12 Tips for Planning Successful Faith-based Events – Dr. Alexis

I’ve done over 40 events in the last 4 years. Some of those events had 40 people, and some had 2000 people. Here are some tips that will help you to have a successful event.

1. Please don’t have a title longer than three words. I know this seems hard, but titles matter. So, make sure your title makes SENSE! A title like ‘The Garden of Eden Where the Leaves Grow’ is weird, and the consumer doesn’t know what that means.
2. Please get a professional flyer and try not to use selfie pictures. Go to Fivver.com if you don’t have the extra funds to hire someone else or use Canva.com if you know how to maneuver it.
3. Don’t use titles on flyers. It can limit who attends your meeting. We know you may be a prophet or apostle, but the world may not even know what that means.
4. Don’t put 50 speakers on a flyer. It’s confusing to the potential attendees. Less is more.
5. Include a local draw, social media draw, and veteran draw (if the Lord says the same). Try to research your speakers in the spirit and natural so no scandal will be on your name based on their scandals.
6. Make sure to pay the speakers every dollar you contracted them for. If they say they don’t take honorarium, give the local speaker $250 and $500 to the non-local speaker per session. Always offer flight, hotel, transportation, meal, or Per Diem. Make sure to find out any dietary needs.
7. Make sure your customer service is on point – no one likes mean people at conferences. Have a team of five friendly people to run everything, including book tables. It’s so needed.
8. If you have premier speakers, make sure you have accommodations for them. Remember, you will reach a large variety of guests and some people that like extra perks, like taking pictures or meet and greets.
9. Don’t spend all your money on venues and make sure parking isn’t an issue. Sometimes if you have your event at a church, the pastor will try to make it their own. So choose your battles. I recommend new Hampton or Homewood suites for meetings spaces because they rent for $300-$400 daily for up to 100 people or more. They also are ranked three stars and a comfy. Peerspace.com is another great resource! If you book enough rooms sometimes you can get the space for the free!
10. Remember, 80 percent of your ticket holders will purchase tickets two weeks in advance. Don’t panic because you haven’t registered a lot of people. Also, for a free event, 50 percent won’t show up, and 15 percent may not show up for a paid event. I’ve seen this with an event that was $197. Be sure to overbook.
11. Don’t depend on offering to pay for your conference unless you have crazy faith like me. I’ve always paid for my speakers. I worked three jobs just to do so. I never begged for money and passed around an offering plate three times to get my budget. Integrity is everything.
12. Remember, no one wants to come to an event just to be preached at. We are in the information age, so make sure to have some informative topics that people can utilize as soon as they get home.

Bonus – PAY THE WORSHIP TEAM.

I’ve taught a class on this a few years ago and may return to help you all this fall.

Dr. Alexis McClinton (formerly Maston) is an expert in event planning and building digital platforms. She is an educator, consultant, and creator. In 2008, Dr. Alexis founded Create Event Solutions, and in 2014, K-Nation Group, as promotional platforms to help brands create multimedia solutions. In 2018, Dr. Alexis founded Carlion Publishing as a solution to help authors complete their books using the Write to Recite method of speaking your story into existence. Dr. Alexis holds an earned Ph.D. in Adult, Professional, and Community Education and resides in Texas, with her husband James McClinton. For more visit, DrAlexisLive.com.

Featured Photo by STIL on Unsplash