Hackathon Organizer Guide
  • Introduction
  • overview
    • What is a Hackathon?
    • What is MLH?
    • MLH Hackcon
    • MLH Community Values
    • Event Types
      • Digital Events
        • Digital Mini Events
          • Marble Races
          • Pokemon Showdown
          • Wiki Races
          • Hacker Hangouts
        • Streamyard
  • General Information
    • Hackathon Timeline
    • Finding the Date and Purpose
    • Build Your Leadership Team
    • Locking Down a Venue
    • Hackathon Budgeting
      • Legal Considerations
    • Getting Sponsorship
      • Introduction to Fundraising
      • Understanding Your Sponsors
        • Evaluating In-kind Sponsorships
      • Potential Sponsor Perks
      • Sponsorship Prospectus
      • The 5-Step MLH Sponsorship Process
      • Cheat Sheet: Emailing Your Sponsors
    • Hackathon Website
      • Making an Accessible Design
      • Placeholder Website
      • Main Website
    • Marketing Your Event
      • Promoting Your Event
        • Marketing Email Template
      • Marketing Goals & Timelines
    • Managing Registrations
      • Registrations
      • Free Registration Tool - OrganizerHQ (OHQ)
      • Sending Reminders
        • Email Templates
      • Check-in Process
    • Event Logistics
      • Hackathon Communication Platform
      • Project Challenges
      • Ordering Swag and Prizes
      • Set Up Your Event
      • Working with Food Vendors
      • Hosting Hackers with Dietary Restrictions
      • Distributing Meals
      • Transportation/Travel Plans
      • Hardware
      • Prepare Your Emergency Plan
    • Judging and Submissions
      • Rules for Your Hackathon
      • Judging Plan
      • Cheating Check
      • Judges Communication and Recruiting
      • Hackathon Submission Portal
        • Using Devpost
        • Using Devfolio
        • Using DoraHacks
    • Hackathon Scheduling
      • Detailed Run of Show
      • Run-Through with the Team
      • MLH Tips and Templates
    • Mentorship
    • Day of Logistics and Hacker Experience
      • Help Desk Recommendations
      • Fun Mini Events
      • Workshops
      • Opening Ceremony
      • Closing Ceremony
    • After the Event
  • Organizer Resources
    • Template Links
    • Getting Support from Others
    • Leadership Resources
    • Marketing Resources
    • Registrations Resources
      • GDPR in Europe
    • Host Exciting Mini-Events
      • Cup Stacking
      • MLH Mini Events
        • WereWolf
        • Slideshow Karaoke
        • !Light
        • MS Paint Bob Ross
    • Keeping Records
    • Software for Hackathons
  • Contributors
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  1. General Information
  2. Marketing Your Event

Marketing Goals & Timelines

Planning the target attendee goals and timelines of registrations

Before setting any timelines, you have to set up goals of targeting your hackers. These can be limited to your university, city, state, country or a certain region. We recommend focusing on your local community first and then expanding from there. This makes sure that your roots are strong and you're ready to expand with your hackathon!

As you plan your marketing timeline, keep in mind that you will see a drop-off rate between the number of hackers who signed up to attend your event and the number who participate. The attrition rate varies from event to event, but in general, we expect about a 50% drop-off rate for free hackathons.

In general, we recommend aiming to have 100% of your goal attendance signed up two weeks before the event and 200% of your attendance goal signed up one week in advance. We also recommend having an upper limit to the number of registrations you can expect. Having some kind of a filtering process for attendees helps a lot in ensuring the quality and interest in participation.

For example, if you're aiming to have 500 attendees, a good timeline may be:

Timeline

Registration Numbers

3 months before

Registrations Open!

2 months before

100 Signups

1 month before

250 Signups

2 weeks before

600 Signups

1 week before

1000 Signups

Keep in mind that MLH requires registration 1 week before the event for events we partner with so we can prep the pre-event email and complete a check for bad actors. Ask your HCM if you have any questions!

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Last updated 2 months ago

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