Tips for hosting a successful event

The event life cycle can be broken down in to four key phases, each as important as the next. What we remember is the event itself, but successful events invest resources in the bookends – preparation and follow up.

1.    Initiation - define the purpose, scope and stakeholders

What is your objective?

Do you want to build your / your company’s profile, cross-sell services, target prospective clients or nurture relationships with existing clients?

Who is your target audience?

Think about their perspective at every step of the event life cycle:

• What do they want to learn about?
• What is the best way to communicate with them and how much notice do they need?
• What type of event format & time of day suits them best?

Who are your stakeholders?

Both internal to your organisation and external

• Who are your speakers?
• Do you need a host or an MC?
• Would your event benefit from the addition of a guest speaker? Should you consider partnering with another organisation?

How long will it take to organise?

Events can take anywhere from days to weeks or several months to plan. Consider all the elements upfront and give your event a strong lead time. This will help set your event up for success from the outset.

2.    Planning

Gather your resources – team and tech

• Confirm all speakers
• Review the invitation list
• Have a planning meeting with all speakers and anyone else involved in organising the event – this is your event team (and book a subsequent tech run if required)
• Consider any other resources the event will require (are you managing a budget?)
• Draft a run sheet and start working on presentation/s – your run sheet should include all timings for set up (bump in), event, and pack up (bump out) and a contact list.

Marketing strategy

Think about how the target audience would find out about your event. You might consider:

• Email marketing (remember to schedule in a reminder to those who don’t RSVP initially)
• Social media – think about which platform is most appropriate for your target audience
• Word of mouth and personal reach – ask the speakers to share the event with their networks (if appropriate), or partner with other organisations to reach a wider audience.

 Spread the word

• Actively promote your event – you are its ambassador
• Share and post on social media
• Review updated RSVP lists regularly
• A personal touch makes a world of difference – make calls and write personal emails to follow up your invitees.

Keep in mind that not everyone who accepts will attend, so manage your teams’ expectations. Conversion rates will differ for different audiences and different events.  

Keep in touch with your team

• Review the attendee list & share it with the presenters so they know who’ll be in the room and can tailor their presentation/s.

3.    Implementation

Events can feel like controlled chaos, and no amount of planning can prevent the unexpected from happening but anticipating common pitfalls can help your event run smoothly.

Nominate an event manager

• They’ll be responsible for managing any issues that arise during the event
• List the event manager’s contact details on your run sheet along with mobile numbers for the main contacts involved in the event.

Follow the run sheet

• Your team put all that good work in to planning, make it count!

Set up early

• This goes for everyone in your event team, including presenters
• Especially if your event is online - you’ve tested all the technology in your planning meeting or in a subsequent tech run but still ensure your team is online early to double check everything is running smoothly and you’re ready to start (and finish) on time.

Anticipate early attendee arrivals

• There are always some keen beans, have a game plan and don’t let them throw you off yours.
• Start and finish on time – your audience will appreciate it!

Debrief

• Debrief with your event team as soon as possible
• Discuss your follow up and evaluation
• If you’re running a series of events, this is the perfect time to talk about what went well and what you’d like to do for the next event.

4.    Follow up and evaluation

Send thank-yous

• To your event team e.g.: presenters, event partners, guest speakers
• To your attendees.

Follow up your most engaged attendees

• These are your best leads and each event is a fresh opportunity to reach out.

Look back at your objectives and evaluate the results

• Were the objectives met?
• What leads and ideas were generated?
• Do you need to update contact lists?

Next steps

• Tie up any loose ends
• Book in the next event
• Celebrate!

Events have lots of moving parts that need to work well together behind the scenes.

Creating a successful event is about more than the event itself. It’s having everyone on the same page throughout the event life cycle to deliver a seamless experience from initial communications to entering the event, to production and presenters, and post-event.

Whether you’re an event manager or a speaker, be organised, communicate well and be prepared to be flexible – most importantly, just give it a go!