5 Tips for Planning a Successful Event

Planning a successful event is something that doesn’t happen overnight. Nor is it something that can be easily fixed by a fairy godmother and a lot of magic. Rather, planning a successful event takes a lot of hard work, a lot of practice, and a lot of patience for the skill and the industry you are in.

If you were to ask event planners to tell you stories or event planning tips from their experiences, I’m sure they would have more than just one memorable tale to tell or one single strategy that has worked for them. They’ll share the story of the bride whose dream wedding came true. They’ll tell you about the time when got a package deal for a venue. Or that close call with a vendor booked last-minute, but who delivered excellently all the same.

Without a doubt, event planners will also have their share of terror stories—event planning fails and horrific tails that still keep them up at night. The venue that cancelled two weeks before the event. The hosts who ignored the script and delivered some of the most embarrassing lines instead. The guests who showed up at the wedding reception even if they were not on the RSVP list.

But event planners will tell you that these experiences have taught them what it takes to plan a successful event. It’s these ups and downs, highs and lows, that have helped them to see what works and what doesn’t, what should be removed, and what could be improved. If it’s your first time planning events, you can take a deep breath and know that you are not alone.

So, How Do You Plan a Successful Event?

Like my colleagues and the people I look up to in the event planning industry, I’ve had a fair share of success stories that still warm my heart whenever I think about them today—stories that have turned into lessons and have helped me in my event planning journey. And like every other event planner out there, I’ve had horrible mess-ups, too, that weren’t funny then, but now never fail to amuse me when I remember them.

It’s through these stories and experiences, both the good and the bad, that I’ve learned many lessons about planning events through the years. And it’s what I want to share to you in this post—my experiences, woven into five tips that I think are essential for planning a successful event, with the hopes that they’ll be able to help you, whether you’re starting in the events industry or you’ve been in it for some time already.

Tip #1: Prepare for everything in advance (no matter when how many times you’ve done it).

When I was working for an educational organisation, one of the biggest events we had was the graduation ceremony that we’d hold twice a year, every April and October. For the almost-eight years I was there, we had a total of fourteen ceremonies. That’s fourteen times of planning and execution. Fourteen times we ran through the program from the logistics to the technical scripts. Fourteen rehearsals, photoshoots, video shoots, and whatever else it took to get the event up and running. You’d think that after the first couple of ceremonies, we’d have everything pinned down to perfection so the event would progress as smoothly as possible. Of course, that was the goal, but it didn’t always turn out that way.

One time, the truck carrying all our materials (the diplomas, the togas, the curtains for the stage, literally everything) broke down while on the way to the venue and arrived only thirty minutes before the ceremony started. Another time, the photographer who took the studio shots of the kids in their togas gave them late (on the day of the event) and forgot to label each photo with the child’s name, so even after the ceremony had already begun, someone was sorting through them and frantically inserting them into the slides one by one.

No two graduation ceremonies were ever alike. Even if we held them in the same venue with the same vendors and the same program. No matter how diligently we prepared for everything in advance. No matter how much feedback we got from the previous graduation ceremonies to make the next one better. No matter how many times we rehearsed the program flow and ran through the script. Something unexpected always happened.

As event planners, if we the events we plan to be successful, we always need to be on our toes and prepare for the unexpected. Event planning is all about thinking quickly and responding even more quickly. If something unexpected happens or a huge glitch occurs, what contingency plan do you have lined up?

In the early stages of planning the event (what’s going to happen on the day, what it’s going to look like from start to end), event planners need to look at all of the possible angles. Run down your list of logistics over and over again. Walk through the program as if you are the participant instead of the planner. Sketch the stage and where the entrance and exit points will be. Visit the venue and map out the layout. Go through every single detail you can think of. Come up with every possible scenario (yes, even the seemingly absurd ones).

What will happen if it rains during your outdoor event? What will you do if unexpected guests show up at the wedding reception and there are no more empty tables where they can sit? What will your registration team say if someone has lost their conference ticket and can’t come up with proof of their purchase?

Anticipating and preparing for these unexpected situations leaves you better equipped to handle the challenges when they drop on your lap on the day of the event. Planning for different scenarios keeps you from being caught unawares by the seemingly unpredictable. As they say, it’s always better to prepare for the worst. No matter how many times you’ve done an event, you cannot allow yourself to become lax about it. Planning a successful event is all about being on your toes and expecting that something might happen, because eight or nine out of ten times, something usually does.

Tip #2: Step into your attendees’ shoes when you’re planning for the event.

Every time you’re in the planning stage of an event, try wearing two “hats” to help you see the event from two different perspectives. One is the “hat” of the organisation or company you’re working for. When you wear this figurative hat, this is the opportunity for you to go over all the details of the event. This is where you debate over the budgets, hash out the best program structure, decide on which vendor to get, go through marketing strategies, and discuss other operational matters.

