We’re no strangers to event planning, and because we’ve spent so much time doing it, we’re more than aware of the different tools out there.
Along the way, we’ve tried and tested the whole lot of them. We’ve scrapped the ones that suck and stuck by the ones that get the job done. That brings us to this week’s article, where we’ll bring together ten of the best of them.
And so with that in mind, let’s go ahead and get started. Here are the top ten tools you should use for event planning.
Dropbox is probably my favorite of all of the tools I use. As a cloud storage provider, it allows me to store all of my files in a single place that I can access from any device with an internet connection. More importantly, it has great version control, and so if a file gets corrupted or I accidentally delete something important, I can go back and restore it.
Trello is an event management tool that makes it easier than ever before to work on group projects thanks to its ability to create tasks and assign them to people. It’s useful for distributed teams who are working via the internet, which is why I’ve spent so much time using it. You can also view all of your completed cards and check your archives, and that’s great for looking back at what you’ve done.
Eventbrite is less of a planning tool and more of a sales channel, but it’s still worth mentioning because of how powerful it is and because you’ll want to plan to use it even when you’re still in the early stages. It’s a ticketing solution on steroids, and you can use it for both paid and free events. We used it when I helped at the local arts center and found it was a great way to track attendance for both online and in-person events.
Mailchimp is an email marketing platform that makes it super easy for you to stay in touch with your customers. You can quickly and easily create email lists and landing pages to capture people’s data. You can also set up automation and segmentation if you want to tap into some of the more advanced functionality. It’s a one-stop shop for everything you might need to carry out email marketing.
I always describe Canva as Photoshop for people who aren’t graphic designers. It lets you make social media images, event flyers, and all sorts of other visual assets that you might not otherwise have had access to. It even has pre-made templates that you can use as a shortcut to success, and it’s super affordable even for those on the tightest of budgets. You can get the basic functionality for free, too.
I used to use Buffer all the time in my former life as a social media manager, and with good reason. It can interact with different social networking sites, including the most popular ones. It also allows you to pre-set posts that will go out at a time and date of your choosing. That means you can spend two hours setting up posts and then forget about it for the next two weeks.
Wix is great for building simple websites, and while it doesn’t offer the functionality of a package like WordPress, it still has most of what you need, including a drag-and-drop builder designed for rookies. You don’t need to be a web developer to build a website with Wix, just like you don’t need to be a graphic designer to use Canva. It’ll help you set up hosting and a domain name, too.
Slack is a real-time communication platform that can help your team stay in touch with one another, especially when they’re based across multiple physical locations. It supports everything from short, written messages to video calls. You can think of it as a chatroom, but on steroids. If you’re planning an event with a large team, it’s a solid idea to get them all on Slack.
We all know what Zoom is now that we have been through a pandemic and come out the other side. Still, if you’re new to it, it’s a video calling application that allows you to have one-on-one calls, group meetings, and even to host webinars where a small group of people present to a large audience. You can probably imagine why it’s so useful to public speakers.
Like Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey is one that you’ll want to plan for and use after your event is over. It’s a great way to gather audience feedback and break it down into a range of charts and tables so it’s easier for you to understand what you’re looking at. It might not be worth using for occasional, one-off events, but if you’re hosting a conference or some other large-scale event, it’s the perfect way to find out what people make of it.
Now that you know our pick of the top tools you should use for event planning, it’s over to you so you can add them all to your toolkit and start working on your next big event.
Now that you’ve heard from us, we want to hear from you. As always, be sure to let us know which tools you use in the comments so that we can keep the discussion going. You can also follow us on your favorite social networking sites for more. We’ll see you soon for another article!
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