10 Examples of Strong “Why Attend” Pages

Most of us just need a little push, a little “I agree with you, you should do it.” That’s why “Why Attend” pages are so important to your event. They give people that approval we’re all looking for. They’re like the friend standing just behind us encouraging us to do exactly what we want to but are unsure of because of geography, price, time, or a million other reasons. Here are some great examples of “Why Attend” pages and what makes them so effective.

1. Salesforce’s Dreamforce

Salesforce has a very broad audience. To sum up why someone should attend and make it sound personal is difficult so they included an interactive tab that allows you to pick your role and why attendance would benefit you. The page also contains video, a customizable letter to your boss (since this is not a meeting aimed at the C-suite), social proof in the form of tweets, and an ROI calculator.  Before you start feeling slightly inadequate because your page is less comprehensive, it’s important to point out that Dreamforce’s entertainment is U2. Yes, that U2. Their budget is…let’s just say….non-limiting.

2. ASIS International Seminar and Exhibits

This organization caters to public and private sector security professionals. Their page does several things well. It provides proof that it’s a worthwhile show by exhibiting that it was selected as one of the Top 250 Trade Shows in 2015, tells people what’s new about this year’s event, and provides rotating referrals listed under the catchy title: “What are your colleagues saying.”

3. National Association of International Educators

This is a pretty basic “Why Attend” page but the largest difference is in the page header. It takes a much more forceful approach than most. Most use language like “Why You Should Attend.” This one gives “Reasons You Must Attend the Conference” followed by the reasons in bold headings. It’s easy to scan but again, very basic, no frills.  

4. HubSpot’s INBOUND

This page is captivating. It has a fresh, clean design with the scrolling format and presents easy to glean stats. It also invites people to sign up for emails for event updates and discounts (discounts is one of the key drivers for getting people to sign up for nearly anything), and reasons to attend. Information on the venue and city aren’t tucked away in another tab. They also include links to where HubSpot can be found on social.

5. BEDA National Conference

BEDA stands for Binge Eating Disorder Association and their “Why Attend” page does a nice job targeting its audience. Often binge eaters feel uncomfortable about their bodies so this page does not list reasons to attend with the same disconnected logic that other pages do. The reasons to attend are presented in a personal way as written by the CEO. There are lots of mentions of “you” and “I.” The page also addresses the discomfort many people feel with binge eating. It takes on the obvious, hard-to-work-through issues that prevent people from attending in a very human way.

6. ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting

This organization isn’t content to just “hang” a web page. They have an entire nine-page attendance justification toolkit that contains things like why your employer should send you, an expenses worksheet, benefits information, a sample justification letter and more. One of the most interesting pages is its needs assessment and solutions. The left-hand side lists needs an organization or individual might have and the right-hand side explains how the annual meeting fulfills them.

7. SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition

While the page itself offers five strong reasons to attend the Society of HR Management’s event, the thing that makes it shine is its use of video and pictures. They’re fun and tell the story that this conference is a good time. If you pay close attention, you can even see Mike Rowe. The site also includes a very easy session search feature that allows attendees to find the session they want through a variety of ways including topic or continuing education credit available.

8. The Arc’s National Convention and International Forum

We included this one not because it’s fancy. It certainly isn’t. While it’s missing a lot of components that made these other sites memorable, it does one thing well. It presents pertinent information mini infographic style. Very simple. Very clean. No expensive design costs here.

9. ESRI User Conference

This site does a lot of what the DreamForce site does, tailoring its message and reasons for attendance to the role of the attendee. Since ESRI serves multiple industries, it also customizes its marketing approach by industry in an interactive tab format. The site includes a video invitation with a friendly tone, not an overly slick sales approach, to attend. People interested can also download tools that help them justify the expense.

10. SXSW Conference

While this event hardly requires justification, they do a nice job of giving you plenty and making attendance easy. First of all, there are a lot of tracks, sessions, events, and badges to choose from. It’s hard to make a decision, especially if you’re a first-time attendee. Their page provides a comparison chart of badges, a chart for registration deadlines and costs, and a tracks quiz for those who aren’t sure what to do. Another thing they do well is suggest the desired actions they want you to take as part of your attendance. They entitle this section:  SIX STEPS TO ATTENDING SXSW, and it includes creating an attendee profile as well as following the conference on social media to keep attendees and possible attendees in the know.

In Conclusion

A “Why Attend” page needn’t have all the bells and whistles. It just needs to convey in simple terms why someone should make the investment and come to your event. It helps to show the fun and comradery, provide tools that help obtain financial sign-off, and justification for the expense. Most of all, you want to make sure you are appealing to your ideal attendee. When you can craft content that speaks to them, you are more likely to see them in attendance.