Event Planning – Tips and Tricks

Brainstorm 

• Determine what your basic event requirements are: dates, location, and the number of attendees. 
• Define the WHY: Is it a networking event? A training? A fundraiser? A celebration or promotion? Having clarity about the purpose of your event will help ensure that all the planning you do will be well-aligned with your needs. 
• Set a budget. 

3 Months Out 

• Place an order for any printed materials. 
• Begin production of meeting content (videos, presentations, printed collateral, and worksheets). 
• Create a customized event website. 
• Send invitations to attendees. Include the link to your custom event website. 
• Decide on Marketing, PR, and social media strategy for your event. 

The Day of 

• Meet with your planning team to review all event details. 
• Do a walk-through. 
• Check to ensure that all times and locations for the event have been posted correctly, clearly, and visibly. 
• Do a test run of all A/V presentations. 
• Set up registration packets. 
• Greet attendees. 

Post-Event 

• Organize shipping of any equipment that needs to be returned. 
• Write thank-you notes to speakers, staff and others. 
• Solicit feedback from attendees and critical staff. 
• Complete any post-meeting surveys with the client. 
• Keep a set of notes about what worked well and what didn’t, so you can refer to it when planning future events.