Welcome to the world of event planning! As an event organiser, you are the mastermind behind creating unforgettable experiences for your attendees. From expos to conferences, your attention to detail and ability to bring together all the necessary elements is what sets your event apart. But with so many tasks to keep track of, it's easy to miss a thing or two.
That's why we've put together the complete event organiser checklist, to help you ensure a seamless experience for both you and your attendees. In this blog post, you'll find all the necessary items to keep in mind in the run-up to your event, during the event, and after the event. Whether you're a experienced event planner or just starting out, this comprehensive guide will be your go-to resource for planning a successful event.
6-9 MONTHS BEFORE
Set goals and audience
If you are planning a new event, it is important to set your event goals and objectives for running the event. Within the goals also highlight who is your intended audience. If you run an annual event, it should be easier to set your event goals and realign these yearly.
Venue selection
The venue for your event is one of the most important decisions, too small and your attendees will feel over-crowded. Consider parking and transport links – how are your attendees going to arrive on the day? Venue selection may also affect the date of your event, so make sure you get this booked early to avoid disappointment.
Set event targets
Once you’ve booked the venue you will know the capacity available and can start to set targets. Consider how many stands you are going to offer, how many visitors you are aiming for and if you are going to be offering speaker sessions or workshops.
Set a budget
One of the most important aspects of organising an event is setting the budget, however this should not be done hastily as this will need to include event marketing and advertising, event staff, event software, event tech and rental items.
Securing sponsorships
Once you have aligned your budget and event goals, you will need to work out how you plan to fund the event. Many larger events use sponsorship packages to offset the cost of the event. In your initial planning work out how many sponsors you will need and what companies would get in return for being an event sponsor.
3-6 MONTHS BEFORE
Begin marketing your event
Around 6 months before your event, you will want to start marketing it. Start by creating yourself a marketing plan and identifying the best ways to market your event for your audience, whether that’s being featured on different social media platforms or having paid online ads. If you have had previous events, this is a great time to email previous attendees to invite them to your next event.
Review event software
When planning your event you may become overwhelmed with the amount of tools needed to run a successful event. Rather than keeping all event details on various spreadsheets it may be worth considering investing in event software. Though there will be an initial additional cost for this, it will save you time in planning in the long run. Event software can also help you manage your event and even help with marketing emails to attendees and streamline registration for your event.
Consider an event app
A mobile app helps you have better engagement with attendees and increases event attendance. It can include all event information from the event schedule, floor plan, help with check-in and promote networking with attendees.
Finalise schedule
This is the time to secure the event schedule and work out timings throughout the day. This also allows you to finalise your event layout and release event details and floor plan to attendees to generate excitement for the event.
Hire event staff
Prior to your event you will need to assess what, if any, additional staff are needed for the day. Whether to assist with planning or for the actual day of, you may need to post job advertisements for permanent or temporary roles and allow for any training needed before the event.
1 MONTH BEFORETrain event staff
Once you have reviewed what staff you need, start training before the event. As the event staff are representing your event and business, make sure to cover health and safety, fire evacuation, registration and check-in and general questions attendees may have to improve visitor satisfaction.
Send out event reminders
Keep active on social media to promote your event to any last-minute attendees and keep potential attendees engaged with sending out email reminders. Include any crucial information such as location and times of your event and draw in more potential attendees with key aspects of your event or potential prizes and giveaways.
Finalise printed materials
If you have any banners or printed materials for your event, make sure to proofread these and allow time for any changes to be made. If you have any materials that may need to be put together, do this one month before the event as this will allow for time if anything is faulty or needs to be changed. It also gives event staff a good practice run to putting up material.
1 WEEK BEFORE
Check attendee numbers
Make sure to check how many people are attending to see if it is on track with predicted numbers, whether you need to stop registration or increase attendees with additional marketing.
Run through event plan
Go through the event plan to check that everything has been accounted for and on-track. Also re-share this event plan with event staff so they know what the event expectations are.
DAY OF EVENT
Be in the moment
After months of planning, don’t forget to enjoy your event! Be sure to be available to exhibitors and sponsors for any additional support, have conversations with attendees to gain insights and feedback but most importantly, enjoy the fruits of your labour!
AFTER THE EVENT
Send thank you’s
After your event, do not forget to email attendees to say thank you for attending and even mention your next event to build initial interest. Make sure to thank your sponsors, showing your appreciation will build a great business relationship. Post images and videos from your event on social media to showcase how successful your event was, you might draw in new attendees for the next one.
Collect feedback
Always collect as much feedback as possible as soon as is practical after the event. This will help you identify if there are any areas you need to make adjustments for. Ensure you reach out to all attendee’s, not just your visitors. If you have an event app you could publish a form on there to collect feedback or send an email to those who came to your event. To increase the likelihood of people providing feedback, consider offering a small incentive such as a gift card or discount for an upcoming event.
Realign event plan
After your event it is important to summarise what went well and perhaps what didn’t go to plan and if you managed to achieve your event goals and objectives. This will help to keep your event a success as you strive to improve year after year.
Enjoy the downtime
Now the event is finished, enjoy the time away from event planning and a couple of months of downtime before the countdown to the event starts again!
Planning an event can be a daunting task, but with proper organisation and attention to detail, it can be a rewarding and successful experience. By using the event organiser checklist provided in this blog post, you can ensure that you cover all the necessary tasks from the early stages of event planning to post-event follow-up. Whether you're an expert event planner or just starting out, this comprehensive guide will be your go-to resource for planning a successful event. Happy event planning!
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