1.  Set guidelines for your event.

As with any event your organization hosts, setting a few parameters at the beginning of the planning process will be helpful to ensure you get the most from the event. For a virtual auction, make sure to consider these essential guidelines:

• Budget. How much can your organization afford to spend on a virtual auction? Online auction software for planning the event and facilitating bids is the primary expense associated with hosting your first virtual auction. Invest in a platform that can support your virtual event auctions both now and in the future to generate the most value over the long run.
• Goals. What do you want to accomplish with your virtual auction? A specific revenue target will be extremely useful for guiding your item procurement strategy. Additionally, determining engagement goals for your event, like targets for new donor acquisition or previous attendee retention, can help shape your marketing tactics.
• Timeframe. When will you host your virtual auction, and how long will it last? Unlike standalone, in-person auction events, virtual auctions typically occur over a span of several days to up to two weeks. This gives bidders plenty of time to compete for items. Determine a timeframe for your virtual event early in the planning process.

For a more thorough overview of typical guidelines to set for a complex event like an auction, check out this section of the OneCause silent auction planning guide. 



2. Review your toolkit and virtual strategies.

Virtual auctions are simpler to plan than traditional silent or live auctions because in-person logistics like venues and food aren’t necessary. However, virtual auctions do require an investment in technology and strategy to succeed.

Before moving forward with planning your virtual auction, take some time to review your software toolkit and virtual strategies. Do you have the tools you’ll need to host the auction and facilitate bids? Will you incorporate other virtual elements, like live-streamed programming? What virtual strategies have you already used over recent months, and are there any new ones you want to incorporate into your auction? You’ll definitely need the right tools for the job.

For online or virtual auctions, your toolkit should include these essentials:

• Online auction and mobile bidding software to host the auction, create an item catalog, and process bids and payments.
• Digital marketing software and strategies, especially email and social media to reach your supporters and promote the event.
• A database or CRM to help generate segmented contact lists and to store all of the valuable engagement data your auction generates.
• Any additional platforms you’ll need to support virtual engagement, like dedicated live-streaming software or a solid strategy for using free platforms like Instagram Live or Facebook Live.

Investing in new virtual fundraising software, including online auction software with mobile bidding capabilities, will be a necessary part of planning your first virtual auction. Remember to look for software that will work well with your other tools and will deliver long-term value for future virtual events. Check out this roundup of top platforms to start exploring the space.

3. Assemble your virtual auction team.

As mentioned above, venues, food, and other in-person logistics won’t be a concern for a virtual auction. However, any complex event (in-person and virtual alike) will be more likely to succeed when planning and management tasks are shared across a team. For your virtual auction, try to recruit staff and volunteers to serve these crucial roles:

• Auction chair(s) to lead the process and coordinate teams.
• Procurement team to find and secure items for the auction.
• Marketing and tech team to promote the event, create your digital materials, and ensure everything’s working smoothly.
• An emcee to host any live-streamed elements and keep bidders engaged.
• Ambassadors, if applicable, to promote your auction to their own networks of friends and family.

Sharing the workload helps to streamline the entire virtual planning process. Regardless of the exact size of your team or organization, it’s still a good idea to clearly assign tasks to specific individuals. Virtual auctions have a lot of moving parts, so take an organized approach.

4. Begin procuring and pricing auction items.

When it comes to item procurement for any type of charity auction, we have three key pieces of advice:

1. Get started early. Building a strong catalog of auction items takes time, and your items are ultimately what will drive your event’s success. Give yourself and your procurement team plenty of time to procure items, ideally several months.
2. Be strategic. Focus your item procurement efforts around what you know your donors will be interested in. This is especially important for virtual auctions, where keeping your bidders’ attention will be critical since they can’t physically see or explore the items. Think about your average event attendee. How old are they? What’s their budget for bidding? Use these insights to shape your strategy.
3. Leverage relationships. In today’s environment, procuring auction items can take a bit more work. Use your board, staff, and key volunteers to identify businesses that have or currently do support your mission or that might be interested in contributing. Lean on your relationships (corporate and personal) to help you build your virtual auction.

