Subscribing to and reading event planning publications on a regular basis are essential in being a good event planner. As an event planner you are not only expected to plan the event from start to finish, but you are also expected to be the idea person behind an event.

The Internet provides a wealth of information for event planners. There are many online event planner publications that you can choose from along with the more traditional mail order event planning magazines. When looking for good, informative event planning publications news and trends either online or through the mail consider:

1. Corporate meetings or events you will be planning and look for new trends in the corporate world such as go green conventions in corporate event magazines.

2. Bringing new ideas to old events through event planner publications.

3. Any charity events you are planning. In this every changing field you will need to keep up with the newest trends on a strict budget through magazines for event planners.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Select an online corporate event magazine that will give you corporate events and meeting ideas

Corporate meetings and events can sometimes be boring or seem unorganized. A corporate meetings magazine can help you see what other people are doing to stay organized and freshen up meetings. Look at these meeting planner publications for tips.

I recommend: Meeting & Conventions Magazine a free online magazine focusing on meetings, conventions and other special corporate events. ConventionPlanit, another online event publication that connects you with corporate meeting planners all over the world and provides you with up to the minute news and trends.

Freshen up a special event with tips from an event planning magazine

Find out what other event planners in your area are doing. By joining an event planning club, you can network with other event planners in your area, exchange ideas, get discounts and get magazine subscriptions.

I recommend: International Special Events Society (ISES), a national event planning club that meets locally and helps you learn the latest news and trends from other professionals in your field. Upon membership you get a free subscription to their event planner magazine, Special Events. Bonjour Events brings you a fresh look at any type of event you may be planning along with tips and vendor information.

Enhance fundraising events with event planning publications

Charity events are always changing and are always produced on a tight budget. Stay up to date with the trends and resources in this every changing type of event planning with event planning publications.

I recommend: Umbrella Magazine is an online event planners magazine specializing in everything having to do with charity events including volunteering and philanthropy. Fundraiser, a cyberzine, publishes articles on fundraising tips, ideas, vendors, ticket sales and more to help you keep your event exciting and productive.

Event planners require strong organization and perception skills to be successful. After all, planning and anticipating your clients' needs is what the profession is all about. One of the easiest and most accessible ways to hone your edge in the business is by regularly reading event planning publications. From the latest corporate meetings magazine to the newest party planning magazine, these periodicals are mandatory reading for the industry's elite.

You can use event planning publications to help a corporate client run a successful conference or meeting, find organizational tips and tricks and learn how to effectively organize the event space. When choosing which publications to add to your research arsenal, consider the following:

1. Meeting planning publications, such as a corporate meetings magazine, can help you boost your corporate client base by offering tips on planning effective meetings.
2. General event planning magazines can give you tips and tricks that work with multiple event types.
3. Event planning publications that cover specific aspects of event planning or hone in on event planning in a particular area can be particularly helpful.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find a corporate meetings magazine to help you make meetings run more smoothly

Corporate meetings and events sometimes need the professional touch of a corporate event planner to ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently. If you're looking to grow your expertise in this area, these event planning magazines can help.

I recommend: Meeting News is a corporate event magazine that covers news and analysis in the corporate meetings industry, while Successful Meetings is another corporate event magazine that gives you the tools you need to effectively plan and run a meeting. Meetings & Conventions discusses strategies for successfully planning just about any type of corporate meeting or event.

Find event planner publications that give you good general industry news and information

When you need general news about your industry, you need an event planning magazine or journal that can deliver the goods in a timely fashion. Look to these event planning publications for the latest news and tips.

I recommend: Event Solutions is an event planning magazine that offers the latest industry news coupled with how-tos and advice. Special Events Magazine is an event planning magazine that runs the gamut, covering everything from event equipment to tents and party rental operations.

Find the right event planning trade magazine for your specific needs

Magazines that target specific aspects of event planning--such as catering, for example--are great magazines for event planners to read regularly, as they can help you improve your skill set, and also give you good insight into how the pieces of every event you plan fit together.

I recommend: Catering Magazine is geared toward catering professionals and contains event trend and event equipment information. Illinois Meetings and Events is one of numerous magazines in the same chain that blanket the entire United States with location-specific event planning information.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Event planning publications aren't just a source of industry information--they can be a source of new business. Peruse the publications above for advertising opportunities to help bring new attention to your operation, or pitch yourself as a source for future articles.

When planning special events or corporate events, event planning publications can be a great resource for your business. There are many event planning magazines available to you at reasonable costs both in a print format and in an online format.

