ePly Blog

Planning an event of any kind takes organization, teamwork, and a lot of manpower. However, one of the most important elements you should include in your event planning process is something that might be easy to take for granted at times: Event planning software.

Event planning software can help your team streamline all sorts of event planning tasks, from registration to event engagement.

So, what kind of events could benefit from event planning software? They can range from seminars and conferences, to university alumni events, to recruiting events for businesses. By taking advantage of event planning software, you can keep your data organized and up-to-date with real-time reporting, seamlessly process last-minute changes, and simplify your overall procedure.

Handing out swag - or, “stuff we all get” - at events is an easy way to engage attendees and leave a lasting impression. The key, though, is to find an item that’s both useful enough that attendees won’t immediately throw it away, and interesting enough that they’ll talk about it with others.

Now, we know budget is always a constraint - but let’s put money aside for the moment and have some fun! To help you start brainstorming, we put together a list of unique items you could brand and use as swag:

Answering attendee questions is an inevitable part of event planning. That said, with all the other balls your juggling, it can be hard to take the time to answer the same questions over, and over, and over...and over again.

That’s where an FAQ, or “frequently asked questions,” page comes in handy. Here are some thoughts on writing your FAQ page in a way that’ll effectively keep attendees in-the-know:

Small details can have a big impact on the number of people who will attend your events. That especially holds true when it comes to your online event registration form! In fact, certain things can even cause your potential attendees to leave, and never return to the form at all.

You already know that a post-event survey is a MUST. Attendees, vendors, sponsors - everyone who was on-site will have valuable feedback you can use to make your next event better.

But knowing what to ask can be a challenge, and having a mile-long survey will deter most from filling it out! Here are our go-to questions for a quick and easy survey that are bound to give you the feedback you’re looking for:

Room layout is more important than some people may think. Getting it right means having a good flow throughout the room, ensuring the kind of engagement you’re looking for, and keeping compliant with any safety requirements.

That said, it’s a lot to consider (on top of everything else) when planning your event. To help you make an informed decision about how your next event will look, we’ve highlighted the eight most popular event room layouts and their benefits:

We’re willing to bet that you’ve noticed a difference in driving event attendance over the last few years. Online event registration systems, social media, and other advances in technology have really changed the game!

When used wisely, these platforms can also give you a big leg up in the event space. Using a robust online registration solution, modern event website, and personalized event app can all make a huge difference in driving and engaging attendees - especially when they work together! A few thoughts on why:

One advantage of using online event registration is getting the ability to automatically send event confirmation emails. While the main purpose of this email is to confirm that a registration has been received, it is also a perfect avenue for providing event participants with additional information and reminders.

Here are a few details to pay extra attention to on your event confirmation emails:

Increasing conference attendance can be a seriously arduous task - especially if you charge significant registration fees and are trying to attract a national or international audience. It can cost an attendee thousands of dollars to attend your event, and most won’t even consider paying out of pocket.

That’s where their employer comes in! But, a potential attendee asking a tight-fisted manager to release thousands of dollars without clearly outlining the costs and benefits will get them laughed out of their office very quickly – so help get your audience get from there to here by providing an attendance justification letter template.

The answer to the question “What should a registration form do?” might seem obvious, but if you respond with “Collect registration data,” chances are you can improve your registration forms to increase conversions and put on memorable events.

From our experience, here are eight things your registration forms should be doing in addition to collecting data: