Notes from the road

The cover image is the first thing a guest sees. It quietly tells them what kind of night this is.

Hosting gets all the advice. Being a good guest is just as learnable, and it is how you keep getting invited.

A reminder is your last chance to convert a yes into a turn up. Most reminders waste it. Here is how to write one that lands.

Saying no to a good friend's event should be easy. Here is how to do it cleanly, and why a quick no helps the host.

Team drinks should not require everyone to follow each other online. Here is how to keep work events clean.

The match, the final, the big episode. A watch party is simple to throw and easy to get slightly wrong.

Most social products optimise for time on app. We deliberately did not build that, and here is the reasoning.

Everyone says we should do this more often and then nobody organises it. Here is how to be the one who actually does.

Someone is moving away. A farewell is the one event where turnout genuinely matters. Here is how to get the right people there.

Children's parties mean coordinating a group of parents you barely know, on whatever channels they happen to use.

A housewarming is the one party where the venue is the point. Here is how to show off the place without it feeling like a viewing.

The first one is easy. The fourth one is the test. Here is what makes a recurring games night survive.

The endless what about Thursday thread has a better answer. Propose a few dates and let people vote.

Can I bring someone is a small question that can quietly reshape your event. Here is how to decide and how to set it.

Bring your own keeps costs down and pressure off the host. A few small touches stop it turning into a mess.

Your flat fits twenty. Forty people want to come. Here is how to set a limit and let a waitlist do the awkward part.

Six people bring crisps and nobody brings a main. Here is how to coordinate a shared meal without a shared document.

A public event link is convenient, but your front door is not public. Here is how to share one without the other.

You do not need to be able to cook to host people for dinner. You need a plan that hides the gap.

Most people who could host something don't, because they imagine it needs to be a production. It doesn't.

You send 20 invitations, get 15 yes RSVPs, and 11 people walk through the door. Here's why it happens and what actually helps.

Your guest list doesn't live inside one app. Here's how to get everyone onto the same event page regardless of which platforms they use.

The venue was definitely decided in that thread somewhere. Scroll up. No, further.

After watching the events created on PopIn so far, here's what consistently gets people to actually show up.

Looking at hundreds of PopIn events, the time of day you send invitations changes reply rates by 40%. Here's what we've seen.

Why no-account guests is harder than it looks, and the design decisions that flow from getting it right.

Run clubs, book clubs, standing wine nights. The pattern that makes recurring events survive past the first three weeks.

A note on what's broken about how we plan events, and the bet PopIn is making about how to fix it.