I understand that because meetup.com has increased its fees to an unfair amount lot of event hosts are pissed. Hence I have listed sites like meetup and the process of how you can transfer your groups from Meetup to any of the sites of your choice.
Sometimes it is important for people to make these big tech giants understand that you cannot just increase your prices because you have our data. It is inevitable now to find a meetup alternative and move on to a new platform.
But before that lets quickly look at:
How much does meetup cost
Meetup has changed its pricing model recently. meetup pricing hs not been changed to a whopping $23.99 per month.
And for what?
Well, no better features or value. It’s just another company called WeWork has acquired it and they want to make money out of it. Simple.
how much does meetup cost?
So are you happy to pay the price of getting acquired?
No, I thought so.
As meetup cost too much now (2020), and because of meetup fees increase people are leaving meetup furiously. Only fake accounts or account with business integrations are now with meetup. And I am guessing they will move out soon too.
Organizers pay between $9.99 and $23.99 a month, depending on location and the subscription model of choice. This allows you to organize up to three groups with unlimited members.
meetup charging eyes to run groups on it
Nobody wants to pay that heavy fee just to manage the same group with the same features for more price. Until and unless meetup can justify the price, people will keep leaving meetup.
I believe it will be the death of meetup portal within a few years.
So let’s have a look what options you have if you ditch Meetup.
1. Eventbrite
Eventbrite is a social platform used for hosting and registering for events and is one of the most popular Meetup alternatives. In a few simple steps, you can create an event, set up seating and ticket pricing, and then put the word out using social media to draw a crowd. Users can also register for events, using Eventbrite’s search engine to find events close to them, of a specific type, or within their budget. Though Eventbrite isn’t necessarily intended for regular group meetings, it can still bring people together with similar interests. It also makes it easy to sell tickets and keep track of fees, all online.
To learn more about Eventbrite, check out our course on Eventbrite.
eventbrite
2. Bylde
Have you tried Bylde? you don’t have to pay to start a group. You only opt-in subscription if you want to email all of your group members. one of its customer feedback is “It’s F**king easy”
They have built it on mobile-first so you can actually do pretty much everything on your handset instead of going online.
Also, they don’t have a registration form. Everyone who joins in Bylde comes from authorising their social profiles. So Basically you will only see genuine humans no bots or fake profiles.
Try it Bylde
meetup alternative
3. Groupspaces
Groupspaces is an alternative to Meetup which functions as a group-coordination and event-planning website. You can create a group, post online membership forms, and collect membership dues from group members. You can easily create email lists and manage your subscriptions, and archive everything from your group meetings online. Groupspaces makes it easy to create events and synchronize them with your calendar and Facebook events. You can even sell tickets to your event online.
groupspace
4. OpenSports
(https://opensports.net/groups)
OpenSports is a sports-specific meetup platform that’s available on the web, and as an app on iOS and Android mobile devices. It’s used for organizing and registering for pickup and drop-in sports events. Organizers create public or private groups, set up events, and send invites for events to players in their group. The discovery tools in OpenSports also allow local players to find and join groups and events they are interested in. OpenSports makes it easy to recruit players for different positions, collect payment online, create memberships and discount programs, and write waivers when the legal need arises. It even has an advanced automatic wait list system for people wanting to get in on a specific event or group.
OpenSports
5. MEETin.org
MEETin, like Meetup, is a website that was created with the purpose of using the Internet to bring people together from all over the world for fun, free events. MEETin is run entirely by volunteers, so you never have to pay membership fees; the only costs associated with using it are small fees dependent on the type of gathering you were participating in (for example, the cost of a meal if you were meeting for dinner). You can look for events near you by choosing the major city you are closest to.
MEETin
6. Foursquare
Foursquare, another Meetup alternative, is a website that helps you find the best places to eat, shop, or visit in any city. What’s more the information is given to you straight from people who have actually been there. You can choose a category of what you’re looking for, and then read reviews from other users. Just choose a location, and see what there is to do around you. You can also read about the experiences of other people who have gone before you, so you always know exactly what you’re getting into before you go.
7. Citysocializer
Citysocializer is a social media app available on Google Android and Apple iOS devices that helps you find cool social gatherings going on around you. Like Meetup, it focuses on face-to-face interactions rather than online connections. As you attend more events, your network will grow, and you’ll be invited to even more events. It’s also a great way to see what’s going on in a new city, or find great places in your city that you may not have known existed!
Citysocializer
8. Facebook
(www.facebook.com)
Start a group. You can also make it public, or private (via invite only). They’ve tweaked their events where your friends select if they’re ‘interested’ in an event. This means your friends are receiving notifications but haven’t committed to RSVPing yes.
