As we work our way through spring and into summer, I find myself amazed at how fast time goes by. And I am sure those of you planning events find yourselves in the same spot at times. As a former event planner, one of the annual events I coordinated had to be started for the following year even before the current one was over. Whether it is a youth camp, couple's retreat, or family event - planning and promotion will impact the success of your event...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

Just as much as you and I have a personality so does your organization and it's events. The traits that others perceive about your organization reflect your organization's historical behavior not necessarily the value statements you make on your website. For example at Midwest Christian Retreats we say that we value being a quality affordable solution for our groups, people will not perceive that to be true if we nickel and dime our groups at every turn. As leaders we are responsible for shaping the values and personality of our organizations going forward...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

Each property may name this role slightly differently, but the conference services coordinator is the person on the property who helps each group plan the details of their event. We're talking about the nitty gritty stuff like hour by hour schedules, dietary issues, meeting space set up (number of chairs,  microphones, even the width of the esille). These details are generally worked out closer to your day of arrival when you're well aware of who is coming to your event, their needs, and the ministry needs of your event. The staff who handle these details are also handling the same details for any other groups who will be on property so they can give you insights to make small adjustments that will greatly enhance the guest experience...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

Your event is a couple months away.  You start to look at your pre-registration.  To your surprise, the number of attendees is way down compared to what you had projected.  What do you do now? The worst thing you can do at this point is panic.  Start looking back at the first stages of your planning process.  See where you may have missed some opportunities and try to cover the basics with your event...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

How are plans going on your upcoming event? Are you on track with anticipated registrations, activity schedules, etc? I recommend that early in the planning stages of your event...no matter now big or small, set up a checklist (schedule) with your committee. Include specific timelines,and be sure all committee members are on board with it and understand its importance. Include ideas to take care of the "what ifs"...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

One of the first questions a host property will ask a planner is, "how many guests do you expect?" Whether an event planner formulates their response based on history, early interest, and slatted promotion activities or simply takes a guess. The estimated is based on the following: narrowing down the entire target population to potential attendees then determining the cross section who will actually register...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

Reading through our event promotion blog posts you'll notice over and over and over again we encourage planners to share the basics about their event. The vital information that effects an attendee's ability to actually show up. That is: Who, What, When, Where, & How Much? Once you've passed that litmus test potential attendees are interested, some may have already begun registering simply because you're hosting a conference or retreat for them. Registered or not they want to know things like Where are we going? and What are we going to do...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

I have been going to my church for 10 years now.  It is a small church with about 50 members. There are pros and cons being in a small church.  There is a great sense of unity at my church and I love that.  But the problem comes to people being committed to helping with ministries and events.  We have a select few that always do everything. It has come to the point where some of the people don't want to help anymore because they are getting burned out...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

What goes into planning a successful ministry event?  I have been to events that were awesome and rewarding.  But I have been to a few events that didn't quite meet up to expectations. How do you make sure your event is going to meet its objectives?  You may think you have everything planned out, but how do you make sure you don't miss something...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

It is essential that the first impression your guests have of the event is a good one! A chaperon checking in a group of 50 students is likely overwhelmed from the long drive and wants nothing more than to get everyone settled and started. Make it a priority to clearly communicate about anything that needs to be accomplished prior to arrival, important information like directions, and be adequately prepared to start registration early. The object of the game is to prevent people from having to wait and anything that would be frustrating or a let-down...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

Have you ever walked away from an event that felt more like an experience? I remember in high school, I attended several conferences for a committed I was on. Some were ok, but there was one that still stands out in my mind today. The event has amazing speakers, great dining experience, and had time for us to connect with other schools that were there...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment

The first and sometimes greatest challenge any event has to overcome is the simple WHY factor. Why go? Your potential attendees will never flat out ask you, but all want to know the benefit of attending the event. You must convince them that attending this family ministry event will be a valuable life-changing experience that is essential for the spiritual health of their family...     Continue Reading | Leave Comment