Event invitation

How to Maintain Event Branding with a Custom URL

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 by Sarah Larkins

Branding should be at the forefront of every event planner's mind as they coordinate an event from start to finish. The event invitation emails, website, collateral—it should all have a consistent, polished look. Quality event branding not only makes your event look more professional, it also makes it easier to tie your event into other marketing strategies.

Cvent does its best to help event planners with their event branding efforts. One unique feature we offer is branded URLs for your events.

Brand URLs offer several benefits to planners. For example, they:

• Make it easier for attendees to remember your web address

• Improve your event websites rank in search engines

• Establish consistency between your event and company or association

Event planners can create branded URLs in Cvent that include the company name or even the title of the event itself. For more information on branded URLs and Cvent's branding package, contact Customer Care.

Crafting Enticing Email Campaigns - Laying out the Basics

Thursday, October 29, 2009 by Elizabeth Elko

How successful will your next email campaign turn out? That all depends on how you set up your graphics and images, how easy it is to customize the system once it's up, and how convenient it is for registrants to access your form with just a few clicks of the mouse. Sound complicated? With Cvent, it doesn't have to be!

Be sure to use a descriptive subject line. It should be one that quickly grabs your audience's attention, while avoiding words such as "Free," "$$$," "Save" and "Discount" that may be red-flagged as spam.

Make your emails content-based. Relay your communications with text and only rely on graphics for support (not for them to "carry" your message). The ultimate goal is to create a good balance between these two elements so that image-heavy emails don't get caught in spam filters, and more potential registrants will receive your message.

Include a clear call to action. Simply ask yourself, "What do I want people to do after reading this email?" For example, if your main purpose is to get someone to register for your event, make sure that's what the email emphasizes.

Finally, choosing when to launch your email event invitation campaign and schedule follow-ups will depend on your preferences and your particular target recipients. That being said, experienced planners advise picking a time between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays to hit as many people as possible. Need to send a lot of emails but can't find the time? Turn to Cvent to solve this problem! We make it easy for you to schedule automatic emails to be sent as often as you'd like, on whichever days and times you deem appropriate.

When Do You Send Your Event Invitation Emails?

Monday, October 12, 2009 by Raleigh Vos

One day a client who called into Cvent's Customer Care line had a question regarding emails. While we were fixing the issue, I noticed something strange on her settings for all of her event invitation emails: the automatic send time was set to be midnight on the date she designated for them to go out to her invitees.

When I noticed this odd choice of an automatic send time, I asked the client why she wanted her emails to go out at midnight. She replied that sending emails out in the middle of the night was actually intentional. She wanted her emails to arrive in her invitees’ inboxes at midnight because she wanted them to think that she was up working all night on the event. She thought that this fact would make the invitees feel pity on her, and therefore be more likely to register for her event!

I had to give it to her, it was a creative plan; however, I did have some advice for a better option. I explained a best practice tip that we always recommend: send out emails mid-week, mid-day. This way your emails have the best chance of being read by your invitees because the emails will arrive in a clean inbox, not overloaded from the weekend or the night before. Once I explained this, she was more than happy to change her send by date and time in order to get the best response rate from her invitees.

Welcome to the Big Show!

Friday, October 2, 2009 by Sarah Larkins

It's always been said that you only get one chance to make a good first impression, and events are no different. The first hour of your event is one of the most important, as it sets the stage for the rest of your event, whether it's just a one-night dinner or a three-day conference.

Make the most of this time! Welcome your event guests with:

• A thought-out invitation. The invitation is really the true first impression, right? Make sure your email event invitations are pleasing to the eye and include all the important information, such as event date and location, directions, and contact details.

• A name badge. When the majority of your event guests don't know each other, a name badge with a little bit of information—first name, company—is an easy way to create automatic introductions. Even when you host a big event in which many of the people should know each other (a large company function or user conference), name badges can be helpful. Your attendees may roll their eyes, but trust me, they'll thank you when their mind goes blank on the name of that huge client.

• A cocktail. When it comes to loosening up your event guests, nothing beats a little alcohol. Whether it be a signature cocktail or a glass of wine, drinks are a must-have at your welcoming receptions.

• An appetizer. A few passed plates will be much appreciated by those event guests who didn't get to grab dinner or who traveled from far away and haven't even eaten lunch. Not just polite, appetizers at welcoming receptions are also practical—your guests will need something in their stomachs to go with your cocktails!

