How do I make money from live events?

This well organized report provides one of the best and most comprehensive guide currently available for news organizations who are contemplating how to approach live events as a potential part of the revenue of a news organization. It includes a range of lessons learned and points toward examples from several different newsrooms, with an effort to focus on small and mid-size news organizations.

This report draws on 8 months of reporting about 19 different publishers. From that, we have distilled six key concepts:

• Use assets you already have: Events are a natural fit for news publishers because of a news organizations’ strengths at organizing information, its access to thought leaders and its role as a in dependent gathering place for ideas in the community.
• Leverage existing audiences and grow new ones: Events deepen connections with existing audiences but can also help grow new ones. This should dictate the strategy behind events and choosing subjects.
• Identify and hold off competition: Events prevent money that could be your news organization’s from going elsewhere.
• Take creative approaches: Events attract people and businesses for opportunities you couldn’t otherwise get and can build toward other relationships.
• Weigh the value of different pricing strategies: The significant revenue is in event sponsorships, not audience fees, though they can also be important.
• Go all-in with promotions: Event promotion, internally and externally, is vital to event success and growth as a significant source of revenue.