You thrive when you’re creating and managing events that people love. So why waste your valuable creative energy on time-consuming admin when you can use event management software to streamline the planning process? Learn how fully utilising an event management platform can help you to plan, promote, and measure your events, leaving you with more time to dream up amazing ideas for your brand or business.
Why is event management software important to your success?
Event management software puts all of your decision-making in one place. Through real-time analytics, you have a crystal clear view of which efforts are paying off, meaning you can make informed decisions on where to best focus your energy.
A better option than using numerous events software packages for different event tasks is to use Eventbrite’s integrated event management software. From your events page, you can easily access event tasks, including registration, ticketing, and promotion. Plus, you can move from attendee management to event analytics with just one click. Many manual tasks, such as budgeting and collecting feedback, are even automated, helping to save you time and money. Finally, you can customise your entire event, including your landing page and colour scheme, to make your brand stand out from the crowd.
How to choose the best event management software
Eventbrite offers three packages that all provide event tracking software – Essentials, Professional, and Premium – so that you can monitor ticket sales and real-time attendance with live reporting.
If you’re a beginner running a free event, or you’re hosting an event on behalf of a not-for-profit, you probably want to look for easy-to-use online event booking software to suit a smaller budget. Eventbrite offers free event planning software (Essentials) to create your event. You can enjoy unlimited ticket types (such as pre-sale, early bird, general admission, and VIP tickets), access to the organiser mobile app, and a listing on Eventbrite plus our partner sites.
Intermediate-level event hosts, such as those of you who have run a handful of small-to-medium events in the past, may be looking for more powerful tools to boost sales and grow your business. Eventbrite’s Professionals software package gives you everything that’s in the Essentials package, plus features like reserve seating, group registration, and a customisable order confirmation message. You can also embed checkout on your own website, which means that attendees won’t be directed away from your page to make a purchase.
If you’re an experienced event host (you’ve hosted several events and/or large-scale events) you’ll be after more streamlined processes and tailored partnerships. In addition to the above features, our Premium software package includes training, on-site support, and access to rental equipment for box office and entry. Most importantly, you get to bypass negotiations with vendors by gaining access to our built-in venue booking service.
Event management software for in-person and virtual events
Need to host a virtual event? Eventbrite’s event management platform makes it super easy to create online events, too, whether it’s a livestream, webinar, or Zoom event. If your planned in-person event is affected by COVID-19 restrictions, you can follow a few simple steps to take your event online. The fun part is you get to create a fully customised online event page to host your event video links and updates for attendees. During event setup, you will need to decide which video hosting platform
is the best fit for your event, whether it’s a webinar or livestream. Check out our overview of event life cycles if you’d like an overview of what to expect in the different stages of your event, from putting together your budget to tracking your ROI.
The main steps to set up your event
By using Eventbrite’s event management software, you won’t need to worry about hiring extra staff to help manage your event. Real-time analytics show which approaches pay off and which don’t, and you can even boost your search ranking via our partnership with Google. But first, log in to your account, select “Create Event,” and follow the steps below.
1. Enter your event details
This is where you let your attendees know the “who, what, when, where, and why” of your event. Under “Basic Info,” enter details such as the title, type, and category of the event, and choose a location. At this stage, you can search for a venue or select “Online.” Spend a bit of time writing a good summary and description of your event – including details like sponsors and featured guests in your event information will let attendees know what they can look forward to.
2. Create your tickets
After entering the details, you will be automatically taken to the next step. Here, you set up your tickets or create multiple ticket types for your event, such as “Free,” “Paid,” or “Donation.” Having multiple ticket types may help increase your attendance numbers. You can customise tickets using the advanced settings and, after confirming they’re on sale, you can always edit, duplicate, or delete tickets with one click. Easy-to-use mobile ticket scanning will get your attendees in the door fast and built-in event seating software will make sure they’re in the right place.
3. Publish
Last but not least, you can set up payments, order forms, and privacy settings. Customising the order form allows you to choose what information you collect and from who, and to provide attendees with instructions. By default, attendees can edit their order information after registration. When you’re done, hit “Publish” – you can do this straight away or schedule a time. Once your event is live, it’s easy to share with attendees on their favourite social media platform.
Get planning and save time
New technologies have opened up a whole new world of event planning tools that you can use to increase your productivity and give you more free time. You can manage your event from your mobile device, live stream it to the world, and keep your finger on the pulse with data, insights, and reports. Let us show you how you can do more with your events.
