I recently helped host Texas's first hackathon for vibecoders.

It was an event for non-techy people to build an AI agent within 48 hours.

This was a WIN for two reasons:

1. My husband and I successfully worked on a project together (love that for us 💅🏼)

2. We filled this event in less than 4 weeks without a list of our own

Over 140 people registered, 6 AI founders gave workshops, and 1 team won a $500 prize from Antler, the leading AI venture capital firm.

If you follow me on social, you've seen a couple posts about it —but not nearly enough to fill an event.

So how’d we do it? It comes down to 4 simple steps.

That’s the playbook I want to share with you today.

(Complete with a template you can use with your team to plan your next event.)

Step 1: Partner With A List Owner (Don't Build from Zero)


Instead of networking one-by-one to build a community from scratch, Jordan offered value to an existing community.

AITX is a group in Austin connected to a VC that provides seed funding for AI projects.

Jordan, a longtime member, made them an offer: he'd host a hackathon.

But not just any hackathon.

Traditional hackathons assume you have a coding background and give you 48 hours to build an app.

This was something different.

This was a hackathon with structured workshops designed to help vibecoders (people without a coding background) learn the mental models of coding so they could prompt app ideas to life.

Jordan brought the product; AITX brought the people. 

Step 2: Come Up With A Big Idea

This hybrid hackathon approach was a hit because AITX was recommending it to their highly engaged audience.

Registrations were rolling in.

But since I’ve been copywriting for several years, I knew the registration page was missing something critical:

A BIG IDEA.

A tangible result you’d walk away with…. that’s hot in the news right now.

So I edited it like this.

Instead of focusing on the name of the event in the headline, I made a promise:
Build An AI Agent in 48 hours.

Instead of listing what people would learn…I focused on what they'd accomplish.

Here's what some of the body copy changes looked like:

Before: "Intensive 48-hour hackathon focused on using AI-development workflows to create functional knowledge graphs deployed to Digital Ocean"

After: "Build your first AI agent in 48 hours—no coding experience required"

❌ Workshop topics → ✅ What you'll build by the end of the event
❌ Technical processes → ✅ Real-world use cases for AI agents
❌ Coding jargon → ✅ Everyday language

By hitting on a big idea and expressing it simply, we sold out the event 10 days in advance.

Step 3: Create FOMO with Real Scarcity

Normally, leading up to the event, you’re hyping the list up to get more registrants.

But we had a problem:

The VC office could only host 100 people.

So instead of having an email sequence reminding people to show up…

We reminded people to cancel their reservations so the dozens of people on the waitlist could join.

This real scarcity gave us undeniable social proof and built FOMO for those on and off the waitlist.

All we had to do now was deliver.

Step 4: Use a Media Plan to Presell Your Next Event

The event itself went smoothly.

I gave a short opening talk. Jordan was an excellent emcee and workshop leader. All the speakers and volunteers made high-level concepts easy to understand.

But how do you make the most of the event to presell the next one?

That’s where your media plan comes in.

It’s what gets you and your creative team aligned so you have amazing marketing materials to presell the next event.

Your media plan includes:

Deliverables + Owners: Who's responsible for shooting and editing content?
Event Schedule with Shot List: When will you capture key moments?
B-Roll Shot List: Crowd, venue, speakers, behind-the-scenes, etc.
Creative References: Show your videographer examples of the edits you want
Testimonial Questions: Have 3-5 ready to capture great before/after stories

If you have an event coming up…make a copy of this media plan template.

I promise this level of organization upfront will save you so much hassle during and after your event.

Why This Matters For Your Business

Events consistently rank as the top lead source for my B2B clients.

They're also invaluable for early-stage ecommerce brands looking for product validation and testimonials.

But here's what most people get wrong:

They treat events as one-time experiences instead of perpetual content engines.

You're not just hosting an event—you're creating:

A fast-track way to build community
High-quality content for months of marketing
Testimonials you can use for years to come

If you're planning any kind of gathering, use the four-step framework I shared today.

The fastest way to grow isn't building from scratch.

It's bringing value to someone who's already built what you need…then working your media plan as a launchpad for all your future events to come.

Use This AI Prompt to Plan Your Next Event

Want to take this framework and make it work for your specific event?

Copy this prompt and drop it into ChatGPT or Claude:

“I am planning an event in [#] weeks. I am in the [niche] industry. My ideal audience is [describe ideal attendee]. I have the following marketing channels: [email size, social media following, or starting from zero]. Help me come up with a plan to market this event and deliver real results for attendees. Make sure to include the following:

Partnership Strategy: Who in my space already has the audience I want?
What can I offer them that helps their people?

Big Idea Messaging: Take my current event description and rewrite it to focus on what people will have/do/accomplish rather than what they'll learn. Make it sound exciting, not educational.

Scarcity Plan: How do I create real urgency for my specific situation? What kind of waitlist strategy makes sense?

Content Capture: What should I document during my event? Give me 5 testimonial questions that fit my audience and goals.

Be specific. I want a plan I can actually execute, not generic advice."

That's it. Let AI set out the strategy, while you focus on executing. ✔️

And if you know someone planning an event soon, forward them this email 🙂 

Annabel

P.S. It’s a new quarter. And with that, a new 90-day stretch to reach your goals.

Here’s my system for team quarterly planning and tracking goal progress.

Take a look and let me know how you get on with it.