Online events aren’t anything new. But with everything that’s happened in the world this year, events like virtual summits, web conferences, and live streaming events have become more popular than ever. In many cases, they’ve become the only options.
In one sense, an online event isn’t that different than an in-person event. (The goal is to create an event and convince people to attend.) But in many regards, it’s a massive undertaking that requires a specialized approach. And when it comes to registrations, you must act with purpose and intentionality.
Try These 5 Registration Boosting Tips
Generally speaking, an online event costs the same whether you have 500 or 1,500 registrants. (There are obviously some variable costs, but increasing your registration doesn’t typically come at a huge rise in overhead costs.) You’ve already done the hard work by creating an event and getting all of the logistical details squared away. Why not make the most out of it by bringing more registrants into the fold?
Here are some extremely practical tips you can use to dramatically increase your registration for an online event, regardless of the niche, topic, or format:
1. Narrow Your Audience
“Before you jump into promoting your event, consider the purpose of your event and the demographic characteristics of likely attendees,” MembershipWorks suggests. “Narrowing your audience will help you choose the most effective ways to reach them.”
There are infinite ways to narrow an audience, but you can start with identity (career, school affiliation, job status, etc.) interests (hobbies or sports), and geography (country, state, city, etc.).
It might seem a little counterintuitive, but narrowing the marketplace to a more defined target audience can actually increase your registrations. It makes it easier to deliver relevant messaging that speaks to people where they are and convinces them to sign up.
2. Partner With Influencers
You are only one person/company. You have a defined audience with limited reach. (Your reach may be shallow or wide, but it’s limited, nonetheless.) But there are ways to extend beyond your immediate audience and engage with other people. One of the best options is to partner with influencers.
When you partner with an influencer whose audience overlaps your own, you can instantly double or triple your reach. While there’s nothing wrong with hiring an influencer for the purpose of pure promotion, it’s useful if you can include them in the online event as a keynote speaker, presenter, or featured entertainment. This gives their audience/followers more incentive to show up to the event.
3. Try Price Anchoring
For paid events, you should use a price anchoring strategy to maximize your revenue. This strategy is rooted in the fact that most people have no internal barometer of how much to pay for something and instead rely on a variety of external factors to help them decide what to buy and how much to spend.
As author William Poundstone says, “People tend to be clueless about prices. Contrary to economic theory, we do not really decide between A and B by consulting our invisible price tags and purchasing the one that yields the higher utility. We make do with guesstimates and a vague recollection of what things are ‘supposed to cost.’”
Based on this fact, you should set three price points for your online event: a low price, a mid-tier price, and a premium price. The mid-tier price is your bread and butter – it’s what you want people to pay. The other prices serve as anchors, making the mid-tier price look like the great deal that it is. Also, if people happen to purchase the premium price, it’s merely a bonus!
4. Test and Optimize Your Landing Page
Your landing page should be clear and consistent. Visitors should understand the value they’re getting and be compelled to take action. Test and optimize your landing page on a daily basis to see how different elements are performing. Eliminate anything that’s ineffective or distracting.
5. Use Concise Registration Forms
You’ve worked so hard to drive traffic to your landing page and convince them to sign up. Don’t lose them now!
The best way to lower abandonment is to reduce friction with your registration forms. The fewer fields and information you require people to fill out, the better. If you must gather a lot of information, use a two-step form where you capture the most important details first (like name and email). Then on the second page you can ask for all of the other stuff.
Give Your Online Event a Strong Foundation
You can put on the best online event the world has ever seen, but if you only have 15 people in attendance, there’s only so much value you can extract from it. Raise that number and suddenly you have a strong foundation for monetization and growth.
Which of these registration boosting tips will you implement first?
