Simply put, Karen Hartline’s ’50 tips for hosting badass events’ is a recipe to organize awesome events and take your brand to the next level. So buckle up because you are about to learn some really interesting and useful tips as we give you a complete rundown of Karen’s talk at INBOUND15.
Karen started off on a really promise-ing note.
Big promise from @Khartline in #50tips – if we don’t learn something she’ll buy us a drink! #INBOUND15
— Frank Camp (@frankftr) September 10, 2015
And gave us an interesting perspective.
Event planning is like TV production. Constantly fixing problems and helping creatives bring things to life! #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Set your event up for success with these tips shared by Karen.
On Pre-Event Planning
This is step one.
Starting off with “Pre-Planning” for events. 1. SET END GOALS from the get go. #INBOUND15
— Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Get your priorities right, from the very beginning.
When planning an event ask clients, “What is the WORST thing that could happen?” It helps set priorities. #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Work with checklists and templates.
.@khartline is a woman after my own heart. MAKE CHECKLISTS AND TEMPLATES for events, especially annual ones. #50tips #INBOUND15
— Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Use Boomerang to remember to follow up.
Event #protip: Use Boomerang for Gmail. It helps remind you to follow up with people who don’t respond. #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Have a plan for everything, even content uploading.
.@khartline #50Tips “make a plan for uploading content at event” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Prepare for surveys.
.@khartline #50Tips “have survey updated and ready to go befor event” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
On Team Involvement and Collaboration
Work strategically.
.@khartline #50Tips “get your sales team involved. Be strategic.” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Utilize in-house resources.
.@khartline #50Tips “have employees staff the event. 2 hour shifts at registration. Meet the attendees.” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Use Google docs for team collaboration.
Use a Google Doc to encourage the event team to jot down notes on what worked and what didn’t. Then debrief. #50tips #INBOUND15
— Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
On Managing Speakers and Their Sessions
Create a speaker wishlist.
.@khartline #50Tips “don’t ask everyone to speak. Create wish lists and divide them into tiers. Make the ask, set response date.” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Ascertain topics that would add value.
.@khartline #50Tips “Make a clear ask. Why do you want them to speak? Do some research, make a reference. Give them a reason.” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Don’t make your panel facilitator do all the work.
.@khartline #50Tips “Don’t make your panel facilitator do all the work.” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Get clarity to market the speakers and their sessions well.
.@khartline #50Tips “Question your speakers. Predetermined questions to use for marketing.” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Don’t make’em pay.
Recommendation: Don’t let speakers pay for speaking time. They can be on stage to introduce a speaker, though. #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Know what they’ll talk about.
Tip 15: Prep your speakers – don’t allow anyone on stage without knowing what they’ll share. #50tips @khartline #INBOUND15
— Danielle Long (@daniellelyn) September 10, 2015
On Managing Sponsors
Be strategic about lead generation for sponsors.
.@khartline #50Tips “be strategic about lead gen for sponsors. Opt in for lists. ‘Would you like to connect…?'” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Don’t go for pay-to-play.
.@khartline #50Tips “allow sponsors to intro speakers, not pay-to-play” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Respect your attendees’ privacy.
Do not sell your attendee list to sponsors. It’s just bad form. It’s like a website selling your personal info. #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
On Organizing Food for the Event
Don’t let a stringent catering budget limit you.
.@khartline #50Tips “limited catering budget means get creative” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Go with variety.
.@khartline #50Tips “provide variety of options for food. Don’t go against ADA regulations” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Be fancy.
.@khartline #50Tips “make your water fancy.” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
But keep it simple.
.@khartline #50Tips “Host VIP reception, not a dinner. Dinner is too much commitment, too little networking.” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Make’em snack.
.@khartline #50Tips “Offer healthy snack options” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Pay attention to your clients.
.@khartline #50Tips “make sure the client eats” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
And to your vendors.
.@khartline #50Tips “Plan meals for vendors” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
And while you do all this, don’t forget to listen to your own stomach.
As event planners, don’t forget to eat. Schedule it in. Nothing worse than a hangry event team! #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
On Event Venue
WiFi is a must.
.@khartline #50Tips “WiFi is a must! 2.5-3 devices per person” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Yes, cat cafes!
