Day in the life of an event coordinator

After organizing events for over a decade, I noticed a sort of groove that I got into over time. Now this will depend on the nature of the events that you are organizing and if they are weekly, monthly, yearly etc. Use this as a general guide to make sure you’re on track for your making your next event a smashing success!

When I was in a groove organizing a seasonal event, I was at first stressed out at all times and losing sleep over the little details! If this sounds familiar, have no fear. Overtime I found a better way to manage my to do list and expectations.

3 months away: This is the fun exciting time when I would first make sure my venue was secured for the date. Next I would really go over the budget and theme. Talk to a few close friends or clients and bounce ideas about the theme with them.

2 months away. Order all flyers and posters if I hadn’t already. Start a gentle social media campain such as a facebook event and adding the event to all calenders in my comunity

1 month away. This is the start of busy time. I would generally wait until my event was one month away to secure staff and volunteers. If I looked too far in advance, I found that many people would make other commitments and it was best to just wait until now to find reliable staff and volunteers.

I would ask my vendors to email me photos and/or tag our event on social media with photos of what they would be displaying or selling. This would get the buzz really going. I also found that my events that hadn’t sold out would always sell out during this time as the social media was reaching more potential customers and vendors. 3 weeks away, I would start my first wave of posters in coffee shops around town.

2 weeks away: At this time I would be sending my vendors set up details and load out details at my event. I would be reminding vendors to share the event on social media and sending them helpful instagram and facebook ads that they could post with all the details of our event.

Emailing my newsletter 2 weeks, 1 week and 2 days before the event.

Emailing press releases out 2 weeks before my event. This can be as simple as creating an edge or buzz about an aspect of your event!

2 days before the event: Checking in on all staff and volunteers!

And don’t forget that self care! Get off your phone and computer and get outside. I would either book a massage 2 days before or the day after my event so I could really recharge! The more you can do to alleviate stress in the days leading up for your event, the more well rested and better prepared you will be to take on any challenges that arise on the big day!