Karina Avela - PR/Marketing for Event Businesses
Karina is an expert when it comes to PR and Marketing. She's going to share a ton of great information in 2012 that planners can use to build their event businesses through PR and marketing efforts. Businesses are built on word of mouth and PR/Marketing is the best way to leverage that!

Paul Cook - Getting Into the Business for Students
Paul has blogged for the Liz King Events blog since it first started. He is an incredibly talented author and force in the event industry. Paul does a ton of work with students and will be focusing his blogs this year on preparing students to enter the event industry. Covering everything from networking to building your resume, Paul's tips are a must-read for anyone looking to enter our industry.

Jennifer Garrett - Industry Trends
Jennifer Garrett writes for Collison Media and is going to share with us some of the industry trends that you need to watch out for! She is a genuine spirit and incredibly in-tune with our industry. Make sure to tune in each month to see what she has to say! You know it'll have an impact on you and the way you do business!

Malla Haridat - Event Business Development
Malla is a great friend and was a guest blogger for LKE in 2011. She is going to continue sharing her business development tips for all of you throughout the coming year. On everything from time management to goal setting, Malla will get you on the right track to a successful year!

Liz Mazzei - Locations, locations, locations
Liz and I have done a lot of work together in the past year, including the launch of PlannerTech in New York and Washington DC. We work so well together, we figured we'd expand PlannerTech in more cities and she'll be stopping by the blog each month to share her thoughts on locations (her specialty at imbookin.com).

Deborah Pannell - Life Stories as they apply to events
Deb is one of those genuine authors who captures you with her humor and makes you scratch your head because of the great content. She keeps up her own personal blogs as well as the eventwist blog and she's adding LKE to the mix! She is going to write about all her wonderful life experiences and how they apply to our industry!

Kristi Casey Sanders - Speaker Management
Kristi has been one of those people that I met via Twitter. We've still yet to make our relationship official (by meeting in-person), but I can tell how knowledgeable she is. In 2012, she's going to talk all about managing speakers as an event planner. Stay tuned for all you need to know!

Neil Park - Photography
Neil has been a friend of mine for many years and I always believe that working with your friends is a great idea (contrary to popular opinion). I'm really excited to have Neil on board this year sharing his images with all of you. I'm sure you will love his work and learn a lot from him as well. I know I have a lot to learn in this area!

Greg Ruby - Risk Management and Green Meetings
Greg Ruby is hysterical, but his knowledge is even more amazing. He'll be writing for us this year on various topics focused around risk management and green meetings. Greg is a wealth of knowledge and he shares it all with his infectious personality. Now that I've built him up, the pressure is on for him to be funny as hell in 2012.

Lord Jason Scott - Celebrity Events
Jason has written faithfully for the LKE blog throughout 2011 and his articles on celebrity events have been some of the most popular. Who doesn't want to hear about all the behind-the-scenes information about events with your favorite celebs? I can't wait to see what he has in store for us in 2012!

Derrick Stomp - Event Technology
Derrick is one of the brains behind Twoppy - a really cool mobile application for events. I had the chance to get to know him when he came all the way from the Netherlands to join us for PlannerTech. He is a really dynamic guy and very passionate about connecting planners with event technology. You will learn a LOT from him this year!

Alexandra Suazo - Social Media
Alexandra is a go-getter. I first met her after she reached out to me via Twitter and I've kept up with her awesome life ever since. She is getting into the industry and is really well versed in social media. Her life is social media. I look forward to some great posts from her (and I'm sure some video blogs, as well!)

Photos by Steven Rosen Photography & Swig Productions

I went to the event with the intention of learning about a system of questions that Sasha asks to gauge her client's interests. This questionnaire that she has developed allows her to "read the minds" of her clients and put together the event they always dreamed of, but couldn't express what they wanted. However, I came away from the event learning a much more important lesson. 

Your clients must trust you and it is your job to make sure that happens. 

As my faithful readers know, I am rather new to the business and I'm constantly tweaking my interactions with clients. Sasha explained that she does not "work" on an event until the contract is signed, first payment is in and the questionnaire is completely filled out. She also limits in-person interaction with her clients. 

While this initially struck me as odd, it made a lot of sense the more I thought about it. If your client knows that you produce stellar events, they shouldn't need to know every step of the process. You (and I) are the experts. We are the ones who have spent hours learning about color combinations and registration processes and everything in between. The more we allow for our client's input on the little details, the more we jeopardize our work. 

It is important to have a relationship with your clients and to keep them in the loop for the planning process, but it is equally important for you to be the leader in the event relationship and for you to act like the expert you are. If you aren't an expert, you shouldn't be charging for your services!

This was a really important lesson that I learned and will be applying this in all of my relationships moving forward. For me, it rang more true the longer I thought about it and applied it to my own experiences and I hope it will do the same for you!

