- Communicate the phone number in your save the date letters and invitations. Make sure to tell people to call in even if they can’t attend the event itself.
- Make sure you give people a deadline.
- You may want to communicate a “fake” deadline. You or someone else can monitor the web site to see who has called, and when the first deadline passes, gently remind people that they have another day or two.
- At the actual event, have someone make an announcement that the lines will “stay open” for the next few days, and people can call in again if they would like to share more stories about the event itself. You can also have place cards that remind people to call the number, or ask them to call the number again.
- If you are throwing an event where you don’t want people to bring presents, you can write in the invitation, “in lieu of gifts, please share your favorite story or memory with ____ by calling….”
When communicating deadlines, keep in mind that if you are having LifeOnRecord create a keepsake, we ship out keepsakes the next business day as long as the form is filled out by 3PM Central time, but the guest of honor can listen to their recordings over the internet at any time.