Monetizing a virtual event is an important goal for almost any business owner or event host.
We're going to teach you how to do that.
Last year, online conferences and events increased in popularity for their practicality and recognition of their impact when organized well.
Forbes found that virtual events were up 1000% when compared to 2019. Of course, that means the odds of generating income through virtual events are also up.
Whether you have a virtual expo on the horizon or you're curious about how you can monetize a virtual networking event, this article is for you.
Keep reading to find 10 creative ways to generate impressive revenue via an online virtual expo. However, before revealing our ideas, let's define event monetization first to get a clear picture of what it involves.
How to Monetize a Virtual Event?
A virtual event monetization is hosting a live event and generating revenue out of it.
How to do that?
Simply, by offering a product or service your audience purchases.
Income can be generated in real-time or after the event based on structuring your offer and sales process.
In fact, using a live event as an advertising tool is a great way to promote new products and special discounts. The event attendees receive access to your product range through a unique sales link, along with a discounted offer to purchase your product.
Does Virtual Event Monetization Work?
If you're hosting a virtual expo or any other type of virtual event, one thing is likely on your mind:
Monetization.
The good news is, monetizing a virtual expo or online event is easy. While it does require planning, if you focus on realizing your virtual event's full potential, you'll reap benefits, for sure!
On that note, it’d help if you had a virtual event planner to organize yourself better.
Now, even though both physical and virtual events generate revenue through sponsorship, there's one crucial difference.
To monetize, you don't need a physical sponsor booth, just a virtual one and multiple places within your environment. Therefore, it can be considerably easier to monetize a virtual networking event and more economical to do so, too.
With this said, it's time to look at how you can monetize your virtual event.
10 Ways You Can Monetize Your Virtual Event
When monetizing your event, you probably should be looking at more than one creative idea. The more opportunities you have to make an income from your virtual expo, the better.
Some of the best virtual events provide an experience beyond the event itself. Attendees often walk away with products and services that continue to bring about value far into the future.
Using them, you can guarantee at least one monetization stream. However, we encourage you to try as many ideas as possible!
Let's take a look at 10 effective ways in which you can make the most of your virtual event place and generate an income, even long after the event itself is over.
1. Pay-per-View Your Event
Pay-per-view live streaming has many benefits beyond return of investment (ROI), such as providing insight into your core audience and enhancing your production over time with profits.
So, don't be too surprised if some intriguing pay-per-view live streaming events turn out victorious, even if you don't think anybody will pay for your content.
With targeted marketing and enough demand, you can monetize a remarkable variety of content. So, consider offering flexibility to your audience if you want to pay-per-view live stream your content often. Besides, not every viewer might want to pay a subscription fee to watch everything you present in a virtual expo.
Therefore, aim to set up different packages to suit the needs of your various audience members.
For prerecorded videos, you can offer your attendees a pay-per-view option. You can choose to stream live content to an audience in exchange for a fee, as well.
When someone cannot attend your conference or expo, don't get discouraged. It's an excellent opportunity to keep monetizing plus expand your demographics.
2. Sell a Product or Service
In addition to the expo ticket, you can also choose to sell products or services to attendees. For example, you could offer a book that accompanies the event's content or even a consultation with an expert.
There are many opportunities to upsell during a conference, expo, or event. However, focus on doing so tactfully to not come across as too salesy and take away from the event experience itself.
On that note, you can take advantage of selling your products via platforms like Cerebrum Progressus (formerly PandaMR) with the bonus of not having to pay for a physical stall or booth.
We offer our users a vast range of preset designs for virtual booths. All you have to do is list your items for sale to make them accessible to potential buyers.
3. Recommend Affiliate Offers
Another great way to make money from events is through affiliate commissions. If you feature affiliate products, tutorials, or software in your virtual networking event, you can become an affiliate partner and promote your affiliate link.
If the attendee purchases a product or signs up for a free trial through your affiliate link, you earn a direct commission.
Affiliates are always looking for opportunities to make extra income, and by partnering up, you can do the same thing.
Consider the types of opportunities that present themselves in terms of working with affiliate marketers and reap the rewards in commissions as a result.
4. Sponsorships and Partnerships
A virtual networking event host can also earn money through sponsorship recognition, just like in traditional in-person events. Think outside the box and go beyond standard sponsorship packages, including mentions on the registration page and event website. To increase sponsor visibility, marketers can:
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Use social media channels
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Rotate ad banners that endorse breakouts
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Put exhibit halls online
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Offer gamification with sponsor messages
Additionally, event hosts can promote sponsored host sessions and expert roundtables through multiple channels like push notifications and email marketing.
5. Offer Premium Tickets
To make money hosting virtual networking events, organizers offer limited free access and encourage attendees to invest in an All-Access Pass to view the entire event.
