The project: A one day full online conference with videos from top speakers about a theme, namely BarCamps in my take. As my topic is user generated conferences, what more than users themselves talking about *camps?

Let’s see:

- What is a BarCamp? A great video by BarCampOrlando explaining it.

- Who started all of this? A few know that Harrison Owen started the unconference model, calling it Open Space Technology. We interviewed him on this blog, but here’s a nice video

- There are obviously rules and Luke explain us how to make the most of the experience

Barcamp Rules from Luke Closs on Vimeo.

- BarCamps have also a community mission, Social Innovation Camp 2008 or ecoCampLondon a BarCamp about the environment and sustainability

- Orlando guys made a great commercial as well

BarCamp Promo from Jason Hawkins on Vimeo.

What has been discussed so far in Pixelated

- @Justinlevy - Productivity

- @chrisbrogan - Play

- @podcamptweets - PodCamp

- @AnnKingman - A virtual book

- @ChildrensCare - Creativity, Inspiration, Productivity and Success

Moreganize allows you to share polls, surveys and to do’s so you can make everyone attending your meeting happy.

We recently featured Gathergrid and pretty much loved the idea of being able to question your attendees to work out the best time to meet.

Moreganize pushes the concept even further introducing shared to do’s, polls and surveys.

We are all facing RSVP issues nowadays and as the calendar gets crowded we definitely want to make sure that our meeting is going to be a success.

We were impressed by the ease of registration of Moreganize, which ticks off the annoying “I have to register to another service” thingy.

Here are few examples of what you can do with the service.

- Survey
- To do List
- Opinion poll

Link to Moreganize

Photo by: luc legay

The latest posts have talked extensively on how it is increasingly important to integrate twitter in events. This post answers the whys and hows.

I was recently at ad:tech London and complained on how they did not integrate twitter during the event, although a lot of people attending the event were twitting about it. Last weekend I attended BarCampLondon5 and @cyberdees and @cianw, members of the eBay organization, showed me how to embed the service.

What is twitter?

Why you need to integrate twitter in your event?

- Creating @eventname will help you in communicating with your attendees and collect early feedback about your choices
- Using @eventname to talk about the event will help in actually promoting the event in the community and get more sponsors
- Telling people to use #eventname will help to group the talks about your event under one tag. Hashtag as well as @eventtrack aggregate events by #eventname. It will be then easy to track discussion, feedback and user experience.
- Live twitting, the ability to see on one screen the live twits during an event, helps twitterers to recognize themselves and network more efficiently.

How do you integrate twitter in your event?

- Use a large monitor connected to a computer
- Download Adobe AIr and TwitterCamp
- Make sure that the screen can be read easily by attendees

This is how they did it at BarCampLondon5

Comments and suggestions

Have you used twitter at your event? Then please share your experience.

Mark just got me in the world of Mikons, a great way to communicate, but most of all a tremendous networking ice-breaker.

When you are networking reaching out to people at events it is always difficult to skim your targets. Most of us do that with appearances but possibly there is no worst method. There is a clear need to identify who is in front of you, at least in a simple way. If I am vegetarian, I want no meat lovers in my network, at least not for the night. Event professionals can definitely help in making things easier.

Introducing Mikons

“It’s an idea in the form of a picture” they say at their website. Nice. I want to know more.

How can you use Mikons to tell your story?

- Create or use a Mikon for your club
- Create or use a Mikon for your clan or guild
- your hobbies: biking, scrapbooking, book clubs, drinking, chess, reading, movies
- your beliefs: religion, political affiliation, gender identification,
- an experience or aspect of your personal story,cancer survivor, entrepreneur,
- a concept you want to share
- your preferences: paper or plastic? coffee or tea? vinyl or digital?

How can I use Mikons in my event?

During event registration, attendees get a custom sheet of iconic stickers that relate to the theme of the event and their personality traits. Event planners can create custom sheets for any type of event and personality traits or professional skills they wish to expose between attendees.

Planning my next networking event it’s definitely easier.

Link to MikonMixers

Photo by: blogefl

You probably heard of Web 2.0

Just to give you an idea, think of a static html page in 1999, well that is Web 1.0. No Interactivity, no community, no sharing.

Think about blogs. This is Web 2.0. A whole new lot of possibilities. Interaction, groups, communities. You can now upload instead of constantly download content, videos and opinions.

Why should you care about this?

If you feel that your target audience have somehow been exposed to a computer lately, they likely witnessed this shift and changed perception accordingly.

The problem with this is that expectations are now harder to meet. If you are loosing on revenues, attendees and sponsors, the above may be the underlying reason.

Let’s troubleshoot your event:

- You have a web page but not a blog

As said above a web page in itself is static not interactive and most of all not personal.

Hey you, I am talking to you. Do you agree with this?

You cannot adopt this tone in a web page, but you definitely have a chance in a blog. If your event has no blog just forget about it. Give your audience the ability to reply, share your content and interact, or should we assume you don’t have compelling content at all?

How to start blogging

- You don’t have a Twitter account for the event

Twitter has changed the event scenario dramatically. 90% of the events I go to, I discovered on Twitter. My peeps know what I like and suggest me great events to go to.

Referrals is more powerful than any other Markom. Events on Twitter are marked by the #. Get yourself a twitter account with your event name. Add people who may be interested through the powerful search tool. I did it for Linked in London.

You also have to expect that the people at the event will tweet during the event. Are you addressing those people?

Twitter in plain English

- You are not webcasting.

If I cannot attend in person I actually want a chance to do it online. You can do it at no cost with an Internet connection, or you can choose fancier solutions. Have you set up a special pricing for those not attending in person?

That could mean more revenues at no extra cost.

- You did not create a community beforehand

I don’t know about you, but I found out that most people attend events to network. They don’t care about how interesting your content is, what great buffet you put together, how comfortable the chairs were.

