How much can you earn as a freelance event planner?
Your income as a freelancer will always vary depending on your skills, experience and ability to negotiate with clients. And your potential earnings will also vary depending on the size, scale and focus of the events you work on.
The National Careers Service estimates the average salary for an Event Manager ranging from £21,000 to £50,000 depending on experience. For freelance event planners, Glassdoor have an average base pay of £33,128 per year in the UK.
In the events industry, the career ladder ranges from Assistant, or Coordinator through to Planner or Manager, up to Director of Events. But you can also boost your freelance rates by specialising in a particular niche, or by hosting events in different areas of the country, with London tending to attract the highest pay.
These annual averages may not reflect your monthly earnings. In many sectors, events will be seasonal and clustered together around industry launches or the run-up to Spring, Summer or Christmas. So, you may need to plan for the majority of your income to arrive during a small number of months, and then quieter times of planning for the following year.
If you’re self-employed running your own events as a business, then the revenue and profit can be much higher, but you also take on the associated financial and legal risks if you incur a loss or a problem occurs.
How to find event planning clients?
If you have previous experience in events and hospitality, this is a useful way to secure your first freelance event planning clients. Even if you haven’t been responsible for that area in the past, you may be able to translate your related skills and existing relationships into your first official paid work.
For anyone starting out with no experience, securing client work will be a mixture of outreach and building your reputation. Networking with local venues and suppliers will give you valuable contacts and insight, and could lead to referrals. As can helping charities, non-profits or other community groups to host online or physical events. Many of these organisations will have lots of existing relationships with local business and potential sponsors.
Any relevant experience should be included in your online portfolio and any marketing material for your freelance business. It’s important to be honest and not wildly overstate your involvement or responsibilities, but events will typically generate a variety of local press coverage which can help attract interest in your services.
It’s extremely useful to collect all of your previous experience, case studies and press clippings for an online portfolio which can be included in your emails and marketing to potential new clients. And may attract enquiries from anyone searching for an event planner, or if you’re sharing it via social media.
You can build on this by adding advice, tips or guides to your website. Or by networking online with other event professionals who might refer clients or work when they’re fully booked, or if it’s in your specialist area.
More resources and support for freelance event planners:
- The Association of Event Organisers
- The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers
- The Professional Convention Management Association
- The Events Industry Council
- The International Association of Exhibitions and Events
Researching other freelance careers? Why not check out our other guides:
- How to become a freelance SEO consultant
- How to become a freelance web designer
- How to become a freelance writer
- How to become a freelance Virtual Assistant (VA)
- How to become a freelance photographer
- How to become a freelance business analyst
- How to become a freelance coach
- How to become a freelance structural engineer
- How to become a freelance proofreader
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