How to make sure planning your next event doesn’t increase your stress levels

Some people say event planning is stressful. I think quite the opposite.

To me, it’s one big jigsaw puzzle.

How?

Well, a jigsaw puzzle comes in a box with an image on the cover of what the final picture should look like. This is analogous to your client coming to you with a vision of what they want their event to look like!

Then, in order to get to that final image, you have to put all the right pieces together – and that’s what happens while planning an event. You have to find all the right vendors who can create the vision your client is expecting.

People who intentionally embark on solving puzzles don’t view them a source of stress. In fact, many people buy and do puzzles because they are challenging, captivating, and calming. It helps them relax and de-stress. 

While I wouldn’t go as far as to say event planning is a tool to de-stress and relax, I do believe they are a captivating challenge that can be successfully executed while remaining cool, calm, and collected!

Here are my top 3 suggestions for what you can do to make sure you don’t stress yourself out planning your next event:

1.     SLEEP. I know what you’re thinking – you’re in the middle of planning an event and don’t have time to sleep. Ohhhh you couldn’t be more wrong! You won’t have an event if you pass out from sleep deprivation or if you’re so drunk with sleepiness that you make mistakes while planning and then you have to backtrack on all the progress (you think) you made. So, get that sleep and be bright eyed and bushy tailed when you’re in planning mode.

2.     Now that you’ve slept, it’s time to make lists. Seriously, to-do lists are going to be your BEST FRIEND. Write down everything. There are so many moving pieces when planning an event so you should have one location where you are writing down all the event related ideas and must-do’s throughout the planning process. TIP: If you’re an Apple user, the Notes app is CLUTCH. You can take notes on the go with your iPhone and have access to those notes on your MacBook when you’re no longer on the go. Not an Apple user? Evernote is also a great option for this.

3.     Stay open minded. Things change all the time when planning an event - even up to the last minute. Clients ask for the seemingly impossible, personal life gets in the way, and something simply pisses you off. All of this means you’re forced to listen to and entertain a new idea which often times immediately leads to negative reactions (and increased stress!) because it’s throwing you off track. If however, you’re mentally prepared for these things to happen, to pivot to a new direction - you’ll be able to make the decisions necessary to maintain your event planning progress.  

Altogether, yes, event planning can be stressful but it doesn’t have to be. It may not be a calming activity like a jigsaw puzzle but it’s a challenge that when successfully executed presents a captivating final picture. Like finishing a puzzle, completing an event is incredibly rewarding.

 Next time you’re starting to feel stressed about planning an event, remember to take care of yourself by getting enough sleep, making lists of all the big and little details, and staying open minded.  

Don’t You Want Increased Brand Awareness, Loyal Customers, and Quality Leads?

Consider looking for opportunities to sponsor a local community event!

In my previous post, I discussed the importance of incorporating local events into your business marketing strategy. Since I think it is SUPER IMPORTANT, I’m taking it a step further and highlighting the importance of one particular aspect of your marketing strategy - event sponsorship.

Sponsoring events is an untapped marketing channel because you can’t immediately calculate the return on the investment in serving as a sponsor for a local event (it’s a long term investment) and sometimes the budget just isn’t there to sponsor on a large scale. The good thing about sponsoring an event however, is that it doesn’t have to mean spending tens of thousands of dollars per event. There are many different types of sponsorship that can provide exposure for your business for only a few hundred dollars! You just have to seek out the events that fall in line with your budget.

So why sponsor a local event? I want to highlight a few reasons:

1. People are looking to spend their money on experiences over material things. So, if your company is part of the experience, they will pay attention to your brand and that will go a long way for awareness and building a loyal customer base.

2. We live in a digital age (duh!) and people share their every waking moments online. By being at events where your target market is, you are opening yourself up to gain visibility among a larger, even more desirable audience as they share all the positive moments of their event experience with their social networks.

3. By sponsoring an event, you automatically gain a partner (in the form of the hosting organization) in your effort to build brand awareness as you’ll be using their platform and their audience (which is why it’s important you sponsor an event in line with your company mission and vision).

4. You save money - imagine the cost of sponsoring an event (that could reach thousands) versus executing a direct marketing campaign to reach a similar size audience?

5. When people see an organization sponsoring an event (especially local community events), people view you in a more positive light because they see that you are committed to enriching the local community. Who wouldn’t want a spike in their already positive reputation?!

All in all, sponsoring local events should be something that you regularly consider. Every single event is unique and it’s important you find those that are in line with your company goals and brand voice. Don’t immediately discount the idea of sponsorship because you think it’ll cost too much money or isn’t worth the investment. Remember, anything worth having is worth waiting for and sponsoring events is a long term investment that will be beneficial for your company in the long run.