We have been running a successful – in fact sell out – annual conference for a client for three years. During the whole time they have been keen for us to run online events. But we have been cautioning them. It’s SO hard to make money from online events, everyone knows that. Don’t they?

No one pays for online events right?

The client is Europe’s largest blog for Personal Assistants – Practically Perfect PA which sits on top of a database of over 15,000 subscribers and over 120,000 unique visits per month. Quite impressive for a small independent blog. There has never been any doubt they are well placed to run online events, the issue has been: would all the effort be worth it? As every event organiser knows, putting an event together isn’t an easy thing to do. It is all about setting the right objectives and then achieving them. So if you do it, you have to achieve your objectives.

Online events are popular – and you have probably attended one – but did you pay? It’s unlikely. Often online events are paid for by a Sponsor who gains awareness and email addresses of those who watch. So someone is paying the organiser but it’s not normally the attendees. But would a sponsorship model work for your online event? You are probably thinking, selling sponsorship isn’t easy either!

So back to objectives

If revenue isn’t the objective there are still other reasons for an organisation to decide that running an online event is worth the effort, perhaps the event:

• Generates traffic to the site
• Positions the organisation in more of a thought leadership role
• Is used to generate good contacts in an industry
• Generates content which they can place online

There are certainly more objectives than making money! And this is handy because, as I said, no one pays for online events right?

The PPPA Virtual Summit and it’s 300 paying attendees

Next Friday, Practically Perfect PA will host their first ever online event, a Virtual Summit. It’s a 20 session, 8 hour live and interactive online event. Tickets are priced at £50 for an individual and £250 for a Hub ticket. So far, almost 300 people are paying to attend the event. The online event is making money.

But no one pays for online events right?

Wrong.

Don’t believe what they say, believe in what you can do.