How to Get Big Event Sponsors

Planning a large event for your business requires a lot of time and patience. You and your team will be responsible for finding the right venue and accommodations, planning keynote speakers and luncheons, and arranging booth space for exhibitors and vendors. Moreover, it's up to you to find individuals and companies willing to sponsor your events, because the money and/or services they provide help defray some costs. The question is, where do you find sponsors for your convention or expo?

Why do you need sponsors for your event? Whether you plan to host conferees for one day or over a weekend, sponsorship allows you to obtain a variety of takeaways for people as well as subsidize costs of events within the conference. Typically when you attend a conference you are given a tote bag and name tag with holder, among other freebies bearing company logos and URLs. Such items are paid for by the respective businesses as a means of providing your event the materials and increasing their exposure. If you are expecting around a thousand guests for your event, the price of these necessities can become costly, but for a sponsor it may be seen as a good investment for imprinting their name in the minds of conferees.

So where do you find sponsors? If you have hosted the event before, your first inclination would be to contact sponsors of previous years and ask if they would be willing to show their generosity once more. Some may be willing to try a higher level of sponsorship than they had in the past. If you still need to fill slots, there are other suggestions you can try:

1) Put out feelers within your business community. Sponsors closely related to your business and the event are more likely to respond, so you can send out emails or let people know within your company that sponsors are needed.

2) Advertise sponsorship on your conference website. The website should have all relevant information on your event, including information for vendors and sponsors. You can list the various opportunities - dinner sponsorships, program ads, tote bags - and take orders directly online if you wish. Sponsors sending promotional items need only pay your fee and have the goods shipped.

3) Use social media to search for potential sponsors. If relevant companies follow you on Twitter and Facebook they may be interested to know that you need sponsors for your next event.

If you know where to look, or make your information available, you hopefully will not have trouble lining up great sponsors for your event.