Whether it’s your first event or your hundredth, event planning is always stressful. In fact, it’s so stressful that Forbes felt that they deserved to be named the fifth most stressful job in 2017. Luckily for you, we are going to discuss in this article 10 steps that every event planner needs to review before attempting to start organizing. You may also see watercolor event ticket examples.
Although we can only hope that these steps can identify as many of your event details as possible, some of it you’ll still have to think about, since much of it will depend on the type of event you are holding. But, hopefully, it will provide you with a strong starting point for your event planning.
Instead of randomly picking an event detail to start with, why don’t we approach this dilemma from the beginning by following these steps for a more thorough result?
The very first step is to establish a tangible goal and objective. Why are you organizing this event, and what do you hope to achieve from it?
Any event takes a concerted team effort to handle all of the details. Consider identifying one key event manager as well as individual chairpersons for subcommittees, such as
But if the event that you are trying to organize is a backyard family party, then simply ask some of your most responsible, although probably slightly unwilling, family members to help out in the planning by delegating tasks for them to do. You may also see festival concert ticket examples.
The data might already be pre-set for a reoccurring event, but if this is a new event, be sure to consider the following before setting a solid date:
Ideally, you should have 4–6 months to plan, depending on the nature of your event. If it’s a little more laidback, a shorter time would be enough. But it’s always better to have a lot of extra time on your plate, instead of having to suffer a shortage of it. You may also see music concert tickets.
Make sure that your event is not set on a date when the rest of the country is celebrating another event. People usually make plans for a holiday, and you don’t want to get into the middle of that. A day when everyone is free is always the best choice. You may also see live concert ticket examples.
You may be inclined to think that winter, spring, and summer holidays are the best options for your events but they’re actually not. Similar to statutory and religious holidays, people often make plans during holiday time periods. Most of them even plan on going out of town. Who’ll go to your event if everybody’s somewhere else?
If you have some VIPs in your event, it’s best to make sure ahead that they will be available on the date you’ve picked for the event. Consult the schedule of your speakers, presenters, and other VIP guests ahead.
If you want your event to stand out, you need to choose a timely and compelling theme that will set you apart from your competition. This means that you need to come up with a dynamic overall theme and you need to take great care with the actual name since it can be a key attention-getter, especially in online media. You may also see ticket designs.
This plan should encompass all aspects of the event, including:
Determine the administrative process. In other words, how are you going to keep track of your planning, registration, budget, guests, and speaker lists?
Are there organizations that you could partner with or call on for sponsorships to defray the costs and increase potential participation? When you involve other people or groups in your event, they have a stake in helping spread the word and making the event a success. Knowing this, you might want to consider:
In planning an event, there are a couple of things you can do to avoid and some things your event can do well to focus on. Here is a list of the things you should definitely make sure your event has.
1. Innovation. Be creative and think out of the box. Since most of your audience has probably been in dozens of conferences and events, make sure that they will remember yours. Not exactly an easy thing to accomplish if you’re just like everybody else, so make sure that you’re not. You might also want to take a look at festival concert tickets.
2. Make sure that your attendees socialize and network, since one of the main objectives of every event is to help them interact and get to know each other. And since it’s always hard to break the ice and meet new people, consider organizing dynamic sessions and harness the power of serious fun through the integration of game mechanics. You may also see wedding ceremony boarding pass ticket designs.
3. Understand your audience and tune the event’s message and content to them. Your attendees are your customers, so make sure that you know all about them in order for you to have the ability to offer them an experience on par with their expectations. You must also always include question time after each presentation or session. You may also see carnival event ticket examples.
4. If you have little or no experience in event planning, partner with a qualified professional with a long track record of success in the industry. And if you are experienced but want to save on employing a professional, there are literally thousands of web-based tools designed to help you plan all the aspects of your event.
5. Establish clear goals and methods to measure success and return on investment. You may also see ticket invitation designs.
6. When choosing a venue, check up on its Wi-Fi network. Having Wi-Fi is not the same as having a robust, reliable network. But if you really cannot provide free internet, consider offering a low bandwidth for free and then charging for a premium service. You might also be interested in fundraiser ticket designs.
7. Include CSR initiatives in the event program. Despite the extra effort, you will be surprised by how important they are for a growing number of people.
8. As soon as the decision is taken to stage an event, ensure that you have an engaging event website up and running in the shortest time possible and that it is frequently updated. The internet is the most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. You may also see event show tickets.
9. Harness the power of the social media so as to promote the event before it is held and to prolong its life afterward.
10. Video the action on the exhibition floor, interviewing exhibitors and visitors, which can then be posted on the official website and the event’s profiles in the social media so as to show those that didn’t make all the fun that they missed.
Since you are now aware of all the elements that are essential to the success of your event, let us proceed to learn the things it needs to avoid to avoid failing.
1. Don’t charge for internet access, parking, or lunch because these hidden extras are endlessly annoying. Attendees loathe having to pay separately for Internet access, parking, coffee, and many other trivial things, so try to make sure that everything is covered in the registration fee, or by you. You may also see basketball ticket invitation card designs.
2. Don’t just talk about yourself unless the event is all about you. Chances are it’s not. Don’t talk about how great your event is since its success is largely due to your delegates and attendees. Emphasize that instead.
3. Don’t take the “do more with less” maxim too far. If the budget isn’t generous enough for organizing a face-to-face event, then don’t. Go virtual. It’s always better than leaving a poor impression. Also, don’t always accept the cheapest quote for venue rental and services. As with second-hand cars, the cheapest is usually never the best. You may also see movie ticket designs.
4. Don’t forget to ask your participants about their food requirements. Especially at large international events, there will be vegetarians, pescatarians, people with dietary restrictions for religious or health reasons, and so many other factors to consider when planning your menu. You may also see wedding invitation tickets.
5. Don’t rely solely on volunteers for your event’s staff needs. Although usually very willing, you also need a core staff of tried and trusted professionals.
6. Don’t always choose a chic but noisy venue for your networking events. A lot of people really do want to be able to hear themselves over all the noise. And don’t organize a social program without options since not everyone likes the same thing. You may also see elegant ticket designs
7. Don’t weigh attendees down with printed matter. In the internet era, paper-based information is now obsolete and will probably end up in a bin anyway.
8. Don’t forget to follow up after the event. Feedback from participants is vital for ironing out problems and planning for future events. You may also see boat boarding pass invitation ticket examples.
If you’ve ever organized an event, you know that not everything runs to plan and you will still have to face various unpredicted challenges, regardless of how intricately you’ve planned the whole shenanigan. Even during the most stressful moments, never forget about The Funny Duck Face Rule. You may also see Halloween party retro ticket examples
This rule states that on the outside, you should look calm and peaceful even if, in fact, you are energetically and almost desperately paddling with your feet underwater to keep yourself afloat. No one should find out about it. To this day, this rule is still the most valuable when it comes to event planning. You may also see live concert ticket examples.