As an event planner, you want and need to constantly stay on top of trends, and keep ideas fresh and creative in order to stand out from the crowd. Here are a few ways you can take your event planning skills up a notch to beat your event competition and look like a rockstar planner.

3. Make a Headline

   Great event planners are known for what they do in the industry. Make sure you’re using your personal brand on a daily basis – whether by being active on social media, blogging, or doing interviews for news outlets. You want to get your name out there, and into headlines. Think like a newsmaker. How can you take your events brand to the next level? Try testing the waters by submitting articles about the events you have planned along with testimonials from clients and photos. You never know who may want to interview you and turn you into a star! The more engagement you have with attendees, the better your chances are of receiving praise and fame!

   Remember to always stay professional, and know people will talk. Just like any other major brand, you’re representing yourself as a brand when planning events. You want to be known as the creative, innovative, fun, and professional planner everyone wants to work with

4. Be Inspirational

   Innovation can be a tough thing to accomplish when trying to beat your competition. Unless you’re finding ways to inspire audiences and keep them entertained, you may be falling flat in this area. You want to plan events where you’re influencing everyone from the attendees to the vendors, to even your own staff. This can be the toughest area to knock out of the park, especially with so many other planners challenging you with their fresh ideas. So, find something eye-catching and run with it.

   For example, come up with a theme that really hits home for everyone attending your event. How can you ensure they are feeling like they are all apart of this theme each day of the event? Take a leap of faith, and test fun ideas – you never know, you may hit one way outside of the park! People expect the biggest and best ideas while attending an event, so never feel afraid to test a crazy idea and receive feedback.

5. Blend Technology

   Staying on top of technology trends is a must for event planners. New tech trends are key to use in order to keep your event looking fresh and on top of the curve. What new event apps are coming out soon? How can you blend digital with physical at your events? Start looking at ways you currently use technology at events, and brainstorm on how to take this up a notch. If your registration has been manual in the past, think about going digital to create a better, more seamless experience for your attendees. There’s nothing worse than standing in a long line to speak to someone on the events staff to register, when you could have done all of this at a kiosk or online before stepping foot in the venue.

In Conclusion

Being known as an innovative event planner is key to a long-lasting career in the events industry, and to look like a rockstar against your competition. It takes a lot of hard work, time, and inspiration to think creatively and implement innovative ideas at any event. Test, test, and test again all of your ideas – even if they seem silly, you never know who may love it and share your cool idea with thousands of others!

9. Sort your Emails

   If you’re organizing several events and/or work with many different providers and clients, it might be easier to keep emails relating to the same theme together, so you can focus on one topic at a time. If you reply to your emails in chronological order, you will jump from one topic to another and lose time refocusing each time you move to a new topic. Use your email provider’s settings to label your emails automatically or send them to designated folders. You can then easily organize your day by working topic by topic, checking the relevant emails at the right time, when you are already focused on that topic.

10. Make your Search Easier

    If it is inevitable that you continue using your inbox as a search tool, at least try maximizing your chances of tracking down the specific email you need. Include relevant keywords within the subject line and body of your email and flag important messages for future reference.

11. Limit Email Time
    Countless successful people limit the amount of time they spend on emails to set times per day and shut down their inbox at all other times. Try checking your email at the start of the day, at lunch time and at the end of the day to avoid getting distracted from your priorities. If that level ofself discipline sends shivers down your spine try checking for emails just once per hour. For some the ultimate sin is to ensure that they don’t check emails first thing in the morning, or at least not before they have planned out their to do list and goals for the day ahead.
    At the very least remove the ping or notifications when an email arrives so it doesn’t distract you from whatever you are working on. Of course it is good to respond to emails promptly but replying the minute an email lands with you can look a bit needy!
12. Keyboard Shortcuts

    Whatever email provider you use learning some keyboard shortcuts can shave minutes off the time you spend on emails each day. Look up and learn by heart the most useful ones and it will become second nature in no time at all.

13. Respond Promptly

    It is easy for email messages to quickly slip down your inbox with the amount of emails most people deal with in a single day. Make sure you respond promptly or at least acknowledge an email and give a timescale for when you can deal with it as a matter of courtesy. Some email tools enable you to set a reminder to follow up on an email at a particular time or date.

14. Don’t Copy People in Unnecessarily

    Be respectful of your colleagues and think carefully before you copy someone into an email. You may think you are “keeping them in the loop” but if they have to dig through oodles of information to find something relevant to them it isn’t the best use of anyone’s time. Keep them off the email circulation and feed back directly what is important for them to know.

15. On the Go

    There are several inbox apps on the market, so don’t think you are stuck with the default app. An alternative app might suit you much better. It is worth experimenting until you find the app that suits your email style.

16. Out of Office

    If you are out of the office for more than a day or two it is generally good protocol to switch on your out of office. Not only does this work to notify others of a delay in your response but it can often stop people from chasing you up by phone or social media at those times where you are not available.

