Why Publishers Should Re-Sell Their Online Events Platform

Publishers are quite happy to resell content, data, and thought leaders as speakers, so why not sell the technology?

Many publishers already use webinar and webcast platforms like WorkCast to sell sponsorship and leads. In order for this process to be successful, the publisher’s sales teams must effectively sell the online events to their sponsors. This means that the trained resources are there and are already selling online events to their sponsors. These sales teams have collateral and they have a supporting platform.

What Can Publishers Offer?

Publishers have the data and the content to be able to market to their customers and sponsors. This base of great customers could also be a perfect target for using online events of their own.

All of this provides an additional route to customers and increases revenue growth whilst embedding Publishers within the online media and technology world. Not only does this increase exposure for the Publisher; it results in more organic sales opportunities, as the world Online Events continues to grow and gain dominance as a key marketing tactic.

'It’s not part of our strategy' I hear you say…but why not?

It may seem counter-intuitive for publishers to sell the technology that they are successfully using for revenue generation and sponsorship deals. However, the offer that Publishers have is a dataset and a platform packaged together as a vehicle for their customers to achieve success in their marketing and lead generation goals. That is a compelling incentive to potential customers.

Put this way, doesn’t it seem like a no brainer for Publishers?

Many Publishers that WorkCast provide sponsor and thought leadership webinars and webcasts for are now starting to resell the WorkCast Platform to both their sponsors and customer base. They have realised that the route to market and sales resources are all in place, therefore the investment is minimal. And, whilst the investment costs and resources are minimal, the revenue opportunities are huge.

But isn’t selling the technology a threat to our existing sponsored revenue business?

If sponsors see value in the existing sponsored model, they will continue to use it because of:

1. Access to additional content
2. Access to editorial expertise
3. Access to database of subscribers
4. Association with brand/industry
5. Access to external speakers

It is highly likely that your sponsors are doing their own independent webinars anyway, so why not syndicate the content back to your site for on-demand viewing? Plus, if they’re not already working on their own webinars it can be a useful way to suggest it, without losing them to other contracts.

Corporates around the Globe are increasingly using online events as a source of communication for customer updates, training, marketing lead generation and many more purposes, and Publishers are realising that there is a big chunk of revenue that they can get their hands on.

If you would like to talk about the opportunities of reselling the WorkCast Platform please feel free to get in touch with our London-based Publishing Team.