There are plenty of lengthy guides on how to start planning events, but you also need the tools and resources to do it well.
That’s why we put together this startup kit: Think of it as a toolbox for busy event planners who want to stay in control of the event planning process.
These tools are designed to make your exciting, upcoming project easy. This startup kit covers all the basics, from checklists to templates to guides full of good advice.
After supporting our event creators in selling 84 million tickets last year, at Eventbrite, we’re ready to walk you through the intricate labyrinth of event planning, offering you the tools, knowledge, and insights to thrive in your events.
Let’s set the stage for creativity, fulfillment, and outstanding events.
Get your clipboard out: essential templates and checklists
If you’re considering getting started in the event planning business, here are some essential tools to get you on your feet.
Event planning checklist
Our event planning checklist helps to keep operations running smoothly. This checklist offers detailed guidance in planning all types of events. It provides the essential steps to ensure a well-rounded and successful event planning process.
Additionally, having these items in a template ahead of time ensures you don’t miss anything in the complicated and lengthy event planning timeline. Whether you run a venue, an events company, or are planning your first event, that’s always handy.
Event strategy template
We also have an event strategy template that provides a structured approach to planning, ensuring clarity and focus. The template aids in defining your event’s purpose, target audience, and actionable goals.
This template emphasizes the importance of understanding audience diversity and tailoring marketing efforts accordingly. It also guides you in identifying the core needs of attendees and formulating a unique value proposition.
Even experienced event planners face challenges in creating effective strategies, so this template suits all experience levels.
Event budget template
Money is often a concern when you’re planning a new event. For newbies, you might not know how to calculate the event’s costs or where to prioritize your spending — especially if you need to buy equipment.
That’s why it’s helpful to have an event budget template. This template allows you to easily plan and track your expenses and consider different cost-related factors, including:
- Venue fees
- Marketing and promotion costs
- Staffing needs
- Catering and food costs
By breaking down your budget into categories, budgeting becomes more manageable. This template is handy if you’re new to event planning and need guidance in budgeting and where to spend your money.
Let everybody know: event promotion resources
Dedicated event marketing resources walk you through the process of promoting your event — because marketing is a critical component of getting the word out about your event. Here are a few that we’d recommend!
Social media ad copy templates
Social media marketing is a highly effective way to target the exact people you think would be most interested in your event. But if you haven’t put up ads on social media before, you might not know just how to word them.
That’s why we’ve compiled 51 social media ad copy templates that will fit everything from intimate birthday parties to large-scale events.
Want to automate, optimize, and make your social media marketing easier?
Event email copy templates
Reach out to potential attendees through emails. These event email copy templates prevent you from agonizing over every word before you send them!
These cover a wide range of uses, from announcing your event to giving your potential VIPs an extra push to upgrade their tickets. No matter what event email campaigns you want to send, these will come in handy.
Event promotion timeline
If you’re wondering when you should start expanding your reach through emails and social media, this event promotion timeline has everything you need to know.
You can follow the general principles outlined in the timeline to know when to start preparing your marketing materials, sending out your first trial campaigns, and ramping things up as the event date approaches.
Location, location, location: event venue resources
Another important part of event planning is finding the right venue. You want somewhere that will impress your guests, but it also needs to fit within your budget and be available on the date you need. For events like VIP Nightlife’s annual Gatsby’s Fireworks Yacht Party, the venue was one of the event’s main attractions!
Here’s how to find the perfect place for your event at the right price:
Venue pricing guide
Venues are often one of the most expensive parts of running an event, and they can dramatically change your financial planning. For example, the most expensive corporate event venues can exceed $20,000!
To help you identify the best deal, we’ve put together a guide on how much it costs to rent a venue. Your venue options might vary depending on what types of events you’re planning, but those guidelines should serve you well no matter what.
Venue logistics tips
With venues, the devil is often in the details. You might think you’ve found the perfect place, but just one minor factor could make it go from the top choice to the bottom of the pile.
Our venue logistics tips help you choose the venue that best suits your event, budget, and attendees’ location. If you don’t have much event planning experience, you might not know what to look for in a venue. That’s why these tips, born from experience dealing with plenty of event creators’ challenges, are valuable.
Arm yourself with the tools you’ll need
You might know everything you need to do to run your event, but how will you make it happen?
The answer is with the right tools. Specifically, there are three kinds of event planning software that event creators rely on to get rid of headaches and attract people to their events:
1. Registration platforms & payment processors
Even if you’re giving away free tickets to your event, you need a dedicated registration platform. This lets you track who’s coming, the number of attendees, and provides a streamlined check-in process.
If you’re charging for your event or accepting donations, a payment processor accepts various payment types easily, helping people pay in the way that’s most convenient for them and encouraging attendance.
If you aren’t sure where to start with these, Eventbrite makes registration and payment painless with its ticket-selling tool and organizer app.
2. Event search engines
If you’re hosting an event, you need to increase your chances of people finding it! That means posting on event search engines like Eventbrite, the number one platform for people looking for events.
Once you’ve created your event page, it will be listed and searchable by people looking for similar events. You can also use Eventbrite Ads to increase your chances of turning up in search results for your specific audience.
3. Event marketing tools
You might have a marketing plan, but you’ll need great event planning software to implement it. Ideally, you should look for one platform that can handle all your social media ads, email marketing, and even ads on platforms like Eventbrite.
Eventbrite’s marketing platform can do that and more, automating your marketing workflows and letting you focus on everything else involved in the event planning process. Plus, because Eventbrite can act as the other event tools you’ll need, it all integrates seamlessly into one simple platform.
Reach more people and grow your business!
4. Event planning know-how
Even with all these tools, without knowledge, they’ll be a lot less effective. There are plenty of guides, courses, and resources available to help you learn everything you need to know. Here are a few of our favorites:
- CMP Certification: Through the Certified Meeting Planner (CMP) program, you can learn key event planning skills and earn an internationally recognized certification at the same time.
- Event Academy: Event Academy has both online and in-person event planning courses available at a wide range of prices and levels of intensity.
- LinkedIn Learning Courses: Experts on LinkedIn Learning offer great courses you can take from the comfort of your home
- How to Become an Event Planner: If you’re looking to make event planning a more significant part of your life, our guide to becoming an event planner has even more tips and tools you can use.
Get started on your event planning journey
With our event planner startup kit, you’re equipped with tons of resources, templates, checklists, and invaluable advice, all designed to navigate you through the intricacies of event creation.
From budgeting to venue selection, from marketing to venue logistics, this startup kit is your companion in crafting memorable events. The next step is to get started with your event page and then release it into the world. With Eventbrite, you can create your customized event page free of charge within minutes with the help of our AI tools.
