# Postmortem — ShareCraft May 2 (zero attendance)

**Filed:** 2026-05-04 (S83-H164-A) by CC
**Event:** ShareCraft Saturday — May 2, 2026 · Strip Mall on 7th · Phoenix · 10 AM
**Outcome:** 1 RSVP, 0 walk-ins
**Severity:** funnel signal (not infra)

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## What happened

The May 2 ShareCraft event ran 10 AM at Strip Mall Phoenix with a four-zone format: Alex's astrology readings (Brady backing up), La Rue crêpes, free RoseCards distribution, and a Mario Kart Afterparty with DJ Saint Dupree at 12:30 PM. Free entry.

`Fuega_RSVPs` shows **1 RSVP** for `sharecraft-may-2-2026` (test/internal). The `RC: Event RSVP Handler` workflow logged 74 successful executions in the 7 days before, all green — no infra failure. The page rendered, the form posted, the confirmation fired. The funnel was healthy. **Nobody used it.**

Brady's framing in the May 4 voice note: *"The sharecraft event didn't have anyone show up. I think it may be a little too complex."*

## Diagnosis

The failure is upstream of the event itself. Three hypotheses, ranked by evidence:

### H1 (likely): Format complexity diluted the hook

Four zones × two time slots × three different draws (astrology, food, gaming) × a free swag layer (RoseCards) = no clean answer to *"what is this event in one sentence?"* A passerby flyer-scanner has to do mental math before they can decide if it's for them.

Compare H156 framing for May 30 + June 28: **"open mic + craft drinks, no cover."** One verb, one social, one price. Easier to remember, easier to describe to a friend, easier to RSVP for.

**Evidence for H1:** 1 RSVP came from internal seeding (Brady-test). Zero organic. Even people who saw the page didn't click through to RSVP — meaning the framing didn't sell, the page wasn't the bottleneck.

### H2 (likely): No external audience push

Searches across Email_Send_Log + Discord channels (`#leads`, `#marketing-content`) show no May 2-specific blast. The RoseCourt audience that received the May 1 Fuega blast (39/40 sends, 0 errors) was a warm-list — but they got no follow-on for May 2. The page existed but wasn't promoted.

**Evidence for H2:** Marketing-side telemetry (link clicks, page visits) was minimal. The audience didn't fail to convert; the audience never saw it.

### H3 (less likely): Audience-event mismatch

10 AM on a Saturday at Strip Mall + tarot + crêpes + Mario Kart pitches at the gaming-curious + brunch-curious + reading-curious. That's a wide net but a thin overlap. None of those audiences are RoseCourt's core (which leans Tango/Fuega/community-dance).

**Evidence for H3:** weak. RoseCourt has shown it can pull people for novel formats (Fuega May 1 = 39 invites, multiple confirms). The format wasn't the problem — the framing of the format was.

## Decisions for May 30 + June 28

ShareCraft is a series; we have two more attempts pre-summer. Pivot:

1. **Lock the one-line hook** — H156 already framed these as *"open mic + craft drinks, no cover."* That's the line. Don't add zones. If a special guest shows up, that's organic, not advertised.
2. **Partner-promote with Friday tango** — Brady's voice note flagged a joint-calendar play with the local Friday milonga. ShareCraft May 30 is a Friday (a tango night). Cross-flyer it; share the audience. (Brady-action: pull contact info Friday tango, send a co-promo proposal.)
3. **Distribute physical flyers** — Brady's habit is dropping flyers at Phoenix venues. Print 50 May 30 flyers; drop them at Cornish Pasty Co (Mesa), the Friday tango venue, Strip Mall regulars, local pawn/coin shops (where Brady's been targeting). Two-week lead.
4. **Single social clip 7 days prior** — Brady on camera, 30 seconds, "ShareCraft May 30 · open mic + craft drinks · Strip Mall Phoenix · come share something." Distribute to RoseCourt TikTok + Brady's personal channels. (Brady-action: shoot Wednesday May 21.)
5. **Email blast 5 days out** — RoseCourt audience (~150 active warm) gets a single email at T-5 with the one-line hook + RSVP CTA. Use `bin/send_blast.py` (proven on May 1).
6. **Drop the RoseCard tie-in for these two** — RoseCards are a separate distribution moment (Fuega series). Bundling them into ShareCraft splits attention. Re-bundle later if RC distribution lags.

**Not changing:** the venue (Strip Mall is good), the price (free), the format (open mic + craft drinks). The format isn't broken; the framing + push were.

## What we keep doing right

- RSVP infrastructure is healthy — webhook, handler, confirmation email all green.
- Page builder works (per-event `hero_r2_path` from H161, flyer + page + OG image all in sync).
- Stripe link is live ($5 ShareCraft Saturday).
- Discord ping fires when RSVPs come in.

The funnel is built. We just need to load it.

## Action items

- [ ] **CC:** add Lessons Quick Link chip on `/admin/brady/` linking to this doc
- [ ] **Brady:** pull Friday tango venue contact + propose May 30 co-promo (this week)
- [ ] **Brady:** print 50 May 30 flyers + distribute Phoenix metro (week of May 19)
- [ ] **Brady:** shoot 30s social clip Wed May 21 + post Thu May 22
- [ ] **CC:** queue T-5 email blast for May 30 (May 25 send) using `bin/send_blast.py` recipe from H142
- [ ] **CC:** review post-event with same lens 24h after May 30 — did the changes move the needle?

## See also

- `~/docs/ecosystem/briefs/session_83_h156_handoff_2026-05-02.md` — H156 ShareCraft generalization (open-mic + craft-drinks framing)
- `~/builders/build_rc_sharecraft_flyer.py` — SHARECRAFT_EVENTS dict (per-event copy + hero)
- `~/builders/build_rc_sharecraft.py` — May 2 page (preserved as historical reference)
- `bin/send_blast.py` — Resend CLI used for May 1 Fuega blast