• A smile. One of the most important elements at your welcome reception is you, the event planner! Make sure your events are adequately staffed so that someone is on hand to greet guests, take coats, distribute name badges and answer questions.

Enhance Your Event Invitations with Image Mapping

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 by Cvent Client Services

A great way to entice invitees to attend your event is with exciting visual formatting and graphics using HTML. With the Cvent HTML editor, you don’t have to be an expert on HTML coding to create aesthetically pleasing website pages and emails. It's easy to add graphics, documents, links, and other formatting that will draw in your registrants and encourage their attendance.

In our latest release, we have added image mapping as a feature in our HTML editor. This will allow you to select certain "hotspots" within an image and mask a URL behind it. For example if you have an image at the bottom of your invitation with the sponsors of your event, how great would it be to allow invitees to click right on the sponsor logo and open up a new window to view their website?

Just another way to capitalize on that "electronic real estate" by using Cvent!

Tips for Securing Event Sponsorships

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 by Cvent Client Services

For an upcoming event, one of Cvent's clients was targeting her marketing to government officials in Canada as well as to a select group of professionals, and her registration fees were fairly expensive. She also wanted to keep her training sessions fairly small, so she wasn’t expecting that much of a profit margin from registrations alone.

She wanted to find a way to cover some of her costs from the event from sponsorships, not an easy thing to do, especially during the current economic climate. But with Cvent, it was possible to market to her sponsors by posting their logos on her event invitations, reminders, and registration pages. She was also able to set up a strategic registration question so her registrants would have to indicate whether or not they were interested in learning more about the event sponsor.

As a result, she was able to obtain a sponsorship that helped cover the majority of costs for her event. In the end, her first event made her use of Cvent's event management software more than worthwhile.

Need to Boost Event Attendance? Try Cvent's Email Marketing!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 by Cvent Client Services

We recently talked to a Cvent client who used used Cvent's invitation reminder and invitation forwarding tools (both during the online registration process and on the event summary page) to "boost attendance in a down economy." She was thrilled: she upped her event attendance by 60 registrants from last year’s count. She was so impressed with Cvent’s ability to allow her registrants to "market her event for her."

Allowing invitees to forward their event invitations to friends, adding these friends to targeted lists for the event, and then following up with invitation reminders resulted in a huge increase in her attendance. All this event marketing at no extra cost!

Read more about how Cvent can help with your event email marketing.

Save Time on Email Marketing Opt-Outs with Domain Exculsions

Monday, August 31, 2009 by Cvent Staff

Cvent's event email marketing tools make it easy to maintain a comprehensive set of contacts: clients, prospects, members, non-members, attendees, exhibitors, etc. As your list of contacts grows, you may find it gets more complex to manage. What if an organization no longer wants to receive your event invitations? Or maybe you only host events for sales prospects, not your current clients?

As part of Cvent's new August 2009 release, it's now easier to handle such opt-outs with domain exclusions. If any organization does not want to receive scheduled or manually sent emails from you anymore, you can add its domain as an exclusion. This is a big time saver, as you don't need to individually opt out each person.

What's great about this new feature is that it can be used selectively. For example, perhaps you're hosting a regional user conference. Users that aren't based in that region are not to be invited, but you don't want to have to opt-out every single email address belonging to those contacts. You can still create a exclusion for that domain, then use the Active Yes/No option to make it a temporary exclusion.

Keep in mind, though, that the domain exclusions apply only for scheduled and manually sent emails. Registrants with these domains will receive a registration confirmation and any emails they request themselves from the website.

A Few Social Media Tips for Event Planners

Friday, August 28, 2009 by Eric Eden

Here are eight simple tips you can consider during the event planning process:

• Use Google Maps to direct people to your event. Be sure to include parking info on your event web site. Set up carpooling as well and post links to public transportation schedules and fares. Include this information in event reminder emails to attendees sent the day before the event. This can really help limit attrition at events.

• Set up Flickr tags and inform your participants so they can use them when posting their own event pictures.

• If appropriate, recruit bloggers to live blog the event. And always contact influential bloggers in advance with event information.

• Set up a YouTube channel for videos of your event.

•Many events are using live video tools like Ustream.tv, which lets you broadcast and chat online with a global audience. It's completely free, all it takes is a camera and Internet connection.