17. Don’t Email Out of Hours

    In this super connected world it can feel like you need to be available 24/7 and it is easy to fall into the habit of checking your phone after hours. Even if you are happy or feel the need to do this try to resist sending emails at ridiculous times of the night. Regularly sending emails at midnight to a client could be seen as desperate, disorganized or give the impression that it is fine to contact you at any hour! Hold off pressing send until the morning or even schedule it to send automatically at a more acceptable time so you can forget about it.

18. Email Footers

    Email footers are often underutilized but can be a really useful marketing opportunity. You should always include your key contact information in your footer (phone number/Skype ID and ideally a mobile number) and including social media contacts are also a great way to connect. Promote your forthcoming events, link to your blog, share your latest company news or whitepaper too.

In Conclusion

Email is an indisputable tool for event planners but it can sometimes be a real source of stress and panic if not managed in an efficient way. By taking some time to declutter your inbox on the one hand, and learning how to prioritize and operate your communications more efficiently on the other, you can really capitalize on this wonderful (ancient!) technology.
What are your tricks to stay on top of your emails and not get overwhelmed? We would love to hear in the comments below.

6. Have A Power Habit
   A power habit is something that takes a minute or less that you use as a milestone during your day to help train your mind and body to prepare for different things. A common morning power habit is to make your bed which signals to your brain that it can no longer go back to it until tonight and that, that portion of your day is over, which is particularly beneficial in reducing mental fatigue when getting up early.
   Creating quick habits like this can help you to spark a routine which makes you more likely to succeed and stay on track throughout the day.
7. Do Something You Enjoy
   Whether it is a passion project or simply sitting with a coffee and reading a book, spend a little time each morning doing something entirely for you that you enjoy. This can help you to reduce event planning stress and mentally prepare for the day ahead.
   You could use this time to start a new hobby or learn something new as well as ensuring you fit in some “me time” in your day which can stop resentment of your work and make you enjoy your career more!
8. Hit Your Top Priority
   Look at what your most important thing to achieve for the day is, and do something towards achieving it. Don’t try to tackle it all first thing in the morning because it will consume all of your extra time and you’ll end up just starting work at 5am which defeats the purpose of getting up early. Instead try to think about the best way to approach it or just mentally preparing yourself for the task ahead.
   You could opt to combine this activity with another such as exercise or power habits or even think about it in the shower if you would prefer to multitask but the point is to think and visualize your top priority task to give yourself some thinking time.
9. Avoid Social Media
   The death of productivity is in social media and you should avoid getting embroiled in your friends social media updates, it will still be there later. Unless you’re using social media to surf event accounts for inspiration and trends, network or benefit you in some way (as discussed in #2), avoid it at all costs before 9am as it is more likely to make you fall into the abyss.
10. Prep For The Day
    What do you want to achieve today? Ask yourself what your goals are, write a to-do list and think about today’s priorities to help give yourself meaning and focus as well as provide clear guidance on what you need to get done and how you will achieve this. It’s a great way to boost motivation but also helps to avoid procrastination during the day that stems from not having clear guidelines. It is also important to take a minute for yourself to just breathe and mentally prepare yourself for the day ahead and what you need to achieve for your own sanity more than anything else.

In Conclusion

Whether you are a growing event planner or a seasoned veteran, using your mornings to your advantage can only lead to success. Regardless of whether you like mornings or not by incorporating these tasks and steps first thing in the morning it will help keep you on track throughout the day and boost your eventprof career.

Give Attendees a Jaw-Dropping Moment

Personalization of your meeting to your attendees’ interests and needs is a great way to engage conference goers, but personalization doesn’t mean you have to give them exactly what they want and expect. A savvy meeting professional will know to create what called a “jaw-dropping moment.”
Not only do attendees enjoy these magnificent surprises, they are also well-remembered. In a study, researchers found that emotional events are remembered much better than daily occurrences. They also found emotional events trigger the birth of new neurons inside our brains. These new cells are created and activated by the experience. That’s why those jaw-dropping moments have such a lasting effect on our attendees. Staying top-of-mind is essential to retention.

Virtual Options Keep People Connected When They Can’t Attend

Meeting planners know it’s easier to attract return attendees than it is to convince someone new to attend. Returning attendees are key to any conference planner’s success. But budgets and work sometimes preclude people from going. When this happens, there’s a good chance they won’t be back.
Attendance is a pattern, and sadly, skipping can become one too. That’s why it’s important to stay connected with attendees who aren’t able to come. The Higher Education Users Group heard their members’ desire to stay involved, even when they weren’t able to attend, and so they created a virtual option and made videos available (after conference) for free for their members. They want all their members to be able to be a part of the action and education.

Vendors Want to Be Heard Too

Vendors provide the basis for a lot of what you are able to offer at annual meetings and conferences. When exhibitor numbers decrease you have to secure a lot more sponsorships or increase attendee numbers by a large percentage to make up the difference. That’s why you shouldn’t think of customization as something

just for attendees.

Many vendors attend multiple conferences and trade shows on an annual basis. Requesting their opinions on what you’re offering, and then responding to it, is essential to ensuring they feel valued and feel they are receiving a return on their investment.

