Almost every event you attend has an event description, which is what people read before deciding whether or not they want to go. This 9-step guide will help you write a good one to make sure everyone who attends has a good time and that you’re not wasting your hard work on an avalanche of no-shows.
Here are 9 steps to writing a good event description:
1. Describe the purpose of your event in as few words as possible.
In this case, less is more, and more is a waste of time. A good event description should be direct and clear, not long and boring.
The attendee should know exactly what they’re getting into when they pay their money. “A good description should be as spare, concise and to the point as possible.”
A description should not state more than one thing. It should not needlessly wordy or pointless, it should just tell them what to expect.
The most important things to mention are the preconditions of your event: “It could be useful to include which type of participant you are expecting, e.g., open event, lectures with practical exercises etc”.
2. Describe your event in 3-5 sentences with no extra words that are unnecessary.
Add as many details as you do need, not as many which you don’t need. It is important to keep the length of the description short.
A good description should not have non-essential words, phrases or sentences which are unnecessary, vague or ambiguous. A great event description won’t go into unnecessary detail when a few words would do and will instead be clear and concise.
3. Give some background information about your event.
Your event description should include a bit of background information about your event. “Why the event is important, and what it’s achieving, if appropriate.”
The point of including some background info is so the reader can figure out what your event is about when they start reading it. The reader shouldn’t have to spend time figuring out what your event is about while they’re reading the description. A good event description will give the readers the information they need to decide whether or not they want to go.
If you don’t have background info, then you don’t need it. It should not be more than a sentence or two. There’s no point in writing too little when even less is better than too much. This ensures your event description doesn’t go on for a long time and wastes the other reader’s time.
4. Make sure your event description has a point and gets right to the point right away.
A good description should be concise and to the point.
If you can’t describe your event with a few sentences, then you’ve probably included too much information about things that don’t really matter. It’s not necessarily easier to write a few short sentences than it is to write a long one, but it is better to have someone read them. It’s better to have a clearer message than a longer one.
5. Explain what your event is all about immediately.
Your event description should give the reader a good idea of what your event is about right away.
The reader will want to know why they should care before they decide to read any further. You don’t want the reader to have to remember details from a lot of paragraphs back to figure out what your event is about. This will overwhelm them and make them give up on reading your description.
6. Describe the purpose of your event.
It should be something that a lot of people want to do and that is why you are doing it in the first place.
You don’t need to mention an explanation for everything. That way you can make sure that each individual event description is as short as possible, so the reader gets straight to your point and interested in what you will be giving them.
7. List what you expect from your event.
“For example, if there are specific requirements for presentations, e.g., they have to be done in Powerpoint and have a certain number of images, then you should mention that. Same thing for the registration of participants. Make it clear that they will be required to register online.”
If your event has any special requirements for people who show up, such as pre-requisites or attendance fees, then they should be mentioned in the description. A good event description should include things like the specific dates and times you’re running the event.
8. Tell your audience why they should attend your event.
You don’t have to tell the reader in every description why they should attend your event, but you should still tell them why in some of them.
A good event description should tell the reader exactly why they should go to your event. You want to give them everything they need to make a decision about whether or not they want to attend your event.
9. Tell people how much it costs, and include a schedule for how long it lasts.
You should include what your event costs and when it takes place. A good event description should also be kept short and sweet, “because too much information can confuse people”.
“Use a schedule to tell people how long your event lasts.” This will help the reader figure out whether or not they can attend.
The most important things to remember when writing an event description are: “don’t waste the readers time, and get to the point as quickly as possible”.
A good event description should interest the reader and give them enough info about what they will be getting into.
Conclusion
As you can see, writing an event description is a lot like a news article.
It should be written in the third person and not too detailed. It should be kept short and sweet, with the most important things put at the beginning.
It should have a clear point that gets right to the point, quickly and clearly: “What is your event about? What will people get out of it?” You want to make people who see your event description take action as quickly as possible so they register for your event.
