.com
offers a free RSVP
service to help event organizers keep track of how many people plan to attend
an event. For more information on this optional feature, go here: http://www.localwineevents.com/rsvp/rsvp_overview.php
- We recommend
that you log in every time you visit LocalWineEvents.com. Use the same
e-mail address and password you selected when you registered to post
events, or when you signed up for The Juice. Need log in help? Go here: http://www.localwineevents.com/account/acct_forgot.php
- There
are two (2) places on LocalWineEvents.com for posting annual festivals -- our
main calendar of food/drink events and our “Big List of Festivals.” The “Big List” is a seasonal/regional guide,
covering festivals anywhere in the world. Listings on
the “Big List of Festivals” are free.
For more information, go here: http://www.localwineevents.com/festivals/festival_list.php.
To be included on the “Big List,” a festival must:
- Have a food, wine, beer or
spirits theme.
- Have its own dedicated website.
- Q:
My event will have food, but no wine, beer or spirits. May I still post
it? A: Yes
- If there is a small photo or logo that helps consumers identify
your business/organization, you are welcome to use it in the “Event
Description” portion of your posting.
Thank you for
using my website. If you have any questions about these posting guidelines and
tips, please write to me at:
Eric V. Orange
Founder,
LocalWineEvents.com
|
Add your event to the LocalWineEvents.com calendar 