In Conclusion

The art of listening to your attendees is not about reacting and changing your offerings every time someone has a complaint. It’s about understanding their needs and realizing they are your greatest source of information on engagement. Together, you and your attendees (and exhibitors) can shape the future of your meetings and conferences. And this is truly proof of a great meeting planner.

Advances in technology have made way for a new type of working within the event industry. There are more opportunities than ever to work virtually, from home, with excellent results.

Event planning has got smarter and technology has opened up possibilities to work globally and flexibly. Virtual working means that you can share your skills more widely and expand your pool of clients across the world. You can also access the skills and support you might need yourself exactly when you need it and without the time, cost and hassle of recruiting a permanent member of staff. Collaboration and business expansion opportunities can be harnessed from the comfort of your armchair to create a network of virtual employees worldwide to work with you towards a common goal.

If you have always wanted to be an eventprof that worked from home it is definitely now a possibility. This handy how-to guide can help you to become an online freelancer, to set up your profile, find work and clients, know how to set your price, stay organized and be successful. No more office, just you planning the events that you love!

So what are the opportunities for this new generation of event planners and how can you start to offer your virtual event planning services?

Combination or Percentages

This last option is more common when you have more experience and are working with reputable companies that you know are going to do well. For example, you would organize a one-off fee in the beginning to see you through the organizing stages and then you would receive a percentage of the entrance fees on the door or the amount of sponsors that come on board, depending on where your skills have been employed. Many clients like this way of paying as it gives you more of an incentive to work harder for them. Beware this is not always the most lucrative way of doing things though and it is the hardest to dispute if you feel you are underpaid at the end.

Organization as a Virtual Event Planner

Now you know what you want to do and what you want to charge for it, you need to adapt to virtual working. Working in a virtual setting has benefits of working from home (work in your PJ’s, flexibility, no commute) but it also comes with its own set of challenges (more distractions, less human interaction, odd working hours). The thing that really stands out is personal organization and productivity. Working in your own environment, especially in the fast-paced event industry can help to reduce stress (especially for introverts) but it can also easily distract you and reduce your motivation and productivity.
To combat this, staying organized is vital (probably more so than working in a traditional office environment) and you can do this in a variety of ways:

•  A personal calendar is an essential. Whether you prefer to use an online calendar or a written one you need it to keep on track.
• Just because a lot of the work is virtual also doesn’t mean that you won’t need to print things out and store them so ensure you have a filing system and special folders (don’t forget you could be taking notes too and they need to go somewhere).
• Have a desk, office or personal space dedicated to your work, when you are in that space you are working and being productive. This mentality will soon make it a habit.
• Set timings for yourself, for example a lunch break or tea break because although it might seem counterintuitive it helps to break up the day and keep you better focused to get things done.
• Finding Work and Clients

No work means no money and you can’t have that! If you are new to virtual event planning you may not know where to look but in actual fact you have probably already started without realizing it.

Social Media

Being a virtual planner means you have an entire network at your fingertips if you use it correctly. Set up your own business accounts and use social media to promote yourself and the projects and events you are involved in if you are authorized to do so. This works as a great portfolio for yourself and helps to create buzz about your services. You can also contact new followers (leads) that might be interested in your services.

• Social media tip – Don’t alienate your followers by always pushing products or services in their face, offer them value too in the form of sharing interesting content and other posts they might find interesting.

5 Top Tips for Virtual Event Planning Success

1. Engage Your Audience
   Unlike conventional event planning you can be more easily ignored when you are virtual which means you will need to bring out the bells and whistles to get things going and keep the attention of your potential clients or attendees. A great way to do this is to create a media kit for your products and services with a professional layout and great graphics to “wow” them from the start and give them a reason to connect to you.
2. Play to Your Strengths
   Always offer things that you know that you can provide really well so that you don’t make promises that you can’t keep. Be honest but always be up for a challenge, little experience doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t do it!
3. Build Experience
   Start small, don’t feel like you have to plan a sell-out festival on your first try. You could even start with children’s parties, a friends’ birthday or other family events to get a feel for what is involved.
4. Be Bubbly and Enthusiastic
   Making people want to work with you is an art form which is made harder by doing it virtually and those with happier personalities will often win through. Whether you are trying to convince a client to hire you, a collaborator to work with you or even just to increase your presence online, stay happy and bubbly because it really shows through emails, social media and meetings.
5. Don’t Forget to Take a Break
   One of the advantages and disadvantages of virtual working is that you can work at your own time and in some cases work and deadlines can take over. Event planning can be tough and stressful and the quickest way to burnout is not taking some time for yourself. As you will be working from home you should have an area that is completely work free for you to relax or avoid the stress (and temptation) of picking your work back up again!

In Conclusion

Virtual event planning can be incredibly rewarding and is easier now than ever before. By utilizing technology and social media you can successfully use your skills to plan events and sell your services. It is important to remember that while finding clients and work has become easier with online freelance websites, you will still need to be competitive and have a clear picture of what you are offering in order to compete in today’s market. With the tips for success you should now be able to get started on your new freelance career path and make it work for you.