The world is changing... here at BP, that is. Several weeks ago I posted an article about Why YOU Should Organize a Local BiggerPockets Real Estate Meetup and it was a big success- meetups are beginning to spring up all around the country.

Last time it was about the "why." Today, I want to share 8 tips on the "how."

1.)Meetups begin before the meetup. In other words - meetups are largely birthed by the networking that already is taking place in the BiggerPockets Forums. So start networking.

2.) Keyword Alerts - Make sure you have Keyword Alerts set up for your local city and state names. This way, when a new person from your local area joins the site, and introduces themselves or talk about something local - you can jump into the conversation, make a new friend, and start building a relationship.

3.) Reach Out to Local BP Influencers - There are some members here on BP who have been extremely active for a long time, and have a lot of colleagues and friends on the site. If there is a "BP Influencer" in your area - reach out to them and ask them to help organize the local meetup.

4.) Don't Charge - BP Meetups are not an investment club with some for-profit agenda. BP is about peers getting together, over drinks/food, to chat about real estate, network, and grow. It's fine to have an agenda or training, but NO UPSELLING. You know better. ;)

5.) Plan Ahead - Be sure to have a plan for where you will meet and how you'll do it. Be sure to have a space that is available (maybe reserve a room?) and can hold enough people. I've had a meetups in a bar, a pizza place, a shared workspace, and a BP member's rehab project. They were all awesome.

6.) Announce Early - When announcing the meetup, be sure to give people enough time to plan, but not so much that they forget. Three or Four weeks is probably ideal.

7.) Be Specific - In your Forum announcement (Please put it in the Events and Happenings Forum) be sure to be specific on the time, date, and location. Also - use a number of local city names in your post, so those with Keyword Alerts will be notified.

8.) Be Helpful - At the meetup - be helpful! Share contacts, stories, strategies, pitfalls, and education. Sure, these people might be your competition, but there is always enough to go around, and you'll gain far more by sharing and being open.

Do you have any other ideas to add? Please leave a comment below if you have any questions or comments or concerns!