(upbeat music)
- Putting on an event is no small task.
There are tons of details to keep up with
from pre-event planning to post-event follow up,
no matter the size of your event.
That's why having a plan you can share and track is a must
if you want to throw a successful event.
We created two free event plan landing templates
designed for events at any scale.
Many events follow a similar blueprint,
so templatizing your process will help you save a lot
of time when you're planning future events.
Just make a copy of your timeline and adjust it
to fit your current event.
If you're looking for a high level event plan
you can use to map and track key activities,
our event planning template is a great place to start.
This template enables you to establish a general timeline
for major tasks that need to be accomplished,
so you can keep an eye
on how your plan's progressing along the way.
Having your event plan laid out
in a simple timeline form makes it easy
to keep event stakeholders informed about project status
with high level updates that are easy to digest
and streamline communication among your event's key players,
so you don't have to wade through a bunch
of different email threads to know what's coming up next
or where your project stands.
There are four event planning and management stages
you'll want to include when writing your event plan.
Those are planning, promotion, execution and wrap up.
Feel free to go into as much
or as little detail as you want.
Just as long as you account
for these general phases in the organization of your plan.
The goal of the planning phase is to hammer
out all of the approvals, logistics,
processes and services needed to proceed with the event.
Some examples include finalizing a budget,
developing a guest list, arranging transportation
and setting up the event registration process.
As the event planner, this is the heart
and soul of what you do
and where the bulk of your efforts will be focused.
This stage is all about getting the word out.
So you'll have strong attendance at your event.
It includes all marketing, PR and promotional activities.
Having a shareable plan in place
for event promotion makes coordinating initiatives
and keeping everyone in the loop a whole lot easier.
Event execution is less of a phase
and more of an onsite to-do list for all the moving pieces
that need to come together on event day.
Documenting these activities
beforehand minimizes event day stress
and helps make sure your event runs smoothly
from start to finish,
minus the unpredictable mishaps that are bound
to happen from time to time.
Once your event has come and gone, your work isn't done yet.
You'll need to tie up loose ends,
follow up with attendees and take note
of how the event went,
so you can improve your process the next time around.
Your event plan is your roadmap to a successful event.
Let's take a look at two samples
how you can plan and manage event execution in TeamGantt.
A Gantt chart provides a visual timeline
of your event plan.
You can group activities by type
or phase and set the expected timeframe
for each activity you need to accomplish.
That way your team and stakeholders have a clear picture
of what's happening when so you can make sure tasks stay
on track.
At TeamGantt,
we're a little biased towards Gantt charts,
but we know they're not for everyone.
That's why our list view comes in handy.
Viewing your project as a simple list may be helpful
for status meetings with your team,
boss or other stakeholders.
This event planning checklist is a highly detailed plan
that walks you through every step involved
in planning and executing a successful event.
Use it to schedule out all the nitty gritty tasks
you need to complete before, during, and after your event.
That way you can feel confident you're
on track and in control of your event.
An event planning checklist allows you
to break down your plan
and tackle all the individual tasks it takes
to get your event off the ground.
Consider these core activities when creating
and organizing your own event planning checklist.
Planning and logistics is all about getting
the nuts and bolts of your plan in order.
Your budget, schedule and guest list are
important factors here.
Don't forget to include less glamorous tasks
like shipping and transportation services if needed.
Unless you have an existing relationship with a venue,
it takes time to land the right location for your event.
Keep track of vendor research, RFPs and quotes
until you find a winning venue that's both on budget
and available for your event.
The vendors you'll work with will depend
on your event type and scale.
Common event vendors include caterers, food
and beverage, photographers and florists.
You may wanna track the entire process
from research to deposit in your checklist
and note any follows you'll need to do
to make sure everything's good to go
when event day rolls around.
Some venues build furniture and decor
into the packages they offer.
That makes things easy,
but you'll still wanna track the time it takes
to choose and order these items.
