There’s nothing more exciting than watching your event come together just how you envisioned it. When you dedicate time to organising, you can begin to relax, knowing that you’ve avoided the common event planning mistakes and ticked off all the steps needed for a smooth-running event that exceeds attendees’ expectations.

Whether your event is going to be small or large, it’ll require a lot of work. So we’ve put together this comprehensive checklist to help you stay on the right track and enjoy the benefits of event planning, both months before the big day and 24 hours out. From deciding budgets to the specific documents and items needed for event planning, use it to help make sure you’re as prepared as you can be.

Start as early as possible

The sooner you start laying the foundations for your event, the more you’ll be able to get organised ahead of time (eliminating those last-minute panics). Ideally, you should start working on your event four to six months before it takes place, whether you’re planning for a one-off event or multiple events at the same time.

1. Establish your goals and objectives

Being clear on what you want your event to achieve will help you to create measurable goals and desired outcomes. That way, you’ll know whether it was a success, and be able to use your findings to persuade stakeholders and sponsors of future events’ value. Consider the following event organising tips early on:

  • What is your event’s purpose?
  • How many people do you want to attend in-person or online?
  • How much profit do you want to make, if any?
  • How much will tickets cost?
  • Where will your event take place? If livestreaming, which video hosting platform is likely to be the best option?

2. Put together a budget

Your budget doesn’t need to be exact or set in stone, but having a rough number to work with can streamline costs and help to ensure you’re making decisions in line with your financial goals. Keep in mind that costs for online events can often be much smaller than in-person events, so going virtual is a great option if you’re working to a tight budget. The following steps can be useful when outlining a budget:

  • Use figures from past events as a baseline
  • Fill in any gaps with educated guesses about things like venue costs, attendee revenue, and food or drink expenditure by researching similar events or asking vendors for rough quotes

3. Choose a date and time

In terms of what to consider when planning an event, selecting a date should come near the top of your list. When you’ve got a deadline to work towards, it’s much easier to establish a clear planning timeline. Here are your key to-dos when it comes to selecting the right time for your event:

  • Choose your best-case scenario date.
  • Select a second-best option in case of unforeseen obstacles.
  • Think about days of the week. Professionals might be unable to attend weekday events if they take place in the daytime.
  • When selecting a time for a virtual event, consider the timezones your attendees will be tuning in from and try to choose a slot to suit as many as possible.

4. Choose a location, venue, and vendors

Your location and venue will depend on your event type, numbers, and goals. For example, if you’re holding a small event, you’ll likely have a wider choice of venues. But larger events will require a touch more work to find a suitably sized space. Start searching for your venue as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

If you’re hosting an event online, think about the various hosting platforms you could use and the different functionalities that they offer. For example, if you’re hosting a large seminar or masterclass, you’ll need the option to mute all attendees while you’re speaking. Quizzes and competitions benefit from breakout rooms, so teams can have access to a separate space to plan and chat.

For all events, also consider the following:

  • If in-person, which geographic location would suit your event best?
  • Do you need to provide Wi-Fi?
  • Does the venue have the right infrastructure, such as portaloos and accessible entrances?
  • Are there local vendors you can rely on? How would you engage with them virtually if hosting an online event?
  • For virtual events, consider any pre-requisites for attendees when it comes to the technology you’re planning on using. Does anything need to be downloaded beforehand, for example?

5. Pick a theme

Giving your event a distinct theme, like arts and crafts or the Roaring ’20s, can make it more memorable for attendees while helping to encourage them to buy tickets in the first place. When choosing a theme, it’s important to keep in mind:

  • Your goals
  • Your event demographic
  • Your brand identity and values
  • Past event themes

6. Research speakers

Speakers can add value and integrity to your event, and also help you to attract a wider audience by reaping the benefits of their personal profile and follower base. A little research will go a long way to helping you find and reach out to the right speakers that will best engage your attendees. Follow these simple steps:

  • Identify which speakers have spoken at events similar to yours.
  • Make a list of your ideal speakers, factoring in key concerns like budget and audience demographic.
  • Be clear about what you’re asking before making contact, and make sure to mention whether your event is virtual or in-person.
  • Reach out to speakers. If they have a website, it’ll usually include a contact form or email. If not, you can try reaching out through social media platforms like LinkedIn.

7. Search for sponsors

Sponsors can help to make your event more financially viable, and can also be used for boosting brand awareness and for cross-promotion. Cementing good sponsor relationships is essential for securing support for future events. Follow these steps when it comes to starting your sponsor search:

  • Determine the kind of activations that you can offer. These can range from branded VIP lounges at large in-person events to online takeovers on social media channels for virtual events.
  • Research sponsors who have worked with events similar to yours.
  • Make a list of your ideal sponsors.
  • Calculate the market rates of your sponsorship packages.

Three months before: finalising the nitty-gritty

Now that you’ve got the basic framework of your event, it’s time to start ironing out some of the finer details. As you nail down more specifics, update your budgets to stay on track and keep a record of all your latest estimates and quotes.

Spend 10 minutes per day working through the below list, and your event will begin to come together way ahead of time, allowing you to feel confident and at ease. Aim to tackle the following between two and four months before your event is due to take place, as many aspects can end up taking longer than first expected.

