Let’s face it, planning an event is a bit overwhelming. There are so many things to consider when it comes to organising and planning. Thinking about it can really make your head start to spin. And then you have to determine what it will all cost you! It’s a lot. Thankfully, there are so many incredible free and low cost tools for event planning. Things that will assist you in creating an epic event while not costing you a cent. We’ve rounded up a list of our favourite tools for event planning in the hopes that it takes some of the stress out of your planning process.
Canva
We love Canva. The thousands of templates available for use can help even the least design savvy person create something special. We personally love to use Canva for invites. There are so many great templates that are free to use. Pick one, personalise it, add some branding if it’s for a company, and you have yourself a custom invite that doesn’t cost a thing. If you do want to use some of their premium features, there is a free trial available or the option to upgrade to the paid version.
Trello / Click Up/ Monday / Asana
Finding a flexible work management tool is a serious game changer. There are a lot of different ones out there to choose from depending on what you’re looking for. We think that they’re great for helping you plan your events. You can set up your team and come up with plans, collaborate on everything having to do with your event, organise your workflows, assign tasks to different team members, and track your progress with ease. Lots of them have really great free versions, making your event planning a breeze.
Google Forms
It’s super important to collect feedback after an event. We find that the best way to do it, if you want to keep things free, is to create a google form. You can customise them to fit in with your branding, you can add as many or as few questions as you need and you can format it in a number of ways. After you collect your responses, you can then view it in a google sheet so you can see everything in one place. Totally free and simple to use.
Eventbrite
If you want to track RSVPs, using Eventbrite is a great way to do this. It’s free to create and publish events on the site. If you are charging for tickets, Eventbrite does charge a ticketing fee, but that is often passed onto the attendees, unless you decide you want to cover it yourself. There are of course paid marketing tools as well, but for the most part, you can use the site without paying. It’s always best to manage RSVPs in one spot so you can track responses, have a streamlined guest list, and even retarget those who haven’t responded. Eventbrite even allows you to send invitations and reminders to your list. You’ll be able to customise your emails with your branding and even see analytics for the event. It’s a really great, free tool for event planners.
Attendium
Another way to keep track of your guest list is using Attendium. Their free version is great for events up to 50 people. They have an app where you can check in guests both online and offline. You can import and export your lists, create custom fields so you can organise your guest, send invitations, and gather stats. There are add ons available if you feel like you need more features, but the free version is excellent.
VenueScanner
Finding a venue can sound like the most daunting task of them all, but it doesn’t have to be. If you feel completely out of your depth when it comes to finding a great venue that fits your brief, delegate it to someone else. The VenueScanner for Business team are experts in doing just that. You provide the brief and they’ll source a selection of relevant venues for you to choose from. They’ll get you quotes, set up site visits, and sort out the contracts once you’ve picked a venue. This service is completely free to use, making it one of those things you’d be crazy not to use.
The Wrap Up
As you can see, there are so many amazing free tools out there to help you plan an event, end-to-end. Use one or all of them to make your life a whole lot easier.
