If you are organizing a free event (e.g. a party, wedding, concert or training session) the chances are you don’t want to spend any money on technology. The great news is there are lots of free options for creating and promoting your event online. Here are just a few:
Facebook provides a very popular and easy to use way of inviting people to your event. With a few keystrokes you can quickly invite all your friends – as long as they are on Facebook! It’s a super-simple and effective way to create a buzz about your event especially if you allow attendees to post comments and share the event with others.
Facebook is best for social gatherings, not business functions. While I have seen a few networking groups use Facebook very effectively for their meetings, these tend to be a younger crowd.
A downside of Facebook is that it is ‘cheap’ (see You can’t fake quality). Most people know that it takes almost no effort to blast out a Facebook invitation. The impact of this is that the person receiving the invitation doesn’t feel special. If you want your guests to feel important, that it matters to you that they come, then it is worth investing a bit more time into the invitation.
Invitation Systems
If you want to add some panache to your invitations, take a look at sites like Anyvite and Evite. These systems allow you to create invites for your events that have more pizzazz than a Facebook event. These systems are both super-simple to use and have tones of customizable templates for birthday parties, weddings, house-warmings – you name it! The basic concept is RSVP, where you create your invite and then send it out to your guest list. Just like Facebook, guests can see who else is coming and leave messages on the site.
The overall feel of both Anyvite and Evite cheerful and welcoming. They are fun to use and include some basic registration options such as setting number limits and allowing guest registrations.
The limitation of these systems is that they don’t allow you to customize the information you collect. For example, you couldn’t ask about dietary requests if you are organizing a meal.
Online Registration Systems
Companies such as Amiando, Eventbrite, Ticketleap and Picatic provide their full blown online registration systems at no cost for free events.
If you are organizing an event that has more sophisticated requirements than, say, a birthday party a more robust online registration tool could be just what you need.
These online registration systems provide customization options for defining ticket types, deadlines, custom questions and number limits as well as various reporting functions. In terms of look and feel these sites are focused on functionality and simplicity, rather than the prettiness and frills.
If you are organizing a corporate event, these will be your ideal systems but they are likely to be overkill for a party or wedding.
Summary
Which type of system you choose will depending on your priorities:-
SPEED: If need to quickly get the word out about your event you can’t beat Facebook.
PAZZAZZ: If you want pretty, go with an invitation system such as Evite or Anyvite.
FUNCTION: If you need more registration components, such as deadlines and ticket types, go with an online registration system such as Amiando, Eventbrite, Ticketleap or Picatic