A lot of events incorporate early bird pricing to encourage people to register early and it usually works. In some cases an Event Planner may extend an early bird period after registration has started, but after a recent experience I think that this strategy should be avoided.

Here's why.

This past fall, I was considering attending a conference, but kept putting off looking into the details, checking into flights and hotels and making a decision. I knew that the early bird pricing ended December 10th, so I set a reminder for myself to make a decision by that date.

The morning of the deadline, just as I was about to finally look into the details and decide whether to register or not, I received an email stating that the early bird deadline had been extended until January 15th.

I immediately re-scheduled my reminder to register and was happy that I could hold onto my money for another month and wait to see a better opportunity arose.

I understand the organizers of this event were trying to encourage more people to register, however, I now realize the problems an Early-Bird extension can cause.

Consider these problems:

1. Delayed registrations and revenue from fence sitters - If you allow a reasonable amount of time for people to take advantage of your early bird pricing anyone who is serious about attending will register. If people are undecided or putting off the decision as I was, extending the period just gives more time to delay.
    
2. Lost registrants to competing events or other commitments – The longer someone waits to register for your event the more likely they will make other commitments and be unable to attend your event. Get people registered early so they will schedule other things around your event rather than at the same time.
    
3. Gives the impression that your event is struggling – When I found out that the early bird period for this recent event was extended, I concluded that they must be getting less registrations than expected and needed to offer another incentive. This thinking made me sceptical about registering since there might be less networking opportunities, cancelled workshops and other changes as a result of less revenue.
    
4. Frustrate people that registered before the early-bird deadline – If people registered and paid their money early only to find out that the procrastinators will get the same deal they did, you could get some complaints or leave a bad impression in their minds.
    
5. Set a precedent that waiting until the last minute pays off – People will remember what happened with registration for a previous event and if you are known for extending early bird deadlines, it will become harder for you to get people to take immediate action when you send out your marketing materials.

Since we believe that extending early bird deadlines isn’t a good way to get more registrations, we’ve come up with a list of our recommended alternatives for the March newsletter. If you have comments about this article or want a sneak-peak at our ideas, please contact us.