By now you know that events should no longer take a backseat in your publishing caravan. We hear more and more that, if done right, events can truly add to your revenue streams and bring your brand to life in a way that builds greater engagement and community among your readers (and potential readers).
That sounds all well and good, but where’s the proof?
Pursuing events is no small endeavor, and many BtoB publishers don’t have the means to go trail blazing and learn hard lessons along the way. You want proof of what works and what doesn’t in order to determine a viable strategy and reduce your risk. Luckily, that proof is emerging. A recent post on Publishing Executive gave us some of that proof when it talked about how publications like “Outside,” and others are seeing success. What are they doing right?
- Building the bridge from readers to advertisers. There is no denying that face-to-face interaction still trumps virtual introductions. Events are the perfect way to bring people across the industry together, build synergy, make introductions and seal the deal.
- Turning pages into people. Yes, this is about bringing your brand to life. When you take the concept from your pages and make it more tangible for the reader and your advertisers, it endures and spurs interest in future content that relates to the experience they shared at your event.
- Growing context. You know how important context and relevancy are to your publishing strategy. Events enable publishers to hone in on the most relevant aspects of their brand. When you do that with an event, you bring people together around a strong point of interest and deepen their connection with it—and your role in it.
- Listening. You know how important it is to gather feedback from your events, but are you leveraging that feedback to its greatest potential? It’s not just for marketing. It’s also about giving your audience more of what they want. It’s user management—in person. Event feedback, when properly applied, can lead to more niche events and a growing audience.
- Taking a team approach. There is a growing trend in publishing (think NYT) for deeper collaboration across departments. This is no different when it comes to events. Events should include marketing, sales and editorial staff from planning through execution and follow up.
- Following through. Events only work with a strong commitment from the publisher. Sure, the cost up front can be daunting and you are bound to make mistakes in the beginning—but don’t settle or worse, don’t fizzle. Commit to it all the way and remember that events are like other components of your strategy: they take time to build returns.
Want to know more? Read the full article.
