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So, you’ve decided that you are going to host a conference. This is no small task. There will be a lot that you need to think about if you are to make the conference a success.
Planning should start several months in advance, particularly if you are planning a big conference. Fortunately, there are some steps that you can take to make sure your conference goes without a hitch.
In this article, we’ll go through the various stages of the planning process for hosting a conference.
Put Together The Right Team
You can’t do this by yourself. You’ll need an entire team working on the event. There will planning, marketing, admin, sponsorship, and running the actual event on the day to think of.
You may want to consider bringing in a professional conference management company to help you with many of the tasks.
Set A Budget
You’re going to need to pay for your conference, and much of what goes on in the planning will be dependant on the budget that you have in place. Make sure that you budget a contingency for when things inevitably go wrong- that way, you can deal with situations without too much stress.
Find Sponsorship
You’ll need to pay for your conference somehow, and a great way of doing this is through sponsorship. Speak to businesses that may be able to help and come up with an attractive marketing proposal for them.
Set The Date
Once you have the money in place, you can officially set a date for the conference. Make sure that the date doesn’t clash with any other major events. Sporting events or other conferences on the same day may mean that you have fewer attendees.
Book A Venue
Once you know when you will be holding your conference, you can book a venue for that date. Make sure you book the venue well enough in advance, or your chosen date may be taken,
Arrange Catering
If your conference is going to have food and drinks, then you will need to book in your vendors. Again, as with booking your venue, you should always ensure that you book vendors in plenty of time before the event, or they may all be booked up.
Book Your Speakers
Guest speakers can really make or break a conference. You could have the best-organised conference out there, but if your speakers are boring, then you won’t be likely to win over your attendees.
Set The Agenda
You’ll need a running order for the event. You should make sure that everything is well-timed and that any technicians know what is going on so that they can arrange all lighting, sound, and multimedia cues. Have a few dry runs to rehearse.
Host Your Conference
Finally, all that will be left for you to do is to host the event. Make sure you utilize all of your team on the day and have faith in your forward planning to get you through successfully.
