Are you looking for event planning advice or how to organize an event?
You have come to the right spot.
Over the years we have seen many events, and there are ten key steps that make an event a success.
We can’t give you all the details, but we can offer some suggestions.
We’ve also put together an easy-to-use checklist so nothing falls through the cracks. Start by looking backward at your event date to determine the timeline.
And if you’re planning a virtual event rather than a traditional in-person one, check out events company Manchester.
We hope that the following will help you get started with your event planning. Here are the ten steps.
1.Planning your event starts with establishing a goal and objective.
Start by asking yourself the following questions: Why are you organizing this event? What do you want to accomplish?
You can make sure that your event achieves its goals by knowing your organization’s main goals before you start planning.
Do you want to raise awareness or get donations for your next project, or both? Do you want to draw 50 or 500 people?
Your team will be able to achieve their goals easier if they have quantifiable indicators of success.
You can get a better understanding of your event management requirements by creating a list with tangible and intangible goals. You might have three goals: 500 people, 100 sales, $1 million charity fundraising, etc. These tangible goals can be driven by your intangible goals, which may include raising awareness of a cause or product or recruiting volunteers.
2.Organize Your Team
To manage all details of an event takes a team effort. You might consider naming one event manager or chairperson, as well as individual chairs for subcommittees.
- Management of the venue
- Speakers
- Entertainment publicity;
- Sponsors and volunteer management.
It creates accountability and prevents tasks from being forgotten by assigning roles to team members. It will allow you to delegate, but remember to include committee meetings into your event planning timing.
High-quality events require buy-in from all levels of the organization. You will need the support of your executive team and your on-site event staff to create an unforgettable experience.
3. Establish Your Budget
Planning an event is only as good as the budget. Many great ideas have fallen by the wayside due to the fact that the original team responsible for them didn’t take their budget into account before planning.
These are some of the most important expenses that you should include in your budget:
Location: The rental cost should include any insurance that you may need.
Food and drink: This field is fairly self-explanatory. Remember that your ability to afford tickets can also affect the number you are able sell.
Entertainment: You can customize this field however you like. Whether it’s for speakers, a DJ or a talking pig. Make sure there is enough room for travel and accommodation costs, as well as compensation.
Decor: Do you prefer a DIY mason jar theme or something more expensive? You can determine which one you are able to afford by establishing upfront the cost.
Staff: Although this category is often overlooked, it’s important to consider the lodging and transportation costs of your staff when you travel out of town. Budgeting your staff time is important. What would they do if they were not working on this event? This will help you decide if it is worth the extra meeting.
marketing matter what you do, Promote your event via FacebookFlyers can be put up in every corner of the city, or you can go old-school and hang them.
the software you aren’t already paying for any type of event management software considers incorporating it into your event plans.
A/VThis category includes projectors, speakers, wi-fi, and speakers.
Miscellaneous: Even the most well-planned event can have unexpected costs. You can avoid being surprised by these costs by accounting for them in your budget.
Even though some of these items may not be fixed costs yet, such as a venue selection, it is important to know what your maximum budget can handle before making any decisions.
4.You might have a date already set for a regular event.
However, if you are setting a date for something new, make sure to take into account the following:
- Take your time. You should plan at least 4-6 months in advance, depending on the event.
- Pay attention to religious and statutory holidays
- Avoid school holidays (winter, spring, and summer)
- You can check dates with speakers, presenters, VIPs, and other key participants.
5. Make an Event Masterplan
Now that you know the cost and timeline of your event, it is time to begin the actual planning! Your event master plan will help you coordinate volunteers and other event committee members while ensuring that every detail is on track.
The event master plan must include all aspects of the event.
- Venue, logistics, & catering management (contracts, permits, insurance, etc.)
- Presenters and speakers (identification, confirmation, logistics & Management)
- Entertainment and activities
- Promotion and publicity (online and offline, such as events calendars, printed programs, media relations, signage, social media, etc.
- Register (online signup, payment, tracking, on-site sign-in, etc.
- Management of sponsors and partners
- Volunteer Management and Responsibilities
To ensure that your event runs smoothly, you should also create a timeline. You should include when permits and insurance policies will need to be submitted. Also, indicate when registration ends.
It might seem tempting to say “It’s all just in my head!” It’ll all be fine!” without worrying about not having to write it down. However, this mentality can make it more difficult to assign responsibility. This mentality will make it harder to recall what you did at the next event. Do your future self a favor and write everything down.
Final note: If your organization has previously run events similar to this one, you can review any documentation at this stage to ensure that you aren’t missing anything.
Make sure that your activities and services cater to the needs of your audience. We have had open bars at our events in the past. Each person would be served a drink by a single bartender. It would be frustrating for our guests and the line would grow too long. We knew there had to be a better way, but we couldn’t afford another bartender. So we made large batch cocktails before the line. We were able to cut the cost of the event by doing this and the guests loved the cocktails we created. Try to cut down on costs by DIY’ing when creating your master plan. You will also find many talented individuals who can provide a service at a fraction of the cost on new platforms like TaskRabbit or Craigslist, which will make it easier to plan and execute an event.