The last year has seen tremendous growth in virtual events – with many event planners seeing attendance rates increase, sometimes exponentially.

With those increases, there is more opportunity to monetize virtual events, not just through more ticket sales but also other content areas.

Because there are still business goals to be met and traditional event monetization channels aren’t as readily available, it’s time to get creative with new approaches. Now and post-pandemic, consider these ideas for monetizing virtual event content.

Tiered Registration Levels

One way to monetize virtual event content is to offer different levels of registrations or experiences. While many virtual events are entirely free, there are opportunities to break the mold and offer up tiered registration levels.

For example, consider making select aspects of your virtual event content only available as part of a priced ticket. All registered attendees may be able to watch and listen to a general session keynote, but only those who upgrade to a paid ticket receive access to a post-AMA session with the speaker. Attendees may be willing to pay for a more personalized experience or opportunity to discuss specific issues or challenges.

Another idea? Require a fee to access interactive workshops. Because workshops usually provide additional value for attendees around specific skills or knowledge, most attendees will see the value in paying extra for access to that deeper content.

Networking Opportunities

Time and time again, attendees frequently say an essential benefit of live events is networking. Like workshops that provide access to deeper content, event organizers can use targeted networking as monetization opportunities.

For example, provide attendees opportunities to connect in meaningful ways and charge extra to join those activities. Private messaging, the ability to set up meetings, access to public profiles, and live chat – like those that are part of ConnexMe’s networking features – are add-ons organizers can offer as paid networking experiences to attendees.

Alternatively, allow all registered attendees to visit the expo center, but only those who pay for a networking ticket can participate in dedicated networking sessions.

Exclusive Content Access

A single event typically generates a significant amount of premium content – think insights, trends, how-tos, industry best practices, and more to continue driving profits even after the virtual event is over.

Here are a few common but effective strategies to structure content for monetization both during and post-event:

• Organize content by track and allow attendees to pay based on track interests
• Create a tiered structure with multiple pricing levels that provide access to increasing amounts of content
• Provide a free pass to review select recorded content, and charge a fee for full content availability
• Turn recorded presentations into an audio or video series, and offer an incremental charge to watch post-event
• Supplement content presented or shared during the event with purchase-only versions of PDFs, eBooks, guides, or worksheets to help attendees implement something they’ve learned at the event
• Bundle different types of content – like videos, audio recordings, and a downloadable resource – into a single package aligned around a specific topic, industry, job role, or title – which attendees pay for a deeper dive on subjects of interest

And if you have sponsors or exhibitors as part of the event, share insights (pending specific privacy guidelines) about what content is being consumed, shared, or purchased. They can use this invaluable intelligence for product research, insights development, adjust marketing and sales communications, or other planning initiatives, making it a premium value for them.

Thought Leadership Packages

One last – but especially valuable – idea for monetizing event content is to flip traditional sponsorship offerings and create customized thought-leadership packages.

For example:

• Instead of a traditional intro bumper ad, create a paid sponsorship package for a dedicated playlist of content around a specific industry topic that communicates the sponsor’s expertise on the topic
• Create and charge for access to data and insight summaries gathered from attendees through polls, Q&A, and chat.
• Host a special live collaboration or brainstorming breakout session during the virtual event as a way for sponsors to conduct a targeted focus group

Virtual events have great potential. These are just a few ways to create monetization opportunities. And keep in mind that while there are many more ways, strike a balance, so it doesn’t detract from the overall experience you’re trying to create.

Discover how ConnexMe facilitates virtual event interactivity and engagement, with networking and collaboration features to make your event a success.