.@khartline #50Tips “Kitten cafes are a big trend” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Make it worth their wait with some music.
Tip 22: Music in between sessions helps keep energy up! – yes! 🙌🏼 @khartline chose those @jtimberlake songs! #INBOUND15 #50tips
— Danielle Long (@daniellelyn) September 10, 2015
Save space, keep a coat check.
Have a coat check. People will stay longer. Plus, a backpack takes of space in the room. That’s an extra person! #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Think ‘outside’ the box.
Tip 21: Start your event OUTSIDE the venue. Think red carpets, step and repeats and other ways to get people excited. #INBOUND15 #50tips
— Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
On Event Networking Engagement
Pre-event speed networking.
Speed networking is a great pre-event way to encourage people to meet new friends. Alcohol also helps. #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Have room for discussions.
Help facilitate lunch discussions with table topics to bring together like minds. For @tedxamoskeag, @PammeB? #50tips #INBOUND15
— Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Try not to make it all about business.
.@khartline #50Tips “table topics don’t have to be all business related” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Get speakers to network as well.
Have speakers at your event? Ask them to attend and network, not just speak. #50tips #INBOUND15
— Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Build engagement with Q&As.
.@khartline #50Tips “Include more Q&A time. Attendees want to engage.” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
On Event Branding and Marketing
Use essential items for branding purposes.
.@khartline #50Tips “chargers can be branded giveaways” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Power it up with branded charging stations!
.@khartline #50Tips “power it up! Everybody needs charging stations. They can be branded.” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Use hashtags not profiles.
.@khartline #50Tips “Use a hashtag not a new Twitter profile. Profiles go dark after the event unless you have 12 month plan” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
On Emergency and Backup Planning
Have an emergency kit in place.
.@khartline #50Tips “have an event emergency kit” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Have your playlist offline.
.@khartline #50Tips “have your playlist offline” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Ideas, not problems.
50 Tips for Hosting Badass Events, tip #11: Be ready for last minute ideas @khartline #50tips #INBOUND15 pic.twitter.com/x0nZn1DflC — Jenny Kessman (@jakessman) September 10, 2015
On Shaking Away That Stress
Use safe words.
Have a ‘safe word’ – know when it’s time to take a step back, destress and reassess #50tips #eventprofs #inbound15 @hillandpartners
— DanielleDeBenedictis (@DanielleDeBen) September 10, 2015
Puppies therapy.
.@khartline reenforcing my theory: Put puppies in anything (presentations, tweets, ect.) and people will share. #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Post Event Planning
Plan ahead, make your next big announcement.
.@khartline #50Tips “announce your next event!” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Think: The end.
.@khartline #50Tips “prep post event emails before the event starts” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Express gratitude, genuinely.
.@khartline #50Tips “say thank you post event” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Debrief, debrief and debrief!
.@khartline #50Tips “do your own debrief post event” #INBOUND15 — Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Some Hacks to Make Them Go ‘Wow’!
Create an experience.
Absorb the “ticketing fees.” Set the ticket price to account for it. It’s a good first experience. #50tips #INBOUND15
— Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Personalize to delight.
Just like with #appticipation, delight event attendees with personalized touches. #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
Offer stress relief.
.@khartline #50Tips “offer stress relief at your event” #INBOUND15
— Alex Plaxen (@aplaxen) September 10, 2015
Be unique in your approach.
Include a “WOW factor”: Something that makes your event insanely unique and worth tweeting about. #50tips #INBOUND15 — Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
The Big Takeaway
Visualize the event from an attendee’s perspective.
THE BIG TAKEAWAY: Think about all event details from the attendee perspective. #50tips #INBOUND15
— Gabbi Hall (@Hall_Gabbi) September 10, 2015
There’s also some good news. Karen’s talk rocked so hard that there would be an encore.
#INBOUND15 Very disappointed @khartline “50 tips for bad ass events session” was full. Awaiting post event content! — Jenn Artura (@JennArtura) September 10, 2015
We’ve gotta hand it to Gabbi Hall and Alex Plaxen who made it super easy for us to curate these amazing tips and tricks. If you have been missing out on live sessions at INBOUND15, worry not, you can get a gist of all these talks and more at https://www.niswey.com/inbound15/.