8. Finalise speakers

Once you’ve reached an agreement with your speakers, you’re free to advertise them as participating in your event, increasing its appeal and reach. Finalise your speakers with the following steps:

  • Officially book your speakers.
  • Think about the balance of your line-up. Are there any gaps you could fill?
  • Source bio information and photos for promotional purposes.
  • Arrange travel and accommodation if needed.

9. Organise your financials

Ensuring that sponsorships and ticketing strategies are sorted at least three months before your event will help to smoothen the rest of the event planning process, giving you the time and security needed to focus on things like promotion. Consider these key steps:

  • Choose your ticketing or registration technology. Eventbrite allows you to create multiple ticket types to boost sales.
  • Set your ticket tier prices. These might range from free tickets for certain communities to more expensive VIP packages with perks such as free merchandise.
  • Finalise contributions from sponsors.

10. Build your website

As you begin to promote your event and drum up interest, you’ll need somewhere to direct potential attendees so they can find out more information. This central hub is where people can find all the details of your event, like the venue and speakers, as well as logistics like starting times and how to get there. If you’re hosting an online event, you can include details of the sign-up process and even build an after-event resource centre. Take these steps to set up an online home for your event:

  • Get sign-off on your website’s look and feel
  • Build your site (or refresh with new information if you’re repurposing an existing site)
  • Make sure your website is equipped to handle increased web traffic
  • Ensure your site is mobile-optimised to deliver a powerful experience for on-the-go users
  • Alternatively, design a simpler event page using Eventbrite and customise it to suit your needs

11. Promote your event

Promoting your event effectively can help you maximise sales and deliver an increased return on investment (ROI). There are so many ways to promote your event, from outdoor advertising to social media campaigns. It may seem overwhelming, but when you break down promotion into these manageable steps, it becomes much easier to keep on top of it before your event:

  • Develop a key messaging document in line with your event brand and goals
  • Use digital marketing tools like email and social media
  • Consider offering an early bird discount to increase conversion
  • Distribute your event on online event calendars
  • Write blog posts about your event and publish on your website
  • Create a promotional video and publish on social media channels (and those of your sponsors)

12. Finalise venue or platform details

If you’re holding your event in person, make sure you’re aware of all the small print associated with venue hire. Hosting an online event? It’s worth doing a test run with your chosen platform to familiarise yourself with all its features and functionalities. It’s also vital to:

  • Work with a caterer to pin down a menu if you’re serving food.
  • Secure use of audio-visual equipment.
  • Review your security needs and health and safety plan. This also applies to virtual events, where you’ll need to consider aspects like managing potentially disruptive activity and protecting attendee data.
  • Investigate special permits, licenses, and the required insurance for your venue.
  • Determine event signage and your attendee communication plan. For example, you may need to create a guide of expected attendee behaviour for online events.

13. Draft a schedule

Use this time to create a draft schedule of the running order of your event. Turn it into a living document so that you can easily tweak it as more and more details become concrete.

Two months before: drumming up interest

A couple of months before your event, you’ll have a lot of the big picture aspects in place, with only the minor details left to determine. It’s important to keep your eye on these more specific steps to organise an event to help keep hold of sponsors and encourage as much attendee interest as possible.

14. Send reminders

Prevent any potential blips by sending reminder messages to key contacts to reaffirm their commitments and responsibilities. It’s worth getting in touch with the following people:

  • Attendees
  • Presenters and speakers
  • Sponsors
  • Vendors

15. Step up promotion

The final two months before your event will be your most powerful promotional period. This is your chance to really shout about your event and meet your sales goals, using a variety of different methods. Keep the following channels in mind:

  • Social media, encouraging engagement with competitions and discount codes
  • Blog posts
  • Emails
  • Paid advertisements

One week before: tying up loose ends

The last week before your event is likely to be the busiest in your event planning schedule. But most of the hard work is done, and all that’s left is to tidy away the few remaining tasks.

16. Finalise your event schedule and scripts

Now is the time to put the finishing touches on that draft running order so that you’ve got a good handle on exactly what should happen on the big day. Here are the items to tick off at this stage:

  • Create a final schedule and circulate the document to make sure all key contacts are working from the same version
  • Get sign-off on speech scripts and circulate these to relevant individuals

17. Update everyone with final registration numbers

Make sure you’ve recorded all important data like sign-ups and attendees, which you can refer to on the day and after. Share these with:

  • Food, drink, and merchandise vendors
  • The venue
  • Your sponsors
  • Health and safety or security staff

18. Confirm timings

Make sure everyone is on the same page by establishing precise timings with vendors. The list might include:

  • Speakers
  • Audio-visual equipment businesses
  • Decoration companies
  • Caterers

The day before

If you’ve followed the above steps in our event guide, you’ll hopefully be feeling calm and prepared the day before your event, and ready to enjoy the fruits of your labour. The only things left to do are:

  • Ensure that your venue is set up for the event and that you have printed copies of the schedule and any speeches.
  • Send one final message to your attendees, reminding them of the event’s time and location. If it’s being held online, ensure you include the link and any passwords needed to access the event.

The next day, follow our day of event checklist, which includes everything from scheduling tweets to issuing press releases.

Keep the momentum going

Remember that hosting a successful event doesn’t finish the moment your event does. Now, it’s time to consider things like sending out post-event attendee surveys to find out what worked, debriefing with your team and sponsors, and creating a report to capture ROI and other key data. The final step? Getting ready for your next event.

Whether you need more assistance with budgeting, marketing, or general resources required for event management, download our event planning templates to help make sure you never forget a thing.