5 Tips for Planning a Great Event
So you want to be an event planner? Your aunt has a venue you can use, you’ve decided on a vendor fee, and you’re going to get rich, right? WRONG! Though you might find some success in the novelty of your first event, there are a lot more components that go into finding long-term success in the events industry.
In this post, I’m going to share with you my top 5 tips for creating a successful event and establishing yourself in the event planning industry.
Decide on your why
This is the biggest question when it comes to hosting events. Your why will guide every move you make from start to finish. To figure out your why ask yourself:
Why do you want to host this event?
Who is it for?
What do you want people to get from your event?
What is the benefit of attending and/or supporting your event?
Answering these questions will really help guide your planning and make sure that people leave your event feeling satisfied.
Plan
Once you’ve decided why you’re hosting your event it is time to start working on your plan. I personally think you should start your planning phase no later than 6 months before the event. The earlier the better.
Things to think about during the planning phase are location, date, budget, marketing, staffing needs, potential sponsorship, and fees. You also want to spend time thinking about how you’re going to create an experience for attendees and participants. Even a simple vendor event should have a little something extra to distinguish it from other events and make all involved want to work with you again. An event that is poorly planned WILL have gaps in its execution.
Know your stakeholders
A stakeholder is an individual, group, or organization directly involved with, or indirectly affected by your event and what happens before, during, and after it. Make sure you know who these people are and what success looks like to them. These people have mad a choice to support you and your event. You are responsible for providing them with a return on their investment.
Consider Vendor Relationships
In this section when I talk about vendors I’m referring to businesses who purchase space from you to sell their products or services at events. Listen, I 100% know that vendor events are high reward low risk. They’re an easy way to get your feet wet without coming too much out of pocket and almost always making a profit.
What I want you to consider, though, is your relationship with your vendors. If you host well-produced events that are beneficial to not only you, but your vendors as well they will return. If you continue to ask vendors to participate in events that aren’t the right fit for them, they will stop working with you. Hear me when I say this- NOT ALL EVENTS NEED VENDORS. And, that is not a bad thing
Seek and accept feedback
Though other people’s opinions are not something we often want to hear, event feedback is MAJOR! If you tapped into my first tip and really decided on your why then feedback is truly the only way to know if you hit those marks. There are tons of free and low-cost ways to get feedback from attendees and participants. Find the one that fits your skillset and ask questions that will help you learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of all aspects of your event. You’ll be surprised at what others felt went well and what could use improvement.