Last week, I interviewed Evessio’s Gary Clement and Tom Howie for a sponsored supplier profile feature running in our Jan/Feb issue.
They were full of ideas about how publishers could put on successful events. I came away with the following seven tips:
- Focus on revenue growth: upsell wherever possible. You should have a range of add-on products that you can offer at the sign-up process.
- Don’t make your award shortlists too, err… short: there is a direct correlation between the length of shortlists and table sales. So, within reason, best to go long.
- Ensure seamless user journeys: remove friction from the sign-up process for attendees, exhibitors, sponsors et al. Make it easy.
- Let your software take the strain: events can be time-consuming and stressful. You want to minimise the amount of time spent on admin and maximise the amount of time you can spend on marketing and event delivery. If events take too long to set up or you find yourself having to rely on manual workarounds to compensate for system shortfalls, then talk to your software supplier.
- Don’t let the momentum drop post-event: because of the cyclical nature of events, there is a tendency for things to go quiet in the months following an event. This is a mistake – far better to re-engage quickly.
- Your events must evolve: never stand still. It must be a constant process of review and improve, to create excitement and ensure that your event keeps in step with your market. This might mean adding new award categories, bringing in new judges, offering new content streams.
- If you’re not offering your community a range of events, then you’re under-serving them, and you’ll soon lose out to someone who will.
More to follow in our next issue. You can join our mailing list here.
