I'm running my first con -- a gaming minicon. It's called Collective Consciousness, and it's being held in the Triangle region of North Carolina.

I've got a few sessions lined up, and a few people have signed up for these sessions. So far, so good!

But I'd like some advice. How/where does one get the word out about this event without looking like a spammer? I've advertised in the 'legit' places, like ENWorld and RPG.net, but I'd also like to know of any Triangle-specific boards/lists where one could post a message. I figure that there have to be people out there looking for a low-commitment pick-up con, so how do I reach them?

If you have experience running a con, I'd also appreciate some numbers -- any numbers -- on sign-ups. The con's about three weeks away. Is it likely that there will be a sudden surge in sign-ups later on? Or is it more likely that what I have now is what I'm going to get? Sure, this may be conjecture and speculation, but if you're basing it on past experience, it's much better than what I've got now, as I'm flying completely blind.

Thanks!

-- Rafael

Here are a few links that might help:

http://www.meetup.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nerdrdu

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/RPLink_Triad

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/NC-Gamers

http://community.livejournal.com/rtsfs/profile

http://www.white-wolf.com/events/index.php

Send me a press release and I'll post it on Flames Rising and RPGNews as well.

-Matt

I've got you on Durham Gamers' Calendar, but feel free to pitch the con a bit more and link to the Event, in a Post:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/durhamgamers/

There's a few additional links on that home page (most of them in Matt's post above), if you want to branch out to Strat Gamers.

I'd also ping SciFi Genre, both for possible promotion (yeah, a competitor, but still) or for their Forums, which might be hit or miss:
http://z6.invisionfree.com/Scifi_Genre_Forums/index.php?showforum=12

Have you flyered the local Universities and Colleges with gaming groups? Figure out where they meet and throw up a poster.

If you were going with LARP (or, generally, longer) I'd suggest local improv troupes and LARPers. But not really viable in a single-day event (though a one-shot COULD be done in a day; but not in a single store, I don't imagine).

The Washington, DC, rpg meetup group might have some interested members.  If you want the coordinators' email addresses, PM me and i'll send them along.  They can then tell the rest of the group.  They also have contact with other Va based groups, which might be interested.

There's also a NoVa gamesmiths group, the head of which is on the Forge (apeiron, i think), which might get a few more people.  You should PM him.

Whoa!

Thank you all for the information! I'm wrapping up things at work, but I'll definitely pursue all of these resources later this evening. I really appreciate it.

-- Rafael

Matt-M-McElroy wrote: Send me a press release and I'll post it on Flames Rising and RPGNews as well.

David wrote: I've got you on Durham Gamers' Calendar, but feel free to pitch the con a bit more and link to the Event, in a Post.

David wrote: Have you flyered the local Universities and Colleges with gaming groups? Figure out where they meet and throw up a poster.

jag wrote: The Washington, DC, rpg meetup group might have some interested members.  If you want the coordinators' email addresses, PM me and i'll send them along.