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How to fill your first event quickly

April 28, 2026 · Buddies · 3 min read

You created your first event in Buddies. Date set, location chosen, description written. And then nothing happens.

Most hosts have been there at some point — and there's stuff you can do about it. The most important thing first: the bar to create an event should be low. You don't have to plan your weekend three weeks ahead. Got nothing on for tonight — set up an event for tonight. A push goes out to Buddies in the area, and a few might join in. That's how simple it gets to be, and that's often when it works best.

Here are four things that have shown up as working when you've created an event. Some are more relevant if you already have friends in Buddies. Others are for you who are new and don't have a group yet. Pick what fits you.

1. What's the event?

"Game night, all welcome" says nothing about you or about the night. "Hey! Booked a shuffleboard table for Saturday at 6 PM. We'll play for an hour, then grab a beer at the same place after" says everything.

People sign up for people — not for event listings. Write the way you'd write a text to a good friend. Tell them what you're doing, roughly how it'll go, and what happens after. The short personal text makes a huge difference.

2. When should the event happen?

There's no right or wrong here — it depends on what you're doing. Three common time windows, all valid:

In a few hours / tonight. It's 5 PM Wednesday, you've got nothing on, you set up an event for 7:30 PM tonight. A push goes out to Buddies in the area. A few might join in. This is the Buddies format at its simplest — it's how it often works best, and it's the whole point of keeping the bar low. The requirement: at least a few hours ahead, so people can see the event and have time to get there.

Later this week. You're sitting on Monday thinking "I want to watch the football match at the pub on Thursday". Create the event Monday, you've got three days to fill it. This kind of timing fits things that don't need to be booked in advance but where people like a day's notice.

Next weekend or further out. A hike in a national park, a fishing trip that needs a car, a full-day MTB ride. Things people need to plan around. 1–3 weeks ahead is often about right — too far away and it's forgotten, too close and people are already booked up.

3. Invite the people you already know — if you have them

If you've got a few guys you usually hang out with, colleagues you like, a neighbour you've struck up conversations with — the Buddies link to your event is built to be sent in an existing text-message context.

Don't send a cold link. Send it as a personal question: "Made an event on Buddies for coffee Saturday morning. You free?" The person doesn't even need the app to click and see the event. And if they can't make it, ask if they know someone else who'd be interested. The friends-of-friends effect starts there.

The link works well pasted into Messenger, WhatsApp, a Facebook feed or a Discord server. When you share it, the platforms generate an automatic preview with the event title and details — so it's clear what it's about, even to someone who doesn't have the app.

Worth knowing too: you can share both before and after you've joined something. "Lads — shuffleboard tonight, someone set up an event on Buddies. Anyone want to join?" is a better invite than any cold ad for the app. Your voice in your group of friends is worth more than any other channel Buddies has.

4. Make the event public — or start it public from the beginning

This is the second leg. If you don't have a group to invite, or if the group you invited can't make it, all the other Buddies in your area are still there. A public event shows up for them in their feed — and everyone is there for the same reason you are.

You can start the event public from the beginning, or start private and open up when you see who from your group is in. Both work. The important thing is not to keep the event closed off if it's not filling — more people to choose from means more chances the night actually happens.

Two things worth knowing as a new host

The size is your call

Buddies events need at least 4 participants to become active — that's the whole point of the format. Beyond that, the size is up to you. Four guys around a shuffleboard table is a perfect event. A hike might be much better with eight. Watching a football match at the pub works equally well with 5 or with 12. Think about what the activity actually supports — some things only work small, others come alive with a bigger group.

Relax the ambition. Focus on hitting the minimum first, and the rest fills in by itself.

Be ready to go first

Whoever creates the event sets the tone. When you join someone else's event you know it's already in motion — because the host went first. Be the one who takes the first step. That's how it starts.

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It rarely goes perfectly the first time. That's okay. The second time gets easier. By the third you'll have a feel for what works for you and your way of hanging out. Filling events is a skill — and like every skill, it gets better with practice.