Tips for Planning a Conference by Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, Freelance Writer/Editor Recommend this article

These tips on what you need to organize a conference are based on “Build Your Communications Business – Tips and Techniques for Freelancers and Business Owners,” the first-ever conference of Communication Central, held Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Rochester.

• An exciting idea
This may sound awfully obvious – but some programs are weakest at the heart. Come up with a theme, and presentations around that theme, based on what your prospective attendees need, not just what you want to say. The more people you want involved, the more general the topic should be. On the other hand, the more money you want to make per person, the more focused or specific it should be. It’s kind of like specialists or subscription newsletters; the more targeted or specialized, the more they cost.

• Classy collaborators
Even those of us with great ideas and insights need balance and perspective from others. While a one-person presentation can fly on its own, a conference requires involvement and advice from at least two colleagues. A committee of a few more people can only help — as long as it’s chaired efficiently and every member not only has specific duties, but can be relied upon to perform as assigned.

Going it on your own gives you more control over planning, organizing and managing the event, but working through an existing organization may provide a better financial cushion, built-in credibility and a stronger marketing network, even though bureaucracy can become an issue.

• Strong support

An independent event can build support among organizations — you can ask several organizations to serve as cosponsors, and you can offer a discount to members of several colleagial organizations. That should not only increase participation, but bolster promotional efforts: If an association appreciates a discount for its members, it might provide assistance with announcements. Don’t be surprised to find, though, that getting such buy-in takes some strong persuasion.

• Powerful presenters
It takes more than a clever name or practical theme to bring in paying participants. You need well-known speakers as well. Inviting presenters from out of town for a local event may be overly ambitious, since covering travel costs and accommodations, along with providing honoraria, is costly. Luckily, Rochester has many talented, well-known colleagues who are excellent speakers. On the other, outside presenters can up the prestige of a conference or workshop.

Be sure that someone involved with your conference has actually heard presentations by any- and everyone you plan to ask to speak, to be sure that everyone on the program will be articulate, interesting and worth paying to hear.

• A likely location
You know the mantra; it’s all about location, location, location. Holding a national event in Rochester can be a risk: People outside the area might not know much about the destination, or have to juggle complicated airline connections to get here. On the other hand, Rochester hotels are a lot less expensive than ones in major destinations like New York City, both for meeting space and room rates!  

A non-hotel location can work if your main audience is local participants, and Rochester has plenty such options. To attract attendees from out of town, though, you’ll have to provide at least information about, if not actual access to, convenient accommodations in addition to worthwhile programming and presenters. If you use a hotel, actual meeting space usually becomes a very small part of the cost (the hotel makes its money from the meal functions and guests in the house), so you can offer participants better program fees and discounts on accommodations. I was pleasantly surprised at the reasonable rates for meeting space, accommodations and meal functions at Rochester’s Clarion Riverside Hotel. (The fact that it’s only a block from where I live is purely coincidental!)

Before committing to any program space, ask about Internet access. Even if your event is not technology-based, participants will want to be able to check e-mail during the day or during a stay.

• Good gimmicks
People don’t sign up for conferences just for the “goodie bags,” but a few good gimmicks and giveaways can’t hurt. A discount for members of various professional organizations is a good move, because it enhances the networking aspect of the event and makes it attractive to more colleagues than just those who belong to one organization. Copies of presenters’ books are a great way to build interest and flatter your presenters. It can’t hurt to ask local attractions such as the George Eastman House or National Museum of Play for guest passes, for out-of-town participants whose families come along for the ride; being able to offer such amenities might make the difference in whether someone comes to your event from out of town.

Regardless of whether you can offer freebies, be sure to provide information about local attractions. Even people who live here may be unaware of some of the area’s most interesting attractions and sightseeing opportunities, and out-of-towners will be looking for ways to make the most of their journeys.

