Here’s a fun fact – virtual events CAN drive revenue. With the rise of virtual events bringing people together nowadays, various virtual experiences, trade shows, conferences, meetings and even training sessions have proven to be the best way to educate, connect and provide networking opportunities for clients and employees. If you’re a company that has just tapped into the virtual event space, now is a great opportunity to monetize on your online platforms as you adapt to the ever changing business climate.
We all know that planning a virtual event is no easy matter. Just because it’s online doesn’t mean that you can let things slip. After all, you’re still trying to impress clients and showing your audience you value their time and investment. Another great result that comes from a virtual event is revenue, and if done right, you can make a hefty profit when hosting virtual events.
How To Make Money Hosting Virtual Events – 6 Tips
If you’re ready to host a virtual conference or event, here are some helpful ideas on how you can make revenue with your virtual event.
1. Charge for event access
When hosting a conference or event with notable speakers and engagement activities, you need to charge per ticket for your audience to access the event. You have put in so much work to plan the event so why should you give it away for free? Additionally, guests are also more likely to attend an event if they have paid for it making it open to serious attendees only keeping your numbers more accurate as you plan your event.
Pro tip: When trying to figure out the ticket price, make sure that it covers your overhead costs and that you will end up making a profit! Analyze your audience and what you are offering at the event to figure out the budget and what you think your attendees will be willing to pay for the ticket.
2. Tier ticket options
Depending on your event, you can offer different experiences based on each tier. For example, you can split your options into 3 tiers where you offer a regular experience with general access, a VIP experience where your audience can have more features or more access to the speakers and an all-access pass where your audience can have the full experience as well as access to content after the event if possible.
3. Video-On-Demand
Jumping off of the previous idea, you can charge attendees an extra fee for them to be able to access video-on-demand after the event. This is also a great way for your audience to be able to attend or view the event at a convenient time for them if they are unable to make the event the first time around. The best part is, you get to control who has access to how much and what type of content so you are able to control the pricing model accordingly.
3. Sponsorships
Sponsorships are a great way to make some revenue from your virtual event! Advertisers and marketers would love to be in front of their target audience and will be open to collaborating if your audience and brand aligns with theirs. Use this as an opportunity to get paid for these companies to sponsor your event. It’s important to make them see the value in sponsoring your event so treat them with care and thank them before AND after your event!
4. Earn affiliate commission
When you offer demos or software or products, it might be a good idea to sign up for their affiliate program to earn commission! When part of an affiliate program, you will get a unique link to use during your event when you are promoting them. If an attendee buys or registers anything from the affiliate companies, you earn a commission. It’s a win-win!
5. Upsell during the event
During your event, you want to make sure you are selling to your audience. Whether it’s special add-ons to your software, a package bundle, online courses or access to products before they launch in the market, you can and should expand your bottom line by having these products and services for sale at the event. This in turn will also help convert your attendees into loyal customers in the future.
We hope these quick tips will help you start making revenue and get you in the full swing of planning your next virtual event!