Who is coming? - is the question you will be facing. Technology gives you the ability to easily create groups, forums, communities either in your website or outside such as on Facebook or Linkedin.

What these great tools do is to actually answer to the above question in a way that maximizes satisfaction.

How to create a forum

- You are having an impact on the environment.

Technology gives you the opportunity to minimize your carbon footprint. I expect that in events. If you don’t recycle, don’t offer carpooling, do not suggest offsetting the trip to the event, I’ll note that down and be extremely unhappy with that.

Great tips here.

I talked in the past about trying to find an open source, free and complete alternative to expensive EM software.  Well Amiando it’s the closest solution to that. They have released a new version of the already great platform. I must admit it kicks asses, to use an allegoric phrase.

Don’t get me wrong, I still think an open source solution would be great but these guys did exceptionally well.

Who should use Amiando?

Mostly those working with events up to 400 people, both professional and not. If you don’t want to bother yourself with messy accounting and looking for a straightforward solution, it does not get any better than this, should you organize a party, a meeting or a conference.

Flexibility

They created a module system in which you add the modules you need. That answers to one of the most painful issues with events. Every event needs different organizational tools. The platform is flexible enough to accommodate very different needs.

Ticketing

They started with the ticketing service and then expanded on that. They addressed the major issue with Paypal. A lot of organizers had troubles with using Paypal for ticketing. They keep Paypal as an option, but they developed their internal payment system in which they take care about everything, invoicing and International VAT charges included. Wow.

Web 2.0 and Social integration

Finally I don’t have the feeling of being in 1997 while looking at an online platform. These guys nailed the concept of integration with Social Media and Networks. You can actually add Youtube videos or Flickr photos. If you use Facebook you are pretty much used to that but in our field we are talking big news! You are actually able to share information on major social networking websites, get buttons to promote your event as well as

Support

There is a free of charge number to avoid mess ups.

Directions

Very easy just add the address of the location and a Google map.

Amiando Website

I could write a very long post about Twitter but Ally summed it up very well and talked about ways you can use Twitter in your event.

I know for a fact you read blogs about events. Maybe you want to follow what people working in events share or think about events management. Twellow is a directory of Twitter users which categorizes them according to their interests.

We finally have an Event Management category and it’s a great way to see what other event peers are up to.

This is my Twitter account and I’ll be very happy if you start following me!

Guy Kawasaki, popular blogger and entrepreneur, recently started Alltop a directory with the best blogs per subject. They just added the event planning section, featuring the blog you are reading.

From the Q&A on their website:

Q. How do the Alltop sites work?

A. We import the stories of the top news websites and blogs for any given topic and display the headlines of the five most recent stories (except Moms.alltop which has fewer headlines because there are so many feeds). When you place the cursor over a headline, we display part of the story so that you can decide if you’d like to read it. To read the story, click on its title. To go to the home page of the site, click on its domain name.

It’s a great collection of Event Planning blogs and I invite you to have a look.

If you feel you want to see the Event Manager Blog on top of the others just email them and let them know.

If you missed this chance, try answering the next question.

Here is the question:

What are the top 5 ways to promote an event? Social media, traditional media, networking. What techniques have proven to be the most effective according to your experience?

The best answer (the first you’ll see below) was selected, as always, according to my own preference. You can use comments to vote yours.

I must say that choosing the top answer has never been so difficult. I really loved those talking about word of mouth as well as targeting and scroll down for the FedEx secret which I really enjoyed.

- Kerry Gleason - President, Gleason Public Relations says:

The best promotional vehicles for an event will vary based on the type of event and your budget. Gleason PR has a track record of creating successful events, and turning around annual events that seem to have lost their appeal. Here are some “Guerilla marketing” tactics that work:

1. First thing - Develop a good website that will give people the basic info they need. Incorporate the 5 Ws and an H : who, what, where, when, why and how. Include ticket prices and where to get tickets, if applicable. Better yet, work in a link through your online store or via PayPal where people may purchase the tickets online. You will want to direct people to this website in everything you do. Develop the website at least a month before the event, and be sure to submit the URL to all the search engines you can, and Google at the very least.

Use social media (MySpace, Facebook and others) to direct people to the website. We had tremendous luck using MySpace in this manner, especially with college-age groups and teens.

2. Public Relations — Write two documents: 1. a Media Advisory, that contains the 5 Ws and an H; 2. A Press Release, that provides additional details about the event, with focus on the benefits people will gain from attending. Submit the Media Advisory at least 3-4 weeks in advance to:

Calendar of Events Listings (Newspaper, TV and Radio)
News Assignment Editors (TV)
Department Editors (daily and weekly newspapers)
Specialized magazines

Follow that up with the full release. Submit that to:

Producers of top Morning Radio Shows
Producers for local morning TV interview shows, Community Affairs programs, specialized target media
Post it on a News Distribution website (e.g. Business Wire, PR Newswire or NY Newswire)
Any media you can

3. Use the Venue, Vendors and Sponsors. Last year, we introduced Pizza All-Stars (TM) to raise money for the ALS Association, and the venue that hosted our event had dozens of other events in the month leading up to the event. We posted flyers next to the doors for every restroom in the place and promoted our new event to people who were used to coming to that venue. Send flyers to vendors and sponsors, so they can inform their employees and colleagues.

4. Strategic Media buys. Dollar-off admission coupons are very effective in print. Radio is often segmented demographically, and you can find the radio station that reaches your target and blast some ads. Don’t spend a lot of money on radio that hits more than a week out, unless it’s a large venue and a chance of selling out. Radio builds impulse and word-of-mouth attendance.

