How to write an event report

We publish a lot of different kinds of posts here on Diff. One of the more common post types are posts about events. From both event organizers and from attendees. This document outlines some considerations on how to write a successful event-related post. From promoting your event, to summarizing what happened, to sharing your experiences as someone attending event.

When thinking about writing a blog post promoting your event on Diff, here are a few things to consider. The goal of this advice is to help you make your blogging efforts as informative and successful in reaching your target audience as possible. 

An event report is noticeably less informative if it is too generic. Sometimes Diff receives draft articles that sound like they could be about any event anywhere. Try to think about what makes your event special.

Good example: Here’s an event where we did something, the outcomes or output of that event, why you should get involved, and how to get involved in future events. 

Bad example: I went to an event and I had a good time. 

Remember: Diff provides the opportunity to reach readers from the Wikimedia community all over the world, not just the people who attended. Think about things like: Why should the wider world care about your event? What would you like the world to learn about the culture(s) / issue(s) / topic(s) that were discussed? How can people get involved after reading about your event?

Also, try to collaborate with other volunteers in writing your post. It’s often more effective when folks hear from their peers. Organizers and attendees both can work together to create an impactful report. 

Event Organizers

Basics

  • Make sure to have a clear headline that draws attention without being too vague or abstract. If your event is recurring, be sure to include the year!
    • Good: “Wiki Conference Lemurs 2026 brings together enthusiast photographers and animal lovers” 
    • Bad: “How this event brought together contributors from different regions”
  • Don’t bury the lede, state the point of the post up front. Who is doing what and why is that important!? Readers should understand the most important takeaway in the first paragraph. Don’t make them read to the end to find out why the event mattered.
  • Keep promotional language in check – Wikimedia events are amazing and there are great reasons to attend, but keep your language grounded and humble.
  • Use headings
    • Segment your blog post with headings (H2 if you want to be specific). This helps break up your post to make it easier to read and helps with search engines finding your blog post.
  • Add plenty of links
    • Did you create or edit articles, Wikidata items? Make a tool or gadget? Was it recorded as a video? Link to it!
    • What groups, affiliates, or partners were involved? Link to it!
    • Was there an event page? Link to it!
    • Did your event produce resources, presentations, recordings, or documentation? Link to them so others can continue learning after reading your post.
  • Include quotes from attendees
    • In a, “don’t just take my word for it” sort of way, ask attendees what they thought of the event and incorporate their perspectives and learnings into your posts. 
  • Don’t be afraid to talk about challenges and difficulties
    • The Wikimedia movement is made of people. We all learn and grow not only by hearing how well things went, but with what difficulties you faced and how you overcame them or worked around them. Include your challenges and lessons learned so others can benefit from your work. Some of the most interesting and engaging blog posts are when folks talk about the work that goes into an event. It humanizes the work in a real way.
  • Have a strong conclusion
    • Link to more information, such as the event page or your group’s page on Meta-wiki.
    • If you want folks to do something after reading, have a call to action. Focus on reiterating the impact, achievements and specifics of your event!
  • Make it the right length
    • Less than 300 words is a little short, more than 800 is a little long. It’s better to be longer than shorter! We’re Wikimedians after all. However, if your post is feeling a little too long, don’t be afraid to break it up into smaller posts that cover different parts of your story. Maybe break it down by day, or by topic area.
  • Add the attribution when you submit your post
    • This is the easiest way to get your post published quickly. The most common issue we have to go back and forth with authors on is proper media attribution.
  • Featured image
    • Make sure to add an image as a “featured image”. This helps your post look nice on the Diff homepage, and more importantly will be the image that is shown when your posts are shared on social media. It can be a photo from your event, a group photo even, or a photo of attendees working or enjoying themselves at the event.
    • The default aspect ratio for featured images is 3:2 (so 600×400, 1200×800, etc). To make your featured image look nice on the Diff home page, make sure it’s in the correct aspect ratio. It doesn’t need to exactly match, but a very tall (portrait orientation) image will be cropped to the center of the image. Leave a little space around the edges if your featured image contains text. 
  • Tags and Categories
    • Add the name of your event, city, and topic areas as Tags. Be sure to select the “Partnerships & Events” category and any of the other six categories that make sense. 
    • Tags and categories can be added in the sidebar when editing a post. Look for the “Post” section and the “Tag” and “Category” subsections.
    • Tags and categories are not mandatory for submission, but if they are not added an editor will choose for you. 
  • Authors
    • You can publish a post under a single name, multiple names, or even the event organizers.
      • Example: “WikiConference India 2026” or “Wikimania 2049 Organizing Team”
      • Diff administrators can create an “author” for your group or organizing team. Please reach out to request a dedicated byline.
  • You’re not done once your post is published!
    • Don’t forget to share on social media. Once your post is published, share the post widely on social media. Diff sees a lot of traffic on its own, but with so many posts being published it’s up to you to carry it further!

