If you’re an event organizer, you already know how running an event can be quite challenging. You have to find a venue, obtain a permit, and hire staff, among other things. But the real challenge begins when trying to figure out how to make money from your event.
Even knowing things are coming back to normal, the new normal is different from the pre-Covid era. Pre-Covid era live events were a huge hit! However, virtual and hybrid events stepped into place with the whole situation.
Virtual and hybrid events are an excellent way to generate quality leads. They help you narrate your brand story visually. They have also proven to be a reliable source of income for companies and individual organizers. According to the latest research, from 2021 to 2028, the events industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 11%, from $1.1 billion in 2019 to $1.5 billion in 2028.
Let us share with you the ways to monetize from virtual events and increase your revenue.
Ticket tiering for events
When everyone had to jump on board the virtual train and events had to move entirely online in the past few years, event organizers didn’t see the value of a non-physical experience at the time. As a result, more events were initially created with free access. We do understand that there is a learning curve and maybe the quality wasn’t on the same level as a physical event. Nevertheless, if you see today, more and more are actually starting to charge their participants for their attendance.
We at ZIGnotch got into this business years ago, and there was no pandemic at the time. We were doing virtual events, taking the content that was happening at the physical event and creating a parallel event online. Our goal from the start has always been to help our customers make money by using our platform. The more events you host on ZIGnotch, the more the ways to monetize from your virtual events will grow.
Sponsorship packages in multiple ways
This is the most classic way events make money. Giving access to companies, showcasing their logo, space to sell their products, putting them on slides, on the feed section, and in general, adding them to your marketing material and making sure you mention them as sponsors on your event. Now that virtual events are evolving and moving away from ZOOM and toward specialized event platforms, you’ll notice that you have more room to promote each element of the event and showcase your sponsors, tell their stories, and sell their brands.
Free advertising for event exhibitors
Here’s another way how to monetize virtual events. The ZIGnotch events platform has all kinds of sessions. You can add their logo when a session is starting and people are waiting in the virtual session rooms. You can interact with the participants in the chat section by introducing the exhibitors’ brands and adding questionnaires that may be useful to their company in the future.
When you watch the news or a movie on TV, you are constantly bombarded with advertisements; you can do the same on live streaming platforms, but in a more subtle way by adding polls, making questions in the questionnaire area of the chat, and adding sponsor logos to the agenda of your event. You can promote without being pushy. After the event, promote still by using the recorder sessions and using the data over and over again.
VIP memberships with access to valuable data insights
It’s not about the transaction and money, it’s the community and the platform that will guarantee your clients’ success. So it’s not only giving a spot, a place but giving an opportunity for virtual conversations and engagement. People greatly underestimate the bond that attendees form during an event and that the data that your attendees generate is their most powerful tool.
Provide one-on-one sessions
Provide one-on-one consultations. One of the best ways to leverage your virtual events is to offer individualized sessions with attendees. If you have a strong reputation for offering excellent advice and insight, people will be more than willing to pay for it. Offer a 30-minute consultation, or even just do one free consultation during the event itself, so that you can make an impression on potential customers right away!
Increase social media engagement for your events
Social media platforms are a great way to engage potential attendees, promote your events and brand. Social media engagement can benefit you in two ways. Firstly, by raising awareness around your virtual events. But more importantly, to increase overall ticket sales.
If you’re hosting an online conference or webinar series, consider sharing event details on various social media groups that focus on topics related to your industry or offer value to people who might attend one of your upcoming events.
Conclusion
Virtual events don’t need to be a replacement for in-person events. You can still do both. The tools and strategies you use for virtual events will likely help boost your in-person event’s success as well—and vice versa. After all, at their core, online events are still about making connections with your audience members and building trust with them over time (even though they won’t physically be there). These are a lot of more ways to monetize from virtual events. So, whether you have an upcoming virtual event or not, you can try out some of these monetization tactics on the ZIGnotch platform to see if they work for you.
We hope you found this article interesting! Please feel free to contact us or leave a comment below if you have any questions.
