5 Key Steps On How To Organize Real-Life Events

It's not easy to orchestrate an event. There are several things to consider like: the venue, speakers to hire, guests to invite, logistics, and you must not forget the supply of food during the event. There's so much to forget. That is why strong organizational skills are crucial in pulling off a great event. Being prepared with backup plans and being quick on your feet if things go wrong is essential to a good event.

Organizing is the process of gathering people, organizing available resources, and distributing the planned work necessary to carry out the plan, guided by objectives identified during the overall planning process. It involves developing an organized structure that gives way to the efficient execution of tasks to complete your objectives and attain your goals.

But what's that mean, really? It means think about people, places, events, and stuff. You have to think about who's coming, where they're going, what they will do, what they will eat, etc.

It may be overwhelming to think about where to even start in organizing all of this. If you have a team, the first step is to begin delegating tasks to your competent team members. Without a team, you have to do it on your own, but if you have people to work with then breaking things down into manageable chunks would be a huge help. Above all, remain calm and remind yourself that even if the situation isn't going to go perfect, the "show must go on".

1. Planning

What is an Event Plan?

An event plan is how the event will take place. It includes all the components of an event such as the dates when it will start and end, budget, venue, logistics, etc.

There's a lot to consider when planning an event. Constructing a checklist of everything you need will help. The first two vital things to consider when handling an event is the date – and the location. These two things are unlikely to change midway through planning.... if they do change, you have a whole different set of problems. Only once the date and location are determined can you start planning for number of attendees, activities, and more.

Goals and Objectives:

• What is the reason for the event's existence?
• What is the target of this event expected to achieve?
• Who is your target audience?
• Number of attendees
• Where will the event take place? 
• Create an event schedule 

Here's what to put on your event plan.

• Location:
• Start Date and Time:
• End Date and Time:
• What activities will take place?
• In what rooms will each activity take place?
• What will people eat?
• What will people wear?
• Where will people park, or how will they get there?
• Will people need overnight lodgings?
• What compells people to come?

2. Budgeting

Estimating your event's expenses will have a significant factor in making your decisions, like venue, marketing, advertising, etc. The budget for the event will be a critical factor during the planning stage. Your event budget will detail your financial situation before, during, and after the planned event.

Sticking to your budget greatly helps in controlling the expenses and profits, and how closely you stuck to the budget can be used as means to measure the success of your event.

When creating your budget plan, it is important that you determine how you would define your event as financially successful. In achieving this, you will be needing to list all the possible expenses and earnings that you will probably do from your event. Always keep your cash inflow in mind. Once you’ve developed your budget, you’ll have to track and review it regularly to ensure you stay within the allocated fund.

3. Securing the Venue

While many elements contribute to orchestrating a remarkable event, selecting the ideal venue is a skillful endeavor. The right location guarantees that the event unfolds as planned, leaving guests impressed and delighted by their experience.

Moreover, choosing the perfect venue can streamline the planning process, providing all the necessary elements to create an enduring impact.

An event venue can be any location where the occasion takes place. With that, certain types of venues are better suited for specific events.

Here are the Samples for your Events Venue:

• Stadiums and Arenas - If you are organizing several crowds, this is the best place to book for that event. 
• Parks and Fields - Outdoors can be used for different events. Moreover, there’s a lot of space to host them.
• Academic Venues - Several schools and universities are happy to be rented out for private events. 
• Sports Club - Local sports clubs like golf, rugby, and football might have extra spaces that they are willing to hire out for private events.
• Conference Centers - Purposely built conference centers are one of the most common choices. In addition, they often offer food catering, too.
• Business Centers -  Tends to focus more on daily activities such as office or work meetings.  
• Community Centers - Local government units and organizations have extra spaces available for event hiring.
• Hotels - Hotels are provided with conference halls, bars and restaurants, and other event spaces. It is ideal for booking events.
• Restaurants - You can book a private dining room, or if the event is big enough, you can book the entire restaurant.

4. Marketing and Social Media

Marketing is the top-priority for most event planners. Without marketing, how will people know about your event? Many successful event planners spend 10% of their time organizing and 90% of their time marketing.

• Produce a marketing creation plan.
• Explore and produce an event hashtag.
• Be active and share intriguing and applicable content leading up to the event.
• How can you increase brand fidelity through your pre-event marketing and ideas to apply at the event?
• Will you be working with influencers?
• Make collateral and suggested tweets to make it easy for attendees to participate.
• Encourage networking openings and connections before the event.
• Have the shooter and videographer been briefed on crucial shots and contents needed as reversal times? 
• What is the policy in terms of photos and re: photographing at the event? Have the policies been communicated to attendees?
• Will a press release be transferred out before the event?

5. Selling Tickets and Admissions

Now finally onto the most important thing - selling tickets! You can easily set up software to sell tickets for your event, using an online platform like Tixily. Tixily makes it incredibly easy for you to collect the necessary registration information for your event. While other platforms exist, these platforms often add-on massive hidden fees and surcharges which will drive away potential visitors for your event.

Choosing a good platform for selling tickets online is also important for your overall budget because ticket sellers often take a percentage of each sale. Many platforms have fees that take as much as 6-10% of all your sales. Instead you can choose to sell tickets with a platform that charges no per-ticket fee.

Of course, if you're planning your wedding then maybe ticketing isn't your top priority, but you still need to use a platform that helps you keep track of who is and who isn't attending.

6. (Bonus) Communicating with Your Team

Once an event is programmed and the date and time are set to stone, you must deliver. That's why you have to communicate effectively with each of your team members in the event planning process. 

Practicing an event communication plan allows everyone you work with to have a clear prospect of their liabilities and will increase productivity.

Productivity is very significant working in event operations due to tight time constraints and deadlines. Without effective event operation communication, your event could fall piecemeal at the seams. 

For you all to work together, you need to keep your members up to speed. Make sure they know what’s going on, the timeline, and when they need to complete their task. The more frequently you communicate, the smoother your event will go! 

From the moment your event is prepared, to the moment it begins, you must ensure that your members and attendees are remained acquainted with all the vital information. 

• Consider putting everyone in the members on a mass dispatch or texting list so you can reach them all at the same time. 
• You must have a proper way of communication regarding the timeline of your event. All members should know where they're supposed to be and when they should be there.

7. (Bonus) Managing the Day of the Event

Arrive before the start time at the venue with your team members. Check that everyone is there and all electronics are in working order. Any last-second questions? If there is time, give a little pep talk to the team (and don't forget to psych yourself up too).

Make sure the organizers use a distinct emblem or some other attractive application so that attendees can find help if demanded. 

• Banners and other signs outside the venue will be helpful. You want people to see from the road that that is the place they should be. No questions about it! 
• Make an event and enrollment counter. When guests walk in the door, they should see what they need to do. 
• Put on some music to pump up your participants.

Takeaway

Organizing an event is all about assembling people, creating a network, and constantly building and maintaining professional relationships with all your team members, hearing out everyone’s expectations and concerns. You need to communicate with yourself, your vision, and expectations to be on the same page.  Do some post-evaluation to help enhance your skills and avoid mistakes in the future.