At the Heroes Happen Here launch event in DC, I fielded some questions from folks looking to start a user group.

Chris Williams offers some tips on starting a User Group.

1. Reduce the amount of time people have to speak.
   Instead of having one guy talk for an hour (very intimidating to new speakers) pick a theme for the month and have 4 or 5 guys talk for 10-15 minutes on the topic.  Think about it, most people can easily talk about a topic of interest for this long without even really trying.
2. Not every meeting needs a presentation! Just a topic.
   Consider offering a round-table discussion format for one of your meetings... skipping the speaker altogether. Get people discussing a specific topic, and occasionally jumping up to draw something out on the whiteboard while the discussion continues.
3. Figure out your slowest month and plan an alternate activity.
   In some places, the summer months can really kill the attendance of user groups. In other places, it's around the holidays. Pick the month that typically has the worst attendance and skip the meeting that month. Instead, offer something else fun to do. Perhaps a pub night, or a Geek Dinner at a local restaurant. Maybe even a cookout. (Try to involve your local Microsoft DE in this event... they have budgets for this sort of thing.)
4. Try to plan as far in advance as possible.
   This probably falls under common sense, but the longer you plan stuff out, the more people will hear about your event and show up. If you can schedule at least 2-3 months in advance, you can typically count on pretty decent attendance (and better yet, people who are more likely to be interested in the specific topic.)
5. Promote, promote, promote!
   Starting a user group is way easier than sustaining one. Getting the word out for the initial meeting can be easy, because of the buzz surrounding something new. The trick is getting people to show up for the following meetings... and getting new people who may not have heard about the group until recently.

I'd also like to add one more thing to the list:

Believe in your ideas and not what other people tell you.

A lot of people told me that there was no way that Richmond could support one, let alone multiple user groups. There are now  four (at last count), plus a monthly geek dinner.

If that weren't enough, the fifth Richmond Code Camp in two years is taking place later this month.

You wouldn't believe how many people told me *that* was impossible.

The bottom line is that you're not alone.

If you feel the need to start a user group, chances are there are others that feel the same way. 

All you need is a "first mover" to start the process and ignite the enthusiasm already around you.

You can be the first mover.

My role with INETA is to help user group leaders get started and plugged-in to INETA's resources to help get their groups off the ground.

If you're in DC, Maryland, or Delaware and want to know more about starting a user group or help connecting with INETA, let me know.