Planning an event with only a small budget to play with can feel like a daunting task. However, with a little creativity and perseverance it’s very possible to run and promote a fantastic event for little to no cost.

Yes, even in central London!

Here are our top five tips for planning an event on a budget.

1) Use social media

Social media can help you to promote your event for little to no cost. Try well-known platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or experiment with newer platforms such as Pinterest and Snapchat.

Make sure to post on platforms relevant to you audience and even consider putting a small amount of budget behind promoted posts. As little as £5 a day can help you to reach relevant new audiences.

Be creative and have fun with your activity. Build excitement around your event by sharing updates about the schedule, speakers or content. Consider giving special offers to your followers and try posting short films as well as photos.

You can also share and comment on relevant content from the news, your wider industry or people involved in the event. Make sure that you use relevant hashtags so that people who don’t already follow you can find out about your event.

2) Engage volunteers

If you are a charity, or your event has a charitable aim, you are likely to have access to supporters who could be keen to get involved. If not, try reaching out to potential volunteers on social media, or list your opportunity on a volunteering website like Do-it.org.

If your event doesn’t have a charitable aim, you could seek support from friends and family, or people interested in gaining experience in your industry. You could offer them a small gift or a ticket for the event to say thank you for their support.

If the event is part of your day job your colleagues may also be keen to show their support - perhaps in exchange for some time off in lieu!

To keep our venue hire costs as low as possible and to allow you to use volunteers, 2Northdown has removed staffing from our day hire rate. If you do need some extra support we can provide on the day event management and technical support from only £15 per hour.

3) Go paperless

Paper invitations can be extremely expensive. They’re also not very environmentally friendly. To help you to reduce your costs (and save the trees!) ticketed events held at 2Northdown use our ticketing platform Ticket Text.

Save the trees, use Ticket Text — Save the trees, use Ticket Text

Ticket Text is easy to navigate, gives you complete control over your event and is completely free for promoters to use. We are always available to help you out if you have any questions.

4) Time your event carefully

Venues often offer preferential rates at times when they are less likely to be in use. At 2Northdown we are kept busy most evenings as a comedy club, which means we are able to offer very low rates from 9 am – 5 pm, 7 days a week. Other venues may be extremely busy in the run up to Christmas, but eerily quiet in the New Year. Christmas party in January anyone?

Holding your event at a time when you won’t be expected to provide food can also really help you to cut down on costs. Guests attending a mid-morning event will probably be happy with tea and coffee, whereas guest arriving over lunchtime may expect something a little more substantial.

5) Seek partners and sponsors

There are lots of organisations out there who may want to support your event. This could range from companies that would like to be aligned with your event purpose, to brands who want to engage your attendees. Think about all of the things that you might be able to offer potential partners and sponsors, including branding opportunities and inclusion in the event programme.

Partners and sponsors can provide a wide variety of support in return for the exposure that your event can offer them. Whilst ideally this will include financial sponsorship, they could also offer very valuable pro bono support, including promoting your event to their audiences, offering refreshments for attendees, and proving gifts for goody bags.

Seek partners and sponsors for your event

Get in touch!

We’ve only just scratched the surface of planning an event on a low budget, but we hope this gets you off to a great start!

To find out more about our low-cost Kings Cross venue and how we can help you stick to your budget, visit our venue hire page.

Is that six tips?

Five Tips For Event Planning On A Budget

2Northdown