Your Ultimate 9-Step Checklist for Successful Event Planning

Want to host an unforgettable event? Learn how to plan an event that will impress every guest with this detailed 9-step checklist!

Makena Marshall

August 22nd, 2024

Planning events can be hectic and stressful, especially if you have no guidelines to base your planning. Whether you’re organizing a morning coffee networking event or a multi-day conference, event planning can be a big undertaking! From finding a venue, to choosing guests and promoting your event, there are many tasks you should start to consider early on in the process to make the undertaking as stress-free as possible.

Planning a successful event involves several key steps, each crucial to ensuring everything runs smoothly. No two events are the same, but the planning process will overlap! Here’s a detailed guide to help you plan a successful event:

Define goals
Organize team and recruit volunteers
Establish your budget
Event conceptualization
Plan your program
Choose your software system
Create a marketing plan
Set Up Day-of-process
Follow-Up and Community Engagement

1. Define Your Goals

The first step to a great event is defining the purpose of the event. Are you raising awareness? Is your goal to educate people on an issue? Are you celebrating someone or something? Are you encouraging networking and communication between attendees?

Setting a goal will help establish the rest of the planning process, and help you define what a successful event looks like. Does a successful event mean you raised a certain amount of money? Had a certain amount of attendees? It’s important at this stage to define what success looks like, as it will be a benchmark to guide the rest of your planning.

2. Establish Your Budget

Creating a budget is an essential early step in planning your event, as it defines every other aspect of your plan. As an event planner, you will be more successful if you map out your entire budget in advance, and keep it close as you continue with the process.

After establishing your high-level budget you should begin to map out your line item costs to gain an understanding of how your budget will be dispersed across your needs. Throughout the planning process, you’ll have to revisit the budget. This is normal and will undoubtedly happen, just remember you’ll have to make cuts elsewhere to maintain the budget.

3. Organize the Team and Recruit Volunteers

Any good event has a team of organizers making sure everything runs smoothly. A team of dedicated staff members will execute task lists, invite guests, and promote the event.

Event planning roles to delegate to your team members:

Volunteer Coordinator
Publicity and communications strategists
Venue management specialist
Vendor Coordinator
Partner and sponsor liaison
Marketing and branding experts
Finance Manager

Organizing a team and delegating tasks will unload some of the hard work off your shoulders. Still, as an organizer it’s essential to ensure consistent communication and progress tracking through regular check-ins.

Depending on the size of the event, you’ll have to recruit volunteers. Volunteers are vital for certain events, but before recruiting and working with them, make sure you plan out their roles. Popular volunteer roles include: setting up and tearing down the event, ushers and coat check, parking, registration, and developers and IT workers for virtual events. Additionally, you’ll have to identify volunteer leaders who will help train the rest of the volunteer team and ensure everyone is on track with their tasks.

4. Event Conceptualization

A captivating and exciting theme or brand can set your event apart from others. The brand should highlight what makes the event special, because this will attract more people to attend.

Establishing a solid event brand includes:

Event Name: Make sure the name reflects your vision for the event.
Logo, Colours, and Typography: These should again reflect your vision and be consistent across all marketing touchpoints.
Email, Signage, and on-site decor: Most touchpoints with your event guests should express an aspect of your brand to them.

Your logo, colours and typography should be consistent across all media platforms, on your website, tickets, and your chosen event app.

5. Plan Your Program

This is the meat of your event! When is the event? Is there a main speaker or artists? What’s the schedule for the event? Will multiple workshops/talks be happening at the same time? What time will all the attendees be let in?

Depending on the type of event, you’ll also have to consider vendors, and catering. Where do you want the vendors to be? Will you be providing lunch or snacks?

6. Choose Your Software System

Technology is improving event planning and networking for both organizers and event-goers. As you plan the event, you’ll want to identify technology needs and select software that will help your event.

Registration and Ticketing:

Finding software that enables efficient registration and ticketing will help you start selling tickets quickly and make sure the purchasing experience is easy for attendees.

Mobile App:

A mobile app ensures your guests will have a great experience before and after the event. An event app should include an agenda, it should allow attendees to view other guests’ profiles and have the ability to connect with them, as well as incorporate chats, organizer announcements, manage attendance, and much more. A well-functioning and useful mobile app should be an integrated component of an event strategy and will ensure a smooth event experience for your attendees.

Common is an app that enables all these features, including a networking radar that allows you to connect with the other attendees without wavering from the conversation and pulling out your phone. Common also offers ticketing and white-labeling to add your branding to the mobile experience. Learn more about the solutions Common offers.

If your event is virtual, finding the right technology is crucial. Will you be hosting it on Zoom? Do you want to record the event? Make sure you find the technology that offers the solutions that you want.

7. Set Up A Marketing Plan

How will you attract guests to attend your event? Every successful event depends on a well-crafted marketing and promotion plan to spark interest and draw attendees. But where do you start? There are countless ways to promote your event, from social media and blogging to online advertising and even billboards. Whatever methods you choose, ensure each tactic is a thoughtful and strategic part of your overall marketing strategy.

Steps to create a Marketing Plan:

Define your target audience: Event organizers will have to consider factors like age, gender, location, interests, and professional background to understand who your ideal attendees are.
Set Marketing goals: What do you want to achieve with your marketing plan? Do you want to sell a specific number of tickets? Gain attention on social media?
Craft a unique value proposition: Clearly convey in your brand voice how your event helps attendees to achieve their goals or solve their problems more effectively than other options.
Choose the right marketing channels: Choosing the right marketing channels is crucial. Start by identifying where you already have traction and build on that to reach potential attendees. Tailor your approach to the audience and type of event by utilizing social media platforms like Instagram, Threads, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Create engaging content, use relevant hashtags, and consider targeted ads to boost visibility. If you have an existing newsletter or email list, leverage it to effectively spread the word about your event.

8. Write Down Day-Of Processes

Almost there! The final thing you need to do before the event, is write down a complete event agenda. This agenda should be your guiding light from setup to cleanup, and include every detail to make sure the day/days go as smoothly as possible.

Here’s a simple example of what this would look like:

6:00 AM – 7:00 AM: Arrival and Setup

6:00 AM: Arrive at the venue, check setup (registration desk, signage, AV equipment).
6:30 AM: Brief volunteers and staff on their roles.

7:00 AM – 8:00 AM: Registration and Welcome

7:00 AM: Open the registration desk and greet early arrivals.
7:30 AM: Ensure the keynote speaker is ready and check AV equipment.

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Opening Session

8:00 AM: Oversee the opening session and monitor the AV team.
8:45 AM: Prepare for the first breakout sessions.

9:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Morning Breakout Sessions

9:00 AM: Ensure breakout sessions start smoothly.
10:00 AM: Check on rooms and resolve any issues.
11:30 AM: Coordinate with catering for lunch.

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: Lunch and Networking

12:00 PM: Oversee lunch service and mingle with attendees.
12:45 PM: Prepare for afternoon sessions.

The agenda should span the entire event, and include every detail. This will be a big, but necessary task, if you’re event is multiple days.

9. Follow-Up and Community Engagement

Expressing gratitude with a thoughtful thank you message and highlighting a memorable aspect of the guest experience will leave a lasting impression and encourage attendees to return. If you’re seeking feedback, be sure to send out a survey or questionnaire to gather their insights.

Planning an event is no small feat—this checklist is here to simplify the process and make things easier for you!