5. Third-Party Endorsement. If you can get support from a media sponsor, or bring in a celebrity or expert who will tell people “Come on out and see us there,” it works! In the case of Pizza All-Stars, we were written up in a national trade publication, which inspired a lot of interest among the pizza makers. The magazine became a sponsor.
Links:

- Jason Doiron - CFRT Radio coordinator at Association des francophones du Nunavut says:

In my situation, a small community in Northern Canada, promoting an event can be done many ways. Here are some of them that find most effective in small communities or small groups within a city or town:

-Word of mouth : The best way to promote an event is to, well, promote it. Talk about it to others. Give out information, a pamphlet. Your approach will depend on who you want to reach.

-Social networking: Facebook, myspace, Youtube.com and other websites of the sort tend to reach the most people that know you right from the start. Your facebook friend will read more of your message than that of a stranger, right? Right.

-Multiplatform promotion: If you’re into media buying (and this for bigger events), you might want to prepare a multiplatform promotional tactic. Using radio, print, Internet, and posters on the wall will cost more than social networking, but might reach a more localized audience.

-Spokesperson: a spokesperson might revitalize the image of your event. Maybe a local celebrity might want to endorse your event. Who you choose depends on the type and importance of your event.

-Post-event promotion: If your event is a yearly thing, and you want people to talk about your event, even after the happening, invite a few journalists who might find it pertinent to write about it in the press. Local journalists might me more inclined to come if it is a community event, while national journalists might be more inclined to come if the event has a more global cause or goal.

There’s my two cents worth. Hope it helps!

- Ali Syme - Consultant at SB-Bioplastics says:

Paper cups! Printed cups are brilliant. An all day event for example, that’s a lot of drinks required, a lot of people standing and talking holding cups - photographers taking pictures, visible prints etc. I was at an event where they had a floor plan printed on the cup.

- Arne Hulstein - Consultant, entrepreneur and professional dreamer says:

I guess it is all up to the event you want to market. If it is local, then other techniques would suit it better than an international event. My first suggestion then would be to find out your target audience and find out what are their favorite hangouts both on and offline.

Regardless of the type, size and character of the event, there is one way that always beats any other. Enthusiastic word of mouth is the best way to pull people to your event. If people are suggested to go somewhere because their friends say it is ‘fantastic’, you stand a much better chance they would actually go than when you say it.

- Gabriele Lelli - Ufficio Acquisti - Centro Ceramico Bologna says:

I think it’s related to your target and his communication habits…

If it’s a local event and oriented to the public, some advertising (newspapers or radio) can help.
If you want high profile participation, a direct contact (as soon as possible) is preferable.
If you target is heavy Internet user, you should use a (dedicated) website, emails, blogs, facebook,…

Then, you can use your usual media in a smarter way: change frequently the key sentences in your email signature and instant messaging slogan, use web 2.0 sites (create content for flickr, youtube, upcoming,… and use standard tags to gain visibility and create a little “brand” for the event).

Try to find some enthusiasts to help you to promote your event. Word-of-mouth is yet the best way to promote something!

If it is suitable, participate directly to barcamps with presentation to promote your event. But be careful to give real content and not only advertising: the barcamp participants are upsets with “empty messages”.

- Brent Alexander - Director of New Business Development says:

1. Radio…Radio has shown amazing results lately, even with the satellite radio.

2. Web Advertising: Banner ads, trackable ads, rolling ads based of data segmentation

3. Personalized email campaign tied to 1:1 Direct Mail Campaign
-tracking the results of your web traffic. Not just the volume, but who is your traffic

4. Creative direct mail: personalized, packaging, offer/incentive, secondary domain tied to individual name or code

5. Follow-up: email, direct mail, radio and save the date

I know this is very basic, but this plan works and can be altered based off testing different methods. Tracking key data is the key to your success. Relevant content leads to results!

- Paula Bardell-Hedley - Director of Research & Marketing, LDS Tourism Services Ltd. says:

Without a doubt, printed literature positioned in the right place to catch the eye of potential clients/visitors is still one of the most successful (and cost effective) ways to market an event. Should the funds for your promotional campaign be very limited, then this method alone will usually suffice.

So, my top five would be:

1. Leaflet/flyer distribution & display campaign.
2. Announcements on local radio.
3. Adverts in publications aimed at your audience.
4. Regular plugging on suitable forums, business networks etc.
5. TV/cinema adverts - if you have a super-large budget!

- Suzanne Levison - Owner, SLS Creative and Staffing and Recruiting Consultant says:

My first question to you would be: What type of event? A well thought out campaign to deliver the most would depend upon your audience.

- Maria Galati Smith - Publicist & Media Consultant says:

There are a lot of ways to promote an event but the first question to ask is: who is your audience? Twenty-somethings? Use facebook or twitter. Families? Directly contact moms groups in your area. Business men/women? Include a free lunch and send information to HR contacts. The idea is to create “buzz” that hits your main audience. Of course though, the best way to create that buzz is to make the event interesting to local journalists. They, in turn, will make it seem interesting to their viewers/readers.

- Jeff Gunderman - Vice President of Sales at Plum Benefits says:

This is an interesting question. I have been in the event marketing business for a couple years now and my company focuses on working with ticketed entertainment events to help them sell tickets (or as our tag line says: put butts in seats). As such, I work with 100+ events every month who struggle with this exact issue. The types of events we work with are major ticketed entertainment events like Sports, Concerts, Theater and Attractions. Rather than speak about specific mediums of promotion or specific tactics because I don’t know exactly what type of events you are talking about, let me start with how the company I work for (Plum Benefits) approaches event marketing…

1. We believe firmly in “word of mouth” marketing. We call it the water cooler effect. If an influential person at a company or in a group likes something, they will tell their friends. So, we create ways to influence the influencer. Our model is to reach employees while they are at work with special offers for entertainment events looking to move distressed inventory or special VIP packages. As one of our influencer strategies we work with events to host a group of our most influential customers and treat them to the event for free during the early stages of the event and an off night where the tickets would have gone dead anyway. By turning what would have been a lost opportunity (a seat that would not sell) into a marketing tool, we influence many influencers who then share their experience with employees at their corporation or group, thereby generating word of mouth publicity.

