The Ultimate Event Organizers’ Checklist: Planning to Execution

As an event organizer, you are innately drawn to clear and methodical ways of working. Having a checklist at hand when pulling together a successful event is one of the only ways to ensure you haven't missed anything along the way. From planning to execution, your job is to leave no stone unturned, so that the day, weekend or evening can run as seamlessly as possible without any hiccups along the way. Whether you're trying to make the most out of marketing, or you simply want to handle the logistical side of the event, there are so many different fires to fight all at the same time. Planning an event is extremely rewarding and enjoyable, as long as you are willing to put in the time and effort beforehand. With all of this in mind, here are some of the most important steps you need to consider when planning and executing an important event.

Open Up Registration
Simplifying your registration process is the ultimate way to boost your sales and improve the chances of a successful event. For example, reducing the number of pages on your checkout page will help you to make more money. Early registration is also more likely to attract a greater number of people. Allowing people to register their interest up to a year before the event can help you to capture important data so that you can keep them in the loop about the big day. This also gives the person more time to talk about your event and spread the word to other like-minded people in their circle!

Choose a Good Ticket Sales Platform
Once you have opened up registration for your big event, you need to work closely with a professional ticket sales platform so that your sales go through smoothly. As an event organizer your schedule is probably jam-packed full of different things to do, so handing over the reins to a reputable platform such as Tixily can help to put your mind at ease. Having a powerful piece of software to sell your tickets and manage your on the day schedule, can take a lot of your stress away.

Decide on an Appropriate Location
Your chosen location can have a huge impact on how many people attend your event. Doing some research on where your target audience lives and how big you want your event to be can help you make this decision quickly and effectively. If you're hosting an event that runs later into the evening, you may want to ensure that there are plenty of hotels nearby so that your guests have appropriate accommodation for the night.

Make the Cause Clear
Whether you're planning a business event or a charity event, you need to make the cause very clear from the outset. If someone is buying a ticket for an event, they don't want to feel surprised or underwhelmed when the big day arrives. Make sure your marketing message is clear from the outset so that everyone is on exactly the same page with regards to the type of event you're running. 

Choose the Perfect Name
Naming your event may seem like a small and trivial part of the process, but it could make or break the success of the day. Try to steer clear of names that are already being used by other companies that are local to you as this can often cause confusion. Names matter when it comes to marketing, so you want to make sure your cause and brand are extremely clear from the outset. Why not try out a few different options and do some market research to decide on the final name?

Explore Permits and Sponsors
Looking into event sponsorship now may help you to raise some funds for the big event. You may want to ask if there are any local businesses who are willing to provide products or services to improve the appeal of your event. Some sponsors may be more keen if there is a charity to donate to, so this is worth considering during the planning process too. Similarly, you may also need to look into permits for your event, which should be clear on your local government website. Looking into insurance coverage to protect your company and the participants is also extremely important.

Get the Logistics Right
There are a handful of logistical aspects you need to get right when planning an event. One thing that should never be overlooked are the toilet facilities. Restrooms are extremely important to every event and you need to ensure your guests have aspects to bathrooms. Make sure you add this expense to your budget, as it's a very important one.

Hire Employees
Hiring employees or enlisting volunteers to work for your event is also extremely important. You want to make sure that you have reliable, well-trained people who can represent your company in a professional way. There will be a number of different ways to find your perfect hires, but it's worth asking the local community for their ideas if you don't know where to begin.

Safety Considerations
When it comes to organizing an event, there are a number of health and safety concerns to consider during the planning process. Safety is obviously paramount when it comes to hosting a big event; you need to make sure you do your research before the big day. Whether you're looking into traffic safety such as cones or crowd control barricades, or you need medical assistants on hand, there are quite a few safety protocols to tick off your list. If you have a large number of participants you may need medical professionals on hand, so ask your local authority what the regulations are in your area.

Establish Your Event Website
Your event website is critically important when it comes to the potential success of your event. Your website needs to be smooth, mobile-optimized and extremely clear. By including a frequently asked questions page on your website you can also save yourself a lot of time when people have simple questions about the day. Working with a reputable web developer can ensure that your event website works seamlessly to promote your project.

Post-Event Actions
After your event is all over, you will need to consider the venue clean up and post-event actions that need to be taken. In order to maintain your reputation, it's important to leave the venue in a clean state so that there is no bad blood between you and the venue manager. You can either hire a cleaning company or ask for volunteers to help clean up after the event is all over. After the event, you may also want to ask your attendees for feedback, so that you can continue to improve for next time. Following up after an event is so important as it leaves you on a positive note with everyone who attended.

So, now is your chance to enjoy the process of organizing an upcoming event, without the stress of worrying that you have forgotten something. As you become more and more experienced, you will start to remember all of these things off the top of your head. However, there is no harm in holding onto these ideas and referring back to them whenever you need them. Organizing an event can take a whole team of people, so you should never feel alone during the process. Finding the right employees to help you and an experienced marketing team will make your life so much easier. Hopefully, all of the ideas mentioned above will give you all of the tools you need to plan and execute your upcoming event to perfection!

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