Bad advice: how to fail the organization of the event

Let’s say you need to organize a master class, an educational seminar or a concert. You have organized events before, but mostly they were free meetings for your acquaintances. Now your task has changed: instead of a small party for friends – a large-scale event with subsequent profit. Let’s try to go from the opposite: what needs to be done to fail the event?

1. Choose the first available location and a convenient time for you personally

If you are going to organize a concert, plan to hold it during the day, always on weekdays. Choose a place far from the metro, preferably by barter, to save your budget. No need to worry about transportation – let the audience get to the place themselves. If you’re into educational events, rent a cramped room. It is desirable that in neighboring rooms the workers were just engaged in noisy repairs. Make sure there are no parking spaces and no navigation. Change the date of the event the day before and report it in Stories.

2. Demanding the maximum from the sponsor, offering nothing in return

If your goal is to piss off potential partners, then start with harsh and demanding language in the first letter. List everything you expect and offer nothing in return. Don’t waste time writing new emails: just forward the ones you’ve already sent. And don’t forget to use “good day” at the beginning of your email.

3. No promotion

There is no need to make announcements of the event and post them on social networks or on the website: those who are interested will find out about it themselves. You will not prohibit the participants of the event from making announcements in their profiles, but let them search for information about the event themselves and publish the information that they consider necessary. Do not be distracted by creating a landing page or posters – this is a waste of time and budget. The only suitable option: if a novice specialist offers you to do it for free for attending an event.

If you still decide to write an announcement, choose the most ornate wording. Do not delve into the intricacies of communication channels and the characteristics of the audience that will read the text. Write general words.

4. Spend a minimum of effort on finding business partners

Now it is not difficult to find a contractor: take the first one that the search engine prompts. It is not necessary to check the reliability and quality of its services. Set impossible goals and cut your budget. You can try to arrange a tender, especially if you are a little-known organizer. Let contractors compete for the right to work with you. By the way, it is better to install and dismantle equipment right during the event – this way you will save on rent.

5. Let the participants create their own program

If you are organizing an educational event, then let the speakers themselves formulate the topics of the speeches. There is no need to clarify the plan of their lectures in advance, you will learn everything right at the seminar together with the audience.

If you are engaged in concerts, pull to the last with the announcement of the program. The inscription “the program is being specified” intrigues potential visitors.

6. Leave the budget discussion for later.

It is not necessary to draw up financial estimates at the very beginning. Just contact sponsors with an approximate amount of expenses, without going into details. Do not budget for risks: usually everything goes according to plan and no additional expenses are required.

This bad advice will ensure that almost no one will come to the event, and sponsors and contractors will avoid cooperation in every possible way in the future. To avoid this, use Timepad checklist, which will help you plan the project, act step by step and not miss the details.

Make sure you are professional when organizing an event. Is your letter attractive to a potential partner? Will the speaker want to speak at your event? Have you written enough engaging text for the target audience?

How to choose a venue for your event? In November, Timepad organizes two-day intensive in Moscow. You will learn how to increase ticket sales, think over a project promotion strategy, and all this based on real cases of event market practitioners. Such an intensive course is an opportunity not only to improve knowledge in applied matters, but also to make useful contacts with colleagues.