While it’s tempting to run an event online, nothing beats going out and meeting people face to face. Getting out of the office for a day can clear your mind, give you fresh ideas and enable you to network with others. And if you send your employees it’s a way that businesses can reward staff with employee rewards
That’s why live events will always be popular, however convenient and cost-effective the Internet may be! Here are some tips for planning your event.
Decide on the purpose of your event
Knowing the purpose of your event is essential for the rest of the planning process to fall into place. What do you plan to get from the event? And what’s in it for the people you want to attend?
Choose the right location
If your event is aimed at local people, then you may want to pick a location close to where they already live, work or gather together. If you have a national audience, then think about choosing a central location with good rail links and a range of accommodation choices nearby.
Choose the right venue
Choose the venue to suit the event. If you need a quiet, inspiring location with natural, healthy food then a plain, corporate-style venue isn’t going to be the right setting.
If keeping the ticket price down is a priority then you may want to pick a venue on a budget (although maybe you could cover some of the costs with sponsorship?). Be cautious about working on too tight a budget as the venue is an important part of the event and choosing the right venue could enable you to charge a higher ticket price.
Start promoting early
You can start promoting your course before you even have a venue booked! Use social media and your mailing list (if you don’t have a mailing list, start one now!) to create a buzz about the event long before the event happens. Once you do have a venue booked, sell tickets at a lower, early-bird price to keep building the buzz on the months running up to the event.
Choose the right speakers
Your speakers will both set the tone for the event and make your event attractive to those who want to attend, so give this some serious thought early in the planning process. Popular speakers are booked months ahead, which is another reason why you’ll want to hire an events speaker early on.
Have a plan B
Let’s face it, things can and do go wrong! Think through all the risks of running the event and have a plan B just in case the worst happens.