Would you be interested in learning a POWERFUL new method to make money or attract customers that, until now, has been hidden in plain sight?
No kidding, I stumbled across a seemingly undiscovered business model that has been completely ignored by entrepreneurial-minded people everywhere.
It appears that with the intense effort to ride the waves of technological changes happening online, we have failed to recognize the idea to make money offline by creating local community events online.
This concept of using the software and resources, available on the internet, for creating local community events within our own neighborhood has the potential to be a thriving industry all on its own!
When you think about it, you’ll find that there is an enormous gap for small businesses when it comes to developing digital events online and offline.
At first, when the internet rose in popularity, entrepreneurs formed their businesses solely and completely online to make money. Those businesses were the forerunners of billion-dollar companies like eBay, Amazon, YouTube, and Facebook to name just a few.
However, big businesses weren’t the only ones bring in the money, millions of savvy micropreneurs were able to establish lucrative online incomes for themselves also.
The next stage of growth for the internet happened when “brick and mortar” businesses realized that the internet was here to stay and they needed to create their own presence online.
Today there are digital marketing agencies, consultants, and freelancers popping up every minute helping offline businesses to promote their services over the internet.
And now we’re in the beginning of another twist where giant online companies such as Amazon.com, are now placing “brick and mortar” stores in local communities. Wal-Mart had already been present in local communities for years but has recently upped their game online as well.
How these large corporations will ultimately affect small businesses and communities is a highly debatable subject, but surely, it can’t be good.
Your Profits Are At This Next Stage… Creating Digital Online Events for YOUR Local Community!
It’s no secret that the internet has gotten to be an extremely competitive platform for ANY type of business to make money with.
The demand for an online presence is fierce and there are THOUSANDS of businesses, large and small, in a constant fight for top position.
For the small time entrepreneur, making money online can be quite a challenge. It’s definitely possible; people do it every day, but be ready to take your fair share of blows from the endless line of competitors who want the same customers you need or who are selling a similar product that you sell.
So What’s the Solution? Flip the Trend In A NEW Direction!
Until now, you’ve likely been told 2 ways to make money using the internet and those are:
1) Build a new business 100% online.
OR
2) Promote an offline “brick and mortar” business online.
Today you’re going to learn a 3rd method to make money, using the internet, that has basically no competition. And you can start with very little upfront investment. This 3rd method is…
3) Use the internet to develop online digital events or campaigns that can be sold to businesses and residents within your community. In other words, make money offline by creating local community events online!
Take some time to let it sink in because the concept isn’t what we’re normally accustomed to.
As a digital event entrepreneur, your objective will be to take your local community online by designing small events that residents or businesses of your community can pay you to participate in.
Here’s A REAL Money Making Case Study With Proof!
My first attempt at this business model was in 2012.
I must admit, I didn’t have a complete understanding of what I was doing at the time. I knew only that I wanted to create a local event that I could run predominantly online.
From that perspective, I was able to successfully execute my first community event managed digitally online.
The event was the Best Burger competition that included 5 local area restaurants.
As you may know, most food competitions are hosted at a designated location in the community and are completed by the end of that day’s event.
My competition was run over the course of 60 days and required residents to physically visit the participating restaurants.
The restaurant owners loved this because it brought new customers right through their doors and on many occasions the resident who came to “judge” the burger also brought in family & friends who grabbed a meal.
Creating Local Community Events – How It Works…
1) Restaurant Recruitment –
I first had to sign on local restaurants that were known for having delicious burgers. This was easier than I had originally imagined as all owners were thrilled at the opportunity to put their burgers up to the challenge.
2) Online Promotional Page –
Obviously to run an event on the internet, you’ll need to have an online webpage that builds excitement, delivers the details and collects the contact information of residents interested in joining.
For this task, there are many great landing page builders online making it extremely simple to quickly create a professional quality promotional page. My favorite builder is GetResponse. It offers bunches of landing page templates along with follow-up email marketing services. You can’t go wrong with it!
3) Custom Videos & Images –
Although I used a professional photographer/videographer to shoot and edit images of restaurant owners, you can get the same or better quality with an iPhone.
I used the edited photos on printed materials and throughout social media.
Short 30-60 second videos of residents sharing their opinion on a favorite burger were used to build a buzz and attract sign-ups through social sharing.
4) Printed promotions & “Judges Cards” –
When local residents joined in the competition, they were given a “Judges Card”. I used an oversized postcard which had the logos of each restaurant printed on it. As the “Judge” visited each restaurant, the server would punch out the respective logo for redemption.
I also had a few event table tent promotional pieces printed and gave them to the restaurants for display on tables.
5) The launch of the event! –
Promote, promote, promote!
The goal is to get as much traffic to your landing page as possible.
I began releasing and sharing the videos that had already been produced. Making certain each restaurant shared them to their own social networks.
Captioned photos were also posted as a way to generate traffic to the event promotional landing page.
In addition, I sent the local newspaper a press release about the event and was pleasantly surprised when they offered to have a reporter write a full story on the event. You can view it here.
Overall this local community event was a fun experience for all who participated.
The “Judges” got to sample awesome burgers from 5 restaurants. The restaurants received some exciting online advertising with brand new customers and revenue. And I was able to make money offline & online from the sale of “Judges Cards”.
The best part of this event was that my expenses were less than $300 for the whole thing!
Since this event, I have further developed the business model of creating digital online events for local communities.
You can hold your own independent projects like the Best Burger example or you can create custom projects for small businesses and nonprofits.
Local small business owners know they need a presence online and with digital online events you can offer them a rock-solid solution.
Not only that, but the same techniques used to create digital events can also be used to boost income with traditional LIVE community events.
Planning your event is the biggest investment you’ll need to make because when your event plan is structured correctly, you’ll be able to use other people’s money to make the event a success.
Digital event development within local communities is a totally untapped market jam-packed with opportunities to make money.
Now is the time to become an Event Entrepreneur in your community!
