Don't Work More When You Work From Home

"Find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life" is nonsense. I love writing. That doesn't mean that writing isn't work. That doesn't mean I'm excited to start every day. And that doesn't mean I don't get burnt out read more

How to Organize a Successful Conference

Whether you're going the in-person or virtual route, organizing a conference is no easy task. Large-scale events can do wonders to improve your company's bottom line. They attract new clients, serve as a place for networking, and set your business up as a leader in your industry.

All that said, a poorly organized event can be detrimental to your brand. There are many moving parts and even more ways to fail. So, how do you ensure that things go off without a hitch? Here are some tips to help you organize a successful and memorable conference.

Curate the Experience

Far too many event organizers focus on quantity rather than quality. Many prioritize beefing up the schedule to create the illusion of value. Unfortunately, this technique leads to several issues. Not only do most presentations lack content that's worthy of attendance, but it forces guests to cherry-pick how they spend their time. In the end, few attendees learn anything memorable.

One of the most crucial parts of the organization process is to curate the experience. Establish an overarching theme, and choose presentations that support it. Focus on high-value events with something to offer guests.

Utilize Feature-Rich Registration Tools

Gone are the days of paper invitations. You have a world of technology at your fingertips. Why wouldn't you take advantage of it?

Conference registration software is a game-changer that marries planning, marketing, and information-gathering into one. The best software lets you create custom landing pages, establishing the event's theme from the jump.

From there, you can request all the information you need to organize the event. From identification and table settings to dietary restrictions, registration software can take care of it all.

Take Advantage of Event Management Software

In addition to registration, event management programs make organizing your event a breeze. Feature-rich titles support every aspect of the planning phase. They can send out reminders, gather crucial attendance data, and even help you stay on budget. It turns statistics into actionable data that solves some of your most pressing issues.

Sure, you can try to go without management software. But if you want the process to go as smoothly as possible, it's a must!

Foster Meaningful Social Interactions

Ultimately, conferences are social events. The problem is that not every attendee is going to participate. This issue is more prevalent in virtual conferences, but even live attendees can become wallflowers.

Encourage direct interaction. Set up digital forums, live chat spaces, and social media integration. With the right event management software, you can take advantage of the tools you already use. Integrations from Zoom, Salesforce, Slack, and more provide a familiar platform for impactful collaborations at every turn.

Setting the Stage for Success

The best tip anyone can give you about organizing a conference is to start early and take advantage of all the tools available to you. Event management and conference registration software can make a world of difference and provide all the organizational tools you need to succeed.

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How to Establish a Budget for Your Next Event

Events can cost a considerable amount of money. This was particularly true when most events were held in-person. Now that many events are held virtually or in a hybrid form, the cost of having them has significantly decreased. However, you still have to factor in different aspects of your event to determine your cost and budget.

Keep in Mind Your ROI

You need to consider your ROI before you dive into your budget. If your event does well or if you’ve had events do well in the past, you should allot yourself a greater amount for your events in the future.

Decide on Your KPI and Goals

Before you jump in with deciding what you’ll be doing at your event, you'll need to consider your key performance indicators (KPI) and your goals. For your event, you should narrow these down to a main KPI or goal.

Key Expenses

Labor costs, technology, speakers, advertising, reporting, thank you gifts and other costs can make up your key expenses. You need to keep your key expenses in alignment with your goal and event type to get the best return on your investment and avoid unnecessary.

Create a Contingency Budget

Realize that even the best plans can be thrown off course at times. For this reason, you will need to think of a contingency budget in case the unexpected happens. It could be for a technical issue or otherwise when you have to change direction during your event.

Share Your Budget With Stakeholders

You need to make sure stakeholders are on the same page with your event budgeting, so you’ll need to present your event budget in the clearest and most straightforward way possible.

Get Help Where You Need It

It can be easy to get lost with any of the above steps. This is particularly true when thinking of a contingency budget and sharing your results with stakeholders to get everyone on-board with your budget (to stay in alignment with your event goal). Getting help with event budgeting will connect you with the right tools and expertise necessary to create a successful event.

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The Pomodoro Technique is a productivity system that stops you from procrastinating or getting distracted, so you can focus on getting stuff done. The idea is simple: set a timer for 25 minutes, work until it runs out, then take a 5-minute break—and repeat the process three more times. After that, take a 15- to 30-minute break. That's one full Pomodoro cycle read more

Hosting Tips for Zoom Events

If you’ve ever wanted to manage a Zoom summit, you might be wondering what the best way to go about it would be. Zoom events are great ways to drive engagement between your organization and your audience, but a mismanaged Zoom event can quickly turn sour and frustrate your viewers.

Check out these tips for when you want to host and manage a Zoom summit.

Choose a Format

First things first, you’ll want to choose the format for your Zoom event. The typical choices are between a webinar or a meeting. A webinar is where your audience listens and pays attention to what’s being said, whereas a meeting allows them to actually participate. Choose whichever will work best for the type of event you want to host.

Make Sure Everything Goes Right

The worst feeling when you’re trying to manage a Zoom summit is when things go wrong. But armed with these tips, you can give yourself the best chance of nothing going off the rails.

• Use Good Audio Equipment: There’s nothing more distracting than a quiet or muffled Zoom event. Make sure you provide your main speakers with quality mics and test them beforehand to ensure you have good audio.
• Use a Wired Connection: A wired connection will help prevent any issues with the Internet and make sure your video works perfectly throughout the event.
• Choose a Good Location: Choose a location that won’t be loud. Make sure your speakers are in the environment they need so they’re not getting interrupted or drowned out by noise.
• Engage the Audience: Make sure that you’re engaging the audience no matter what format you choose. Do question-and-answer sessions, put up polls throughout the meeting, send out surveys, enable chats and anything else you think will engage your audience and help them connect more to the event.
• Be Clear With Scheduling: When you send out your invites, make sure you’re clear what will be on the schedule, what time things will start, how long the event is expected to last and whatever else your audience needs to know. Be sure you stick to the schedule so that you’re not wasting anyone’s time.

Use the Right Tools to Manage a Zoom Summit

If you really want to make the most of your next Zoom event, there are tools out there that can help. The right software can make things much easier the next time you want to manage a Zoom summit.

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The event industry has the opportunity and the responsibility to play a game-changing role in reducing carbon emissions. However, it cannot do so by returning to the profoundly unsustainable industry of the past; to succeed, it must change what it stands for read more