What is a virtual event? The complete guide for 2026

What a virtual event is, how it works, what it costs and why it's one of the best ways to grow an online business, with real results.

par Navid Moazzez·Mis à jour 27 sept. 2026·5 min de lecture·

What is a virtual event? The complete guide for 2026

In November 2014, I hosted my first virtual event, The Branding Summit.

I had almost no audience. It still brought in over $20,000 in sales and close to 3,000 attendees. On 28 November, I quit my part-time job, and the same day I made over $5,000 from the summit's all-access pass.

That one online event changed my business and my life. Since then I've hosted many more, up to the AI Creator Summit, which 100,000+ creators from 110+ countries have tuned in to.

Here's what a virtual event is, how it works, what it costs, and why it's still one of the best ways to grow an online business.

What is a virtual event?

A virtual event is an organized event that happens online instead of in a physical place. People register, then watch, learn and interact from wherever they are.

It can be a single 60-minute webinar or a 5-day summit with 30 experts. What makes it an event, and not just a video, is that it happens at a set time, people sign up for it, and they experience it together.

Navid Moazzez

@thenavidm

Virtual events are the fastest way to build your email list while growing your influence, revenue and impact at the same time.

How do virtual events work?

Most virtual events follow the same flow:

How a virtual event works0/6

1Registration: people sign up on a registration page with their email.

2Access: they get emails with the schedule and links.

3The event: they watch live or pre-recorded sessions during a set window.

4Interaction: chat, Q&A, polls, a community or live calls.

5The offer: an all-access pass, a product or a program for people who want more.

6Follow-up: replays, a next offer and ongoing emails.

Most creator events mix both: pre-recorded expert interviews for the content, and live sessions for energy and connection.

Types of virtual events

The most common formats are:

Virtual summits: many experts, one topic, several days. My favorite.
Webinars: one session that teaches one thing, often with an offer at the end.
Virtual workshops: hands-on and interactive, usually smaller.
Online conferences: bigger events with several tracks.
Challenges: a series of daily lessons with homework over 5 to 30 days.
Live cohorts: a group going through a program together over several weeks.
Virtual product launches: an event built around opening a new offer.

I break down all of them, with examples, in 19 types of virtual events.

Virtual vs in-person vs hybrid events

Cost to host

Virtual: Low
In-person: High
Hybrid: Highest

Reach

Virtual: Anyone with internet
In-person: People who can travel
Hybrid: Both

Setup

Virtual: A few tools
In-person: Venue, travel, catering
Hybrid: Both, at the same time

Content afterward

Virtual: Recorded and reusable
In-person: Often lost
Hybrid: Recorded

Networking

Virtual: Chat and community
In-person: Strongest
Hybrid: Uneven between groups

Best for

Virtual: Growing a list and selling
In-person: Deep relationships
Hybrid: Established events

Area	Virtual	In-person	Hybrid
Cost to host	Low	High	Highest
Reach	Anyone with internet	People who can travel	Both
Setup	A few tools	Venue, travel, catering	Both, at the same time
Content afterward	Recorded and reusable	Often lost	Recorded
Networking	Chat and community	Strongest	Uneven between groups
Best for	Growing a list and selling	Deep relationships	Established events

For most creators, virtual is the place to start. You can reach people in 110+ countries from your laptop.

How much does it cost to host a virtual event?

Much less than most people think. Many creators host their first summit with a few hundred dollars, or even less.

You need a microphone, a camera (a phone works), a way to record interviews, a registration page, an email platform and a checkout.

The expensive part isn't the tools. It's your time, and AI now does a big part of that work.

Why host a virtual event?

Build your email list fast. My List Building School summit added over 26,000 subscribers in 2 weeks.
Get paid to grow. An all-access pass can make an event profitable before it starts.
Borrow authority. Standing next to respected experts makes people see you as one.
Build relationships. Every speaker is a new connection in your industry.
Create a product. The recordings become something you can sell again.
Get months of content. Every interview turns into clips, posts and emails.

Who hosts virtual events?

Coaches, consultants, course creators, authors, podcasters, membership owners and SaaS companies all use them. If there's an audience for your topic online, there's room for an event around it.

The niche can be surprisingly specific. Diana Rowan, one of the world's top harpists, hosted the Virtual Harp Summit. Her first summit brought in 2,100 email subscribers and 460 all-access pass sales, and she built a membership on top of it.

Looking for a topic? Start with these 50 virtual event ideas.

