While planning events, it’s helpful to have an organized plan so you can assign tasks, keep your team on track, and have everything in place to achieve a successful outcome. How do you create an event plan template that can help?
We have you covered with this guide. We’ll outline what you should include in your template, how to structure it appropriately, and how some of the 25 best event management software tools for 2025 can help you manage everything involved. Before diving in, it’s helpful to clarify your event’s purpose so your planning stays focused on the intended outcomes.
How Do I Create an Event Plan Template?
Creating an event plan template requires going through a step-by-step process to identify all the information you need, create a timeline, and divide everything into important categories. You can use the seven stages of event planning to help with this as you build out your template. Documenting each step of your event planning journey makes it easier to coordinate with others and measure progress.
What Are the 7 Stages of Event Planning?
The seven stages of event planning outline the key steps in the event planning process. As you develop a plan and timeline for each stage, you can add it to your template to create an organized system that keeps your team on track. The seven stages of event planning go as follows:
1. Goal Setting
First, you need to develop goals for your event and record them so you can track your success along the way. It can help to consider your organization’s mission and what outcomes would help you continue working toward your goals.
For instance, your association may want to improve engagement in your continuing education courses. Then, you might decide that adding some live workshops that integrate with the courses could help get members more engaged and improve their experience.
You’d then record those goals in your template with measurable outcomes (i.e., boosting course engagement by 25%). These clear goals will serve as benchmarks when evaluating overall event success once everything is complete.
2. Budgeting
Next, you need to come up with an appropriate budget for the event and record it in your plan to determine how much you have available to spend on things like reserving your venue and materials needed for activities.
Consider elements like how much the average event costs in your industry, promotional costs, how many sponsors you think you can get, and how much revenue you anticipate generating from the event to come up with a reasonable number here. To simplify this process, consider starting with a customizable event budget template that outlines standard cost categories and projections.
3. Planning
At this stage, it’s time to plan out everything involved in the event and how you’ll manage setup. You’ll want to consider:
- Activities involved
- Speakers needed
- Materials needed
- The location or type of event
- The ideal type of venue
- Who’s in charge of which tasks
- When each task needs to be completed
- How you’ll register attendees
- How you’ll keep attendees engaged
You can display this plan in a step-by-step process or as a checklist within your template for easy management. Involving your event team early in the planning phase ensures tasks are assigned based on individual strengths and availability.
4. Promotion
Once the plan is in place, you need to decide how you’ll promote your event. Look at where your target audience is most active and focus your promotional strategy in those places. For example, your association might have a very active email list, and you’ll want to make sure you send an announcement about your event through email.
Then, record the marketing materials you want to create and develop a schedule for when and how often you’ll distribute them leading up to the event. Strong event marketing helps build awareness, drive registrations, and create early excitement around your programming.
5. Execution
Add a section in your template for how you’ll execute the plan, who’s in charge of ensuring tasks are completed, and how you’ll handle any issues that come up along the way. This will keep you organized and reduce stress during the process. As the event date approaches, having a clear action plan will reduce last-minute stress and ensure everyone is aligned.
6. Evaluation
Your template should include a section about how you’ll evaluate the success of your event, such as important metrics you want to hit and when you want to review analytics.
Many organizations will want to check the data leading up to the event, such as how many attendees have registered. Then, you’ll want to review the numbers again after the event to see if you hit your original goals.
7. Follow-up
After the event, it’s often a good idea to send thank-you notes to show your appreciation for your guests’ time. You can also send surveys or questionnaires to gather their feedback.
What Are the 5 A’s of Event Planning?
You can also consider the 5 A’s of event planning as you’re building your event plan and template. They are:
- Anticipation
How will you build engagement and interest in your event?
- Arrival
How will you make the arrival at your event and check-in go as smoothly as possible? It can help to have easy systems in place, like a simple QR code check-in process.
- Atmosphere
What kind of atmosphere do you want to have at your event? For example, an annual gala may be more formal, whereas an interactive workshop may take a more business-casual approach.
- Activity
What will be the main activities at your event? Consider why your attendees will care about each one.
- Appetite
How will you manage food and dietary restrictions at your event? It can help to ask about any dietary restrictions during registration.
How To Structure an Event Plan
Now that you know the steps involved in event planning, it’s time to structure an event plan template.
How To Create an Event Plan Template for Free
You can start by creating an event plan template for free in a Word or Excel document. Then, once you have all the key requirements mapped out, you can use an event management software to assign tasks, track data, and oversee the process.
How To Create an Event Plan Template in Word
Creating a free event planning template Word doc is a great option when you want it to be more descriptive.
You can start by creating clear headers and sections for each of the seven primary event planning stages. Then, under each section, record each of the tasks involved in that stage, a timeline for completion, and any key performance indicators involved to track progress.
How to Create an Event Plan Template in Excel
Creating an event planning template in Excel is another good option when you want it to be more data-oriented.
Again, you’ll want to create clear sections for each of the key event planning stages. It can help to color-code or adjust fonts to make sections clear, or create separate pages in your Excel doc for each one. Then, add the key tasks at each stage and the performance metrics you want to hit, and leave checkboxes or blank spaces to record the information.
How Eventscribe From Cadmium Can Help as You’re Planning Your Next Event
Eventscribe is an event management system built for associations and nonprofits that can help you organize everything you need to do as you’re planning your next event. You can use it to:
- Manage speakers and presentations
- Set up a smooth registration system
- Keep attendees engaged before, during, and after the event
- Plan logistics
- Manage sponsors and exhibitors
- Organize abstract submissions and reviews
- And more
Eventscribe helps you create a centralized system where your team can assign tasks, access important information, and stay on track as you approach the day of the event. It’s a helpful tool to stay on top of everything involved in your well-thought-out event plan. Learn more about how Eventscribe can transform your event management process now!