Facebook Groups
9. NING
( https://www.ning.com/)
You may try NING.com — the biggest platform for creating social communitites (2+ million communities powered by us) of all types.
Would I have automatic event messaging capabilities built around a social community core?
Yes, yes, and again yes.
1# step: You can create unlimited quantity of events
2# step: You are sending invites by uploading list of emails
3# step: You hit the button “Send” and Voila! mails are broadcast-ed
ning
So above is the list of 9 alternatives to meetup we have found for you. Please choose one and then transfer your group from meetup to your chosen platform.
For this tutorial, I am going to work with Bylde as I think its the best suitable alternative. You opinion could be different, so I will leave the choice on you.
How to transfer your groups from Meetup.com to New Platform
So first thing is first, you need to create your group on another platform — Bylde
So go on the bylde.com and then click on GetIn button.
Once you are logged in click on Start a Group Button
Then everything is self-explanatory as per the screenshots below:
How to create your group on Bylde?
Step 1#
This is the simplest step as you just need to read through the content of the index page and click on get started
Meetup alternative
Step 2#
On step 2 you choose your city. Obviously, you want to manage your group in your loca area or city and in order to do that you have to pick one.
In my case it was cardiff
meetup alternative
Step 3#
Then you have to choose some topics for your group. For my case as I am starting a group focused on startups in Cardiff hence I have chosen related topics. This will help your potential group members to find your groups.
Meetup alternative
Step 4#
Then you decide on your group name. Its free to decide on your group name but don’t use any vulgar words or anything which does not comply with bylde terms of usage policy.
Meetup alternative
Step 5#
Then on fifth step you just provide some details on your group. They have provided 3 different examples. You can copy them for now and then edit it later.
Meetup alternative
Step 6#
And lastly you need to agree to the terms and conditions under community guidelines at bylde.
Meetup alternative
Transfer your groups from Meetup.com to Bylde
Once your group is created on bylde. You can just go and copy the invite URL of your group as showcased in the screenshot below:
Meetup alternative
Then you go to meetup.com and then email all of your group members to join the group via the link:
- From your Meetup group homepage, select Manage group
- Select Contact members from the drop-down menu
- Under Send this message to, you’ll see the default option is set to email all members in your Meetup group
email meetup members about the new platform
My message was something like this
Hello {{ Firstname}},
As you already know that meetup has increased pricing to maintaing this group. I am now unable to pay their hefty fee. Hence I have decided to not to continue this group on meetup.
But don't worry we will be continuing our group on bylde it's a free platform and does not charge anything to manage a group.
Please follow this link and join our same group with a new look here: https://bit.ly/2SpwqpQ
Thanks,
Harshal
note: please feel free to copy this message and use it for your group.
Then you can create a new discussion on meetup with the same message:
Meetup alternative
Once that’s done, after 1 week you need to step down from your meetup group and email meetup to close your account by following instructions below.
How to Delete Your Meetup Account — meetup delete account
Here is a detailed step by step process which you can follow to delete your meetup account. I know its fare to ask meetup to delete all of your data because no-one except you has rights to decide on that isn’t it?
1. Go to www.meetup.com in your web browser and sign in to your Meetup account.
You will need to log in one final time to delete your account.
how to delete your meetup account
2. Access your Meetup account settings.
Click on your profile picture icon in the top-right corner of the website. Then click Settings in the drop-down menu that appears to access your account settings.
how to delete your meetup account
3. Scroll down to find the settings section that allows you to delete your account.
At the bottom of your account settings page, find the section labelled “Your Meetup Account”. Click the orange link labelled Deactivate Your Account. From there, you will be taken to the final page.
how to delete your meetup account
4. Enter your Meetup password in the box provided.
If you’re an organizer with active groups, follow the instructions to step down as the organizer of your groups or close your groups.
Enter your Meetup password. (If you need to reset your password, make sure you enter the email address associated with your account. You can find that email address on your Settings page.). Click Submit to confirm.
How to Delete Your Meetup Account
5. Confirm you would like to delete your account by clicking the Submit button.
The final step is to click Submit. Be sure that you want to do this, as all of your information will be taken off Meetup. This means that, if you decide you want to join Meetup again in the future, you will need to start over.
Let me know which platform you have used to move away from meetup
Originally posted at: https://www.blognow.org/blogs/view/709c0cb4-0215-4736-b9cb-5378faf58a1f/Sites-like-meetup--meetup-alternative.html
