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Virtual events are on the up. From global conferences to your local yoga expert, just about everyone is heading online to cut their overheads and maximise their potential audience.
Unfortunately, while convincing people to dial into your online event from their sofa is one thing, generating revenue is another matter. It’s possible, of course, but requires you to jump a few hurdles along the way.
Obstacle one: The free internet
Audiences already consume vast amounts of free content via platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. We are conditioned to have this in front of us immediately and at zero charge. When organisers put a live stream behind a paywall, there is a natural hesitancy to break through it.
Obstacle two: It’s all new to us
As virtual events are a relatively new phenomenon, we’re still experimenting with different ways of generating revenue from sponsorship or otherwise. It won’t be a long wait, but things take time to evolve.
Obstacle three: It’s all new to them
If you’re just getting started with virtual events, your sponsors are probably on a similar journey. Most companies know how to eke a better return from physical events. With online, they need more assurance over how to do that.
Obstacle four: We lack confidence
In a similar vein, organisers are still getting used to hosting virtual events. There is a slight sense of inferiority that comes with this lack of experience, at least on the first few goes.
“Great, so how do I monetise a virtual event?”