Event Evaluation Tips: How to Write an Effective Event Report

The best way to measure the success of your latest event is an evaluation report. Maximise your learnings by taking the time to determine what went right (and, equally, what went wrong) in the lead-up, during, and after your event. Using key information like sales data , attendee insights, and feedback surveys can help you to not only calculate your return on investment (ROI) but plan even more successful events for the future.

Presenting all of this information in a concise and easy-to-reference event report can simplify the process and ensure you have all of the relevant information in the same place when the time comes for event planning. Here’s our handy guide on how to write an effective report, get the most out of your findings, and set goals for upcoming events.

Event write-up basics

There are a few key elements your event report or post-event article should always include, whether you’re planning on sending it to sponsors , suppliers, or stakeholders. Here’s a breakdown of how to write a brief report on an event:

• Attendee survey: What better way to measure the success of your event than to ask the attendees themselves? This can be done in the form of a simple follow-up email, asking questions on your social media channels, or using an online questionnaire. You can then group your responses and present them in your report.
• Exhibitors, speakers, and performers : Include a list of all of the sessions or guest appearances from your event, from food stalls to music acts. Which were the most attended? Which created the most social media buzz, before and after? This will help you to understand what to book again for a future event, as well as what didn’t work so well.
• Marketing and promotional activity: How did you publicise your event in the weeks and months beforehand? Include a summary of key metrics (such as website visits, social media engagement, and email open rates) and a review of any key sponsors.

Gather your data

Specific figures can help you to evaluate the various components of your event thoroughly and objectively. Both qualitative data (such as attendee opinions and sponsor insights) and quantitative data (such as attendee numbers and profit margins) are essential to your report. Gathering these figures will help you to understand the big picture of your event. Here are some key data sources to consider when compiling your report:

• Sign-up and attendee numbers: Tracking how many tickets you sold and how many people attended your event are two key metrics to measure overall success and reveal helpful insights. If you sold lots of tickets but the turn-out was lower than expected, how can you drum up excitement and improve communication in the run-up to your next event? If you didn’t sell as many tickets as you’d hoped, how can you promote your event more effectively next time?
• Social media engagement: Measuring key numbers like shares, likes, and comments is a good way to analyse the online ‘buzz’ around your event, which can be crucial for getting the word out and improving future attendance. You can also collect qualitative information, such as what people were saying in the comments, and the conversations being had around your event. Was the information mostly positive or negative? Did it reveal any areas you could improve for the next time?
• Content creation: Similarly, measuring how well any content you created around your event performed can inform what digital marketing strategies you put in place next time. For example, you could measure website traffic to blog posts or the average time spent on your website. If your bounce rate was high (users leaving your site quickly after arriving), consider the usefulness and relevance of your content, and how you’re directing potential attendees to your site. Could the user journey be more intuitive?
• Revenue: Including profit and ROI data is an important part of your evaluation report, especially when you’re pitching future events to stakeholders. Include a table or graph to demonstrate how much you invested in the event. You can then work out how much you made back through ticket sales, as well as through sales of food, drink, and if relevant, merchandise. Our reports can help with this.

Consider your venue and set-up

Having the right venue can make the difference between a good event and a great one. Feature all relevant details about your venue on the event report, including whether there was suitable capacity and accessible facilities and if any unforeseen issues arose on the day. It can also be helpful to note down the prices and key contacts associated with the venue in your post-event article. If your event was virtual, consider the software and hosting platform you used. Did it work the way you hoped? Is it worth exploring other options with added functionality?

When it comes to set-up, consider whether everything went to plan on the day. What could be streamlined? Did you have enough staff, or will you need to hire more for your next event?

Understand your attendees

A post-event survey is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to collect your attendees’ opinions. Their insights can help you to evaluate every aspect of your event and improve for upcoming events. Even if your event sold out, you can’t consider it truly successful if it didn’t meet attendee expectations. Keep the following in mind when creating your survey:

• Keep it short and sweet: To maximise responses and avoid putting off participants, only include the most relevant questions. A maximum of ten questions should deliver useful responses while making sure attendees complete your survey.
• Include NPS questions early on: Obtaining your NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a key part of your survey, so this should be included early on. Ask your attendees how likely they are to recommend your event to others on a scale of 1 to 10. Calculating the percentage of people who would recommend your event is a great indicator of how it went down.
• Use multiple choice answers: Asking your attendees to click a button rather than write a lengthy response is a simple way to improve your response rate. Such answers are also easy to convert into a graph or chart. You can also include an ‘other’ option to gather bespoke, lengthier responses.
• Segment responses: While it’s always a good idea to give the option for attendees to respond anonymously, collecting some simple information alongside your survey can be really helpful. For example, CEOs might be looking for something different for your event that interns, and it’s useful to know what appeals to these different demographics.
• Send it quickly: Don’t wait too long after your event to send out your survey. Make sure everything is still fresh in attendees’ minds and capitalise on the excitement and buzz by sending it within 24 hours of your event ending.

Our platform is integrated with SurveyMonkey, so the process of sending out your surveys has never been easier. All attendee email addresses can be imported straight into SurveyMonkey, so you can send your email directly from here (or schedule it for later). You can also access all of SurveyMonkey’s analytics tools within the platform.

Debrief with the event team

A really successful event doesn’t just make for happy attendees – it’s also positive for the staff involved. It’s just as important to ask your team what they felt went well and what could use improvement, so you can tweak things next time around.

It’s also important to talk to your sponsors in the period shortly after an event. How did they find the process? Were there any missed opportunities where you could make more of the sponsor relationship? You can create an additional survey to capture these responses or collate them from conversations and emails into your report.

Make your final evaluation

All of the above points on your event report can be used to calculate your ROI – the ultimate indicator of whether or not your event was a financial success. Start by revisiting any goals you originally set for your event and what you were intending to achieve: were these goals met? Including a section detailing why you held the event and what you were hoping to achieve will help you to understand whether you reached your objectives. You can measure the data you’ve gained against your goals for ticket sales, sign-up, and social media conversation. Did you keep your event under budget, or did unforeseen events mean you had to spend more than expected? Writing a concise evaluation is a great way to include a quick-reference summary of your event.

Presenting your findings

The way you represent your data is down to your personal preferences (and those of your stakeholders). Graphs and charts are an easy way to depict and contrast numerical data, while you can use bullet-point lists to break up wordier responses from attendees.

If you’re looking for ideas on how to put your report together, check out our free resources, such as our post-event summary template , and sample survey questions.