• Go beyond traditional wire services by tapping into the neo-PR world of Pitchengine.com. Founded by social media pioneer Jason Kintzler, PitchEngine is shaking up the PR industry by making it possible for PR pros, brands, and agencies to build and share digital, social media releases with their contacts for free.

• Ask your speakers or presenters to use hashtags. Invite the audience to tweet in real time using the hashtag created specifically for the event.

• Use Twitpic or Twiddeo to tweet pictures or video links of the event. Invite key influencers to tweet event info prior to the event. Twitpic lets you share photos on Twitter. Twiddeo is a powerful but simple service that let's you Twitter updates with Video. Upload from the web, your camera phone and record from your webcam.

When to Send Your Invitation Reminder Emails

Thursday, July 30, 2009 by Sarah Larkins

Now that you know what to include in your invitation reminder emails, you may be wondering, "Ok, now when should I send them out?"

With Cvent, you can schedule your reminder emails to automatically send at certain times. However, it's important to not take advantage of this easy-to-use functionality and barrage your invitees with email after email to remind them of the pending invitation. In fact, there's probably no quicker way to guarantee a "No" (and maybe even an angry email response) from invitees. So, use discretion with your automated emails.

At Cvent, we recommend you send invitation reminders a few days before:

• An early-bird discount or other event promotion expires (if you have one)

• Online registration is approaching its closing date

• Event capacity is close to being reached

Sending your event invitation reminders at appropriate times will help boost your response rate without overloading your invitees.

What to Include in Your Invitation Reminder Emails

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 by Sarah Larkins

One of the most common questions event planners ask us is, "Now that I've sent out my email invitation, what can I do to increase my response rate?" Invitation reminders are a great answer.

Invitation reminders can be sent to all meeting invitees who have not yet responded to your event invitation. In Cvent, these guests fall under the "Undecided" category. By sending an invitation reminder to these Undecided guests, you may see response rates increase by up to 50 percent.

So, what exactly should you include in your invitation reminder?

• Custom "From" and "Subject" fields. These are the two most important components of an email. After all, invitees evaluate whether or not to even read your email invitation based on these fields. Make sure yours are attention-grabbing and relevant to your target audience.

• Event registration link. Aside from your well-written copy about your event, which you've likely already created for your initial event invitation and event website, make sure to include a link to your event registration page. Without it, how would your invitees sign up for your conference?

• Event registration URL. Along the same lines, it's important to include the full URL of your event registration. This way, if for some reason an invitee cannot click on the link to register, he or she can copy and paste this URL into a web browser and still access your conference registration site.

• A "No" button. Let your invitees know that to prevent receiving any further emails about the event, they need to click the "No" button on the invitation. For example, write, "Click here to respond to this invitation. If you do not plan to attend this event, and would not like to receive any further emails, please respond 'No' by clicking on this link." By getting a definite answer from an invitee, you'll save both your time and theirs spent on further event-related communication.

What to Include in An Event Confirmation Email

Monday, July 13, 2009 by Sarah Larkins

After an attendee registers for your event online, it's important to follow up with them via an event confirmation email. Especially when your event attendees have submitted a payment for your event, a confirmation email goes a long way in assuring them that their registration has been received and confirmed. Plus, when you use online event management software such as Cvent, sending confirmation emails is so easy, there's no reason to not to do it.

After creating a confirmation email in Cvent, it can be sent out to registered attendees automatically. Simple, right? The hardest part is what to include in your email. Here are a few suggestions:

• Basic event details (event name, date and time, location, etc.)

• Sessions for which the attendee is registered (when applicable)

• Event confirmation number

• Link to event website/event summary

• Planner contact information (in case attendees have questions regarding the event)

Overall, when creating your event confirmation email, remember that your attendees are likely inundated with emails around the clock. For your event alone, you'll probably be sending quite a few, from the event invitation to the post-event feedback survey. So make sure your emails are clear and concise. Provide the basics that your attendees will need (and want) to know without being lengthy.

Sample Online Registration Forms

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 by Caroline Gordon

Trying to figure out exactly what information you want to collect during the online event registration process can be tricky. Check out the sample registration form below for a July networking luncheon.

Five important things to include in your online registration process:

1. Request for Contact Information – Even if you already have contact information, it is important to remember that this data is always changing. Online registration forms serve as a great way to verify the information you currently have in your database and update outdated or incomplete contact information. Make all contact fields mandatory. Be sure to gather complete information as some contact fields such as title change more frequently.

