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Annie Flanzraich, writer, editor and owner of Flanzwrites.com, set out the essentials for planning events — whether you’re trying to make money or celebrate your community — at the Nevada Press Association convention in Mesquite.
A stickler for details, Annie has organized events ranging from 2,000 attendees to intimate weekly sessions. Her step-by-step outline (available on her web site) shows how to write what she calls the ‘lede’ — or foundational statement — that will get you started on the right foot and keep you on track.
“You want to sum up the time, location and budget into one sentence that everyone can refer back to,” she explains.
First, do you know why you’re holding the event?
- Grow audience?
- Drive revenue?
- Increase reach?
- Improve community?
- Promote civic engagement?
With newspapers looking to add to the bottom line, events are a natural means to those ends. Sure, sponsorship of community events is a long-traditional role for newspapers. But they’re often seen as a drain on staff, and they don’t always have the kind of focus that, as Annie describes, gets the results you’re seeking.
It’s worth your time to go through her deck of slides. If you need more help, I’m sure she would be happy to give you some guidance — or plan your event for you.
And if you’re looking for some fresh ideas for events, a good place to start is the Pennsylvania News Media Association’s Big Book of Events.
Here’s a brief look at Annie’s presentation. (Please forgive the video editing skills. We had a seminar on that, too, and I obviously need a bit more practice.)