Special thanks to the Event Leadership Institute (Howard Givner and Carolyn Ray) and Sasha Souza for the opportunity to attend a great event and learn lots to apply to my business! 

Photo by BirgerKing

The registration is not quite open yet, but you can REQUEST AN INVITATION and you'll be the first to know about it! You'll be able to catch one workshop a month beginning in August here in the great New York City.

Workshops cost $49/each and space is extremely limited. We will only host 20 people in each class to allow you the perfect environment to learn! If you have a group of people you think would like to attend, please contact me (liz@lizkingevents.com) for group rates.

Workshop Topics:

Twitter 101
Facebook Pages for Businesses
Twitter for Business
Social Media Management
Job Searching Using Social Media

Special thanks to Sentry Center for their sponsorship of the event series! Check them out on Facebook and the Web! NYC conference rooms for executive meetings. Discreet, professional services with two convenient Manhattan conference room locations.

The picture here is of a few of the volunteers from PlannerTech. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get them all in one photo, but they were amazing! Each of them were breaking into the industry or willing to share their extensive experience with our event and each contributed significantly to its success. They greeted guests at the door with iPad checkins and gave them each an AccessPasses name badge. They tirelessly filled each gift bag and lugged around the extras until we had given most all of them out.

I wanted to start my recap of PlannerTech today by mentioning the volunteers since I think they often get left out. I want to remember them first and foremost because, without them, the dreams of the planning team wouldn't have been carried out as we hoped.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of those who gave their time last week as a volunteer for PlannerTech! You are much appreciated!!

Sincerely,

Your PlannerTech Planning Team!

Show Your Support for Joplin.

Below you'll see an interview with the amazing Kiki L'Italien who is an event professional and whose family is from Joplin where they were struck with an awful tornado recently. Kiki is working with Lindsey Rosenthal of Events for Good to host a fundraiser in DC on June 13, 2011, but we are going to leverage the internet to raise money before the event begins!

Please check out the interview below and the link to the event. Whether you're attending PlannerTech or not, please consider giving to a great cause!

Can you tell us about your involvement with #Eventprofs and how it has affected or impacted you in the midst of this tragedy?
I am one of the growing number of #eventprofs who do not come from an events background, but instead find my services and interests intertwining with event planners and the meetings industry more and more. As the official moderator for the Association Chat (#assnchat), I discovered more and more of an overlapping of topics and interests with #eventprofs and once I attended the ECTC2010 virtually, I was hooked! Little did I know that through my continued involvement with the #eventprofs community that I would meet some of my best friends and even one special friend, Lindsey Rosenthal, who reached out to me when she heard about my hometown being destroyed and offered her services to me as a way to help create a fundraiser for Joplin. So many other eventprofs have also reached out, like you, to do what they can to help and this whole experience has shown me not only what I am capable of, but the power of friendship and the goodness in people.

I'm sure technology has effected the way that you found information about Joplin. Can you share your first-hand experience of how this helped you stay in touch with family during the disaster?
It happened like this: Within 30 minutes of the storm happening in Joplin, I heard from my cousin in Texas whose husband is an emergency responder. She told me to turn on The Weather Channel and wanted to know if I’d heard from my dad. I was horrified at what I was seeing on TV and quickly started calling my dad. I called my sister and left a voicemail for her about what had happened and then called my mother. At that point, cell phones were still working in the area. Later, I had to reach out to them via text.

I focused on reaching out to account for family members using my phone and Facebook. Later, I moved to focusing on sharing information about places closed or areas for shelter, food, donations, etc. using phone, Facebook, Joplin police dispatch via an app on my phone, and the KZRG talk radio station that was streaming live 24 hours a day immediately following the tornado. I had residents of Joplin telling me I knew more about what was happening there than they did! LOL

How will the funds raised from this event help the people of Joplin?
We’re donating to a charity my father (who works in construction) regularly donates to – the Joplin area Habitat for Humanity. They will focus on rebuilding homes for people who need them. My concern was for the people I know in Joplin who not only lost their homes, but lost their jobs as well. There are families who didn’t have home insurance because of an already economically depressed environment and I know that while people immediately reach out with food and clothing donations, that finding a home for these people and giving the kids in these families a place to feel safe is important for the long haul.

Event Link: http://red4joplin.eventbrite.com/
YouTube Link for Interviews with Kiki: http://www.youtube.com/user/PLANwithTECH
 

5 Ways to Promote Your Events Business WITHOUT Promoting
Liz King, Liz King Events
Gone are the days of overt marketing and hounding potential clients until they give in and hire you. It’s time to start thinking about the bigger picture – the relationships. Let’s face it – relationships are the only way for you to sustain your business. If you guilt-trip a client into using your services, they probably won’t use you again or introduce you to their friends unless you do a STELLAR job. ANYTHING that goes wrong will likely be the end of your relationship. On the other hand, a friend of yours is happy to introduce you to everyone they know. Why? Because they know that you won’t risk their relationships. So – here’s a few tips to start making those relationships that will rocket your business to the next level and never require you to sell yourself.

