Whether it's a 100-person event, a 1,000-person event, or a 10,000-person event, it can't be a success unless it's properly run and planned for. But that begs the question: how do you run a successful event?
Well, aside from hiring professional event services, there are a number of things you can do. Read on as we tell you what those things are now!
Start Planning as Soon as Possible
Putting on an event requires the coordination of countless entities. You need to rent tables and chairs, book a venue, find a caterer, hire speakers/performers, hire staff, and much, much more. It's a huge endeavor that can't be facilitated overnight.
Therefore, our first piece of advice when putting on an event is to start planning as soon as possible. Generally speaking, the more people you expect, the more time you'll need for planning. Of course, the specifics of your event will help dictate this as well.
If this is the first event that you've ever put on, you're advised to start planning it, at the latest, 6 months before the event is scheduled to occur. That said, you would ideally start planning around a year or a year and a half in advance.
By starting your planning early, you'll have a full suite of options available to you. The longer you wait, the more options will be taken off the table. For instance, you may lose the desired venue because you waited too long.
Don't let this happen. Get started, begin researching, and ensure that you have everything necessary for a successful event.
Make a Formal Event Plan
Whether you're an event planner in New York or an event planner in a small town, you need to have a formal event plan prepared for your event. This is the only way to ensure that you've accounted for all necessary components of the event.
Now, what should you include in your event plan? You'll need to include info on the venue, the entertainment, the speakers/performers, the food catering, the marketing of the event, the sponsors of the event, the funding of the event, the schedule of the event, the insurance for the event, the permits for the event, and the logistics of the event in general. You might also have to include things like volunteer guides.
In essence, your official event plan needs to include every single aspect of your event. It's not only going to serve as a guide to you but to those who you're working with as well.
Figure Out Your Target Attendee
Our next piece of advice is to figure out your target attendee. If you don't do this, you won't know who to inform about the event. Instead, you'll just have to toss up general advertisements, which will result in fewer attendees, increased advertising budgets, or both.
So, sit down and really think about the types of people who would attend your event. Consider who would benefit from it most, and who would actually go out of their way to attend it.
Once you've got a good idea as to the types of people who will attend your event, try to obtain data on their behavior and interests (social media is a good place for this). Then, use this data to help inform decisions about the event itself, including the type of decor it has, its cost, its venue, and more.
Create a Brand for the Event
When you're putting on an event, you're essentially selling something. Like anything else that's sold, your event needs a brand. This includes everything from an official logo to a set color scheme to slogans and advertising statements.
A brand is important because it helps familiarize people with your event. It gives your event an identity. If your event didn't have a brand to represent it, it would be easily forgotten.
As far as building a brand goes, you have a few options. You could attempt to do it on your own. On the other hand, you might benefit from the services of a marketing agency.
Market the Event in an Appropriate Way
Perhaps the biggest key to creating a successful event is to market it appropriately. If you don't market your event successfully, you won't get anyone to show up. What's an event without attendees?
Now, what does appropriate event marketing entail? In truth, it depends on the target audience.
That said, social media is a major marketing avenue to pursue. On sites like Facebook, you can target specific demographics of people based on their user data. Then, you can post ads that will show up on these individuals' Facebook feed at random.
You could also try to build an email list of people who might be interested in coming. Then, you could send out mass emails to the people on this list, informing them of your event.
For bigger and more general events, radio and TV advertising can work. You could also utilize programmatic video advertising on sites like YouTube.
Regardless of the channels through which you advertise your event, you should ramp the advertisement up gradually. First, you should launch awareness campaigns. Then, you should sell early bird tickets.
Then, you can start revealing the speakers/performers at your event, either slowly or all at once, depending on your preferences. After that, you can advertise the types of things that will happen at the event.
As the event draws near, you can highlight the fact and explains that you have x number of tickets remaining. Within a few weeks of the event, you should be pushing it hard, as you need to reach as many people as possible to ensure the biggest turnout possible.
Learn More About Event Services and Planning at the 2022 Event Planner Expo
There's a great deal that goes into the planning of an event and event services in general. Looking to learn more so that you can become the best event planner you can be? If so, you should consider attending the New York Event Planner Expo.
This is the 10-year anniversary of the expo, and we're expecting our biggest turn-out yet. By attending our expo, you'll learn all sorts of information about the event planning process, helping you build your event planning skills and create a lucrative career for yourself.
Interested in attending? You can buy tickets now!