2. Pre-registration Questions – Since every participant must complete an online registration form, use this as an opportunity to gather additional information from attendees. Use questions during the online registration process to learn more about your registrants such as what they want to eat or what they would like to hear the speaker talk about druing the conference. Registration questions can also save you time. Don’t bother calling each registrant to find out what t-shirt size they need or if they want to rent golf clubs; simply include these questions during the online event registration process.

3. Tell-a-friend Functionality- Never underestimate the power of viral marketing. Increase online registration numbers by giving registrants the opportunity to forward the event information and registration form on to colleagues and friends who may be interested in the event. Allow registrants to include a brief message as part of the online forwarding functionality so that they can help promote the event with comments like: “I am registering for this event right now. It is going to be great. You should definitely join me.” You also receive the benefit of branding your organization to prospects who would not traditionally be on your list.

4. Pre-populated Fields – Save your registrants time by pre-populating fields such as name, title, billing address, t-shirt size or any other information that is collected from event to event. When the online registration process takes too long, potential registrants may drop out of the process before their registration is complete. Although the intention may be to complete the online registration form later, your event invitation gets lost in an overflowing email inbox and the deadline for registration, or worse the date of the event itself passes before any action has been taken. It is critical that you streamline and expedite your online event registration process so you do not lose registrants.

5. Online Payment Collection - Mailing a check or faxing a credit card authorization form adds one more step to the registration process, not to mention your event management process. Avoid frustration and save your registrants time by securely collecting payments online. Permit registrants to input check numbers or purchase orders. Most online registration systems are integrated with one or several of the e-commerce gateways such as Cybersouce, PayPal Express and Touchnet. However, you should make sure any online registration company you are working with is PCI compliant.

Online event registration increases efficiency for both the registrant and the event coordinator. With online event management software, the options are limitless: create dynamic multi-track, multi-session conference registrations; allow attendees to modify their own registrations online; upload key documents such as an exhibitor prospectus; customize pages to match the look and feel of your branding and much more.

To read more about registration forms and online registration services, please visit our website.

Event Email Marketing: Should You Fix a Mistake or Just Move On?

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 by Sarah Larkins

Yesterday I blogged about The Carlton on Madison Avenue's recent email blast that contained an ill-fitting subject line. It led recipients to believe that the email contained some kind of a gift or discount, but in reality, it just asked them to vote for the New York hotel in the Conde Nast Traveler Readers Choice Survey.

When it comes to your event marketing collateral, from your website to your blog to your invitations, one thing I can't stress enough is to proofread! That, and to make sure you are familiar with proofread's best friend, spellcheck.

That being said, it's understandable that we're only human, and every once and a while a mistake will slip by, just like it did with The Carlton's subject line. The question is then what to do when a mistake occurs?

This really depends on the mistake itself. A small error, such as a typo, is better left alone if it doesn't majorly affect your event and will not confuse your attendees.

Say, for example, your email invitation states, "Event accommodations can be found under our room block at the Luxury Hotel & Suites." There's no need to send out an email to correct the spelling of accommodations. Some people will have not even noticed the misspelling (did you?), and those who did won't think much of it. However, they will notice yet another email in their inbox, and many of them will not be happy to get one over such a small issue.

On the other hand, some mistakes cannot go uncorrected with your event emails. For example, maybe you've sent out an invitation that lists the incorrect event venue. Obviously, you can't let your invitees show up at the right time and date at the wrong venue! In this case, it's necessary to send a follow-up email alerting guests to the error and providing the correct venue name. Noticed quickly, errors such as this don't mean the downfall of your event.

Something else important to note here: don't just send a corrected version of your event invitation, reminder, etc. Make sure you point out the fact that the original was incorrect. Otherwise attendees may just delete the second email, assuming it was a repeat, or fail to notice the updated information. Bring it to their attention!

When it comes down to it, we all know that a mistake here or there is inevitable in the big process of planning meetings and events. Don't weigh your attendees down with a barrage of updates, corrections or apologies for minor errors, but definitely alert them to the ones that majorly affect your event. They'll understand, provided that it occurs infrequently—which it will since you know to always double, triple, quadruple check your work!

3 Reasons Why Michael Scott Needs Cvent for The Office

Thursday, April 16, 2009 by Sarah Larkins

It's Thursday, and for many of us here at Cvent, that means it's time for another episode of NBC's The Office! For those not familiar with the program (you should start watching!), here's a quick recap of last week's episode: Michael Scott, former boss of the Dundler Mifflin Paper Company, Scranton office, has recently quit his job and started the Michael Scott Paper Company. His new idea for drumming up business and getting some positive word-of-mouth? Host an event! A pancake luncheon event, to be exact.

