Oooh this is a juicy topic, right? Well I'm about to dish on how myself and other business professionals make money on their events and workshops so pull your chair in a little closer and let's chat.

First things first.

Not all events are money makers.... from the outset.

Let me explain further….

A lot of events are actually fabulous marketing exercises, opening you and your services up to a whole new audience, positioning you as the expert and leading the way to more opportunity. Not all events will make you money from ticket sales, but they can make you money from:

+ Picking up new 1:1 clients

+ Getting booked for future speaking gigs

+ Selling products and services

But before you look into how you can make this happen, you need to decide on what the purpose of your event is.

Is your purpose:

Income Generation
Marketing

For example, are you creating this event with the intention of bringing in the bulk of your income through the ticket sales? Or are you ok to have your ticket sales cover the cost of running the event with your income coming in through other avenues?

Whatever you choose, I recommend leveraging your events as much as possible.

Here are 5 ways you can make money from your next event or workshop.

1. BUDGET

Your budget is your best friend. Seriously! Keep looking and re-assessing your budget for ways to cut costs.

Is your venue too expensive for what you are doing? Negotiate a better rate, find somewhere smaller or pick an off peak time.

Are you spending lots of money on catering? Think about platters instead of individual serves or change the time of your event to be in between meal times so you only need to provide light snacks and drinks.

Look at each of your expenses and decide - what is a necessity and what is a nice to have? If you can afford the nice to haves then go for it! But if this is your first workshop and you are conscious of your costs then you will need to rethink the more expensive options.

2. CREATE A VIP OPTION

Create additional opportunities for your guests at a premium fee? Think about add on's like a private meet and greet, a seating and menu upgrade, a 30 minute coaching call post workshop or a collection of e-books and resources.... it's time to get creative.

Sit down and brainstorm what your attendees want most from you and how you can package it to add value, whilst keeping your costs down.

3. OFFER A VIRTUAL TICKET

Do you have an audience in another state or country who can't make the journey but would realllly love to be there? If you have the AV/technical assistance on the day, you can offer a lower priced ticket where virtual attendees have access to a live stream of the event.

You may even sell a recording post-event if it fits in with your business model.

4. HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL

Depending on your business this could be anything you like!

Doing workshops on business building? Offer a group coaching series or a premium 1:1 package.

Doing a spoken word presentation on self love? Sell your book and sign it for attendees.

Teaching people how to juice? Offer your eCourse at an irresistible price with a bonus on the day so they can stay on track.

When people really connect with you at events and when you give generously (I am a huge believer in the GIVE), people will be very responsive to you offering additional items on the day.

Whatever you offer though, make sure it is in line with your core message, your audiences needs and not just added on without any thought.

5. ENGAGE SPONSORS

My old favourite! Sponsorship can help keep costs down, profit up and can add tremendous value.

Think about sponsors for venue space, catering, photography, decor, AV, goody bag items or anything else for your event.

Please don't forget to show your sponsors lots and lots of love, this should be a win win situation for both parties and it is your job to offer them tangible benefits that help boost their brand and marketing.

And just a final note to leave you on, you may have a specific target you want to achieve or you may go in thinking that any extra income would be great. Whatever the case:

Don't go into this without a comprehensive budget so you can see with absolute clarity where you are spending money and where you are making money.

Knowledge is power and it's very true when it comes to the numbers!

So there you have it. 5 different ways to make more money on your next event or workshop - all of which can be utilised in a genuine and authentic way.

This list isn't exhaustive by any means so experiment with your own and happy planning!