2. We believe in creating cost-effective ways to reach end users to influence the purchase. To do this, we simply go on-site to organizations and companies and create a fun afternoon focused on the events we promote. We raffle off tickets to the events to generate awareness amongst hundreds or thousands of potential consumers.

3. When we speak about the event to potential buyers, we speak about the experience they will have as opposed to standard marketing speak. We typically have to fully re-write copy given to us from the event because we want it to speak to the consumer in a way that helps them understand the experience. We also customize the copy to speak to the target audience. For instance, if we are representing a major Broadway show and the copy we are given really promotes a Broadway star who is not in the mainstream media, we may focus more attention on the storyline if the audience is not theater savvy.

You MUST remember that interest and attendance is really driven by demand. You MUST be realistic about the mass appeal and focus promotional activity on the target audience. Don’t get caught up with thinking the event is “great” and then not understanding why no-one is coming to it.

4. Another really good approach if it is an event that is going on over many weeks or more or one that will be annual is to survey the audience and understand clearly what people like and what they don’t. Have a goal to really understand the demographics and psycho graphics of the people who respond positively and negatively so you can constantly tweak marketing to focus on the people who are most likely to attend. Most events have a budget and large or small, a focused approach using data and analysis will help maximize the marketing dollars spent.

The above is mostly for longer running events, but there are ways to adapt the above to a one-day or shorter type of event. To do that, you need to generate word-of-mouth marketing around the anticipation of the event or the “buzz” of the event. This is a tougher because you are relying on the event topic or presenter to carry the event. Spend the time really creating the value proposition(s).

- Michael Harris - President / Owner, Ardynn Media says:

For me the # 1 way to promote an event also tends to be on the pricey side but has worked extremely well for me.

I take a narrowly targeted invitee list and overnight the invitation via FEDEX with CONFIDENTIAL stamped on the outside.

People assume that because it is an overnight package that it MUST be important and tend to open right away. I then tend to freak them out a little by having each delivery recipt emailed to me so I can call them as soon as I have been notified of the delivery. As long as you are not experienceing any delays in your email service you can be pretty confident that it shocks the invitee that as they are reading your invitation you just happen to call to verify reciept. If nothing else it is a terrific ice breaker and gains you a little more respect in the invitees eyes for being that creative. Now what else can you do for them? I have actually been ablke to close the deal before the event ever took place.

- Phyllis Shelton - Public Relations & Event Management Consultant says:

1. Hand out fliers at your place of business, with customer orders, or networking events
2. Announcement can be made first with a press release to publications that reach your target market.
3. Word of Mouth
4. Call local radio stations and ask them to do a live remote from your event.
5. List your event on cable TV station’s and local community calendars.
6. Event Listings on Websites
7. Posters
8. Mall Exhibits & Ticket Giveaways
9. Fliers in Chambers Newsletters
10. Target Specific Groups

- Sulabh Singal - Management Consultant at Accenture says:

Rather than a text book approach, I’d choose to cite some examples to make the point.

1. Launch of a TV Serial in India : Although, this is not really event promotion, I’d still use the example for the same could be usefully employed for effective marketing. The marketing of the launch of the program (Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin - means The one and Only - Jassi) was done through various regular media including Electronic Media, Outdoor Advertising etc but the most unoque aspect of their marketing strategy was to use word of mouth like never before. They hired common people and asked them to travel in public transport all day. They would start talking about the program amongst themselves but loud enough for people around them to hear. This created enough interest in the telecast that other high profile launches including ones featuring top film stars ( a program called Karisma) could not cope with the ‘marketing’ blitz of this launch.
2. Reliance IPO: Reliance is one of the lagest business houses in India and has interests in varied industries. For the launch of the IPO (Initial Public Offering) for Reliance Power - a power generation company, the marketers very effectively used a network of “Dabbawallas” (a large network in Mumbai who deliver lunch boxes across the city in various corporate offices). The IPO Forms were delivered to lakhs of executives in the city in time for them to subscribe to the IPO. I must inform you that the largest IPO in the history of India (approx 3 Billion USD), was over subscribed by 14 times!!
3. Movie Release: A movie (”Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina”), starring not so popular filmstars was to be released. Media advertising for the movie was getting lost in the clutter amongst bigger movies. The productiion house used an innovative way to induce interest in the movie. They created an MMS clip of an intimate scene in the movie and put it in the market. This method of ‘viral marketing’ costlittle and did manage to make it to the mobile phones and discussion tables of many!! The amount of interest generated in the movie was phenomenal. The movie was not a superhit by any stretch eventually; however the awareness about the movie saw a huge jump across movie-goers and others alike.

I am afraid I have mentioned only Indian examples but I guess the point of effective event marketing could very well be brought out through these factual events. The same, I am sure are quite re-usable to the arena of Event Marketig as well.

- Amy Vercruysse - Owner, Combo Platter says:

There is no pat answer here, it completely depends on the event and what kind of audience is being targeted. For an existing event that generates great attendance, then word of mouth works great; so does inviting VIPs in the industry to attend, and if possible participate (as a guest speaker, emcee, interviewee, etc.). The latter is also a pretty good idea for an event that is still trying to find it’s legs.

Beyond that, spend as much as possible on a marketing MIX that targets your ideal audience. That might mean custom ringtones, text messaging and viral video (for those under the age of 30 or so), or it might mean direct mail and print ads (for 40+), a TV campaign, a retail POS/sweeps promo, or it might be all of those and then some.

Just as with events, marketing and promotion does not come in a one-size-fits-all so the best campaigns are created on a case by case basis that creates a perfect match between the event and the target attendee demo.

