Improve Your Event Planning Skills with These 10 Tools

Leading events with other event planners offers great networking and learning opportunities.

You’re probably wondering what the best ways to become a successful event planner are. Luckily there are a few tools that dramatically help many of the top planners out there.

In fact at a recent live event we held with hundreds of planners, we put together a list of the top 10 tools you can use to improve your planner skills.

Of course one of the most important things you can do to success is to consistently provide great service. On top of that you can start implementing some of the tools in this article.

The ability to earn a great living as an event planner is possible.

In order to keep the customers rolling in, event planners must pay attention to detail and focus on client’s needs.

Listed below are resources that will assist you in being more thorough and efficient in your business:

1. ONLINE GROUPS

International speaker and author, Julius Solaris suggests joining online groups directed towards event planners. Members can share ideas and advice with each other.

Check Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ for various groups exclusively for event planners.

2. EVERNOTE

An article by Forbes Magazine recommends using the Evernote App to keep all of your information in one place.

This app gives you the ability to save images, web pages, text and notes. Staying organized is of prime importance.

Keep on top of your ideas with this useful app that is currently only $10 a month for business use.

3. PINTEREST

When looking for new ideas and inspiration, Pinterest is a must for all event planners.

Keep up with the latest trends and organize them in separate boards (categories) to easily refer back to when needed.

Pinterest is a great place to find photos for your idea boards or to create your own account where you pin different events to show prospective clients.

4. BLOGS

A great source of ideas can be found on blogs published by event planners.

Articles pertaining to the different aspects of event planning can be extremely useful, not only for new planners, but ones with experience can keep fresh by implementing new ideas.

If you haven’t read every article on our blog yet, you should start here.

5. NETWORKING EVENTS

Host networking events with other event planners. It’s a great way to get to know others in your industry and perhaps can work as a mentorship. Not only will you gain new insight from other professionals, you will also gain experience planning the details of the meeting.

This article finds Meetup.com to be helpful in finding attendees for these events.

6. SCANNER SOFTWARE

Keeping track of paperwork can get out of hand. Scan your receipts and other documents for easy organization.

This event planner blog favors the ScannerPro app, which can convert your scans into pdf files that can can be emailed from your devices.

7. ONLINE STORAGE

Make life easier by storing all of your files in one place.

Dropbox.com is a user friendly app that will keep your guest lists, contracts, invoices and other documents stored and viewed on all of your devices. Files can be shared with others to easily communicate with clients and vendors.

We use this tool more than any other to sync all our company files amongst our different computers.

8. PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

By joining an event planner association, you will be able to network with other professionals in the industry who are willing to share their ideas and expertise.

Event planner associations usually have a variety of resources available to their members so they can excel at their businesses.

9. CONFERENCES

Seminars and conferences for event planners not only provide a wealth of information, but they also give encouragement and enthusiasm.

If you feel you need motivation in your business, search for a local event in your area. You may meet valuable new contacts and discover ideas that will jump start your career.

10. GUEST LIST APP

To keep a handle on registrations and guests lists, try a guest list app such as Boomset.com.

Not only does this app keep track of guest lists, it also makes it a snap to print wristbands and badges, as well as scan QR codes for registration to large events.

CONCLUSION

Take advantage of all of the available resources and make your business run smooth and ease the stress of trying to do it all yourself.

Learn with others and consider their advice when networking. Use technology to your advantage and you will see your events will be easier to plan and your business will continue to grow.

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