Embarking on the journey of event planning is no small feat, and your budget can either be your greatest ally or a formidable foe. Crafting a budget that not only covers all essential expenses but also maximizes your event’s impact is the ultimate challenge.

From securing the right venue and assembling a stellar team to catering, marketing, technology, and those inevitable miscellaneous expenses, each component plays a crucial role in the success of your event.

Budgeting isn’t easy by any means, but having a strong and strategically designed budget makes things so much easier. And it increases the chances for the event to end up being a success! That’s why it’s important to create a budget that covers all the essential event budget expenses.

Whether you’re hosting in-person gatherings, virtual events, or a mix of both, we’ve got you covered. So, let’s unlock the ultimate hack for stretching your event marketing budget and ensuring your next event is not only memorable but also a financial success!

Here’s What You Need to Include in Your Budget

Your event marketing budget will be different than anyone else’s — but there are still some general areas you’ll need to consider as you build it out. For example, does your company host its own series of events (both in-person and online) or just attend trade shows as exhibitors every year? These two types of budgets will require a different approach from one another.

Generally speaking, here are some things you’ll need to consider as you build your event budget.

The Space

Whether you’re renting out a venue, finding the perfect virtual platform to host on, or reserving your booth at the next trade show, the physical space will require some sort of investment. Set a clear budget for this ahead of time and stick with it. We know it’s easy to want to stretch a little bit here but keep in mind the extra costs you might have baed on the space you rent. For example, check if their food and beverage prices are comparable, if they have preferred vendors, and transportation costs, to name a few.

The People
Who’s headed to the event from your company to staff the event? Don’t forget that it’s not as simple as their ticket and travel prices, you’ll need to consider housing and a per diem for food and transit. Or, if you’re the one hosting, how many external people will you need to consider in your costs — such as speakers, moderators, panelists, etc.? Be sure to figure out exactly who is going to be attending the event — and what the financial implication of each person is.

The Food & Beverage

Unless you’re hosting an online event, there’s likely to be some level of food & beverage you’ll have to add to the budget. Whether it’s a per diem for your trade show booth attendants to use while they’re out of town or an entire catering crew for your three-day seminar, this is often one of the more expensive things (and may potentially be tied in with your venue rental agreement).

The Marketing
How will people know to show up for your event if you haven’t marketed it at all? Yes, some forms of marketing can be unpaid (such as social media posting or cold emailing), but there might be other things marketing-wise you’ll need to consider.

For example, you may want to invest in paid media on popular platforms like Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, etc. This will help you to get in front of a new audience and expand your reach — which will make your event all that much more successful!

Another thing to keep in mind as you’re developing your event budget is add-ons for events, such as any sponsorship opportunities you want to add to boost visibility for your brand at these larger, multi-day events.

The Technology

There are quite a few technology requirements to consider in the events world.

For example, event marketing technology (like AddEvent!) will host your event details and allow attendees to RSVP ahead of time. Without it permanently secured on their calendar, your guests might forget to show up when the day rolls around! Similarly, you’ll likely need to invest in a virtual platform to host a webinar or online event, and those subscription costs should be included in your event budget.

For in-person events, you’ll need to arrange A/V setups for speakers to be able to project to larger crowds or music to play before or after sessions. Be sure to see if your event space rental includes this or if you’ll need to handle this with a separate vendor.

The Miscellaneous Expenses

There’s always going to be something extra you’ll need to build into your budget to cover. Be sure to leave room for some sort of contingency fund that covers at least a quarter of your entire budget in case of emergency — and this is especially important if you’re aiming for a broader event budget as opposed to something highly detailed.

First, Let’s Be Realistic

It’s easy to look at your event calendar and think about the big picture in terms of the amount of your overall marketing budget you’re willing to dedicate to these events — especially if they seem to have been highly fruitful in the past. But we caution you to set your event goals before diving into the budgeting portion. This will help you to think of all your financial decisions through the lens of ROI, and you’ll see what you want to prioritize as the bigger investments.

For example, if you’re hoping to generate profit from ticket sales for an event, you’ll likely want to designate a big part of the budget for branding, the venue, and the speakers or entertainment that will attract and delight your audience.

Take a Look and See What You Can Bring Online

Since venue and transportation costs typically account for the largest portion of your event budget, consider bringing some of your smaller events online or offering a hybrid model for any interested attendees. This will not only significantly reduce the cost of certain events, but will also make the event itself more accessible for attendees who may not be able to attend something in person, despite how much they’d like to do so.

Not sure how to host a virtual event? Lucky for you, we created a foolproof guide to virtual event planning!

Consider New Partnerships and Sponsorships

Sponsorships and partnerships can be another great way to balance your budget every event season because, other than ticket sales, there are not too many other opportunities for you to plan for an influx of funding!

There are different types of sponsorship — and the right one for your organization will depend entirely on the types of events you’re hosting. Learn more about optimizing your partnerships and securing sponsorships that will extend your event reach year after year.

Learn From Your Past Mistakes

We always recommend going into every new year with an optimistic — but realistic — attitude. That’s why it’s important to debrief after every event, pick out important lessons learned, and determine whether certain goals were met as you hoped. The only way to make an event even better is to take these findings and incorporate them into future iterations of your events. Practice makes perfect, after all!

In the End, Make it Worth Your Time

As we mentioned earlier, we all understand just how much time and effort it takes to plan and execute an event, regardless of its format or size. It’s the reason we’re all about making sure your goals are set well in advance of planning the little details or spending any part of your budget!

After all, in the end, an event should not only be an investment of resources but a rewarding endeavor that’s truly worth your time and effort. Cheers to crafting events that leave a lasting impact and financial success!