In business, every event is an important event. Whether it be an annual conference, training seminar, or product launch, your events can boost your company's sales and success.
You shouldn’t have to spend your valuable time stressing about all the details. Having a solid plan in place guides you through every step of the process so that your event will be everything you want it to be, and more. Here are the 7 steps we have found to make planning your event as stress-free as possible.
Below are the steps to planning a successful event.
STEP 1: Identify the Type of Event.
What type of event are you hosting? Is it a training event, community-building event, fundraising event? Is it a free event to build your following? Is it an “enrollment event” where you plan to upsell attendees into a VIP program, or is this a “fulfillment event”, delivering on something that you have already sold? How many attendees do you plan on having? Who is your ideal audience? The list goes on and on
STEP 2: Set Your Goals and Strategy
Knowing your goals helps you to measure the success of the event later on. Download our FREE Workbook: Setting Goals for Your Event
STEP 3 – Design the Event.
This is the most time-consuming, detail-oriented part of the process, and when done properly, will set you up for success. Knowing your audience and the number of attendees, you can start looking at the venues of your event and identify all of the vendors you will need. Then you can create a timeline and assign (or hire) a team to handle the evening planning tasks. Set a budget to keep you on track. Do you want sponsors to help offset the event costs?
STEP 4 – Brand the Event.
Now for the fun part. Choose a theme that is exciting and will drive attendance. Create a logo and tagline. Show how your event is unique. Choose high-profile speakers within the niche that will drive attendance. Highlight why your event is unique. Booking the perfect emcee will keep your event on track and your guests entertained.
STEP 5 - Drive Attendance.
Some events host a series of pre-event interviews with speakers to build excitement. Promote your event on your website, social media, and email marketing list. Give speakers a swipe file with banners and blurbs for them to promote the event as well. You may wish to hold a free online challenge to prove value and interest prospects in attending your event. Hold an early bird special. Invite attendees to bring a friend for a discounted additional fee.
Put it in your local newspaper community calendar. If you have a notable speaker you can submit a press release to the media and try to get coverage.
Offer to send mobile reminders to guests. That helps them remember to attend the event.
Download our Free guide: 10 ways to boost event registrations
STEP 6 – Coordination and Day-Of Planning.
The day of the event there is so much going on. Someone needs to be behind the scenes ensuring all goes smoothly. If there is a technology failure or emergency you want someone there to handle it. It is important that everyone involved knows the expectations and the timeline (Run of Show). Have behind-the-scenes communication so if assistance is needed, the audience is unaware. This could be a headset, messaging system, or cell phone.
A team member needs to be on time to watch and ensure that sessions start and end on time.
STEP 7 – Evaluate the Event.
Was your event a success? There are a number of benchmarks you can review. Did the event produce the number of ticket sales you hoped? Did you earn the amount of profit after overhead costs that you desired? How much revenue in upsells did you make? How satisfied were attendees with the value they gained from the sessions? How excited were the speakers to be a part of the event? Were the sponsors happy with their participation in the event? Did you see a sharp rise in positive social posts as a result of the event? What would you do differently next time given what you have learned?
An assessment of your event will help you understand:
What worked and what didn’t work.
Whether you met the expectations of your attendees.
How effective were your marketing efforts?
If your budget and timeline were realistic.
What you should do differently next time.
If you are thinking about hosting an event, or in the process of planning, schedule a free strategy call to make sure you are on the right track!
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