Top Tips for Staffing A Sponsor Table at WordCamp

featured image for staffing booth

Staffing a sponsor table at a WordCamp can be overwhelming for those new to the scene. Here are some of the tips I learned along the way.

Staffing Your Table: Prepare Before WordCamp

One to two weeks ahead, look at the attendees page to get an idea of who will be there. Follow the hashtag on Twitter and reply to people who are excited about the camp.

Some things you can say are:

  • See you there.
  • Do you have any tips for this city?
  • What session are you looking forward to?

Staffing Your Table: Tips During WordCamp

  • Arrive early. Usually tables are first come, first served.
  • Put out your swag in a way that is visually appealing.
  • You probably don’t need to save too much swag for day 2. There’s a 50-25% drop off in attendance.
  • Tweet out a selfie saying you are there and asking people to say hi. Use the WordCamp hashtag, not their Twitter handle. Remember, if you start a tweet with an @ handle, it is considered a reply. You want to avoid that. Use a period first to trick Twitter.

  • Stand up. People won’t talk to you if you’re sitting down. This is especially true if you are looking at your phone/computer.
  • If you need a break, go into a session and tweet from there. Learn. Take notes. Absorb. You should be able to learn at least one thing.
  • If one of your teammates is speaking, definitely support them.

    • Smile. It’s hard. I know. But it helps.
    • Ask people questions. Don’t ask about your service or product (yet). This gets people talking. Get insight from your audience.
      • How do you use WordPress?
      • What has been your favorite session so far?
      • What did you get for lunch?
    • Tweet selfies with your booth attendees. If someone won a prize, definitely tweet that, too.
    • Take notes. It’s fine if it’s just bullets. Your supervisor may ask you for insights from the camp. This makes it much easier to remember things.

    What are your tips?

    We are all always learning. I’d love to see what your tips are for staffing a successful sponsor booth at a WordCamp. Leave it in the comments below.