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In this interview, we have the pleasure of talking to Swantje Gebauer from https://onlinekongresscoaching.de/. We discussed the following questions with Swantje:
- What is an online congress and what advantages does it offer as a coach?
- What are the phases of an online congress?
- How do you start without your own audience / list?
But let's start with our guest.
Swantje Gebauer and online congresses
Swantje was a head teacher for 7 years until the birth of her child in 2014. During her parental leave, she developed the desire to be at home more so that she could spend more time with her family. Swantje therefore decided to start her own business.
She first started building an online business on top of her kinesiology training and taught herself elements of online marketing. Creating websites, writing blogs, selling online and creating podcasts. Through her research, she later came across the topic of online congresses. She wanted to attract customers with this congress and took 9 months to launch her first congress.
But there was a small challenge: she didn't have a real product yet. When she asked for a coach and the offer amounted to €8,000, she decided to organize the first online congress on her own. She quickly learned what to look out for, what worked and what things to think about.
As there were not many coaches for online congresses at that time and Swantje found the topic of developing online congresses exciting, she made it her coaching focus.
Advantages and goals of the online congress
There are different reasons and therefore different goals for an online congress. Organizing an online congress has many advantages.
"Collect" new contacts and generate sales
With an online congress, you can increase your own reach and address many new interested people and also attract them to your newsletter. The speakers do marketing for the congress and bring their audience with them. If you build your own offer on the content of the congress, you can achieve good sales as an organizer later on. At the congress, the participants' understanding of the problem often increases. This makes it much easier to sell the right offer later on.
The reciprocity law of reciprocity in marketing means that congress participants who have received a lot of added value are also happy to buy something later.
Be recognized as an expert and be invited to congresses yourself
As the organizer of a congress, you are more quickly perceived as an expert in your industry. Swantje says that it is not uncommon to be invited to congresses at a later date after organizing a congress. This is the so-called congress echo.
Building a strong network
The discussions with the experts in the preparation and follow-up phases in particular create strong networks and good collaborations. Congress participants who do not become customers are also offered plenty of free added value. This is how you are also found indirectly.
What are the phases of an online congress?
The phases can be broken down as follows:
- Pre-launch phase
- Launch phase (Winning participants)
- Rehearsal
- Implementation of the online congress
- Post-launch phase
Pre-launch phase
The conceptual framework planning comes first. What is the goal and who do I want to address? You can think about this and then start researching speakers and experts who fit the congress theme. In the pre-launch phase, you also create an invitation page for the experts and it is important to already have a concrete program and make a professional impression. However, it is also normal that you will not attract the biggest and best-known speakers when setting up your first congress.
The pre-launch phase is the longest phase in the process. Swantje took 9 months for her first congress. The recordings of the presentations and interviews with the speakers also take place during this phase. You can also organize a live online congress. However, this is a little more difficult and you should probably refrain from doing this for your first event. (Speakers do not always have easy availability on a certain date and sometimes prefer recordings).
Launch phase
The website goes online and it's time to win participants! It is best to start at least 4, more likely 8 weeks before the event. The speakers submit marketing material for the registration page. At this stage, you need to have completed a lot of administrative work so that you can concentrate fully on marketing.
Speaker engagement needs to be checked. Are they doing their job and inviting their audience to the event? The number of marketing posts should already be clarified in the launch phase. Regular posting on social media channels and in newsletters is important here. The participant should understand how much added value this event will have.
Rehearsal / dress rehearsal
This step is about testing everything once again to ensure that everything goes smoothly during implementation.
Implementation of the online congress / live phase
The congress will take place. The technology should work and participants should be informed via e-mail.
Post-launch phase
At this stage, we thank all participants once again. You can now also advertise and sell the recording of the congress. Here you can start with an offer, which you can later increase in price.
This phase is suitable for presenting your product. Naturally, there will be many questions during and after your congress. The appropriate manpower should therefore be available to deal with this wave of inquiries.
Further questions for Swantje to make an online congress a success
How can you start a congress without a list?
If you are still completely new to the market or do not have a relevant target group, you can start with a development congress. This is a small event. It is also okay to invite less well-known speakers with a smaller reach.
Should you organize a live congress or a recorded congress?
Pre-recordings have almost the same effect as live recordings. And are therefore good for the start. Some experts don't want to miss the live component. Others prefer to record a presentation themselves in peace and quiet. You can also hold a hybrid congress. However, without the live component, it is much easier for many to get started.
How do you bridge the gap to sales?
It depends on the product. For a less expensive product, a good landing page can do all the selling. As already mentioned, the reciprocity law plays into your hands. In addition, the participants have now been dealing with the topic for some time and usually an awareness of the problem arises here. This makes the sale easier. Registrations for an initial meeting for a coaching assignment will also increase significantly after a congress.
How can I prevent congress participants from buying the products of experts and not mine?
Swantje often hears these fears and anxieties from her coaching participants. However, the speaker/expert does not take anything away from the congress organizer. It's usually a case of sharing the big cake. The cooperation and co-creation creates a demand that was not there before. That's why you should work on your mindset and create a good offer that really helps people. That way you can benefit together.