- Robert L. Flott - President & CEO/Principal, Flottsom Communications Inc. says:

The best idea is to try more than one approach.

For four years, I helped promote a local Blues festival. We created posters. We did morning, midday and evening news programs. We contributed many press releases that were published throughout the year. We got ourselves on festival websites (including our own) across the nation.

We took advantage of the five colleges in the area, and made certain that those media sources were tapped as well. We generated buzz

We also incorporated many outside groups–we asked a local fraternity to clean up; a church group monitored the doors; we offered free admission to anyone with a military ID. We generated word of mouth.

The ideas worked. The festival continues to grow, with 10,000-15,000 people attending each year. IT has become one of the biggest events of the year in our little corner of the world.

I really think the secret it that we did not place our faith in any one method, since people today glean information from many different sources.

- Julie Gengo - Independent Marketing Guru says:

Their are many ways to go about promoting an event and as most of these contributors have expressed, it comes down to the event at hand.

My first and most important bit of advice is to do everything you can to get people involved prior to the event and during the event that are connected to your key demographic. People love to help and they love to participate especially if there is some sort of recognition or value in the experience for them such as a backstage pass or a chance to mingle or be featured with the VIP’s in some sort of Web 2.0 outlet.

Get advice from someone who has run a successful event that is very similar to yours. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice. No matter who you are experience is the best teacher so get it from someone who has already experienced it.

Prospective attendees, if this is a high-end event, feel special when they are contacted in a personal way. With all the technology out there, the human touch is quite valuable.

Don’t forget to be funny. People love to laugh. Stay light and airy in whatever avenue you choose to promote your event.

Here is one specific idea that has proven successful for many types of events:

If you are marketing to anything that deals with family or children, you may want to contact the local elementary schools and get flyers into their take-home packets. Most schools will for a small fee or none at all if you are dealing with some type of non-profit that is connected to your event will include a flyer that goes directly to the parents and provides the information. Go directly to the district office as they are the decision makers in most cases.

- YYRenee Liu S - Telecommunications Professional says:

a popular one here: word of mouth….

others range from media, various campaigns, news, infomercial, …etc.

- Kim Brame - Executive Producer- creative illusions Productions/ DoYouStream multimedia/VOD South says:

You need to note that there is a common thread here..Promotion depends on the audience and the type of event..some types of promotion just don’t work for certain types of events.
A charity ball and a street festival for the same charity can have a totally different target audience.
I produce content FOR event planners. We shoot video pre-event for ticket sales/public relations, at the event for public relations and we also use the event video to start promoting next years event on line and in the broadcast media about 3-4 months prior to the event.
But the main methods that I have seen successful planers use include;
1. Direct marketing
2. Press release to publications that reach your target
3. Online Media-videos and flash submitted to local sites that are directed to your target audience this is including banner ads, getting mentions or even ads on blogs directed at your target audience.
4. Social and Face to Face networking
5. Listing in local community calendars and websites
6. Posters that match all direct mail on online media
7. Radio promos including tying in with local station remotes that appeal to your target audience this will also work for PODCAST.

- Tricia Woods - Regional Sales Manager at Promotional Products Firm UCC Midwest says:

If you know your target audience, I would recommend sending a “bulky mail” piece to invite them to the event. You could do a direct mail piece with some type of imprinted product inside. You can do a product that has two parts to it and send one part with the invitation and the second part they get at the event. You have to use packaging that invokes a response.

Talk to a good promotional product professional.

- Ed Hernandez, MBA - Land Acquisitions Broker, Bay East Realty says:

To effective market an event, one must create a thought-out marketing plan that includes these marketing tools:
1) E-mail Marketing to market base and partner organizations (ie. Constant Contact) while provide payment options for paid events through Acteva.com
2) Face-to-Face Promotional Partner Events
3) Targeted Hard Mailers
4) Your LinkedIn Network
5) Luck!

- Stuart Aizenberg - Highly Experienced Exhibition/Events Marketing, Operations and Sales Professiona says:

My top 5 not necessarily in order of preference and a combination works best:

Website and email notification works great for your “choir”, those folks most receptive to your message.

Direct mail is still very necessary in many instances to build awareness beyond your choir, especially to new markets.

Word of mouth is golden. You can’t beat folks talking about your event and how wonderful it is.

If you’re event is B to C rather than B to B, then an advertising campaign is likely necessary. Especiallly if it’s the masses you’re trying to reach.

I love sponsorships. Getting other folks, companies, organizations, etc to put out the word for you is a wonderful way to expand reach and frequency at minimal or even no cost.

Well that’s 5 so I guess I’m done!

- Michael Miller - Director of Sales & Marketing at Tiki’s Grill & Bar / Holokai Grill says:

People want to be invited to events! So invite them!

1. Get signs or banners up at the venue space.
2. Send press release to publications, radio, web, TV that reach your target market.
3. Print up invite cards, or tickets. A hard copy on paper works the best.
Email invites can supplement your efforts. Use the words “You are invited” or “VIP Invite”
4. Event listings on networking sites and event sites.
5. Get other partner groups and product to sponsor the event!

- Sanjay Verma - Owner, One To One Marketing Consultants says:

Hey, i think the top 05 ways to promote your event are as follows:
1) Agenda/Concept (Has to be very Strong & unique)
2) Continues hammering to the audiance looking for (forget print media the value of the same is just one day)
3) reach out to the target audiance in less time and make them aware that there is something like this happening.
4) eDM (electronic direct mailer would reach fast)
5) Speaker or promoters has to be serious one.
There are other ways as well like doing few Below the line and through the line Marcom activities, since if people can see it they would believe it.

- Ja War - Owner, Music Industry Connection says:

It has been my experience that proven techniques continue to change as more people become comfortable with using new and emerging technologies. Additionally, your target market and region will dictate what are the best ways to promote and event.

With that being said here are my findings.

