Hosting a party? Throwing a hoedown? Organizing a ride? Thanks to the Internet, growing your scene has never been easier. The Events tool in the ChopCult community is packed with easy-to-use features for photo uploading and search functions, but you've got to know how to use them. This tutorial will show you how.

Step 1: Go to your Profile

Step 2: Click "My Stuff" on your Profile sub-navigation bar, scroll down and open "Events"

Step 3: Click "Create New Event" on left side of page

Step 4: Fill out the text blocks and pulldown menus for every detail of your event. Be specific. Give your event a cool name. Choose dates carefully, and provide plenty of info about the venue (address, directions, contact phone number/website if any, landmarks, etc.)

Step 5: Assign your event a category in the pulldown menu provided. This will help ChopCult members in their search for stuff to do.

Step 6: Select the appropriate parameters for invitations and and RSVP's with the checkboxes provided.

Step 7: Click "Add Event" to put your "digital flyer" on the ChopCult Events main page

Step 8: Upload a descriptive graphic or photo to your event. This image will be the thumbnail that appears to the left of your event headline in the Events main page. Your flyer doesn't need to be fancy, but it should be descriptive and readable. Sometimes a scanned, hand-drawn flyer is perfectly adequate. If you don't have a scanner, a digital photo will work.

Step 9: Click Events in the community main navigation bar. Search for your event by clicking the appropriate event sub-category on the left side of the page (i.e.: "Campout," "Barhop," "Swapmeet," etc.) When you find your event in this search, copy the URL for this page and save it for step 10.

Step 10: Start a thread in the ChopCult Events forum about your event. Give this thread a descriptive, concise headline (example: "09-09-09: Dick's Clusterfuck; Ft. Worth, TX") Paste the URL you copied in step 9 into the body copy of your event thread. Upload your flyer file to this thread and encourage readers to share it on their blogs, ChopCult profile, etc.

Step 10 demands the most digital "footwork" on your part, but it is also the step that can make or break your event. Viral marketing is a beautiful thing, but like syphillis, it only kills when you spread it around. If you want your event to be killer, you need to beat the bushes as much as possible. Jesus--are we still talking about motorcycle promotions?

Good luck and have fun.