Strategy

  • What impact will your writing have on readers? Have a clear understanding of your goals and review your post before submitting for impact. 
  • Have a clear goal in your writing. What are you hoping to achieve with your post? Is it just informing people, getting them involved somehow, asking for feedback?
  • Think like a reader of your post.
    • What is a reader going to take away from your post? What are their interests and values and how does your event relate to that? 
    • Remember that many readers won’t know your community or local context. Briefly explain organizations, campaigns, or local issues that are important for understanding the event.
  • Before you even begin, think about the timing of publication of your posts leading up to the event. Each milestone can be a separate post. You don’t have to put everything into a single blog post. Give plenty of time before the event to make folks aware, and create a rough schedule when you’d like to publish. For instance:
    • 6 months out – Announce event
    • 5 months out – Save the Date
    • 4 months out – call for submissions
    • 3 months out – tickets available
    • 2 months out – program online
    • 1 month out – Reminder and highlight speakers or topics
    • 3 weeks out – ticket deadline
    • 2 weeks out – see you all soon
    • 1 week after event – recap and thank you
    • 2 weeks after the event – highlight important sessions, quotes from attendees
    • 1 month after the event – Final report with survey results, share feedback, plans for next year
  • To reiterate, there is no rush to post such a blog right after the event! Take your time, get the content and results etc. and then submit a solid blog post.

For event organizers, consider alternatives to having every scholarship recipient or attendee write a blog post. We encourage event organizers to not make writing a blog post a requirement for scholarship recipients. Perhaps you can create a single post or a collection of summary posts if your event has many attendees. A few ideas on how to do this are:

  • Combine all experiences into a single post and have the COT publish.
  • Everyone writes a short “one thing” about the event that stood out to them. Publish as a collection of experiences.
  • One person takes photos, another interviews, etc. and they are combined into a group post. Maybe all the speakers contribute or all the scholarship recipients collaborate on a single blog post. 

Good examples:

Event Attendees

Often event attendees are asked to write a blog post about their experience. These are welcome on Diff and there are a few things you can do to make them stand out. This list of guidance is similar to the one above, with some slight changes.

  • Make sure to have a clear headline that draws attention without being too vague or abstract. If the event you attended is recurring, be sure to include the year!
    • Good: “Wiki Conference Lemurs 2026 brings together enthusiast photographers and animal lovers” 
    • Bad: “How this event brought together contributors from different regions”
  • Don’t bury the lede, state the point of the post up front. Who is doing what and why is that important!? Readers should understand the most important takeaway in the first paragraph. Don’t make them read to the end to find out why the event mattered.
  • Keep promotional language in check – Wikimedia events are amazing and there are great reasons to attend, but keep your language grounded and humble.
  • Use headings
    • Segment your blog post with headings (H2 if you want to be specific). This helps break up your post to make it easier to read and helps with search engines finding your blog post.
  • Add plenty of links
    • Did you create or edit articles, Wikidata items? Make a tool or gadget? Was it recorded as a video? Link to it!
    • What groups, affiliates, or partners were involved? Link to it!
    • Was there an event page? Link to it!
    • Did you create resources, presentations, recordings, or documentation? Link to them so others can continue learning after reading your post.
  • Don’t be afraid to talk about challenges and difficulties
    • The Wikimedia movement is made of people. We all learn and grow not only by hearing how well things went, but with what difficulties you faced and how you overcame them or worked around them. Include your challenges and lessons learned so others can benefit from your work. Some of the most interesting and engaging blog posts are when folks talk about the work that goes into attending an event. It humanizes the work in a real way.
  • Have a strong conclusion
    • Link to more information, such as the event page or your group’s page on Meta-wiki
    • If you want folks to do something after reading, have a call to action. Focus on reiterating the impact, achievements and specifics of your event!
  • Make it the right length
    • Less than 300 words is a little short, more than 800 is a little long. It’s better to be longer than shorter! We’re Wikimedians after all. However, if your post is feeling a little too long, don’t be afraid to break it up into smaller posts that cover different parts of your story. Maybe break it down by day, or by topic area.
  • Add the attribution when you submit your post
    • This is the easiest way to get your post published quickly. The most common issue we have to go back and forth with authors on is proper media attribution.
  • Featured image
    • Make sure to add an image as a “featured image”. This helps your post look nice on the Diff homepage, and more importantly will be the image that is shown when your posts are shared on social media. It can be a photo from the event, a group photo even, or a photo of yourself working or enjoying the event.
    • The default aspect ratio for featured images is 3:2 (so 600×400, 1200×800, etc). To make your featured image look nice on the Diff home page, make sure it’s in the correct aspect ratio. It doesn’t need to exactly match, but a very tall (portrait orientation) image will be cropped to the center of the image. Leave a little space around the edges if your featured image contains text. 
  • Tags and Categories
    • Add the name of your event, city, and topic areas as Tags. Be sure to select the “Partnerships & Events” category and any of the other six categories that make sense. 
    • Tags and categories can be added in the sidebar when editing a post. Look for the “Post” section and the “Tag” and “Category” subsections.
    • Tags and categories are not mandatory for submission, but if they are not added an editor will choose for you. 
  • Authors
    • You can publish a post under a single name or multiple names, or even the event organizers.
  • You’re not done once your post is published!
    • Don’t forget to share on social media. Once your post is published, share the post widely on social media. Diff sees a lot of traffic on its own, but with so many posts being published it’s up to you to carry it further!

Good examples:

Table of contents