WordCamp organizers will get up to $400 to spend on advertising under rare changes to expense guidelines proposed by the WordPress Community Team yesterday.
The current guidelines state that advertising is “very, very, *very* rarely” included in WordCamp budgets and that “Most WordCamps are highly successful without spending money” on things like advertising.
Automattic-sponsored contributor Rocio Valdivia says the community team wants to welcome more first-time attendees to WordCamps.
“We aim for over 50% of participants to be newcomers while celebrating returning attendees. To achieve this, event organizers should focus on attracting new participants through well-planned event design, messaging, and marketing strategies,” Valdivia said, adding that event organizers should focus on attracting new participants through well-planned event design, messaging, and marketing strategies.
The proposed changes would allow organizers to spend between $50 and $400 on advertising, which would be subject to approval during a WordCamp’s budget review and funded by WordPress’ Global Community Sponsorship Program.
It’s the first time in WordPress’ 21-year history that changes to allow organizers to spend part of their budget on advertising is being considered, and comes after WordCamp Netherlands 2024 was recently rescheduled due to low attendee registration, prompting criticism of WordCamp marketing on social media.
Posting on X/Twitter, SEO consultant Jono Alderson said, “Maybe WordCamp events would sell more tickets if they, say, ran some kind of SEO plugin or, say, did some marketing outside of their existing attendee bubble, or, say, had clear objectives and suitable resources, or, say, updated their guidelines to account for changing realities.”
U.S.-based Elegant Themes Community Manager Raquel Manriquez, who was planning to attend WordCamp Netherlands and had bought non-refundable flights and accommodation, said the rescheduling had cost her $1,200. She has booked another trip to the Netherlands to connect with the WordPress community, but not during the rescheduled dates since they conflict with the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
“TBH, I loved the Dutch community. They welcomed me with open arms and allowed me to emcee their mainstage [during WordCamp Netherlands 2023]. I felt extreme honor,” Manriquez said. “I’m so glad to still keep the trip but so bummed to miss WC.”
Does WordCamp Central need an overhaul?
Simon Harper from SRH Design recently explored the topic of WordCamp marketing in his Loop WP newsletter. He hghlighted that the last time WordCamp Central posted on X/Twitter was 15 months ago, and the pinned tweet is related to the pandemic era. On top of that, the WordCamp Central YouTube channel has only produced six videos in the past year, which he says, is “not good enough by today’s marketing standards.”
“With organisers and volunteers giving up so much time for free in preparation and during the WordCamp, it can be soul-destroying if an event is cancelled or turnout is low,” Harper said.
He said existing marketing support for WordCamps needed an overhaul and suggested redesigning the WordCamp Central website, improving communications and marketing to people outside the WordPress community, and providing blanket event insurance outside of the U.S. and Canada.
The post-pandemic revival of WordPress events has been a key focus of the WordPress Community Team in recent months. In June, the team proposed a unified sponsorship initiative aimed at enhancing support for WordCamp organizers. In July, the team flagged that a key measure of success for WordPress events moving forward was the percentage of first-time attendees, in line with the WordPress project’s big picture goals for 2024.
Also in July, Automattic-sponsored community contributor Isotta Peira shared a summary of the top three challenges reported by WordCamp organizers, including budget issues, logistical issues with last-minute changes, and lower-than-expected attendance.