Monetise Your Virtual Event

Now, more than ever, online platforms are being used by organisations around the globe to host events. Aside from creating virtual experiences that are highly engaging and promote interaction, event organisers have another challenge to overcome: How to create an online event that will generate revenue.

There’s plenty of options to consider. Let’s take a look at some of the strategies that could help you monetise your virtual events…

Sponsorship

Brand Exposure for Sponsors

Offer sponsors designated spaces for their logo and messaging to appear during the sessions of your event. Whether a keynote, breakout, exhibition hall or networking space, give your sponsors a tiered pricing model that will reflect the level of online visibility they will have in specified areas of your virtual event setting.

Giveaway Bags

Giveaways don’t have to be reserved for just physical events. Choose to send giveaways to delegates at home or create digital giveaway bags with stuff that can be claimed online. With either option, sponsors can select or provide items, and pay to have their branding showcased alongside them to enhance exposure. 

Paid Advertising 

Adapt a paid advertising model into your digital event. Consider where you could sell advertising space in the form of pop-up offers. Used in allotted places throughout your virtual event, businesses could pay a fee to have their branded exclusive offers appear during relevant event sessions, to promote their products or services.

Ticketing

Attract paying attendees to your virtual events with programmes that offer unequivocal value. Online experiences will differ to those created in a face-to-face environment, but with the right format, a combination of quality rich-content, speakers, entertainment, marketing, and a sensible price point, you can encourage strong ticket sales and boost revenue.

If feasible, you could also consider using tiered ticket pricing structures that would offer delegates admission with different levels of access to virtual event sessions and content.

Selling Products Virtually 

Depending on the purpose of your event, an online store where your attendees can purchase items, could be another effective way to monetise your virtual event. From selling a newly launched product, an existing portfolio of goods, or designing a swag store, there’s a range of options to consider when it comes to creating an e-commerce facet.

P.S. As well as making money for your event, adding a swag store, with sought-after products, could also be used to complement an engaging gamification strategy. Attendees, who collect points from completing certain, defined interactions around your virtual event, could redeem points against certain items in the swag store. Points collected, could also be used together with money, to help attendees purchase items in your online store that have a higher price tag; encouraging spend and increasing event income.

Whatever strategies you identify to monetise your event, there has to be a clear mutual value outlined and delivered to warrant the activity chosen. For example, help sponsors see how their investment could support them in their business objectives e.g. to get in front of an audience segment they wouldn’t normally have access to, elevating awareness of their brand. For paying attendees, demonstrate at every touchpoint of the event lifecycle how their ticket expenditure is well justified: Go beyond what’s expected, include features that add to the delegate’s virtual journey and drive to increase engagement and interaction. 

Supported by the right platforms, technologies, and strategic thinking, monetising a virtual event is certainly a viable possibility. To get a head start on how to maximise the money-making potential of your future events, it may also be worth taking the time now, to consider how these ideas, amongst others, could transcend into hybrid event formats, which are sure to become more commonplace as the new era of events emerges.