Most event tools assume you already know what you're doing. PopIn doesn't. This guide walks through your first event end to end: deciding what kind of event to throw, setting it up in PopIn, inviting people without annoying them, and getting a real RSVP count before the day. If you're brand new, follow it in order. If you've used similar tools before, skim for the PopIn-specific bits.
For a shorter walkthrough, see Your first event. This is the deep-dive version with the why behind each step.
Step 1: Pick the kind of event you're throwing
Before you open PopIn, think about what kind of event this is. PopIn handles three rough categories well: private events (specific guest list, invite only), friends events (visible to your PopIn friends so they can opt in), and public events (anyone with the link can see it, often used for community gatherings or fundraisers). The category you pick changes how the invite flow works.
For a first event, private is usually the right starting point. You know exactly who you want there, you don't need discovery, and the guest list is the social proof. Friends events are good for "anyone from the crew who's around on Saturday" situations. Public events make sense when you genuinely want to invite people you don't know yet, like a run club or a book club open to newcomers.
Step 2: Create the event
Tap the Create Event button in the PopIn nav, or open /events/create directly. You'll get two options: Manual (you fill in the details) and Vibe it out (you describe the event in plain English and PopIn drafts the details for you to tweak). For your first event, Manual gives you more control and helps you understand what each field does.
The fields you need to fill in are:
- Title. Short and punchy. "Sat night drinks" beats "Saturday evening social gathering." Your friends know your style; lean into it.
- Date and time. Required. The end time is optional but useful if guests want to plan their evening around it.
- Location. Either a place name (Google Places will autocomplete) or a freeform string like "my place" or "Mark's apartment." For private events, freeform is fine. For public ones, a real address helps people find it.
- Description. Two or three sentences max. What the event is, why now, anything specific guests need to know (dress code, bring-list, etc).
- Cover photo. Skip this if you don't have one; PopIn will use a soft gradient. If you do add one, pick something that hints at the vibe rather than a perfect Instagram-ready image. A camera phone photo of the venue, a still from a music video, anything that sets expectations works.
- Visibility. Private (invite only), friends-only, or public. Set this based on Step 1.
Hit Publish. You now have an event page with a shareable link.
Step 3: Invite people
The single most important step. PopIn's invite flow lets you mix channels: paste emails, paste phone numbers, pull from your contacts (with permission), and generate a shareable link to drop into group chats. You don't have to pick one. Use whatever channel reaches each person fastest.
A few tips that improve RSVP rates significantly:
- Send the invitation when people are likely to read it. Weekday mornings (8-10am) and lunch (12-1pm) get the highest reply rates in our data. Avoid late nights and the dead zone of Saturday afternoon.
- Personalise the invite message. The default invite text is fine, but a custom note ("missed you at the last one, would love to see you Saturday") increases the chance someone actually replies. You can add this on the invite screen.
- For mixed-medium guest lists, send in batches. Don't blast the SMS list at the same time as the email list. SMS gets read in minutes; email gets read in hours. Sending them in the same window means the SMS folks reply first and you might think the email folks aren't interested when they just haven't seen it yet.
Step 4: Manage RSVPs as they come in
Open your event page periodically (or rely on PopIn's notifications). You'll see the guest list updating in real time, broken down by Going / Maybe / Can't make it / Pending. The numbers at the top of the page are the running totals so you can plan capacity, food, etc.
If you haven't heard from someone after a few days, PopIn sends them a gentle nudge automatically. You can also resend an invitation manually from the guest list if you really need a particular person to respond. Don't overdo this. One nudge from PopIn plus one manual resend is the most anyone should get; beyond that you're just being annoying.
Step 5: Day of the event
The day before and the day of, PopIn sends a reminder to every guest who said Going or Maybe. The reminder includes the address, time, and any updates you've made since they RSVPd. You don't have to do anything to trigger this.
If something changes last minute (you moved the venue, the time shifted), use the Broadcast button on the event page to send an update to everyone going via whatever channel they're set up for (push, email, SMS). This is much better than texting individual people; the broadcast feels official and people are more likely to actually read it.
Show up. Have a good time. After the event, you can post photos and memories to the event page, which goes into your PopIn feed and is visible to everyone who attended. That's the whole flow.