How to Write Engaging Event Descriptions

Dec 21, 2023 Jesse Liszka

So you’ve spent the last few weeks organizing an amazing corporate event. Having put in all that hard work, you need to be confident that people will actually turn up. That’s where event descriptions come in. You need to be able to write an event description that makes your audience as excited about the event as you are. 
Regardless of how you advertise and promote your event, you’ll have to include a description of what the event will entail. This is the case whether you’re producing social media posts, email messages, or just listing your event online. 
So, how do you create an event description that will encourage people to attend your event? Read on to find our tips for writing engaging event descriptions.  

What is an Event Description?
Events are a crucial part of the business world. You could be a startup looking to create an online launch event for your new hiring software. Or perhaps you’re an established local business organizing a networking opportunity. In either case, events are a great way to get your brand, product, or service in front of other people. 
However, that relies on people actually coming to your event. And, at the end of the day, they won’t come if they don’t know what your event is about. An event description is simply a bit of text that explains the main details of your event. Think about the event location, ticketing details, and the purpose of your event. 
But don’t think writing an event description is just about conveying the essential details. Instead, an event description is an opportunity to grow attendance for your event. It can excite those who are reading your description. Ultimately, event descriptions should be both persuasive and informative.  

Why are Event Descriptions So Important?

It’s easy to think of event descriptions only in terms of getting across the key information. By doing so, however, you might fail to see how important they are. After all, it doesn’t take much effort to just include some important pieces of information in a short bit of text.  
However, event descriptions are a fundamental tool as you try to achieve your event goals. Whether you want to promote your new product by hosting an immersive in-person event or launching a new marketing campaign, you’ll need to have an audience that is receptive to your intentions.
It’s, therefore, important that event attendees are engaged from the very start. An effective event description will ensure that they’re excited by your event. This ensures that not only will they turn up, but they’ll be engaged from the very start. 
Writing an engaging event description is also important if you want to generate a buzz around your event. A creative and inspirational description is more likely to be shared on social media or in the office. This means that your event and your brand will spread to new potential attendees.  

How to Write Engaging Event Descriptions 
By now, you should have an idea of what an event description is and why they’re so important. It’s time to consider how to write descriptions that give you the best chance of convincing your readers to attend. Here are our six key steps for writing an engaging event description: 

1. Identify the Most Important Details
There’s no getting around it: every event description has to include the fundamental facts and features of your event. That being said, try not to get too carried away, and opt for a concise description. It’s important that you don’t overburden your readers with too much unnecessary information. 

The most important detail to include is the event name. This is a great opportunity to hook your readers in from the start. Rather than just describing the event itself, such as a ‘marketing webinar’, try to make it interesting. Your readers should want to know more about your event from the name itself. This should be supported by a short, inspirational tagline.

Beyond the headline details, you’ll have to include a description of the event. What are the benefits of attending, and what will attendees learn or gain? Try to keep this as short and simple as possible. 
Finally, you should identify some of the practical details about event logistics. If you’re planning an in-person event, include the location and time. However, don’t bother including details like travel information – this can go elsewhere on your event page. Remember, too much information will stop people from reading your description.  

2. Build your voice
Now that you’ve identified the most important details, it’s time to craft an engaging and interesting event description.
It’s likely that your organization has a brand voice that is used across your marketing materials. You should always follow this voice. From the moment potential attendees receive your materials, they’ll think of your organization. This means they’ll have certain preconceptions about your values and general approach. 
If you don’t have a brand voice to draw on, you should think about the values that you want people to associate with your event. Then, create a style of writing that conveys those values. Unsure about the sort of voice that you should use for your event? You might want to consider your aims and intended audience. A description for a professional development webinar for business leaders should be formal and authoritative. If, on the other hand, you’re aiming to persuade young people to attend your product launch, your voice should be much more playful. 

3. Adapt Your Event Description to Each Channel

Have you nailed the details of your description and written those out in your brand voice? It’s time to ensure that your event description is tailored to your promotional channels.
People will mainly be reading your event description on a listing website or through a search engine after you’ve hosted it on your own website. If you host your description at multiple locations, you’ll want to use a slightly different copy. Having unique content on your website will mean that it’s placed higher in search engine results.
You’ll also be promoting your event through traditional marketing channels like social media or email. Make sure that the initial impact of your description is punchy and attention-grabbing. This could be through a gripping email subject line or an eye-catching opening to a social media post. You should also add a clear call-to-action (CTA) where the reader can click through and book a place at the event. 

4. Step in Your Audience’s Shoes
Before your event description is ready to be published, you should take the perspective of your audience and assess how effective it is. 
There’s no way of knowing every detail about who will read your description. They might have stumbled across a human resources webinar while searching for an HRIS system, for instance. It’s crucial that the copy in your description is as snappy as possible. Shorten your sentences and avoid using jargon or complex vocabulary. 
You should also make sure that the benefits of attending your event are at the center of your description. The reader should come away with a clear understanding of how attending will benefit them. On top of this, remember that one audience will be an SEO algorithm. Make sure you’ve included keywords effectively. Take time to do research. Using SEO tools can help with identifying keywords. This will mean that your real audience – the people who’ll actually attend the event – will find your description more easily. 

5. Include Testimonials

There’s nothing like a recommendation from someone to convince us that something is worth doing. Social proof is a core part of many marketing strategies and should be integrated into your event description.
One way of doing this could be through an event promotion campaign that includes influencer marketing. However, you might simply want to include a few customer testimonials in your description. It’s worth briefly outlining the benefits of your past events. This will help to persuade readers that attending your future events will be worthwhile.  

6. Add a Personal Touch
If you’ve followed each of the previous steps, it’s likely that you’ve got an event description that is engaging, interesting, and well-placed to persuade potential attendees to turn up to your event. However, you could always benefit from a final, personal flourish. 
Try to transform your copy so that it has some of your personal voice within it. Make sure that enthusiasm and warmth are key parts of your event description. You might want to use the second person (with words like “you”) to build up a conversational tone. Doing so will make your readers feel like they already have a relationship with you! 

Writing Event Descriptions – More Than Just the Details
There’s no doubt that an event description has an important basic function: making sure that potential attendees know what your event is all about. However, that overlooks one of the most important aims of any event description – to engage those potential attendees. 
Take time to follow our six steps to writing engaging event descriptions. By sticking to these tips, you can be confident that your event descriptions hook your readers in. This makes them more likely to book a place and share information about your event.  

So, why not transform your event descriptions with our tips now? 
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About the Author 
Jesse Liszka is the Senior Communications Specialist at Paylocity, leading providers of cloud-based payroll and human capital management software. She is a highly experienced communications, client marketing and content specialist, with more than 12 years of experience. You can find her on LinkedIn.