What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast
Laura Vanderkam, BNet.com
Mornings are a mad-cap time in many households. Everyone’s so focused on getting out the door that you can easily lose track of just how much time is passing. I’ve had hundreds of people keep time logs for me over the past few years (you can see some of mine here and here), and I’m always amazed to see gaps of 90 minutes or more between when people wake up and when they start the commute or school car pool. That would be fine if the time was used intentionally, but often it isn’t.

5 Uncommon Ways to Raise Your Credit Score
Dana Dratch, Bankrate.com
When it comes to cultivating a credit score, you've probably got the good citizen routine down cold. You pay on time, try to wipe out the entire balance every month and never close too many accounts at once. Beyond the basics, though, many consumers are still in the dark about what makes their credit scores go up and down.

You Ain't All That. Reality Check for Your Social Media Cockiness
Liz King, Liz King Events
Back in high school, life was all about the popularity contests. The more friends you had, the cooler you were and I wish I could say that I was one of those in the "in" crowd, but that would be a blatant lie. I was always the quiet one with my small group of (amazing) friends and that was about it. For me, social media opened new doors. It created a place for me to figure out who I was and share that with others and meet lots of amazing people that I probably couldn't have met on my own. And then it happened...

PlannerTech Event Technology Showcase: Updates & Video Contest
Liz King, Liz King Events
In case you've missed all the wonderfulness surrounding our upcoming PlannerTech event, we are just getting started! Check out the website to see all the amazing companies that are participating and sign up for the live streaming of the showcase from 6-7pm EST (Registration is full). If you're in the area and didn't make the sign up, you can volunteer for the event by emailing plannertechvolunteer@gmail.com. And, finally, you can check out our YouTube channel with lots of great video contest submissions and company snapshots.

Check out the website to see all the amazing companies that are participating and sign up for the live streaming of the showcase from 6-7pm EST (Registration is full).

If you're in the area and didn't make the sign up, you can volunteer for the event by emailing plannertechvolunteer@gmail.com.

And, finally, you can check out our YouTube channel with lots of great video contest submissions and company snapshots.

Enjoy!

5 Ways to Promote Your Events Business WITHOUT Promoting
Liz King, Liz King Events
Gone are the days of overt marketing and hounding potential clients until they give in and hire you. It’s time to start thinking about the bigger picture – the relationships. Let’s face it – relationships are the only way for you to sustain your business. If you guilt-trip a client into using your services, they probably won’t use you again or introduce you to their friends unless you do a STELLAR job. ANYTHING that goes wrong will likely be the end of your relationship. On the other hand, a friend of yours is happy to introduce you to everyone they know. Why? Because they know that you won’t risk their relationships. So – here’s a few tips to start making those relationships that will rocket your business to the next level and never require you to sell yourself.

The Systems Behind Modern Event Design
Liz King, Liz King Events
We've all had the clients who know what they want, but don't really know what they want. We spend hours trying to read them and making up for all the times they change their mind just when we thought they had settled. But we all know that the success of any good planner is in the implementation of systems that help interpret a client's wishes and pull together an extraordinary event.

Square Creates an App for Real World Payments
FastCompany.com
You know what you love about the iTunes store: You enter your payment information once, and then immediately, all of the world's digital content is available at your finger tips. Jack Dorsey's Square has just created a system just like that for all the payments you make in the real world--for the capuccino you pick up at your favorite coffee shop, the cute dress from your local boutique, even an old Ramones LP from your favorite flea market vendor. With the click of a button, you can now pay any real-world vendor who's set up with the Square system.

7 Ways to Rescue Your Business Blog from the Blahs
ProBlogger.com
A recent Google search in preparation for this piece revealed over 40 million entries for the term “business blog.“ That makes for a whole lot of niche competition. A compelling reason to seek strategies to stand out to stay in the game. Or as I like to put it, to break from the blahs! Contrary to popular opinion, your business blog doesn’t have to be bland to be taken seriously. It can be “professional” and still be entertaining, informative and engaging. In fact, this is one example of when you should “mix business with pleasure”. Because ideally you want readers to enjoy their experience when they visit, and to share your content via social media forums and link love.

Ten Mindful Ways to Use Social Media
@TinyBuddha Lori Deschene
For the last two years, I have provided a daily wisdom quote through a Twitter account called Tiny Buddha. Since the follower count has grown by leaps and bounds, people have suggested I tweet more often throughout the day. I’ve realized, however, that the greatest lesson we can all learn is that less is enough. In a time when connections can seem like commodities and online interactions can become casually inauthentic, mindfulness is not just a matter of fostering increased awareness. It’s about relating meaningfully to other people and ourselves. With this goal in mind, I’ve compiled a list of 10 tips for using social media mindfully.