1. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
How to Throw a Kickass Event
On a Shoestring Budget
Presented by
Emily Miethner
Founder, President
2. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
What You Will Learn
50+ event planning tips that will help you produce an
awesome event
All the tips include free or cheap services and
strategies for keeping costs low
3. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
What We’ll Discuss
– Venue hunting tips
– Choosing the day of the week to hold your event
– Differences between Eventbrite, Meetup, Facebook
and protips for use of all three
– How to approach partners and sponsors
– Minimizing check-in awkwardness
– Answers to your specific questions
4. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
About Me
Founder, President
Largest Meetup for Interns
and Recent Grads in the Country
5. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
What is Your Goal?
– To build a community
– To expand your network
– To promote a product
– To make a profit
– To support an organization
– To help the community
– To celebrate an achievement
6. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
First Things First
– Location
– Date
– Time
– Name of the event
– Landing page
7. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Venue Hunting
– Don't look for space, offer an opportunity
– Find a place who's mission aligns with yours
– See where similar events are hosted
– Learn about the space’s goals before you reach out
9. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Where to post the event
– Are you trying to create a community?
– Is your event one time only?
– Is the event free or are you trying to make money?
– Do you mind getting last minute RSVPs?
– Are you able to take cash at the door?
– Do you want commitment from attendees?
– Are events a supplement or your main thing?
10. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Meetup
PROS
– Get discovered by 9.5 million members
– Members have profiles
– Members are alerted about new events
CONS
– Can only create one ticket price
– You don’t get attendee email addresses
11. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Meetup
PRO TIPS
– Gather email addresses when people join the group
– Max out your Meetup’s topics
– Don’t let users email your mailing list
– Use your welcome message and keep it updated
12. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Eventbrite
PROS
– Plenty of ticketing options
– Customizable widgets
– Discount codes
CONS
– No community
– High ticket fee on expensive tickets
13. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Eventbrite
PROTIPS
– Use their 24 hour phone customer service
– The countdown widget drives the most sales
– Create tracking links
– Export email addresses
– Add news and updates to event page
– Collect custom information
14. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Facebook
PROS
– Acts as a great reminder
– Can easily invite friends
CONS
– People forget to officially RSVP
– No customization (photos, logos, etc)
15. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Facebook
PROTIPS
– Update the title to cause a notification
– Send message reminders
– Always create one…it’s worth it
16. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Finding Sponsors & Partners
– Emphasize what you can offer them
– Find companies who have done something similar
– Reach out on multiple platforms (email, twitter, etc)
– Announce what you need through social media
– Under promise and over deliver
18. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Pitch Tips
– The shorter the better
– Anticipate questions and answer them in your pitch
– Make your pitch company specific
– Write a to the point subject line
– Try to make it a “warm” pitch if possible with a referral
21. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Promoting Your Event
– Promote your sponsors and partners
– #FF speakers and partners
– Be gracious with your social posts
– Find other organizations who will tell their members
and offer a discount
– Use free industry event listing sites like Gary’s Guide
and keep on ongoing list
22. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Check In
– Make your first impression a great one
– Have at least two people on the door
– Plan the set up of check in table, name tag tables, etc
– Eventbrite Entry App is the best way to check in
– Smile!
23. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Sample Run of Show
– 6:00 - Set up starts
– 6:30 - bartenders arrive
– 7:00 - doors open
– 7:30 - Jenny welcome
– 7:33 - Emily welcome
– 7:35 - Ashley welcome
– 7:37 - Julie welcome
24. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Sample Run of Show (con’t)
– 7:42 - Speaker
– 7:47 - Speaker
– 7:52 - Julie closes
– 7:55 - Mingling starts again
– 8:50 - Start letting people know we're closing up
– 9:00 - DJs turn music off
– 9:00 - clean up
25. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Post Event
– Send a follow up email to attendees with photos, blog
entries, etc. Do this within one week if possible
– Put links and thank yous in captions on FB photos
– Create a wrap up report for any partners
26. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Miscellaneous Tips
– Trader Joe's is great for cheap food, beer, and wine
– Free = 50% no show, Paid = 25% no show (goes
down the higher the price)
– Add Eventbrite fees on top of the ticket price
27. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Miscellaneous Tips
– Are you going to be doing another event soon?
Promote future events at events
– Photos and videos are worth it. If you have a budget,
this is where you should spend. Think of it as
marketing for future events
– Make a shot list for photographers and videographers
28. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Helpful Tools
– Rapportive – learn about contacts
– 37signals– task management and CRM
– Hootsuite – social network management
– Mailchimp – email newsletter creation
– Google Docs – share word docs, powerpoints, etc
29. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Other Event Tools
– Ticket Leap – ticket sales option, lower fee
– Splashthat – event page management
– Hashtracking – track hashtags
– YappBox – make a custom event app
– Square – collect payments at the door
30. By @EmilyMiethner of @NYCinterns
Contact
emily@nycreativeinterns.com
twitter.com/emilymiethner
