How do you make the most of your time and resources for a live event?

1 Define your goals and metrics

Before you start planning your live event, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, educate your audience, or build community? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will tell you if you met your goals? For example, you might track attendance, engagement, feedback, conversions, or referrals. Having a clear vision and a way to track your progress will help you focus your efforts and optimize your results.

2 Choose the right platform and format

When hosting a live event, such as a webinar, podcast, workshop, or Q&A session, it's important to choose the platform and format that best suit your goals, audience, and budget. For instance, you should consider the size and location of your audience, how much interaction and engagement you want to enable, the type and quality of content you'll be sharing, and the duration and frequency of the event. Additionally, you should think about whether your audience has access to reliable internet and devices, how you'll moderate and manage communication, what kind of information you'll be sharing (visual, audio or text-based), how you'll ensure the quality and clarity of your presentation, and how you'll keep your audience's attention throughout.

3 Plan and prepare your content and delivery

Once you have chosen your platform and format, you need to plan and prepare your content and delivery. This involves creating an outline and script for the event, designing visuals and audio to make the content appealing and easy to follow, and practicing and rehearsing the event. Consider the main points and messages you want to convey, how you will structure and sequence your content, what transitions and calls to action you will use, what colors, fonts, images, and animations you will use, how you will deliver your content with confidence and enthusiasm, how you will handle questions, comments, and feedback, and how you will cope with potential technical issues or disruptions.

4 Promote and market your event

To attract and retain your audience, you need to promote and market your event effectively. This means identifying and segmenting your target audience based on their needs and interests, creating and distributing promotional materials that highlight the benefits of your event, and building relationships with your audience before, during, and after the event. You should also create a sense of urgency for your event and follow up with attendees afterwards. When it comes to distributing promotional materials, consider using email, social media, blogs, or ads.

5 Evaluate and improve your event

After your event, it is essential to evaluate and improve your event based on your goals and metrics. This involves collecting and analyzing your data, such as performance according to KPIs, strengths and weaknesses, and feedback from attendees. It is also important to report and celebrate your results with your team, stakeholders, and audience. Lastly, you need to learn from the key lessons and takeaways from your event in order to improve future events.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?