• Firm finances
Underlying every successful event is a good budget. Be sure to include these factors in a conference budget, at the very least:

• Site fees (including not only space and meals, but taxes and tips)
• Speaker fees and expenses (be sure to tell your speakers upfront of any limits, such as no first-class plane tickets or no room service)
• Promotions (e-mail and website messages might be free, but a website, logo and brochure will cost money to design and produce, and many outlets – even websites – will not list events for free)
  
• Office supplies (nametags and ribbons, folders/portfolios, pens and pads – always more than you think you’ll need – way more!)
• Equipment (a hotel or conference center might charge several hundred dollars for a digital projector; a local professional organization will rent one for $50/day)
• Internet access
• Copying (handouts, announcements, participant and resource lists, records, etc.)
• Miscellaneous (often the most important line item, because you never know what might arise)

Total up everything you think you might need to spend, and set your registration fees accordingly. Think in terms of how many people times how many dollars will be needed to cover expenses, or cost-per-person. For a first-time effort, set a lower target attendance than you hope to attract; hotels, caterers and meeting sites expect you to live up to the numbers you provide, and it’s easier to reorganize for more than scale back for fewer.

• Tactical timing
Along with a detailed budget, be sure to create a timeline with specific dates for every step of the process, from initial announcements to space and site commitments, purchasing supplies, choosing menus, even to a “do or die” decision. Otherwise, some crucial detail is sure to get lost in the bustle.

• Appropriate prices
If you want to attract a wide range and high number of participants, the event has to be affordable. The trick is coming up with a reasonable fee (or range of fees) that will still cover your expenses – and those expenses, no matter how carefully you budget, will always be at least a little more than expected. You don’t want the rates to look as if you’re appealing to the lowest common denominator, but you don’t want to set fees so high that an individual doing fairly well can’t afford to pay for the event on his/her own.

Be sure to set an “early bird” cut-off date for registrations — two weeks before the event is good, although it may seem uncomfortably tight. You need some advance commitment so you can arrange things like room set-ups and meals effectively, but you also have to allow for people’s tendencies to sign up at the last minute. Make walk-ins available but more expensive than any other fees, because they cause the most disruption to your plans and systems. That means, essentially, a three-tier pricing structure, but that’s what makes the most sense and gives you the best level of planning.

• Effective outreach
Nowadays, e-mail and the Internet can make it easy and inexpensive to get the word out about an event. However, it will take more than that to bring in a good crowd. Be prepared to develop a website just for the event; write and disseminate press releases; produce and distribute a professional-looking brochure, complete with registration form, with one version that can be downloaded and dropped off around town locally, and a self-mailer version to send to prospective attendees; set up online payment options; purchase mailing lists; take out ads in appropriate places.

Unfortunately, you may not be able to count on effective coverage of your event beforehand from the local press, unless you know people at the various local papers, you’re bringing in a huge “name” speaker or your organization is a well-known not-for-profit organization. Even with detailed information in hand more than two months ahead of time, Rochester’s daily newspaper and weekly business publication are likely to only run calendar announcements the week of an event. Few people will be able to drop everything and attend a Friday or Saturday program that they hear of for the first time via the Monday newspaper.

List your event with free promotional outlets, such as the regional version of Craigslist and a national calendar service called Shawguides.

One of the best local and regional outlets for information a Rochester-based event planner could ever wish for is AdHub, the Web-based directory of advertising agencies and marketing resources in Upstate New York that provides links to marketing resources to help participants grow their businesses. Not only can you list a conference here, but the AdHub newsletter is likely to feature it as well.

One of my goals for the Communication Central business is to create a clearinghouse for listing communications-related events; kind of a national-level AdHub, to get the word out about future events.

• Guts and grit
Sometimes you just have to keep your fingers crossed and go for it. A first venture, and one being launched without the safety net of an organizational sponsor, may not generate huge attendance and consequently huge income – but it will set the tone for the future. A first conference will be a learning experience for all involved, and the next one will benefit in every way.

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter is a nationally published, award-winning freelance writer/editor whose motto is “I can write about anything!”™ She is a principal in Communication Central with Kat Nagel, a tech writer/editor and webmaster who works for Paychex, Inc. and owns MasterWorkConsulting. Communication Central provides professional development programs for colleagues in communications. For details about the business and its 2006 conference, go to:
http://www.communication-central.com

Email: ruth@writerruth.com
Company Profile: Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
Company URL: http://www.writerruth.com

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