Here’s How You Can Make Money Hosting Your Next Virtual Event

Here’s a fun fact – virtual events CAN drive revenue. With the rise of virtual events bringing people together, various virtual conferences, trade shows, meetings, training sessions and other experiences 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 the event is online doesn’t mean that you can let things slide. After all, you’re still trying to impress clients and show 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.

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.

As you host a conference or event with notable speakers and engagement activities, you can and should 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. This helps to keep your numbers more accurate as you continue to plan your event.

Pro tip: 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.

Depending on your event, you can offer different experiences for each tier of attendees. You can prove basic content to the least expensive tier and the most content for the most expensive tiers. You can offer extra content or other access and exclusive deals after the event.

Pro tip: 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. This tier could also have exclusive on-demand content access for a limited time as well.

Jumping off 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 a great way for your audience to be able to attend or view the event at a convenient time for them. Video-on-demand is also a great way to allow attendees that were unable to attend, be able to view your content.

Pro tip: You get to control who has access to content and how much they can view. Therefore, you are able to control the pricing model accordingly.

Sponsorships are a great way to make some revenue from your virtual event. Advertisers and marketers love to be in front of their target audience. They will also be more open to collaborating with your brand if your audience and brand aligns with theirs. Use this as an opportunity to get paid for these companies to sponsor your event.

Pro tip: 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!

When you offer demos for your software or products, it might be a good idea to sign up for their affiliate program to earn commission. When you’re 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!

Pro tip: Research the most relevant affiliate programs for your platform. These links should compliment your software or provide extra value when purchased.

During your event, you want to make sure you are selling your product 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.

Pro tip: Get your attendees excited about these products and how it will help them in their work and business. This in turn will also help convert your attendees into loyal customers in the future.

Virtual events are here to stay. While in-person events will start coming back, we will continue to have the element of signing on virtually moving forward As you gear up for event season, you need to gauge the business climate and make sure you are not missing out on reaching potential customers. With the virtual element, the possibilities of reaching a wide audience are endless. We hope these quick tips will help you start making revenue and get you in the full swing of planning your next virtual event!