One of the most common reasons our clients hold events is to produce revenue, but how do you maximise event revenue? It’s also often given to event teams as a goal for the event. Shrinking budget is of the biggest immediate concern to event planners, affecting 56%, and one way to increase your bottom line is to increase revenue. There are numerous ways to give your event the best chance of being profitable, so we’ve documented some of the best ideas below.
Sponsorship
Selling sponsorship for your event is a great way to help the costs sting a bit less. There are several keys to finding a good sponsor, and also working out a package that is right for you. Time and time again we see companies promise a sponsor the world only to under-deliver. With that in mind, it’s important to understand what you’re willing to give, and for what price. It’s equally important to listen to feedback from potential sponsors, but also know it won’t be right for everyone.
Normally, the elements sponsors value the most are brand awareness and connections. Keep this in mind when building your sponsorship packages. Where can you display their logo where people will actually see it? How can you get people to interact with that brand/company in a more unique way than just offering free pens?
Ticket sales
Of course, this is the most obvious and popular way to earn revenue from your event. Nine times out of ten, an attendee would expect to pay for an event in which there’s a value exchange or high-cost outlay on your part. For example, networking receptions are often free, but more commonly dinners and conferences are ticketed. The cost of your tickets should depend on the financial goal of your event. For example, if you just want to break even, that will be a different ticket price to if you were trying to make £10,000 profit.
If you’re not keen on making everyone pay to attend, you could offer VIP tickets which attendees can choose to upgrade to for a fee. Offerings could include 1:1 time with speakers, earlier access to the event, a specific mini-event just for VIPs, for example, a dinner or breakfast, follow up sessions, or simply better-quality wine over dinner!
Another way of selling tickets is to live stream the event. Most AV and production companies have the ability to set this up for you, and streaming services no longer cost a lot of money. Normally when a ticket is sold to a live stream it includes access to the footage for a certain amount of time after the event, so people who can’t be there because of diary commitments still have a chance.
Charge Speakers
Slightly controversial, but if you have enough clout, this is definitely a way to increase your revenue. It will also significantly increase your workload, so bear that in mind before going full steam ahead.
The benefit to the speaker is they are immediately seen by a tone of people and have their undivided attention. Pretty valuable marketing. The downside is you absolutely have to make sure they aren’t going to use the stage as a sales pitch. Just because they’re paying to speak, the content still has to be good, otherwise, you’re in real trouble.
Commerce Sales
By this, we mean sales of either your product or a bi-product of your service. If you sell coffee grinders, having 400 people in a room who are coffee-obsessed ought to end up in sales. However, this does only work if you facilitate it properly. Making it really easy for people to see the product, what it does and how to buy it, is where the magic will really happen. You can create a pop-up shop within your event to help maximise event revenue.
If you’re a service-based business and wondering how this applies to you, there are always bi-products of your service. For example, for us it could be an Event Planning Bible with all the must-know info it took us ten years to learn (can you take a wild guess at what’s coming… join the club to sign up for updates). Other options could be a Podcast series following on from one of your speaker’s session which takes more of a deep dive. Or if your business is a law firm, you could create a subscription service which sends monthly updates of all the latest changes in regulation which will affect that client.
Of course, you can sell your actual service too. In the same way, we suggested product-based businesses set up a shop, we’d suggest you do the same, but set up a lounge. There should be none of those ugly uncomfy tub chairs in sight. Try creating a relaxing, stylish and inviting space where people feel relaxed and at ease whilst speaking to you.
Maximise event revenue… a deep dive…
We hope this article has given you some inspiration into ways you can increase your event revenue. If you’re interested in taking a deep dive into any of these areas, give us a shout. We’re nerdy about numbers.
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