Virtual Event Success

Here are the 7 guiding principles that make up the Virtual Event Manifesto. Click on each link below to review each manifesto in detail.

Virtual Event Manifesto #1 – Ease of Access Trumps Flashy Technology

Virtual Event Manifesto #2 – Quality of Your Relationships Matter More Than Quantity of Your Database

Virtual Event Manifesto #3 – Passion, Not Permission, is Enough to Get You Started

Virtual Event Manifesto #4 – Community First, Commerce Later

Virtual Event Manifesto #5 – Diversity of Needs Calls for a Diversity of Options

Virtual Event Manifesto #6 – A Celebrated Topic is Better than a Celebrity Name

Virtual Event Manifesto #7 – Every Star Needs a Supporting Team

Do you believe in the Virtual Event Manifesto? If so, why not become a member of the Association of Virtual Event Managers, Organizers & Hosts (AOVEM)? Click here to read all the benefits and to become a member today.

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.

A popular, in-demand topic is better for your virtual event than a popular, celebrity name.

Too often, virtual event managers look to celebrities, best selling authors, and anyone with a famous name and a big platform to speak at their virtual event.

While a big name individual can help pull people to your virtual event, it can become frustrating because the celebrity doesn’t meet your spoken and unspoken expectations.

For example, you may be counting on the celebrity to promote your virtual event to their legion of fans, yet they don’t do it due to all the demands on their schedule. You may expect the celebrity to give you a content rich session, but instead, he or she cheerleads and leaves you wanting more.

Don’t overlook those who may not have tons of popularity and who know their content really well. It’s better to schedule a topic that’s in hot demand and find a speaker to present on that topic than to book a celebrity or well known individual and have them present on a mediocre topic. Your attendees will appreciate a celebrated topic over a celebrity name any day.

Now, I’m not suggesting you invite those who’ve never spoken before at any event ever. Instead, you need to find someone who can provide really great content and who has a charismatic attitude and experience speaking from a platform. Those who are not celebrities tend to give the most in terms of promoting your virtual event and in producing a pitch-free and content rich training session.

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.

A one size fits all approach will not work with your virtual event.

People’s needs are diverse and your virtual event must provide a variety of plans and packages to meet those needs. Develop a cheap, middle ground and VIP packages for all those who want to participate in your virtual event, for example:

• Attendees want to attend your virtual event when they want to. If an attendee takes vacation, he wants to know that he’ll get additional features at an additional cost to allow him to listen to the content on his time.
• Speakers want to present their session when it’s convenient for them. If a speaker cannot present her session live, she wants the option to pre-record her session so she can go on maternity leave. While she takes care of her newborn, you can play her pre-recorded session to a live audience as if she’s sitting right there.
• Exhibitors and sponsors want to access to your attendees, but you have to be mindful not to overwhelm attendees with a slew of advertising messages. Providing various packages to exhibitors and sponsors shows what type of access they can get for the money they’re willing to pay.

People thrive on options. They want choices. So, give them a reason to say yes no matter their budget, timezone, language, lifestyle or learning style.

Recommended Resource: Curious to know how to price your virtual event so you provide options to attendees? Click here to join the Association of Virtual Event Managers, Organizers & Host (AOVEM) and listen to an audio recording on how to craft different price points for your virtual event so you attract the maximum number of attendees.

Those who sign up to attend your virtual event aren’t attendees, they are people.

Those who choose to speak at your event aren’t speakers, they are people.

Those who want to sponsor or exhibit at your virtual event aren’t exhibitors are sponsors, they are people.

At the end of day, all those who participate in your virtual event want to be a part of a growing community. For this reason, you need to develop ways in which all these individuals can connect with each other before, during, and after your virtual event.

If you put money and profits first and start counting the potential dollars that come rolling through the door, you’re focusing on an intense craving that takes you away from being of service to the people who can make or break your event.

If attendees, exhibitors and sponsors get the sense that you’re driven by money, they won’t participate in any virtual event you produce in the future. And people talk. They’ll share with others why they would NEVER work with you again.

Focus your energy on being of service. Provide an environment where people can interact with each other without too many rules or meddling. Be thankful that you attracted a talented group of people around a topic that you’re passionate about.

Stop trying to control this interaction. Stop trying to put barriers up that prevents those who participate in your virtual event from connecting with one another. Your virtual event is a means to allow people to build their own tribe. Be seen as the individual that allows this to happen. Be seen as this community’s Messiah. Let go of the desire to make money first and instead build the community. You’ll be financially rewarded if you focus on people first.

Recommended Resource: If you’re using WordPress to deliver your virtual events, add a wonderful plugin called SimplePress Forum. It’s a free plugin, so I recommend that if you like it, donate some money to their effort.

Being perfect and getting permission doesn’t matter. Passion does.

So, nobody knows you. No one has a clue as to what you can do or the results you can produce.

Yet, you see a need in your marketplace to create an annual gathering for your peers, prospects or your clients. You really, really want to host a virtual event to bring together all these people and ideas in one place, however, you don’t have the credentials. You don’t have a history of producing results in your particular industry. So, you sit on your idea and do nothing.

Stop focusing on what you don’t have and instead, focus on what you do have. Your passion is enough to get you rolling. You don’t need permission from anyone to launch your virtual event. The only requirement you need to have is to be someone who is enjoyable to work with. That’s it.

You don’t need a college degree, credentials or other letters after your name to host a virtual event for your industry. All you need is a little bit of knowledge and the right people to help you produce a profitable virtual event.

Recommended Resource: Want to learn how to get started with virtual events? Click here to get the How to Boost Your Business Hosting Virtual Events MP3 recording and PDF transcripts.

photo courtesy: imtiredonline.com

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.

The way to determine if your virtual event is successful is to use tools that will help you measure what you’re doing. Understanding your return on your virtual event investment (ROVEI) is critical so you can decide whether to do it again. Here are some resources you can use to measure your virtual event success.

• Brent Arslaner on Use Virtual Events to Deliver More Value and Virtual Events Deliver an Excellent Buzz—And Results
• Leesa Barnes on How to Measure Your Virtual Event ROI
• Heidi Cohen on Seven Virtual World Marketing Tactics and Metrics to Follow
• How to Measure Your Virtual Event ROI

Homework: Find the tools that will help you measure the return on your virtual event investment.

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.