4. Profitable virtual events & how to get attendees to upgrade to the paid experience

17/03/2025 19 min
4. Profitable virtual events & how to get attendees to upgrade to the paid experience

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Episode Synopsis

In this episode, I answer a question from a Copy Confidence Collective member about how to naturally encourage free event attendees to upgrade to a paid offer… without feeling pushy or salesy.Member question: “What’s a compelling way to get the attendees of a free event to opt into the paid upgrade so it feels natural and not salesy?”I explore effective strategies to monetize your virtual events, via tweaks to your paid upgrade positioning, making it easy to upgrade, and creating clever genuine urgency (without necessarily having to discount).Whether you're running a virtual summit, an online challenge, or a free event with a paid VIP option, today is all about customer-first strategies to make the upgrade feel like the obvious next step without devaluing the free experience.Ready to maximize the results for you and your attendees?00:00 Introduction to Customer Experience Challenges00:24 Understanding Free vs. Paid Event Dynamics01:55 Reasons for Upgrading at Free Events09:27 Strategies for Encouraging Upgrades16:17 Final Thoughts on Event StructuringWhat we cover:Why People Upgrade (or Don’t) – Understanding the key motivators behind why attendees choose to pay for an upgrade.The Biggest Mistakes to Avoid When Selling an Upgrade – Common pitfalls that make people not see the value in upgrading.How to Position Your Paid Upgrade as the Next-Level Experience – Creating a compelling reason for attendees to say yes without devaluing the free experience.Organic, Feel-Good Sales Strategies – How to weave upgrade opportunities into your event without resorting to high-pressure tactics.Making It Effortless to Upgrade – Practical ways to ensure attendees can upgrade in just a few clicks, right when they’re most interested.View the episode transcript here.Where to from here?Join Retention Lab🧪, the membership for savvy online business owners determined to grow their revenue, referrals and repeat business without more marketing. Join here!Find out how you can get my strategic customer experience brain on your brand here.Grab the FREE State of the Customer online business industry report with first-hand findings, gaps & opportunities PLUS proven strategies to boost your customer experience. Download FREE here!Check out my favourite CX tools and resources here.😍 Love the show?Hit subscribe or follow so you never miss a new episode.Submit your question so I can answer it in an upcoming episode (or invite the perfect guest expert!).Leave a positive review to help the show get found by more small business owners just like you. To leave a review:👉 Find What Would They Do? on Apple Podcasts👉 Scroll to ‘Ratings & Reviews’👉 Tap on the stars to rate the show before writing a reviewPost a screenshot with your key takeaway on your IG story and tag me @candocontent and #WWTDpod so I can repost your content.

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