The good news about budgeting for your event planner publications is that most are free or very low in cost. When looking at event planning publications pricing and costs consider the following:

1. Research and compare free event planning magazines in print and select one that meets your needs.

2. There are many low cost magazines for event planners to choose from.

3. Look at an online format for your corporate meetings magazine or event planners magazine.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look for free event planning publications

Event planners like to share information, so take advantage of event planner publications by searching for a free event planner magazine. Research and compare to get free event planning magazines that best suit your company and offers information on the type of events you plan.

I recommend: Check out Smart Meetings, a magazine for meeting professionals, offered free of charge. International Special Events Society (ISES) is a great resource for event planners. It offer its magazine for special event planners called Special Events for free.

Choose a low cost event planner magazine that will help you plan your corporate events

Give your company's special events a boost by purchasing a low cost event planning trade magazine. Event planner publications can be an essential resource for planning meetings, trade shows, conferences and special events.

I recommend: Event Publishing offers its event planning magazine for prices ranging from $65 to $125 for 12 issues. Exhibitor Magazine offers its Corporate EVENT magazine, which covers all things corporate event related, from strategic event marketing to conferences and trade shows. Price ranges from $30 to $50 dollars depending on your location for four publications a year.

Take advantage of easy to use, online event planning publications

Choose from numerous online event planning publications. No need to waste paper, these publications can be emailed to you once a month, twice a month or weekly. Choose several that can meet your needs and make great resources for any events that you have in mind.

I recommend: At Event Marketer you can subscribe to get its e-newsletter, Event Best Practices, emailed to you once a month free of charge, or its EM Buzz newsletter emailed to you twice a month for free. North Star Travel Media offers you 12 issues of its Meetings & Convention Magazine either online or in print for free. This will be the perfect resource in helping you plan the perfect meeting, trade show or convention.

Event planning professionals regularly use industry terms when it comes to publications. On the job, at events, during education and training activities, and at various other occasions, event planning professionals routinely communicate with industry terms. However, words associated with event planning publications may be less familiar. Review the following list terms that pertain to essential publications for the event planning field. Determine which words are most useful and consider passing them along to your co-workers and business associates.

Action Steps
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Event specifications guide

Event specifications guide (ESG) refers to meeting specifications or a meeting 'resume.' In short, ESG means an industry-wide document in which event planners can develop and share comprehensive information for various events. The industry recognizes ESG as the authorized term for the document that contains all requirements for an event. Professionals can access this tool as a paper document or in electronic form formatted in Microsoft Word.

I recommend: Contact the Convention Industry Council and Clevelandmeetings.com to learn more about an event specifications guide.

Contract

Although the term 'contract' sounds like familiar jargon, its meaning contains several industry uses. For instance, 'contract' generally means a formal agreement. Contracts pertaining to event planning relate to binding documents with definitive terms agreed upon by participating parties and signed by individuals who have the right to engage in such agreements. Event planning contracts can relate to a number of items such as reserving space for an event, deposits and remuneration, cancellation procedures, and any other negotiated conditions. As a rule of thumb, seek legal counsel when dealing with contracts.

I recommend: Gain more insight about contracts with the step-by-step event planning guide developed by Marriott.

Event binder

Industry professionals often call the event binder an event planning notebook or a planning binder. Whatever term you use, the event binder ranks high on the priority list of essential publications. Event planners use binders to keep track of important contacts related to the event, contractual information, budgetary items, guest listings and other important elements.

I recommend: Learn more about the event binder and its myriad of uses from Rob Hard, an event manager and communications consultant.

Case study

The word 'case study' refers to a research-based publication detailing a specific topic or topics using qualitative descriptive research, comprehensive data, analysis and conclusions that often call for additional research or exploration. Another term pertaining to case study is an evidence-based research paper.

I recommend: Contact the Convention Industry Council to review details about a case study pertaining to a site research and contract negotiations company.

Post event report

The term 'post event report' (PER) means gathering, storing and exchanging comprehensive after-event data. Some industry professionals refer to the PER as a history report. Nonetheless, event planners rank this publication as a must-have document.

I recommend: Learn more about the post event report at Simply-communicate.com.

Request for proposals

The term 'request for proposals' (RFP) refers to a publication that outlines the services an organization such as an event planning group requests from a contractor, along with fees or bids pertaining to such services.

I recommend: Learn more about request for proposals at SearchITChannel.com.