The Life of the Party: How to Become an Event Producer
If you love throwing parties, getting people together, and generating buzz about an event, you’re already on your way to becoming an event producer.
Unlike some people, you probably get excited about all the little details that go into putting an event together.
But how can you take your events to the next level? Read on to learn more.
It’s All About Experience
You can be the most organized person and feel ready to take on a big event. But event planning is something that is learned by doing and learning from one’s mistakes.
If you’re still deciding on a major in college, degrees in marketing, public relations, and hospitality can help nurture the skill sets you might need.
Classes related to accounting, event planning, and design will help guide you in the right direction.
You can also try getting involved in extracurricular activities or groups on campus. It’s likely that you’ll be getting hands-on experience on what it takes to put an event together.
You can also try applying for an internship while at school where you’ll likely be asked to help set up an event.
Take note of how everything is done in the lead up to the event, and try to get your hands on any relevant information. Things like chair and table rentals, live music bookings, and catering are all essentials to event planners.
You may also learn things by shadowing someone who’s been doing this for a long time. They might help you by introducing you to their connections, like what restaurants they’re friendly with for catering.
Event planning is all about connections, and relying on outsourced goods to make an event happen. The more people you can meet while starting out, the more resources you’ll have when you eventually plan an event.
Have the Right Skills Set
If you’re in charge of a small event, it doesn’t mean the responsibilities are any smaller. Chances are, you’ll be in charge of everything, from the promotion to the food to the playlist.
Having the right skills set can help you be an all in one package.
Start by familiarizing yourself with programs like Photoshop and Excel. You’ll probably have to make a lot of visual banners and social media content to promote your event.
Having a strong visual skillset will make your promotional media be taken more seriously.
If you’re working on a budget, you’ll want to keep track of all your spending. Staying organized with useful spreadsheets allows you and your team to keep track of all costs.
If someone is hiring you to put together an event, you’ll want to keep your spreadsheets organized and legible. If you go over budget for unforeseen reasons, you’ll want to show your client where the money went.
Being an event producer means you’ll have to work with a lot of different personalities. Learning how to work under pressure is key to being successful.
There are a lot of work and personal relationships that will be tested during the planning of an event, so being patient is also helpful.
It’s likely that things will go wrong, so having ideas for troubleshooting is important in helping your event stay afloat. You’ll have to get creative when something malfunctions or someone doesn’t show up on time!
You’ll also probably be writing a lot of the promotional text on your banners, brochures, and social media posts yourself.
Take a moment to proofread your work to avoid silly typos on important posts. It might make someone think twice about coming to your event.
Take Things to the Next Level
If you think you’ve already got what it takes to be an event producer, you might want to get certified.
There are a number of programs you can enroll in to get certified as a planner and producer. Such organizations like the Convention Industry Council offer professional programs that can take your work to the next level.
These types of programs usually require a few days of intense courses and a final exam to receive certification.
Depending on your desired focus, you may need to take certain certification courses to land a job. For government events, both on the federal and local levels, you need to become a Certified Government Meeting Professional.
Handling the Responsibilities
Once you’ve acquired all the right skills and necessary certifications, it’s important to know what will be expected of your job. To be an event producer, you’ll need to be in charge of the full picture.
Event planners meet with their clients for an initial meeting, where the scope of the event is discussed. This includes a projected budget and a detailed timeline mapping out the event’s schedule.
Much like an architect that is building a home from scratch, an event planner must visualize and troubleshoot all aspects of an event. For an event producer, all the heavy lifting is done in the preparation leading up to the big day.
Event producers are responsible for being the person in between the client and the outsourced work. They handle speaking with the caterers, venue managers, and everything dealing with event production.
How to Become an Event Producer
Being an event producer requires practice and a strong skill set. But it also requires patience and perseverance.
Event production is a profession that requires one to do it all sometimes. An aspiring planner must have sharpened writing skills and marketing skills.
To learn more about marketing strategies, keep browsing our page.