Additionally, your revenue goals for the event should help determine which items to procure. Every virtual auction should have at least one big-ticket, main attraction item (whatever that may be for your particular audience), but your revenue goal will also shape the number of other supplementary items you offer at different price ranges.

As your virtual auction item catalog comes together, you’ll also need to put plenty of thought into how you price each item. Start by determining a fair market value, and then set a minimum bid amount at around 30-50% of that base value. Check out this guide to pricing auction items for a complete breakdown of best practices.

5.  Develop an event marketing strategy.

To promote your virtual auction, you’ll need a dedicated website, online item catalog, and registration page to anchor your strategy. Effective auction software should include tools that allow you to easily set up your event’s site.

Then, develop a marketing strategy to spread the word about your virtual auction and point your audience towards your registration page. A multichannel campaign across your various marketing outlets will be the most effective approach. Pay particular attention to these two channels:

• Social media. Promoting your auction on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will be crucial for reaching your followers and expanding your audience. If you’ve recruited ambassadors to help promote your virtual event, empower them with plenty of pre-made content and templates for social media posts. Just be sure to avoid common social media mistakes!
• Email. Use email to blast general announcements and invitations to your broad base of support. Then, as the virtual auction approaches, take a more segmented approach. Tailor your messages to different groups, including past event attendees, new supporters, and longtime donors. Send teasers and reminders to your auction’s early registrants to keep the event on their minds, as well.

When promoting a virtual event, lean into the digital aspect! Video content can be an extremely effective way to promote an online event, and it gives your ambassadors and followers great content to repost and show their own friends. If you have footage from previous in-person or virtual events, create a preview video to show supporters what they’ll miss by not registering.



6. Encourage early engagement for your auction.

Getting your supporters engaged with your auction in advance will help drive stronger results overall. Your marketing strategy should encourage early engagement whenever possible.

Securing registrations for your virtual auction is the primary goal. Once attendees have registered in advance, you can keep them excited for the auction and boost their engagement leading up to the big day, resulting in higher attendance and revenue. Consider these strategies:

• Offer early-bird perks for registrants, like early bidding access or free raffle tickets.
• Leverage your item catalog as a marketing tool, sharing sneak peeks of your top items.
• Recruit ambassadors to secure more registrants online and incentivize them with rewards and recognition during the event.
• Promote your mobile bidding tools, explain how the bidding process will work, and encourage registrants to pre-register their payment information.

Securing registrants for your auction and keeping them engaged before the auction is key, but think of ways you might boost pre-revenue, too.

Depending on whether your virtual event is ticketed, you may offer early registrants a discount to boost registrations overall. If a supporter declines your invitation, ask for a donation instead. Offer fixed-price add-ons, like raffle tickets. Get creative and brainstorm ways to both boost excitement and revenue around your virtual auction.



7. Doublecheck your plans and host your auction.

As your virtual auction approaches, doing a test run is a must. This is an important step for any type of virtual fundraising event that you’ve invested time and resources in planning.

If you’re using new tools, like auction software or live-streaming platforms, conduct one or more dress rehearsals before the auction officially starts to work out any logistical or technological challenges. For live-streamed programs, have a clear schedule of events to follow and make sure your emcee is prepared to actively keep up the energy and maintain a steady flow.

We recommend thoroughly testing the guest experience by recruiting staff members and volunteers to walk through the entire process of registering, exploring your item catalog, and placing bids and then sharing thoughts about the experience. For the most useful feedback, these testers should be coming into the process relatively blind, without having played a role in planning or developing the virtual auction.

Check out this complete guide to virtual fundraising events for more guidance around preparing and hosting a complex, tech-heavy event like a virtual auction.

Once your plans are finalized and all your tools are in working order, host your auction!

Although virtual auctions might be a brand new undertaking for your organization, a comprehensive planning process will significantly boost your likelihood of success. This is more important now than ever, as nonprofits of all sizes have to ensure a positive return in terms of both revenue and donor engagement while simultaneously venturing into uncharted waters.

By giving your team plenty of time to set guidelines, build a toolkit, procure items, and fit them all together into an engaging event, you’ll be raising more online in no time. Best of luck!