Michael decides to invite his prospects to the luncheon via Evite.

He says, "I have sent out an Evite for our big grand opening pancake luncheon. Six Yes's, one Maybe, only 11 No's...and 788 not-yet-replied's. But, of that group, 782 have viewed it."

It's great that Michael can use Evite to quickly create an invitation and get some data on who is attending and who is not. But a 0.2 percent response rate? He could do better than that.

That's where Cvent comes in. Check out my three ideas for how Michael Scott could use Cvent to boost attendance to his pancake luncheon:

1. Use regret surveys to turn a No into a Yes! The 11 invitees who said No may have done so for a number a reasons. Perhaps they had a schedule conflict, or the location was inconvenient. Maybe they just don't like pancakes—I know plenty of people who prefer the nooks and crannies of a waffle or the savory add-ins of an omelet.

By creating a regret survey, Michael could find out exactly why his invitees said No. Then, he could use this information when hosting future events, or even use it to tweak the luncheon now. No matter what, a simple "Do you want more information on my paper company?" would help him capture any leads who simply cannot make the event, but would like to learn more.

2. Send automatic reminders. We live in a busy world, and when event invitees receive another email in their box, it's likely that many of them won't have the time to open it right way. This can be a problem when it comes to email invitations; what if your invitees save your invitation for later then completely forget to open it?

Scheduling automatic reminders to be sent to all your undecided invitees solves this problem. An email reminder prompts all those contacts who were out at a meeting, busy on a phone call, or just too caught up in work to read your invitation this time. Our clients usually see a big spike in registration after sending out an invitation reminder, so sending reminders to Michael's 788 not-yet-replied's would have definitely helped.

3. Let attendees "Tell-a-Friend." Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful thing. Think about it: how much more likely are you to purchase a product, request a service, or, in this case, sign up for an event if one of your friends or colleagues recommends it? If just one of Michael's attendees tells three friends, and one of those three tells three more friends—you get the idea. Soon he'll have captured a decent-sized audience that he didn't even know to contact.

Cvent lets you add a Tell-a-Friend feature on your event invitations. In some cases, our clients have seen a 10 percent to 50 percent higher attendance rate thanks to this viral marketing of their event, so it's definitely something to consider!

Evite can be a great tool for sending invitations online. But when it comes down to it, only software like Cvent can offer you the tools to improve attendance to your events (not to mention cut costs, help manage your budget, etc.)

If Michael wanted to make the Michael Scott Paper Company grow with its events, I'd definitely recommend he check out Cvent!

Watch the full episode of NBC's The Office (Michael's evite comes up at around 3:15!)

Event Planning Tips: Take Control of Your Contact Management

Monday, March 2, 2009 by Cvent Staff

In the past, our friends over at the Cvent survey blog have discussed how Cvent software can help you manage all of your contact information thanks to its comprehensive address book feature. Just like surveyors, event planners find it critical to have up-to-date, accurate contact information when it comes sending event-related emails (invitations, reminders, etc.).

Cvent has you covered. You can enter contact details, including basics such as first name, last name, email address and phone number. Or, simply import them from nearly any source, including Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access. You can add imported contacts to existing groups or create an entirely new group for them.

You also have the option to enter custom contact fields and assign names to certain groups.

Another great aspect about Cvent's address book is its "self-cleansing" ability—meaning that the same email address will not receive an event invitation twice, even though it may have been mistakenly entered into your contact database more than once. Also, planners can quickly check for duplicate email addresses that may belong to the same person that, for example, simply has two email accounts with different providers.

There's no need to worry about loading down your invitees with excessive emails. With Cvent's contact management functionality, you can create, maintain and manage your set of contacts easily and accurately.

Keep Online Registration Numbers High!

Friday, January 16, 2009 by Cvent Staff

Times are tough, and you've no doubt seen many changes happening with your meetings and events. Are you concerned about keeping your registration numbers up?

Just like you, your potential event attendees are dealing with stricter budgets. It's getting harder and harder to justify money spent on elaborate conferences and events. You can, however, convince cash-strapped attendees to click "Yes" on your event invitations.