Networking has always been most effective, however I must admit that I’m speaking about music industry related events and the music business is a close knit community of people. Often when people participate in a music business event it is because of networking. For instance, in other industries one may attend a trade expo, because it seems as though it will be good for business, however in the music industry one would attend a music conference, because several people have said it is the place to be to drum up new business.

Social media may be the next best way to promote an event given that your event is being held in a relatively large city and to a younger audience or tech savvy persons.

Traditional media such as television and radio often work to legitimize and event and to give that last major push, given that grassroots marketing and promotions have been done.

This is a collective effort of the Linkedin community to help you in setting up your own event management business. We have a 1200+ Event Planning & Management Group there which I invite you to join. The community has so far answered on what makes an event outstanding and on the top 5 qualities of the successful event manager, I invite you to have a look.

You may want to participate and answer to the next question here.

Here is the question:

The top 5 things I need to consider before running my own event management agency? A lot of readers want to know how to run their own business. In times of recession this need is even stronger. What are the top 5 things one should consider?

Useless to say how relevant is for you to look through all the great answers provided.

The best answer (the first you’ll see below) was selected, as always, according to my own preference. You can use comments to vote yours.

- Kevin R. Johnston - CEO, Advantage Event Group says:

Having done this twice, I have learned that there are many more than five, many of which have been eloquently stated previously. But, in an effort to share experiences, here are my top five:

1) Toughen up! - rejection is a given. Not all prospects will say yes, clients will not live up to expectations and most of the time…it’s not personal. But other times it is. get over it! Move on.

2) NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK. My best clients have come from being introduced by a friend, business associate or peer at an event or small gathering. If you like to fly a desk, don’t get into this business. Selling your talents is your primary business, logistics, planning and the remaining skills are secondary.

3) Plan your work and work your plan. You need a good business plan. $99 will get you the software you need to start building the foundation of your business. The plan will not create wealth or make you a success. it will make you focus on issues that you won’t focus on without it. This is not a weekend project. It may be months, then take that plan to someone that can pick it apart and tell you where you need to go back, and re-adjust. When you can go to a potential investor and they ask tough questions and you have sound answers, you are on the right track.

4) Be honest with yourself and your clients. I recently interviewed a freelance event specialist with many years of experience. I asked her what she dis. She started running a list from site selection to information management. I sat back and smiled, the said, ” Ok, now…what is the one thing you do better than al the others?” She didn’t hesitate, she said, registration and information…I”I am the best!” If you say you can do it all, you’ll be one of the rest. Anyone can be a Jack/Jill of all trades. It takes confidence to say, ‘This is what I/We do best.” Don’t be afraid to engage others that have supporting talents as needed, but choose them wisely and very strategically. I spend much time looking for talent. It’s all we have to sell.

5) Be Passionate! You have to LOVE THIS BUSINESS. No, really. LOVE, like a teenager at a HS Prom. You have to yearn for the thrill of a great event. You have to tear up when an event is over, you have to smile when you talk about your work, you have to want to do this more than another job that will pay twice as much. Money can’t buy happiness. If you are miserable making $50k, you be as unhappy making $150. After 9/11 i closed my first business. I sold the building I had, gave away the desks, loaded the computer equipment/phone systems and other non-essentials into a storage unit and sold mortgages. I still kept a couple of clients (just couldn’t cut the cord), but thought the money would be cure. I was so wrong, and it took one night on the couch with the remote in my hand watching the first season of the Apprentice to realize that I had NO passion for my new career. DT - “If you don’t have passion, get out…you’ll fail eventually!” he was right. And failure can be measured in many ways. Not just monetarily.

There are more, but you may already be asleep. In closing, I still keep in touch with a mentor/boss I had in the early 80’s. He was a bit quirky, but it wasn’t until I was older that I really appreciated his wisdom. Last week I received a CD from him. Three audio tracks narrated by Earl Nightengale entitled - The Common Denominators of Success. Less than 8 minutes of very scratchy audio. The bottom line message - ‘Successful people form the habits that failures never do.”

- Liz Franklin - Owner, LizOnBiz since 1979 says:

1. What is my market? Who are they, what do they want vs. what do they need, what do they NOT want, where are they, how do they spend, what publications do they read, where do they hang out, what are their pet peeves, what have they seen and heard too much of? What exhausts them, what turns them off?

2. What do I have that they want/can’t live without? Products? Services? How do I know they want it? How many want it? How long will they want it (how long can I make income from this?) Will this product/service be the first one cut from the budget in tough economic times?

3. How can I position my products and/or services so they are irresistible to my select group of buyers? Why are my products/servcies better than my competition’s, given all of the above (have I researched the competition?) What is unique about what I’m offering? Have I tested it to make sure people actually buy it?

4. What is my “hook?” What is my theme? Colors, logo, brand, etc. must all be based on answers to all of the above, not divert from them.

5. How will I get the message to the buyers without breaking the bank? What clever, cheap, or free ways do I know to get PR that’s effective? How will I test my message/advertising and hone it? How will my website carry my message forward?

Recommended reading: “The Irresistible Offer” by Mark Joyner

- Harry Hallman - Principal at Octane Interactive, LLC says:

Well, first, it helps to have a lot of experience. And you should have a client or 2 lined up. If it starts to grow, be sure you have the fortitude to work very long hours, deal with very nervous clients and creative employees.

The event business is one of the hardest business in the creative/marketing area, so be prepared. On the plus side it is a business that provides you with instant highs as the audience reacts to the event you created. I sent 25 years in the event biz and I miss that instant gratification that comes when people clap or yell approval of something you did.

That rarely happens in the marketing or interactive biz (my current work) since most of time these are projects that go on over time and there is no explosive end, like in an event

- R. Scott Frothingham - Partner at Key Search Marketing says:

Here are a couple to add to the mix:

1. do I mind working weekends?
2. do I mind working evenings?

