7 Things I Learned about Event Planning from PHLbloggers
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know that I love event planning. I somehow find a way to involve event planning in every aspect of my daily life. I plan events at work. I plan events after work. I plan events to relax. I plan events to stay busy. It’s everywhere.
For the past year I’ve been running a little meet-up group called PHLBloggers, we now have +40 people on the mailing list (what?!). We’ve been having an event every month since last September and goodness have I learned a lot along the way. Not gonna lie, I had a lot of fun analyzing what I’d learned (and reaffirmed) over the past year, it’s helping me figure out what I want for the future. Event planning and self-reflection, man it doesn’t get any better than that
There will always be people who need to back out last minute.
This is an unfortunate side effect of planning an event. Any event. There will always be people who have to back out last minute. Things come up. Don’t hold it against anyone, life happens.
If something’s not working, drop it.
This year we tried running a blog for PHLBloggers, about three months in we realized it was just too much work for our small group to handle and that’s okay. (The real bummer was that someone had emailed me about a sponsored post the day after we decided to drop it and I needed to stick to my guns.) The purpose of the community right now is for the community to network with other bloggers and to learn more about how to make our blogs bigger and better. Maybe one day PHLBloggers will need a bigger internet presence, but that day isn’t today. If you’ve taken on something too big, take a step back and ask if it’s really moving you towards your goals. If not, drop it. No harm, no foul.
Share the Guest List
Another useful thing is to know who’s going to be showing up at every event beforehand. It’s important for the hostess to know who’s going to be there, but it can also be important for the guests to know who’s going to be there. That’s why I love using invites like Evite, Google Plus, and Facebook because then the guests can see who else is going to attend the event. This is one of the best ways to get people excited about an event because then they have something to look forward to. (Or a reason to decline if they know they’re going to be way out of their comfort zone, but that’s a hostesses worst nightmare, so let’s not think about that.)
Plan an Event with a Purpose
Sometimes social is a purpose, but sometimes it’s not enough of a purpose. Sure, I love to see and catch up with people, but if there’s not a purpose of an event, sometimes I find it harder to say yes. This is why I have made sure that all of the events we have planned with PHLBloggers (with the exception of a few happy hours) have had a purpose. In addition, I usually make sure that all parties that I plan have a theme (even if the theme is just a type of food). It gives people who come a level to connect on even if they don’t know anybody before they arrive. In addition, you feel like you accomplished something when you leave the event.
Know the Group
This applies to both personal and business events. Know if you have a loud or quiet group, know if you have a group who likes to stay on their feet or sit down, know if you have a group that likes to ask questions, and know if you have a group that’s okay talking to people they don’t know. This helps to know who else you can bring into the group and who you might need to coax into the conversation.
Dream Big.
What’s the harm in trying? In the past year of PHLBloggers we have worked with Sarah Moore from Smoorelovin’, Jess Lawlor from Get Gutsy, Sabir Peele from Mens’ Style Pro, Philly PR Girl, Creative Business Taxes & Accounting, SEER Interactive, and DiBruno Brothers – and we have even more big names to come. When I started this group I wrote down that my dream event was one in collaboration with West Elm and we’re going to make it happen in September. Dream big. If you want to plan a big party or big event find people to help, find places to sponsor you, and find a venue that you have something to offer. Anything is possible, but only if you ask. As for my next big personal party plan? It’s really to have a Vocal Jazz reunion party, I just need to figure out where I can find myself a tenor.
Communication is Key.
No matter what kind of event you’re planning, communication is key. Make sure you answer the who, where, when of it all – but also make sure to include what to bring, where to go, and things you might need to do beforehand. Let people know how to contact you – via phone and/or via email and you can make sure everything runs smoothly from the get go.
What are some things you have learned about event planning? I’d love to hear any stories of what went right (or wrong) along the way. Always looking for new tips and tricks to add to the list.
