Virtual Event Success

I should’ve done this weeks ago, but better late than never. I’d like to introduce you to the wonderful women on my virtual event team who help make my clients’ virtual events shine.

These Virtual Event Managers have been trained using my 7 step-by-step process. Here are just some of the duties they’re responsible for:

• Help the client complete and sign off on the Virtual Event Requirements document
• Create an action plan and budget for the client
• Create and/or write all promotional copy for the client, including the sales page, affiliate promo copy, preview calls promo copy
• Facilitate the launch of the Virtual Event Platform
• Facilitate the design of a logo and banner for the client’s virtual event
• Organize weekly status meetings with the client to discuss status
• Facilitate weekly status meetings with the client to review action items
• Guide the client on how to use the promotional copy
• Organize the recordings for playback on the Virtual Event Platform
• Monitor and respond to emails from attendees during the virtual event
• Pursue speakers and collect their bio, photo, picture and signed release forms
• Collect weekly performance report from the client during the promotional stage of the virtual event
• Complete the Virtual Event Lessons Learned document after the virtual event is over
• Use Basecamp to facilitate to-do items, deadlines and tasks

Whew! That’s a long list. Here are the women that make me and my clients look good:

[...]

You can’t do it alone.

When planning a multi-speaker, multi-series virtual event, the success rests in your team. You need to find the right people to help you produce a virtual event with success. You can still be involved in the planning of the virtual event, however, you need to focus on a specific role and outsource the other tasks.

It’s impossible to make 5, 6 or 7 figures from your virtual event and manage everything on your own. You cannot manage the people, resources, and the tasks involved with planning a virtual event, plus host all the sessions, manage attendee, speaker, exhibitor, and sponsor expectations, and organize all the technology and administrative tasks associated with producing a virtual event. It’s just not possible.

Surround yourself with a capable team of individuals who can help you produce your virtual event in a pain-free way. You can still be the star and choose a role where you shine. Just remember to find the individuals that can fill in the other roles. You just can’t do it all alone.

Recommended Resource: Want to learn how to get started with your virtual event? Click here to join the Association of Virtual Event Managers, Organizers & Hosts (AOVEM) and gain access to resources and benefits to help you on your virtual event journey.

I just hosted an almost 90-minute call today called 5 Winning Habits of Highly Profitable Virtual Event Managers. Attendees who were on Twitter while listening to the live recording posted wonderful summaries of the points they heard during the call.

I want to thank Lynn Pearce for hosting me on this call. A few tweeted that Lynn and I had great chemistry on the phone. Must be her British accent

I did get some questions after the call that I answered on Twitter, however, 140 characters is just not enough, so I’m providing longer answers below.

Answer: Many virtual assistance (VA) have shared with me that they’re tired of being known as a generalist or a multi-functional VA. This limits how much they can charge and being a multi-functional VA means they don’t stand out.

If you’re already booking conference bridge lines or inviting speakers to your client’s events, you can focus on becoming much more specialized and only focus on producing virtual events. So, instead of planning your own virtual event, a VA can offer that service to their client.

I know, this sounds like things you’re already doing. But the goal of becoming a virtual event manager is to provide a complete A-Z specialization in producing virtual events.

[...]

We’ve wrapped up the 10 Days to Producing a Better Virtual Event series. Here’s a summary of what was covered over the past 10 days.

• 10 Days to Produce a Better Virtual Event, Intro
• Day 1 – Benefits of Hosting a Virtual Event
• Day 2 – Planning Your Virtual Event
• Day 3 – Virtual Event Delivery Options
• Day 4 – Marketing Your Virtual Event
• Day 5 – Managing Virtual Event Speakers, Exhibitors & Sponsors
• Day 6 – Monetizing Your Virtual Event
• Day 7 – Measuring Your Virtual Event
• Day 8 – Engaging Your Virtual Event Audience
• Day 9 – Virtual Event Associations & Communities
• Day 10 – Other Virtual Event Issues

Produce a Better Virtual Event Activity Book
Want to download the free PDF that contains the homework from all 10 days in this series? If so, just enter your first name and email address below and you’ll get an email with details on how to do so.

There are many issues with hosting virtual events. The links below provide additional viewpoints on why you should and should not produce a virtual event. These posts will help you understand the many other issues that can come up with hosting virtual events.

• Brent Arslander and Spencer Jarrett on Virtual Meetings Will Erase Face to Face
• Michael Doyle on Could the Virtual Event and Meeting Industry be Half the Size of the Soft Drink Industry in a Few Years?
• Eugene “Az” Loj on Virtual Events vs Live Events
• Ramesh Sambasivan on 7 Must Have Skills for Virtual Event Managers
• Aliza Sherman on Running an Virtual Event in Second Life

Homework: Develop a list of advantages and disadvantages to hosting your own virtual event. For all the disadvantages, write down the benefits.

Did I miss a really great resource that fits the theme of this post? If so, leave the URL in the comments below so others can see it.

I’ve been digging around the web looking for blog posts and tips on how to host and produce a more profitable virtual event. I know that many of you who are anxious to host your own virtual events could use these tips as well, so over the next 10 business days, I’ll be sharing links to blog posts on how to produce a better virtual event.

I got the inspiration in 2006 from Darren Rowse who blogged about the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog. I was so inspired, I ran my own 31 Days to Producing a Better Podcast on my other blog. Because of how well that went, I decided to run a similar series here for virtual events.

Now, I was only able to come up with 10 days worth of content. The issue is that there’s quite a bit written on virtual worlds, such as Second Life, but not much on virtual events and virtual shows.

Here’s what else I excluded from this line up:

• Resources that required an email and/or mailing address to gain access to the content;
• Articles on websites or blogs that don’t encourage interaction (comments/trackbacks turned off or missing);
• Question and answer articles that outlined many ideas, thus making it hard for me to categorize;
• White papers extolling the wonders of a virtual event software;
• Posts by those employed by companies that lease virtual event platforms. While they were insightful, most contained bias towards their employer’s virtual event platform.

So, once a day over the next 10 business days, I’ll display a virtual event tip that will take you to a wealth of resources on the topic. While reading this, don’t forget to:

1. Add your comments. Whether I missed a really great resource, if you have a question or if you want to share how the tip has helped you in your virtual event journey, please leave your comments.
2. Post your tips on your blog and do a trackback to mine. If you end up writing up your own virtual event tips, do so and make sure you provide a trackback to the tip on my blog.

The 10 Days to Producing a Better Virtual Event begins on July 15th. Enjoy.

Managing virtual events can become a full-time job. Just ask any of my students in the Virtual Event Marketing Blueprint program. Yet, if done well, you can make a lucrative career in managing multi speaker, multi occurrence virutal events.

I found a job posting for a Virtual Show Manager. There’s also a job listing for a Virtual Show Support. Intrigued, I read the requirements. Both are part-time positions, however, the duties are similar to that of a full-time job. You’ll be reporting to the Virtual Show Program Manager and here are the job duties of the Virtual Show Manager:

• Create and manage project timelines; ensure deliverables and milestones are met and act as primary client point-of-contact for all project related issues.
• Provide documentation and training for show organizers, exhibitors, sponsors, and speakers.
• Manage interactions with 3rd party vendors.
• Oversee the production of audio / video assets.
• Provide quality assurance for all show elements.
• Manage the live event day(s) efforts including support for live webcasts, exhibitor booths, and direct customer support for all show related product and service elements.
• Provide post-event support and consulting.

As more and more companies host virtual events, there will definitely be more job postings like this.