Additionally, they tailor their ticket packages to different price points to monetize their events even more. Some ticket package categories worth considering:
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Early bird access
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VIP access or membership passes
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Single-day pass or multiple-day passes
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Group packages
With a tiered ticketing strategy, the organizers make money off of virtual events and collect specific attendee data for targeted follow-up marketing and promotional deals after the event.
6. Sell Digital Lead Capture to Event Exhibitors and Sponsors
Marketers must look beyond the event attendee data used to measure the success of the event.
In fact:
They can make money off of this data by selling it to sponsors.
Accomplish this by asking attendees to enable exhibitors to contact them after the event.
7. Merchandise and Event Swag
An online virtual trade show that allows attendees to purchase event swag and branded merchandise is excellent.
The best thing about it?
To sell event swag and merchandise, you don't have to set up physical booths.
And you can even integrate your existing online store into the presentations so attendees can browse products without leaving the event.
To put it differently, attending an expo and coming away with a piece of memorabilia, It's simply fantastic and makes for fun virtual events.
Your virtual audience needn't miss out on this element of participating in an event. So, sell merchandise and event swag in an online pop-up booth or, why not consider offering VIP tickets which include a piece of merchandise?
8. Networking Opportunities
Live events offer an invaluable opportunity for networking, which is one of the primary reasons people attend them in the first place.
By setting up an online portal, event organizers provide attendees with a networking experience while generating revenue.
Chat and call features are incorporated into several virtual events hosting programs.
During Event Registration
You can also charge attendees extra to join the networking portal to send direct messages and have video chats with other attendees. However, beware, as many people may not welcome such a charge.
9. Utilize in-Event Emails
In-event emails are the best way to deliver a sponsor's message to attendees of virtual events. Attendees will respond to it since it's a unique form of direct contact.
By replying to the message, sponsors receive an additional set of valuable contacts to monetize.
10. Sell on-Demand Content
Even when the virtual event is over, you keep making money out of it.
Several attendees may not be able to make it to the event because of scheduling conflicts.
In an on-demand event or conference, organizers can sell the complete broadcast of the event to those who were unable to attend the event in person.
Use self-serve portals where visitors must pay to access specific pieces of content. As a result, if you have existing recordings of past events, you can also sell access to these videos and audios to generate additional revenue.
Other Ways to Make Your Virtual Expo Stand Out
If you've got the ideas under wraps for making your virtual event unique, you might be thinking of other ways to score brownie points. Thinking about your audience and their needs is going to feed into the chances of successfully monetizing.
Here are some more things to consider:
Distribute Physical Event Gifts
We all like free stuff.
That's no secret.
You could send a pre-packaged kit to your attendees to offer them a VIP experience while simulating some of the benefits of attending a live event.
For example, you could utilize a breakout session to have a cocktail-making activity; Send the ingredients out and let everyone make their drinks!
Include Entertainment
Live events are incomplete without entertainment, and virtual events are no different. With the right technology, you can go classic with a band, a photo booth, or a DJ, or you
get creative and plan a virtual wellness session, a magic show, or a bespoke trivia game for all to enjoy!
In other words, aim for fun virtual events
At Cerebrum Progressus (formerly PandaMR), as a virtual event software with a virtual party zone, we equip you with the power of virtual reality for a fully immersive experience.
Engaging Speakers
You need to find speakers who do more just than reading from a PowerPoint presentation.
In fact, this is essential to your virtual expo's success.
So, if you are hosting events, ensure your speakers interact with the audience, ask and answer questions, etc. Just like in real life, Cerebrum Progressus's (formerly PandaMR) conference hall features allow you to raise your hand to ask a question and unmute to use your real voice.
Incorporate Breakout Sessions
The breakout sessions are a great way to break up your virtual networking event and prevent attendee fatigue.
A breakout session, long or short, is perfect for engaging your audience, whether structured or spontaneous.
Keep that in mind.
Choosing Cerebrum Progressus (formerly PandaMR) as Your Virtual Networking Event Platform
Now that you've read the top ways in which you can monetize your virtual expo, it's prime time to choose a platform to host it!
Cerebrum Progressus (formerly PandaMR) (Panoramic District Alternative - Mixed Reality) is a 3D platform and virtual event software for organizing, hosting, and participating in virtual or hybrid events. To put it differently: We're an all-inclusive online conference and event platform.
With Cerebrum Progressus (formerly PandaMR), you can:
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Customize and optimize your event website according to your brand's requirements;
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Use the event builder to monitor sales through the ticketing system;
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Choose one of the suggested designs or provide your 3D design module for a booth;
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Provide virtual advertising placements and generate more sponsors for your event;
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Get the advanced back office with real-time behavior statistics;
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Partner with our customer experience team to guarantee the event's 24-hour support;
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Create your ad placements in the virtual environment and get sponsors for your event;
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Use the expo builder's ticketing system to sell tickets and monitor sales;
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Use an exhibition website to promote your exhibition, place ads, and reach a larger audience.
Why don't you request a product demo today? Besides, your successful virtual expo is a few clicks away. Don’t miss out!