How to stage successful events

InPublishing’s latest webinar assembled eight events experts to answer our and your questions about how publishers can stage successful events. Here are eight of the many tips they gave us…

1. Plan your logistics well ahead of time to avoid the risk of damaged stand materials or unforeseen delays… and always have a plan b, especially if the event is overseas.
2. When planning your content programme, don’t assume that because something has worked well in the past that it will continue to work well in the future. You have to be aware of changing trends.
3. When designing your registration form, avoid asking questions unless you know what you plan to do with the answers. Keep it simple and don’t waste their time.
4. Evolve your trade show to reflect market trends but take great care not to do anything that threatens the rebook! If an exhibitor has rebooked a premium slot, then you need to make sure that any new features / layout don’t make their slot any less premium.
5. Get key influencers on board early to drive interest and build excitement. A good way to do this is to create a ‘top 50 power list’, voted on by your community, and link it all back to your upcoming event. This results in great content, increased data capture opportunities and, ultimately, increased attendance.
6. Equal representation is now expected of judging teams, conference panels and speaker lists. All male panels is not what people expect or want to see.
7. Make your CRM system the centre of your monetisation strategy, making sure it has all the data it needs to properly segment your various audiences. This might involve upfront effort, but it is an infinitely more efficient (and profitable) approach than relying on a world of unconnected spreadsheets.
8. Show the industry what winning feels like! People will only enter an awards if they can see the benefits of doing so, so celebrate winners and educate your markets on how to enter.

Our eight panelists had lots more to say. You can read the excellent articles they wrote in our September/October issue, and, if you missed the webinar, you can catch the recording by registering here.