The second “hat” requires more practice and a different level of focus—it’s for you to see the event from the perspective of the participant. This is something I learned while working in the educational organisation where our clients were families. We had to make sure that our events would be attractive and exciting enough that parents and kids would take a keen interest, regardless of their ages and school levels.

Seeing the event from the participant’s perspective is especially helpful when you want to review what pricing will work for your attendees. Is it too expensive? Is it so cheap that they won’t see it as valuable? Is a family fee more reasonable than individual ticket prices for adults and kids? Is tiered pricing more reasonable? (Check out Event Manager Blog’s 2020 Pricing Strategy Guide.)

Seeing how things will look like from the participants’ eyes help with planning the whole event and brings you a step closer to planning a successful event. Will they like this icebreaker? Will this topic make sense? Will they enjoy this speaker? After all, events are about the participants. This helps you put the necessary steps in place so your event will be attractive and exciting for the people who are attending it.

One of the best ways to do this is to get feedback from people who attend your event. Ask them what they liked best about your program and what other events they are interested in attending in the future. That way, you’ll be able to get a general feel of what the participants like, which can guide you as you plan future events.

Tip #3: Set clear objectives for each event.

What is the goal of the event you’re planning? Is your purpose to inform and equip your audience? Is it to showcase talent or to raise funds or a mix of both? 

If you’re planning a wedding, the objective is easier to measure and achieve, because the ultimate goal of the event is to make the couple’s dreams come true (and make sure nothing disastrous happens, of course). But when it’s an event of another kind, it’s a lot better when you know your why. Why are you mounting the event? What’s the purpose? What do you want to achieve?

I was once part of a team that mounted the event to celebrate families. To achieve that, we decided to rally everyone together for a fun, outdoorsy type of activity with inflatables, game booths, sports activities, and more. To measure whether or not we had achieved our objectives, we set a target number of participants and requested a rating from the participants about what they thought about the event. This showed us, in concrete numbers, whether the event’s purpose was met.

Writing out your objectives clearly will help you when you plan the nitty-gritty details of what goes into your event. It will help you as you come up with a program, figure out speakers and entertainment, and the other things you want to include in your event. When you come up with objectives, make sure they are measurable too so you know if you were able to accomplish them. Communicate them to the rest of the team so everyone is aligned. Even after the event is over, re-examine your event objectives during your post-event evaluation so you will be able to know if you achieved them and where to improve for your future events.

Tip #4: Identify your target audience.

After identifying the purpose and objectives of your event, you’ll want to identify your target audience. Who should attend your event? Families with kids of a certain age? Individuals, who are into a certain hobby? Idealistic young people carving out their career paths?

Of course, we want “everyone” to attend. We want our events jam-packed with excited, enthusiastic participants who are thrilled to be in them. We want to hear that people had a good time and that they liked what the event had to offer them.

But here’s the thing: you can have an event filled with people and still receive bad feedback by people who felt the topic was “too boring” or the event was “not what they expected”. It could be that these people were not the target audience you had in mind. It could be that they just came along because someone dragged them into it, or they saw a post on social media and decided to check it out seemed it seemed pretty fun anyway. You see, you can have thousands of people come to your event, but if they didn’t benefit from the event, it won’t help you achieve the purpose you’ve laid out for the event.

When you’re able to identify your target audience, you will be able to focus on marketing your event to those who are more likely to attend and more likely to help you achieve your purpose. And because you know who you want to attend your event, you’ll be able to work towards getting happier customers and satisfied participants—people who will be raving for what you’ve already let them experience and will be clamouring for more.

Tip #5: Collaborate!

They say no man is an island, and let me tell you this: event planners are no exception. There’s no secret sauce to it other than the fact that events are a lot easier to do when you see eye-to-eye with your trusted vendors and even your fellow event planners.

When I started working with the educational organisation in 2012, we were all just learning the ropes of what comes along with planning events. We weren’t familiar with looking for vendors (aside from venues) and there were times when we tried doing tasks or producing things on our own. It was much later when we realised that it would have saved us a lot of time and effort if we had just hired a vendor to do it for us.

Since those first few days of stumbling around, we’ve built up our contacts list of vendors who we know can get the job done well. Instead of seeing them as companies we pay to get what we need, they’ve become our partners. Instead of venues we go to just for a day, we’ve become collaborators for a greater purpose.

Not only do you collaborate with vendors, but you can also do the same with speakers, sponsors, and more. Partnering with the right speakers or influencers who share the same passion for your cause adds value to your event. Big names, best-selling authors, well-known motivational speakers also have a following that they can draw to your event. Partnering with sponsors also gives your event an additional layer of excitement, especially if you have a bazaar or expo area. When you’re doing an event by yourself, you can only accomplish so much. But if you want to plan a successful event, you’ve got to do it with the right partners and people who can take it to the next level with you.

I want to hear from you too!

Event planner newbie? Which of these 5 tips do you think is the easiest for you? The most challenging?

Long-time event planner? What are your tips for planning a successful event?