Real virtual event examples and results

The Branding Summit

Host: Me, 2014
Result: $20,000+ in sales, close to 3,000 attendees

List Building School

Host: Me, 2016
Result: 26,000+ subscribers in 2 weeks

Self-Publishing Success Summit

Host: Chandler Bolt
Result: $370k+ and 30,000 subscribers in under 2 months

Work-At-Home Summit

Host: Caitlin Pyle
Result: 60,000+ subscribers and $502,000 in revenue

Women's Strength Summit

Host: Steph Gaudreau
Result: From 62 subscribers to 19,560 new ones

Play Therapy Summit

Host: Jen Taylor
Result: $100,027 from all-access passes

Insurance Agent Summit

Host: Brian Appleton
Result: 3,500 sign-ups, 465 sales, $20K in sponsorships

AI Creator Summit

Host: Me, since 2024
Result: 100,000+ creators from 110+ countries

Event	Host	Result
The Branding Summit	Me, 2014	$20,000+ in sales, close to 3,000 attendees
List Building School	Me, 2016	26,000+ subscribers in 2 weeks
Self-Publishing Success Summit	Chandler Bolt	$370k+ and 30,000 subscribers in under 2 months
Work-At-Home Summit	Caitlin Pyle	60,000+ subscribers and $502,000 in revenue
Women's Strength Summit	Steph Gaudreau	From 62 subscribers to 19,560 new ones
Play Therapy Summit	Jen Taylor	$100,027 from all-access passes
Insurance Agent Summit	Brian Appleton	3,500 sign-ups, 465 sales, $20K in sponsorships
AI Creator Summit	Me, since 2024	100,000+ creators from 110+ countries

Here's how some of them describe it in their own words:

Caitlin Pyle

Founder of Proofread Anywhere

We grew an email list of over 60,000 new subscribers in about a week’s time and we generated $502,000 in revenue through our first virtual summit.

If you want step-by-step instruction and you just want to get it done with as little stress as possible, then I would absolutely recommend everything Navid Moazzez is teaching.

Steph Gaudreau

Host of the Women's Strength Summit

Navid Moazzez gave me all the details I needed to run a very successful first-time online event.

My Women’s Strength Summit fielded nearly 20,000 free registrations and 100’s of sales.

More importantly, people commented on how valuable and professional the summit was, and that’s directly because of everything I learned from Navid.

Chandler Bolt

Founder & CEO, Selfpublishing.com

Navid helped me earn $370k+ and 30,000 email subscribers in less than 2 months… it completely transformed our business to a multi million dollar online education company (the summit we did in 2016 was even bigger with almost 40,000 opt-ins!).

It all started with the proven business and marketing strategies Navid shared.. go sign up to his email newsletter now!

For 100 more, see my list of virtual event examples.

How I host virtual events today

When I hosted my first summit, I built every page by hand and edited every interview myself.

Today I host my summits on AI Summit OS, my set of summit templates from registration to replay vault. Claude builds from them, so a summit site comes together fast. AI edits the recordings, writes the transcripts, cuts the clips and drafts the emails.

What hasn't changed: the right topic, the right speakers and a real offer still decide whether an event works.

The future of virtual events

AI-produced events. One person can now run an event that used to need a team.
Smaller, more focused events. A 3-day event on one outcome often beats a 10-day event on everything.
Live and interactive. More live sessions, Q&As and cohorts, less passive watching.
Evergreen. Events that keep running and selling after the live dates.

FAQs about virtual events

Answers to the questions people ask most about virtual events.

What is a virtual event?

A virtual event is an organized event that happens online instead of in a physical place.

People register, then watch, learn and interact from wherever they are.

What are examples of virtual events?

Virtual summits, webinars, virtual workshops, online conferences, challenges, live cohorts and virtual product launches.

My favorite is the virtual summit, because it grows your list, your network and your revenue at the same time.

How much does it cost to host a virtual event?

Much less than most people think.

Many creators host their first summit with a few hundred dollars, or even less.

What is the difference between a virtual event and a webinar?

A webinar is one type of virtual event: usually one presenter and one session.

A virtual event can also be a multi-day summit with many experts, a workshop or a conference.

Are virtual events better than in-person events?

For growing a list and selling online, usually yes, because they cost less and reach anyone with internet.

In-person events are still better for deep relationships.

Can I make money with a virtual event?

Yes.

Most creator events make money from an all-access pass, sponsorships, affiliate offers and a backend product like a course or a membership.

Final thoughts on virtual events

A virtual event is an online gathering people sign up for, experience together and remember. For a creator, it's also the fastest way I know to grow a list, build relationships and make money at the same time.

You don't need a big audience or a big budget to start. My first event proved that to me.

If you're ready to host one, start with how to host a virtual summit, then plan your promotion with 21 online event marketing strategies. My upcoming book Virtual Summit OS teaches the full method, rebuilt so AI does most of the work.