No matter how long you’ve been an event creator, there’s always a new challenge. It’s what makes the profession stressful — and so rewarding. To prevent burnout, even the most experienced event creator could use a go-to event planning guide or checklist to help you solve a problem.
There are guides for every step of the way. Whether you need tips on securing sponsors, industry insights, or how to get more out of advertising on social media. Here are 20 guides to turn to for each of your most pressing challenges.
Event inspiration guides
Looking for a resource on the latest industry trends? Or maybe a few tips on picking out a nontraditional venue? These event planning business guides will get your creative juices flowing.
1. The Pulse Report: 2018 Event Industry Trends
For this report, 1,000 event professionals in the U.S. and Canada weighed in about the trends and opportunities for the event industries in 2018.
Check out these trends before planning your event
2. Stay Relevant: 6 Event Trends Shaping the Future of Festivals
Who are your attendees? Why do they attend events like yours? What makes the difference for them between a fine event and a must-attend? Learn how to nail the attendee experience.
Stand out in a saturated event market
3. How to Craft the Ultimate Event Experience
The recent failures of several new festivals have proven the need to create a unique experience. This guide breaks down the three stages of crafting an event that will stand the test of time.
4. The Event Organizer’s Ultimate Guide to Productivity
As an event creator, the pressure and stakes are high. In this guide, productivity experts at Asana provide tips for setting up more efficient workflows to help reduce stress.
Get the ultimate event planners guide
5. Thinking Outside the Ballroom: The Rise of Nontraditional and Unique Event Venues
More and more event creators are looking at their venue as a way to deliver one-of-a-kind experiences. Find out why in this guide from Eventbrite and Peerspace.
Organize an event outside the ballroom
Event promotion guides
From email marketing to social media, there are many ways your attendees want to hear from you. Discover the best ones to use for your event in these event planning guides.
6. From On-Sale to Sold Out: Marketing and Promotion for Events
Looking for a comprehensive overview of the event marketing process? Discover how to engage attendees, reach new ones, and turn interested web visitors into paid attendees.
Successfully promote your event
7. Essential Guide: Social Media for Events
Social media drives nearly 25% of views to ticketing pages. Discover the small upgrades in your social media marketing strategy that can equal big increases in ticket sales.
Master social media for your event
8. Essential Guide: Website Conversion for Events
What would happen if instead of focusing on attracting new people, you turned more existing site visitors into ticket buyers? Learn how simple changes to your website can help you dramatically increase ticket sales.
A guide to selling out your event
9. Advanced Event Marketing Techniques for Event Promotion
A sophisticated social media strategy goes beyond simple posts to include raffles, direct messages to followers, and purchases embedded in Facebook. Advanced event marketing techniques build engagement and drive ticket sales. But without technology to manage these efforts, they can become unwieldy.
Learn the techniques event organizers have adopted
Event sponsorship guides
Sponsors are a critical part of any event’s budget — but winning the right brands over can be a frustrating experience for many event creators. Here’s how to win sponsorships today.
10. Essential Guide: Sponsorship for Events
With insights from experts like the Sponsorship Collective, this guide provides you with the top trends and best practices you need to secure the right sponsors.
How to get the event sponsors you want
11. Event Sponsorship Pricing Cheat Sheet
Is determining the right cost for your sponsorship assets keeping you up at night? Before you blindly assign dollar amounts, let this guide help you get it just right. =
Find your event sponsorship sweet spot
12. 7 Event Sponsorship Fails
Do you find it difficult to identify, secure, and retain sponsors for your event? Don’t worry — you’re in good company. Discover the seven most frequently made mistakes events make when selling event sponsorship.
Master the event sponsorship process
13. 7 Steps to Winning Event Sponsorship
Better understand the value your event can offer potential sponsors, and have a more effective way to track progress with this tipsheet.
A step-by-step guide to winning event sponsorship
Event logistics guides
New venue or location? Don’t worry. These event planning guides will help you get everything from accessibility to permits right.
14. The Basics of Event Accessibility: How to Create a More Accessible Event
Organizing your event to be more accessible widens your reach, makes attendees feel welcome, and fosters an environment of inclusivity. It’s a win-win.
How to make your event more accessible
15. The Event Preparedness Playbook: How to Avoid Common Festival Failures
Resolve the inevitable challenges faster — and protect your attendees from the pandemonium? Learn how to avoid complications onsite, minimize social backlash, and use communications to manage attendee’s expectations.
An event organizers guide to avoiding chaos
Event technology guides
Your ticketing partner is one of the most important choices you can make as an event creator. Here are two resources that will help you make sure you’ve picked the right one.
16. A Step by Step Guide to Choosing the Right Ticketing or Registration Partner
Use this event planning business guide to find the right solution that meets your team’s needs — and convince your boss that making the change is better for their business.
How to successfully power your events
- How to Use Event Automation to Scale Your Events Business
Scaling your event doesn’t have to require endless investment and growing complexity. But it will require more efficiency. That’s where event automation comes in.
Master automation for event planning
18. Beyond Registration: Using Data to Supercharge Your Event
If you’re using online ticketing or registration platform and mobile event apps, you’re sitting on an abundance of data. Learn how to use your event data to make crucial decisions that drive sales, surpass attendee’s expectations, and fuel the success of future events.
Read this before you plan your next event
Pre-event guides
Sometimes a checklist can make the difference between feeling fried and feeling in control. Here are two to help you in the days leading up to your event.
19. The Event Organizer’s Pre-Event, De-Stress Checklist
While not everything will go exactly to plan at your event (is that even possible?), you’ll rest easier if you can stay organized. This guide will help you handle any loose ends while the clock is ticking, loudly.
The ultimate checklist for event organizers
20. Checklist: How to Foolproof Your Festival Operations
Make sure you’ve covered your bases before the day of your event with this checklist, including all the key tasks you need to accomplish pre-event.
Your foolproof event planning checklist
Looking for something more in-depth than an event planning guide? Check out our free online Event Marketing Course & Certification.