- Mike Calimbas - Director of Human Resources & Training says:

Certainly not original but here is some good advice….

1. When you make a mistake of adding the date to the right side of the accounting statement, you must add it to the left side too.

2. A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.

3. If you break 100, watch your golf. If you break 80, watch your business.

4. A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.

5. By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day.

6. My son is now an “entrepreneur.” That’s what you’re called when you don’t have a job.

7. What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising? Unethical advertising uses falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public.

8.A budget tells us what we can’t afford, but it doesn’t keep us from buying it.

9. In modern business it is not the crook who is to be feared most, it is the honest man who doesn’t know what he is doing.

10. Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility.

- Kim Novick - Experience Marketing Consultant says:

1]. Clearly articulate your foundation story + brand positioning: the unique value proposition that differentiates you from the competition; what the client gets; why you.

2]. Events come in many shapes and sizes from social [banquets, parties, galas, networking, etc.], to business [meetings, product launches, trade shows, etc.], to entertainment, sports, education, webinars and much more. Each requires a specific skill set and level of tolerance when it comes to execution. Make sure you have a firm grasp of your capabilities and where they stack up to industry standards [sic].

3]. Events are not stand-alone media tactics, but rather pieces of an overall marketing strategy [unless they are of course purely social, like a wedding, bar mitzvah, etc.]. Be clear if you will be an individual contributor [such as a caterer, decorator, entertainment provider, transportation coordinator, etc.], if you will act as a general contractor responsible for everything soup to nuts, or somewhere in between. Identify your core strengths; do a thorough audit of your firm’s intellectual capital assets. Identify partners you can rely on to compliment your offering.

4]. Create a profile of your target customer and vet it to ensure it is aligned with your value proposition and offering. Identify who will pay you the most for what you do and how you do it.

5]. Do a pro-forma projection to analyze your cash-flow needs. Structure payment terms accordingly to fit your situation.

- Brian Meyer - President at Meeting Expectations says:

I’ve seen a lot of great insight so far. Some of this may be repetitive, but here goes:

1) Is this something that you are passionate about and that you truly enjoy? Starting a small business takes a lot of time, energy, and effort and it’s important, regardless of the endeavor, that you spend your time on something you enjoy.

2) Do you have a sound business plan that includes a mission, marketing, finance/accounting, execution, technology and operations? The event field is very broad. Is there a specific segment of event management field that you would specialize in? One of the many keys to success for a small business is to find ways to differentiate yourself from potentially larger and more established organizations. Your unique experience, positioned correctly, can be a key selling point.

3) Is you business properly funded? There is a reason a high percentage of new businesses fail. In many cases, not enough capital was available to see the business through to success.

4) Get a mentor who is willing to give you advice as your business grows. Don’t pretend to know everything.

5) Make your customers feel special. Provide them with an experience that they simply cannot get anywhere else. (and if there was a #6, I’d say to have fun and enjoy yourself!)

- Suzanne Levison - Owner, SLS Creative and Staffing and Recruiting Consultant says:

Julius, the answers so far are right on, in my opinion. Just know you must do everything yourself. From sales/marketing to sweeping the floor. Mistakes, you have to just take in stride and not give up.

- Bill Hartnett - Creating Memorable, Results-Driven Events says:

Here are the top 5 things I wish I had considered before starting our event management business.

1) Who is my Target Ideal Client. I wish I had defined this much earlier than I did. It would have helped me focus my marketing and sales efforts directly at that target, and I would have been able to profile what personality types I needed to hire as associates in my business.

2) Dedicate myself to diversifying my client base. Like many of my colleagues who started small, we had one gigantic client who consumed much of my time. I wish I had started hunting another “whale” client much sooner than I did. We had many clients early on, but they were dwarfed by one. We are now much more balanced.

3) Build a deep and broad network of trusted suppliers. Deep by having several in each the categories of services you need to service your clients and broad in that you can cover far reaching areas from coast to coast with people you trust.

4) Have a very good accountant and attorney who you trust with your most valued possessions. If your going after corporate publicly held companies as clients, procurement offices are demanding precise and vast accounting disclosure. Also, you want someone who will be able to advise you on cash flow and tax implications. You will also want expert legal council to advise you on your contracts, liability, insurance, indemnity, cancellation clauses, etc.

5) Lastly, decide early if you want this to be a “Lifestyle” company or an independent business. If your goal is to have a lifestyle company, your focus is towards how it supports your personal lifestyle on an ongoing basis. If it’s an independent business, your mind set and strategies are more focused on building a business that runs without your involvement someday. This leads to the ability to sell it and realize the value you’ve built.

There are about 20 other things to consider and many of them have been stated here by others. These are the top 5 that I wish I had considered sooner.

- Jonathan Lange - Managing Director at NYC Advertising Agency says:

There is a tremendous difference between “event management” and “running an event management agency.” If you’re gonna hang up your own shingle, you better be confident you can run a business on your own and in your spare time actually do a bit of event management. Best of luck.

- Rich Kuslan - Principal, Law Office of Richard Kuslan LLC says:

This isn’t an academic subject. For those who wish to start any company, practically speaking, there is only one item of importance to consider:

Get clients.

- Juice Studios - Owner, The Juice Studios says:

1- Have the ability to find and keep clients
2- Be prepared for a roller coaster ride as the market is seasonal.
3- Have a great list of suppliers who you can trust. You can not do it alone.
4- Have the support of your family, as you will be away from home a lot.
5- Never let a client see you sweat. What I mean about this is it is your job to take the heat and insulate them from problems. Therefore, you have to be able to keep your cool when there are problems and there are always problems. You just have to solve them.

