A Quick Guide to Event Planning

To organize a conference, here’s what I do:

1. Topics — Brainstorm on topics, themes for the event and the attendees’ segment I like to bring to the event.
2. Speakers — Think of all the speakers I would like to get on board.
3. Venue — Make a quick shortlist of venues and cities where to host the event.
4. Budget — Set a budget. And profit expectations, if any.
5. Sponsors — Make a list of sponsorship prospects for the said event.
6. Tickets — Pricing the tickets.
7. Pre-event campaign — Once all that’s done, I will run a pre-event campaign among small group of prospective attendees asking them if they would want to join in for such an event with such and such topics.
8. Pitch to speakers — If majority of the prospects nod yes and reaches a common ground on a theme/topic, I would go ahead and start pitching to speakers. You can also get some help from sites like speakersmatch.com etc.
9. Event website & Call for papers — I will then set up an event website to call for papers using abstract management platforms like Dryfta to let speakers submit their papers for review. I and my team will review the papers and accept and reject accordingly.
10. While the team reviews the papers from speakers, I will focus on selecting an appropriate venue while making sure it doesnt go over my budget.
11. Food — Prepare food list. A mix of local and exotic food works wonder. Get talking to vendors and caterers. To search vendors, use one of the many directories/sites listing these services. Ask them to submit quotes.
12. Accommodation — If all my attendees are from nearby areas, I wouldnt have to bother about accommodation. But if it’s a large conference, I need to secure some hotel bookings as well, in advance.
13. Sponsors pitching — Start marketing my event to the sponsors. I would try marketing my event real hard so I can secure as much sponsorship funds as I can. Will also try get some help from sites like sponsorsearch.com
14. Once the speakers’ papers are reviewed, those accepted will be notified using the platform and we’ll make a final agreement with the selected speakers.
15. Ticket sales — Launch ticket sales, also listing speakers, event agenda and other details. Send email invites to targeted prospects.
16. Self-service event website — I will use an event platform like Dryfta which can let attendees manage their tickets, personal program schedule, view other attendees’ profiles, collect leads, and all such self-service tools. Such platforms make it easy for organizers to focus on more important stuff like attendees’ hospitality, and if sessions are progressing as per schedule etc.
17. Finalize quotes from vendors — While the ticket sales are underway, I will go back to quotes I have received from vendors and finalize the best ones under my budget, after a thorough reviewing process.
18. Event app — Launch the mobile app for the event so attendees can engage well and easy. Since Dryfta event platform already comes with a native app, and I’m already using it to manage my event website, abstract submissions and ticketing, I will use Dryfta mobile app so as to keep all data in sync across all devices.
19. On the program day, I would not want to tire myself, so as to keep a cool head and help attendees prosper and make the most of their time and money, therefore I will get my team to do all the work using my delegation skills.

Finally, I will use the Dryfta event platform to measure my event success and ROI using the mix of attendees success, sponsor success, marketing success.