If onsite rentals aren't an option,
set up tasks for renting or procuring items
like tables and chairs, linens and specialty lighting.
This is the main attraction that draws guests in.
Whether you're planning for a sales meeting
or a talent show,
you'll need to make sure everything is booked,
and the proper equipment is ready to go.
Consider things like AV services, presenter
or entertainment schedules, and music,
even if it's just gonna be in the background.
What's the point of an event if no one attends?
How you promote your event can make or break turnout,
which is often the key indicator of success.
Emails and social media and PR will help you get the word
out on the front end.
You may also want to distinguish your event
with event specific branding and materials.
Capturing attendee information is critical
for finalizing headcount, managing onsite check-in
and following up with thank yous, pictures
or sales calls after the event.
So be sure you have a solid system
in place to make registration and follow up seamless.
Whether you build your own process
or use tools like Event Bright or Facebook for your event.
You've got a lot of to-dos to keep up with on the big day.
Creating an event day checklist helps you keep calm
and focus on the most important things.
Jot down a list of day of tasks and reminders like clients
or stakeholders you need to check in with,
vendors you need to meet on site
or items you need to pick up.
If any tasks need to happen at a specific time
in the event schedule,
be sure to make note of that in your plan.
You can extend a positive experience to your guests
even after the event dust settles.
Send thank you notes or emails to attendees,
settle outstanding payments with vendors
and take time to reflect on what went well
and what you can improve for the next event you plan.
We know it's not easy to build such
a detailed event checklist from scratch.
So we created a template to help you out.
This template features the core activities
I mentioned before, but it can also be adapted to work
for any event planning process
across a pretty wide range range of events,
from small engagements to large corporate gatherings.
Let's walk through a few examples
of how you can use our event checklist
to plan and track your event.
Just because this event plan acts
as a checklist doesn't mean you can't see
how tasks stack up over time.
It's the best of both worlds:
a detailed task list and a visual project timeline.
Here's some Gantt chart features you may find helpful
as you flesh out your event checklist.
Drag and drop scheduling makes it super easy
to build out your timeline and reschedule tasks
if and when plans change.
Adjusting your schedule is as simple as dragging
and dropping tasks into their new rightful place.
The percent complete feature shows you
how a task or project is progressing along the way.
Simply update the task percentage to indicate
how much work's been done.
Tasks that are 100% complete can be officially checked
off your to-do list.
Sometimes one task needs to happen before the next can begin
like hiring a caterer before deciding on a menu.
Dependencies makes your tasks always happen
in the right order, even if you move things around.
Wanna break tasks down even further?
Task checklists enable you to account
for the tiniest to do
and make sure it gets crossed off your list.
This is a great way to capture all
of your event day tasks and mark them as complete as you go.
With TeamGantt, your important files
and conversations can live in a single place.
Attached documents, like quotes, proposals,
budgets, spreadsheets, vendor contact information and more.
Use comments to communicate updates
and collaborate with team members
on all the hard work that goes into an event.
Calendar view enables you to turn your event checklist
into a calendar in one click.
That makes it easy to see what's happening
in a glance and evaluate how tasks are stacking
up on any particular day, week or month.
The my task view makes it clear to see what you need
to work on each day.
It pulls in all the tasks you're assigned to
across all your projects, which can be super helpful
if you're running multiple events.
No more digging through emails
or Excel spreadsheets to plan your daily to-do list.
Ready to start planning your next event?
Use our event planning template or event planning checklist
in TeamGantt and save time on project setup.
Customizing the template is quick and easy
thanks to TeamGantt's drag and drop simplicity.
And since everything's online,
your whole team can collaborate on activities in real time.
So sign up for a free TeamGantt account today
and get access to event planning templates
plus many more helpful project templates
in our resource library.
And that's it for this video
on our event planning checklist templates.
I hope you found it helpful.
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Thanks for watching.
I'll see you next time.