For the past few weeks my friend Ellen Braun has been busy preparing for an online Virtual Event that she’ll be hosting later this month.
She took time out from the preparations to do a quick interview with me on what it takes to set up and host your own virtual event…
Me: What is a Virtual Online Retreat exactly?
Ellen: Hi Lynn, an Online Retreat is like a retreat on a cruise or at a hotel… except that you don’t need to travel! You access the Online Retreat from the comfort of your own home (in your pajamas, if you’d like!), so there are no travel expenses, no babysitting expenses, and no crowds or soft mattresses and strange pillows to deal with!
On a serious note, the Online Retreat is a series of workshops via conference calls or webcasts with lots of door prizes and valuable bonuses for attendees.
Me: How much work goes into setting up a Virtual Event?
Ellen: Obviously, it depends on the scale of your event. You may choose to have two or three speakers one evening, or a ten-week-long event, or anything in between! I chose to keep my event limited to 3 days, with about eleven workshops per day, for a total of 35 workshops.
The vast majority of the work involved just 3 things: Creating a sales page, promoting the sales page, and communications with presenters. There was no rocket science or brain surgery involved at any point.
Me: You’re partnering with others in your niche, publishers and experts, to deliver the content – correct? Any advice on contacting and enlisting experts when creating a Virtual Event?
Ellen: That is correct, Lynn. The truth is that I found it surprisingly simple to contact others in my niche. I used contact forms on expert’s websites, Facebook, and Twitter to reach out to other people. About 80% of the people I contacted responded positively, and are presenters at the Online Retreat! Another 10% declined because of scheduling conflicts, and only 10% did not respond at all.
Several of my presenters actually came to me through referrals from other presenters who are so excited about this event! When people start bringing their friends along, you know that you’re in for a fabulous ride!
Me: Are there specific software programs or services necessary to host a Virtual Event?
Ellen: The only software necessary is a reliable conference calling system and webcast host. I use Instant Teleseminar because it’s reliable and automatically records all events, and it offers user a choice of listening via phone or online.
In the past I’ve used free systems and my audio recordings were often lost, entailing much work and aggravation. Instant Teleseminar’s audio recordings are ready immediately after the conference ends, so there’s no waiting, and they offer the audio in multiple formats.
The other tool I used was a Google Spreadsheet, which I shared with my VA. I had the speakers names going vertically down the left side of the spreadsheet, and the top part of the page had this information going across it horizontally: Email, Time slot, Topic, Topic Description, 3 bullet point benefits, Photo, Bio, bonus gift, bonus URL, bonus image.
I spent a lot of time updating that page as I received information from my presenters, and it was wonderful to have it all in once place! Best of all, Google Spreadsheets are a free service of Google Docs!
Me: Tell us about your Virtual Event. Who is it for, and where can we learn more about it?
Ellen: This event is entitled the Online Parenting Retreat for Moms. Our focus is on helping mothers enhance their lives in a variety of ways. (Dads are welcome, too, if they don’t mind winning pink organza bags of spa products as door prizes!)
The live workshops are completely free, or participants can choose to purchase a ticket which will give them all of the audio recordings and over $1,000 in bonuses from our presenters! So we have a package to fit every budget and lifestyle!
Parenting coaches will discuss solving children’s behavior issues; relationship coaches and therapists will give workshops about human emotions and developing secure connections with our children as they grow; organizational coaches will talk about how to be quickly and easily organized and efficient; and several prestigious entrepreneurs will cover the ever-elusive topic of living a harmonious life and balancing work and family successfully.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! You can view all the topics, speaker profiles, and photos at http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/parentingretreat/
Me: Do you have an affiliate program?
Ellen: Yes! Affiliates will earn 50% of each sale! The registration price is $97 with an early-bird special of $77 until 5/22. There are professionally written promotional materials on the affiliate page which you can use as-is or tweak to match your personality:
http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/parentingretreat/retreat-affiliate.html
Affiliates who sell 30 tickets will win an 8 GB ipod Nano, and affiliates who sell 100 tickets will win an ipad!
Most importantly, affiliates will have touched the lives of mothers around the globe and make a real difference in our future- the children currently being parented who are tomorrow’s adults. Knowing that you’ve changed lives is a priceless feeling– especially when it comes along with a nice lump of cash… 
Me: Thank you for sharing the details with us, Ellen!
Chris & Karon have an upcoming event I think you’ll be interested in. Honestly, it’s a no brainer if you’re working online. It’s a telesummit (meaning it’s a virtual event you can attend from home) called Online Copywriting 101.
