How to Plan an Event: 10 Steps
Don’t start planning your next event without going through these 10 steps.
This is a high-level overview of what you’ll need to think through when planning an event – the finer details will depend heavily on the type of event you’re holding – but it’s a solid starting point for your planning process.
1. Set Your Event Goal and Objectives
The first step is defining a clear goal and objectives – why are you holding this event, and what do you want it to achieve?
2. Build Your Team
Every event needs a coordinated team to manage all the moving parts. Consider naming one lead Event Manager or Event Chair, along with individual leads for subcommittees such as:
- Venue management
- Speakers
- Entertainment
- Publicity
- Sponsors
- Volunteer management
3. Set a Date
For a recurring event, the date may already be set. For a new event, keep the following in mind before locking in a date:
- Give yourself enough time – ideally 4-6 months of planning, depending on the scale of the event
- Be aware of public holidays and religious observances
- Avoid school holiday periods (winter, spring, and summer breaks)
- Check the date against key attendees’ availability – speakers, moderators, VIP guests, and so on
4. Brand Your Event
If you want your event to stand out, choose a timely, compelling theme that sets it apart. That means developing a strong overall concept, and taking real care with the name itself, since it becomes a key hook, especially on social media.
Brainstorm names by asking: how is your event different from others in your space? What are you hoping to communicate through it? Once you have a name, develop a short, memorable tagline that captures the event, and design a logo that gives your event quick recognition across all your promotional materials, from t-shirts to water bottles to bags.
5. Build a Master Plan
Your plan should cover every part of the event, including:
- Venue, logistics, and catering (contracts, permits, insurance, etc.)
- Speakers and presenters (identifying, confirming, logistics, and management)
- Activities and entertainment
- Publicity and promotion (online and offline – website and online promotion, event calendars, printed programs, media relations, signage, social media, etc.)
- Registration (online sign-up, payment, and tracking; on-site sign-in, etc.)
- Sponsor and partner management
- Volunteer management
6. Decide on Your Administrative Processes
How will you track your planning, registration, budget, and guest and speaker records? Decide early how you’ll organize and manage your event data, whether through dedicated event management software or your own systems.
7. Identify and Build Partnerships and Sponsors
Are there organizations you could partner with, or approach for sponsorship, to help cover costs and boost attendance? Bringing other people or groups into your event gives them a stake in helping spread the word and making it a success. Consider looking for corporate sponsors to fund part of the event, from national brands sponsoring a meal or a raffle prize, to local businesses offering goods or services like flowers or gift bag items. You might also partner with community organizations that can offer a venue or help with staffing.
8. Build a Publicity Plan
Even with the best speaker or entertainment lineup, you need publicity to get people through the door. Promotion starts with the first announcement or page on your website, a save-the-date in your newsletter or email, and builds from there into online and offline publicity, media relations, and ongoing outreach to drive registration. And no plan is complete without the post-event follow-up: thank-yous, sponsor acknowledgments, and recap coverage of the event’s key outcomes.
9. Build Your Budget
Your budget should include estimates for every major item identified in your Master Plan, including any travel or accommodation costs for speakers and presenters.
10. Decide How You’ll Evaluate Success
How will you know if your event succeeded? Is success measured by the number of registrants or attendees, by breaking even financially, or by hitting a fundraising target?
Once you’ve set your initial goals and objectives, think through how you’ll evaluate the event against them. If part of your goal involves tracking something specific, like an auction, you’ll need a process for recording items donated and funds raised. Similarly, if your goal is raising awareness, plan to track social media activity and offline publicity against your original benchmarks.
Ready to start planning? Learn more about corporate event management or get in touch with Magma Event Bangkok to start planning your next event.