Dreaming of a bigger budget? You鈥檙e not alone.
In a survey聽of more than 1,000 event creators, 90% said their budget is insufficient.
The good news? When you know your top expenses, you can plan your budget around them. Here are event creators鈥� four most costly event expenses, and how you can offset that spend.
Free Download: The Budget Template That Pays Off
Costly event expense #1: Marketing and promotion
It鈥檚 easy for your marketing budget to bloat. Social media ads, search ads, display ads, paid sponsorships, brand ambassador relationships 鈥斅爄t鈥檚 easy to find yourself spending too much money on promotional campaigns.
It isn鈥檛 intuitive, but you can cut back without hurting sales. For instance, you can use your owned social channels as a creative, cost-effective way to reach attendees.聽Remember that prior attendees are the ones most likely to buy tickets again. For that reason, appealing to your mailing list with inexpensive聽email campaigns聽can be a helpful way to increase conversion.
Take advantage of inexpensive digital marketing tools like these, and you bring your bottom line down while raising awareness way up.
Costly event expense #2: Speakers and talent
Between cost and availability, securing speakers and talent is a top challenge for event creators.
Well-known performers and聽speakers聽are a big draw for attendees, and that鈥檚 a big budget item for creators.
Thankfully, there are ways you can bring down your headliner costs:
- Look for a special guest who is 鈥渙n tour鈥� in your area promoting a new book, album, bottle release, or other types of project. If they鈥檙e already in the area, it will help reduce costs for travel and accommodations
- Book early and ask if there are discounts for using the speaker or performer for multiple occasions
- Read through the contracts and ask questions about cancellation policies and additional fees (like autograph signing or press interviews)
Costly event expense #3: Printed materials
Most events still have a line item on their budget for printed materials 鈥� things like handouts, signage, direct mail, programs, or even tickets. And the cost for these printed materials adds up.
One way to curb this expense is to cut down on the number of things you print. And in doing so, you can actually uplevel your attendee satisfaction. In fact,聽聽are willing to pay more for eco-friendly offerings.
Here are two ways to reduce your printing costs 鈥� and delight your attendees:
- Replace paper tickets聽with an event management solution聽that includes digital tickets
- Replace printed programs聽and venue maps with a customised event app
As technology gets more affordable, the options for replacing paper become more plentiful every year.
Costly event expense #4: Venues
Location. Location. Location.
A famous adage for a reason. Choosing the right venue is paramount. You could probably find a cheaper place 鈥斅燽ut should you?
Your venue is likely going to be a pretty big expense, but don鈥檛 let added costs sneak into this area of your budget.聽Before you sign a venue contract, make sure that things like water usage, catering, cleanup, and any additional and service charges are taken into consideration.
Free Download: The Essential Event Planning Venue Checklist
Other ways to offset costs
Sometimes, your four top expenses are worth splurging on. So to compensate, offset the costs in other ways.
- Automate what you can with technology.聽Automation doesn鈥檛 just save you money on man hours,聽 typically, automation tools boost your productivity and optimise your outcomes. Learn more with the free guide: How to Use Event Automation to Scale Your Events Business
- Reevaluate your ticket pricing strategy.聽Are you sure you鈥檙e聽charging as much as you could be? Is there room for a higher-priced VIP option? Discover 10 Ways to Make More Money With Your Ticket Pricing Strategy.
- Give sponsors ideas and incentives.聽Ditch the old 鈥済old, silver, platinum鈥� packages. Work directly with your sponsors to聽customise brand activations聽they鈥檒l pay more for 鈥斅燼nd see more ROI from.
- Build local partnerships.聽Swap services for sponsorship space, so you don鈥檛 have to pay for things like catering and cleaning.
While you won’t eliminate marketing, speakers, printed materials, or venue costs from your budget entirely, you can make savvy decisions on where to allocate your spending, and where to offset it.
