Top 5 Free Event Marketing Tools for Promoting Your Next Event event marketing

Planning and promoting an event can be a daunting task — from start to finish, there seems to be an endless number of things you need to keep straight and get done in perfect timing. Layer on top of all those budgetary considerations, and you’ll find that event marketing is anything but a walk in the park. 

Lucky for you, the internet is full of several free tools that can help streamline the event marketing process, from organizing your team to spreading the word about your event. Depending on the size, format, and type of event you’re planning, here are the top five free event marketing tools that can help ensure your event is a success every time — regardless of whether it’s a virtual event or something in-person.

1. AddEvent

We might be just a little biased, but AddEvent is an incredibly useful tool for getting your events on your audience’s calendars. This, paired with reminders, will help your RSVPs turn into actual attendance numbers on the day of your event. 

“AddEvent makes it easy to share our events and automatically adds an event to a user’s calendar. The result? More people attending our weekly Study Groups. This resource has made the event invite experience a thousand times better.” – Gretchen Barry, BuddyIns Chief Marketing Officer

You can use AddEvent to engage with your potential customers in a number of ways:

• Share events: Get your events on your audience’s calendars with add to calendar buttons, add to calendar links, event landing page URLs, and more. 
• Collect RSVPs: Collect your attendees’ information when they register for an upcoming event.
• Share calendars: Share multiple events at once with subscription calendars and embeddable calendars. 
• Automated events: Share higher volumes of events that can be dynamically updated for personalization.
• Integrate your tools: To automate processes, integrate AddEvent with your other marketing campaign tools, such as email automation platforms and CRMs.

Overall, AddEvent makes it easy to add events to calendars and offers tools to boost event visibility and track how engaged people are.

Free plans include:

• Share up to 5 events
• Add to calendar buttons
• Collect up to 20 RSVPs
• 1 subscription calendar

Learn more. 

2. Canva

Don’t have a graphic designer on your team just yet? Then, it’s time to add Canva to your tech stack! 

Canva is a powerful design tool that allows you to create stunning visuals for your event promotion materials, regardless of your personal comfort level with design. Whether you need posters, social media graphics, or email banners, Canva makes it easy to design professional-looking content with just a few clicks.

Canva makes it easy to get started:

• Customize templates: It’s easy to get started with your next design when you have hundreds of customizable templates right at your fingertips.
• Use its easy drag-and-drop interface: The tool is easy to use, even for those with no design experience.
• Standardized branding: Depending on how serious you want to get with the tool, you can seamlessly maintain brand consistency with pre-set fonts, colors, and logos.

Visual content is key to catching your audience’s attention. With Canva, you can create eye-catching promotional materials that are consistent with your event’s branding, helping you stand out in a crowded market.

Free plans include:

• Use of drag-and-drop editor
• Professionally-designed templates
• Stock photos & graphics
• 5GB cloud storage

3. Asana

Gone are the days of Post-It notes and written to-do lists — instead, many are opting to use project management tools as the basis for their team’s collaboration. Meet Asana.

This comprehensive project management tool helps you organize and manage your event planning process from start to finish. From assigning tasks to tracking progress, Asana ensures that your team stays on top of everything you might have on your plate — all in one central place.

You can use Asana to:

• Manage your tasks: Assign tasks, set timelines, and track progress in one easy-to-find place — plus, automate workflows to get the ball rolling even faster.
• Keep an eye on the deadlines: Visualize your event planning timeline with Gantt charts.
• Encourage collaboration: Communicate with team members directly within tasks so you never miss a memo.

Effective event planning requires meticulous organization and clear communication. Asana provides the tools to align your team and ensures no detail is overlooked throughout your event marketing plan.

Free plans include:

• Up to 10 users
• Access to tasks, projects, messages, and activity log
• Unlimited file storage
• Integrations with other apps

4. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a leading email marketing platform that allows you to create, send, and analyze email campaigns. It’s a crucial tool for promoting your event and informing your audience about what’s around the corner.

Mailchimp can be used to:

• Create email campaigns: Design and send professional email invitations and updates.
• Build new automation: Set up automated email sequences for welcome messages, follow-ups, and customer journeys.
• Keep an eye on analytics: Track the performance of your email campaigns with detailed analytics on open rates, click rates, and conversions.

Email marketing is such an effective way to reach your audience ahead of your next upcoming event. Mailchimp’s powerful features allow you to craft compelling emails that drive attendance and engage your audience.

Free plans include:

• 500 contacts
• 1,000 sends per month (daily limit of 500)
• Signup forms
• Marketing CRM access

5. Buffer

Buffer is a social media management tool that helps you schedule and manage social media posts across various channels. It’s perfect for promoting your next event and also engaging with your audience on social media.

Use Buffer to promote your next event by:

• Schedule your content marketing: Schedule posts across various social media marketing platforms (like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest) in advance.
• Create new posts: Use a simple, intuitive interface to create and customize posts for different platforms.
• Analyze and report: Access insights and analytics to track the performance of social media posts, measure engagement, and understand audience behavior.

Social media is a critical channel for event promotion. Buffer helps you maintain a consistent presence on social media, ensuring that your event branding reaches a broader target audience and generates buzz before the big day (or night!).

Free plans include:

• Up to three social media channels
• 10 scheduled posts per channel
• 3 tags
• Access to 100 Buffer AI Assistant ideas

Utilizing the right tools can significantly improve your event success rate. These five free tools—AddEvent, Canva, Asana, Mailchimp, and Buffer—cover all of the essential aspects of your event marketing strategies, from planning and organization to promotion and engagement. 

By leveraging these tools, you can streamline your overall event marketing strategy, boost attendance, and create a memorable experience for your audience.