- Phyllis Shelton - Public Relations & Event Management Consultant says:

1. Stay Focused - Gain Skill/Knowledge
2. Be Creative & Organized
3. Have Exceptional Interpersonal Skills
4. Develop & Maintain Valued Business Relationships
5. Network - Build & Maintain Contacts
6. Have a plan-of-action (Business Plan) and a back-up plan

Remember: “You will never succeed - if you never try”

- Jonathan Marx - Jonathan Marx Consulting says:

Having developed, designed and executed many events for both the public and professionals, here is my list of the top 5 things to consider before beginning an event management agency:

1. Do you have enough working capital to sustain a business start-up period of 18 months? Most event planners are at least that far out and already have a vendor. You have to grab market share.

2. Do you have THE list of your target industry’s most influential movers and shakers who would endorse you, be a speaker, or be involved in some way to get you business? You need industry leaders to get you business.

3. Do you know HOW you will make profit? Your three primary revenue streams are sponsors, attendees, and venue/food and beverage mark-ups? You have to have a bullet-proof plan for getting to break-even so you can produce the conference, and then make profit on the rest of the revenue.

4. Do you have THE BEST event management software in place? There are many great vendors out there, and they will assist greatly with your organization and fulfillment. Don’t do events without software.

5. Is your event as BIG as it can be? Sponsors want to come to big events and be seen by lots of attendees, so that their return on investment is worth their time, resources, and promotion. Sponsors are under financial pressures too, so it’s best to be their partners in success.

- Okolo Thomas-Toure - Development Officer, Student says:

1. Specialization…be great at something.
2. Experience pays and saves time. Get lots of it.
3. Collaborate. With Vendors and complementary Event companies
4. Manage your eating/sleeping habits… Events are a 24 hr business.
5. Incorporate and get an accountant right away.

Advice: The best lessons come from mistakes. Learn how to do it gracefully. That is, accept responsibility and make it right as best you can.

If you’re doing special events. arrive early, introducing yourself to staff as they clock in, they’ll remember you in crowds and respond when you need them.

- Damaso V Santana - President & CEO Santana Broadcast & Marketing Group LLC says:

Know your area of expertise

Choose your clients

Choose your events

Enough Funding to keep you afloat.

- Catherine Clinch - Publisher/Media Expert says:

1. Do you love becoming intimately involved with strangers at the most stressful, chaotic and emotionally charged points in their life? And, are you able to bond with them quickly enough to become their new best friend - with the complete understanding that when the event is over you might never hear from them again?
2. Do you know enough celebrities (or even local celebreties) so that you can pepper their guest list with a level of cache your competitors might not be able to offer?
3. Do you love giving a party more than anything else in the world?
4. Do you have the kind of brain that can retain information like which flowers are in season and which caterers can be interesting with a Kosher menu?
5. Do you really care about what goes into a gift bag - and understand why even the richest recipients will complain about there not being enough free stuff in them?

- Alexi Lambrou - Marketing Manager at Marcus Evans says:

On the risk of oversimplifying:

1. Mindset: Big fish in a small pond or the other way around? A good starting point covering all manner of areas from how many tiers to your product, your internal structure and your external messages.

2. The Market: Who are your competition and what are you offering that they aren’t? If you offer the same - why is yours better?

3. Money: What will your cost to revenue ratio be - believe me when I say from experience you can run a profitable nightmare of an event or a smoother, fun event that cost you more - where do your loyalties rest at night? With the accountant or the ops people?

4. OCDs: If you or the person with their finger on the event button doesn’t have them - good luck - they help.

5. Personality: Good networking skills, personable nature and basically getting enjoyment out of meeting, talking and connecting with people is the biggest asset - make sure your people on the front line can do this.

- Shane Belceto - Visionary , Author, Speaker, and Disney Dad! says:

Well like said already there are more then 5 and each of my five like many said thus far are multi-part answers. Here you go though…

1. Determine your niche(Technology, Entertainment, MLM company’s, etc) Who will these events be set up for? Don’t just go for any group of people or all people in general. Best to pick one you have skills or passions about already.

2. Determine some of your first clients and contact them now to see what it is they want from an event. Thus assisting you in organizing the parts of your business in advance by knowing what the client wants.

3. Plan to be the first one there and the last to leave all events to insure your company leaves a good impression on all involved from the clients themselves, the location owner, people attending etc. Like said from sweeping the floor to manning the door know and be a part of all assets of the event and leave it better then you find it.

4. YES for sure do it all yourself and be present but do get the help and reliable help you need.

5. Maybe this should of been first but HAVE FUN there is no reason to get into this if you are just in it for the money. Enjoy it have fun with it and the work will definitely be a part of it but the people you meet the places you go and the fun you have will provide you so much more then the money you make.

- Philippe Méda - B2B Strategic Marketing in a Fast World says:

On top of all the reat advices you got here, let me add or emphasize two things (let’s assume you’ll be technically good at your business and have thought everything through):

STANDOUT

STANDOUT

STANDOUT

STANDOUT

STANDOUT

No really, find your identity. Get known by the fact that you’re the company organizing lunches in air balloon other the Mississipi, or the “guys in green”, or be ultracheap, or whatever legal specificity will float your boat. With event management you can probably be a little crazy and creative. Even if it’s strictly corporate events.

Find a great SPONSOR!

Get a prominent, visible customer on your market and over deliver on your first gig. Be thoughtful, come back to him later on to assess the quality of the event. Talk about what you did with him. Make him your best sponsor that will propagate the need of hiring you to over prospects in the market.

Enjoy your new venture !

- Saideh Browne - Owner, Platinum Speakers Bureau says:

You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going!

- Amy Vercruysse - Owner, Combo Platter says:

There is a lot of really great advice here. One thing that has been mentioned that I think needs to be really emphasized is the importance of (1) knowing what you’re doing (experience), and (2) having a strong, solid, varied network of others who are very good at what they do, because nobody can do it alone.

Without those two things, forget it.