How to plan your next event With Jodie McLean - Social media - Marketing Espresso

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Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Marketing Espresso , I sit down with event strategist Jodie McLean from JEM Events to unpack something that looks simple on the surface but quickly becomes overwhelming once you start: planning an event that people genuinely want to attend. Jodie takes us right back to the beginning - before venues, speakers or save-the-dates - and walks me through the four pillars she calls the brief : your outcomes, your audience, your budget and your non-negotiables. Without these, you’re essentially planning blind. We talk openly about the current trend towards smaller, more targeted events, and why they often outperform big, generic conferences. Jodie explains how specificity leads to connection, and why ego-driven decisions (like wanting a room full of hundreds) often work against the true purpose of an event. Once you understand who the event is for and why it matters, you can build out the event concept: the theme, the name, the timing and the location. Jodie shares why it’s important not to rush this stage, why a vague concept leads to low conversions, and why giving people too little information too early kills momentum.

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