Be flexible with your attendees by offering them multiple registration options rather than one, all-inclusive entrance pass. By setting up your online registration with various event session and track options, you'll draw in attendees who can't justify the price of a ticket to your conference or meeting as a whole, but can certainly attend a few of the most valuable (in their eyes) events on your agenda.

Offering multiple registration options is easy with online registration software such as Cvent. You can add sessions, specifying names, start dates and times and more.

Set fees and amounts that are appropriate for each session.

When your attendees register, they can select to register for the entire event or just one or two of your sessions. This feature will not only allow you to keep the registrants whose budgets no longer allow for an entire event registration, but also gain those who may have never met your admission fee in the past.

Getting Attendees to Recommend Your Event

Friday, January 9, 2009 by Cvent Staff

When it comes to getting advice and opinions, we often turn to trusted friends, colleagues and family members. We value their input more than that from any external sources, which is often you, the event marketer.

Because of this inherit trust, a message from a friend or colleague can have a much stronger impact than one from you, especially if you are contacting a potential event attendee with whom you do not have a relationship (a non-member, new lead, etc.). Wouldn't it be great if you could get endorsement of your event from an invitee's friends? It's possible with Tell-A-Friend functionality.

Using event registration software such as Cvent, attendees can forward an event invitation other people. During registration, attendees simply enter the names and email addresses of friends along with a short message. An invitation email will automatically be sent to those entered.

When it comes to event promotion, it doesn't get much better than a solid recommendation from a trusted friend. Make the tell-a-friend feature a must-have for your event management software.

How to Maintain Contact with Your Association Members

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by Cvent Staff

As many corporate event and meeting planners are canceling one or more of their meetings in 2009, association planners are not seeing their events meet the same fate. In fact, according to MeetingsNet, Corporate Meetings & Incentives are seeing 56 percent of meeting managers cut one or more meetings, while only nine percent of managers in the Association Meetings market report planning to do so.

These numbers come as no surprise, as meetings are critical to an association's success. However, association planners are facing challenges of their own, such as membership lapses. In a recent post on Meeting Professionals International (MPI) VP of Membership blog, poor membership information was mentioned as a big problem.

As job layoffs continue, more and more employees are leaving positions, along with their old contact information. According to the blog post, in December, 20 percent of members had inaccurate contact information or were no longer associated with the organization listed in the record.

Not being able to reach your attendees has a detrimental effect on your registration numbers and overall event success. So how can you address this problem?

One solution is to utilize an event management software system such as Cvent that offers contact management functionality. Using Cvent, you can quickly import and add contacts to your address book. Event invitations are pre-populated with a registrant's information (title, organization, phone number, etc.), thus encouraging him or her to update any out-of-date information. The Cvent system also automatically identifies and flags bounced back emails, which allows you to cleanse your data and keep it current.

Managing your contacts with a system such as Cvent is easy and efficient. Rather than send out separate reminders to your members asking them to update their information, you can easily gather current data at the same time you send event invitations—less hassle for you, and for your members.

Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 by Cvent Staff

Happy New Year! If you haven't made a resolution yet, don't worry. We've looked through some of this year's past blogs to create a list of great resolutions for meeting and event planners that will save time and money in 2009.

This year, why not resolve to...

• Go green. Obviously going green is a major step in the right direction for saving our environment, but it's also a great way for you to save money on your meetings and events. Whether cutting back on pricey paper invitations, sourcing local and/or organic food, or distributing event hand-outs online, going green is going to save in the long run—in more ways than one.

• Get online. Taking your events online is definitely an eco-friendly step, but it's also a practical move to make if you're looking to save time and money on your events (and who isn't?).

With features such as event calendars and budget management, Cvent's event management system makes it easy to create, launch and manage events online. Plus, thanks to the improvements HTML editors over the years, even planners with little web experience can create professional, appealing events.

• Be automatic. Meeting and event planners devote a lot of time—too much, in our opinion—to manual processes that can be more quickly and efficiently done with event management software.

Are you still manually sending event invitations and reminders? How are you collecting payments, or setting up housing and travel arrangements? Stop wasting time. With event management software, roommate matching, event registration and other tasks are quick and easy.

• Make the most of the market. In today's buyer's market, there's never been a better time to take advantage of value adds and low rates. But how do you find them?

Using Request-for-Proposal (RFP) management software, it's easy to search for venues, craft RFPs detailing all your event needs and budget expectations, and compare quotes from multiple suppliers. Make suppliers work for your business, and you can guarantee you'll be getting the best rates around.