subject: 5 fundamental Questions to ask When planning an Event [print this page] 5 fundamental Questions to ask When planning an Event
Question #1: What Do you want to achieve ?
make money? raise money?
have fun?
to help people discover something new, learn about what you are doing, ask people to help you in anyway
to raise your status, reputation and fame
Once you know what you want to achieve, you can decide on how feasible it is.
Question #2: What are your goals?
You should clearly write down the goals you want to achieve:
Number of attendees: 200 attendees.
Expected result: Sell 100 albums; make $5000; connect to 3 key industry players and follow up; recruit 12 volunteers, etc.
Media coverage: have 5 local medias to cover the event and write articles
Question #3: How do you position your event?
It's about the events and promotions design:
Event name: find a catchy event name that says what the event is about.
Attendees profiles and main speakers: the way you define your target audience will influence the choice of speakers or performers. Invite performers with large following
Inject some fun in your event planning. All events should be fun.
Become known for something that draws people, that will be your positioning.
Question #4: How will you promote your event?
Event marketing is all about grassroots promotion. You should go out in person or by email to talk to and befriend:
people who influence your target audience (newspaper, magazine, websites, blog, online community, association, analysts, proclaimed and self proclaimed gurus, etc.)
people who already provide services or goods to your target audience, but are not your competitor (owner of venues where your target audience spend time (include online groups and communities); companies who are providers to your target audience, etc.)
people who already promote events to your target audience
These people could really help you out. The magic duo for event marketing is: Posters and word of mouth.
Question # 5: How do you want people to feel during and after the event?
design some surprise into your event: think about something that will be memorable and pleasant
make people laugh and have fun, even it it's B2B event
Trow in some fun contests, and icebreakers
Care about the food. The food should be good, or at least enough to eat for all attendees.
Ask people how they feel, you receive invaluable feedback
Keep communicating during the event and after the event. You are not in for a one shot.
A good planning is a good start in the long life of an event execution.
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