The Ultimate Guide To Virtual Summit Success
Virtual summits are, hands-down, one of my favourite way to grow and connect with my audience. I love the sense of occassion and excitement, but also that events are a genuinely valuable experience for everyone involved. They position you as an expert and thought leader, your guest experts as trusted colleagues and your attendees get engaging experiences that really stick with them.
This complete guide will walk you through the ins and outs of planning, hosting and pulling off a successful virtual summit.
Understanding Virtual Summits
Before we dive into the details of planning and hosting your own event, let's understand what virtual summits are. A virtual summit is an online event that typically spans 3-5 days, usually with free access for anyone who signs up in exchange for their email.
Unlike webinars or online courses that often have just one session, virtual summits provide a deeper experience, usually around a core topic or industry, with multiple presentations, and potentially other interactive elements such as panel discussions, workshops, and chances to network, all happening online.
Key Benefits of Hosting Virtual Summits
For business owners and entrepreneurs who want to reach more people, get leads, and build their authority, virtual events like summits offer great benefits like:
Audience growth: In exchange for featuring your guest experts, summit hosts often ask them to promote the event with the goal of getting as many attendees to the summit as possible. This also means you, as the summit host, get to add all of those people to your email list!
Visibility: Hosting a virtual summit is a fantastic way to get your business known in your niche and builds quick trust with your audience.
Income generation: Whether you decide to monetize the event itself with sponsorships, upgrade passes or paid tickets or simply use your event to prime for your next launch, virtual summits can be a great money making activity for your business.
Way more affordable than hosting an in-person conference or retreat, virtual summits are still fantastic opportunities to grow your business and connect more deeply with peers and potential clients alike.
A Beginner's Guide to Launching a Virtual Summit
Preparing for Your Virtual Summit
A successful virtual summit needs careful planning. I always recommend starting by identifying your key goals or “why” for hosting this event now. Your “why” could be:
Generating more leads for your business
Nurturing your existing audience
Priming a launch or big sale
Experimenting with new topics & niches
Earning a certain amount of money with the summit itself
Start by identifying your target audience, summit goals, and key performance indicators (KPIs). This will help you make decisions during the planning.
Then, create a realistic timeline for each step. This includes contacting speakers, gathering and setting up your summit content and marketing.
A clear timeline helps everything run smoothly and keeps you organized. Depending on the size and scale of your virtual summit, I’d recommend planning for 4-6 months lead time for your first summit to avoid feeling rushed and scrambling last minute.
Essential Tools and Equipment Needed
To ensure a seamless virtual conference experience for both you and your attendees, it's essential to have the right tools and equipment at your disposal. Here's a rundown of the essentials
Virtual event platform - The backbone of your summit, providing features for hosting live session streams, managing registrations, and facilitating interactions. This might be your course platform, website or a dedicated summit hosting platform.
Email marketing service - Essential for promoting your summit, sending reminders, and nurturing leads.
(Optional) Video conferencing tool - For hosting live Q&A sessions, speaker rehearsals, and team meetings.
(Optional) Community hosting platform - For your summit attendees and speakers to connect and engage throughout the event.
Beyond the digital tools, you may want to invest in a reliable microphone and webcam for high-quality audio and video for your live or pre-recorded sessions.
Engaging Speakers and Partners
The success of your virtual conference depends a lot on the speakers you choose. Look for well-known, and well-liked experts in your industry who can give helpful insights and connect with your audience. However, you don’t want to pitch people purely because of their email list size!
Make sure your speakers are genuinely a good fit to talk on your summit topic, and ideally come from a range of backgrounds to keep your line up diverse and interesting.
Once you have your Pitch List ready, it’s time to send out personal invitations to your dream speakers. I like to send bespoke messages to each person, highlighting why I thought of them specifically and what I’d like each person to speak on. This helps lighten the burden of coming up with what to say for them, and often leads to an easier yes!
You may also want to open up applications for your virtual summit if you aren’t able to find enough people in your own network to pitch. (I don’t recommend opening public applications if you can avoid it, but sometimes it’s necessary if you’re newer to your niche.) Once you have your application set up, spend a good amount of time sharing it everywhere you can to get enough applicants in to choose from.
After you have your speakers lined up, keeping in touch with them is key!
Offer clear instructions and support from preparing their content to offering to doing technical rehearsals if needed. This people management part of the process can be tricky but can honestly make or break your summit experience, so don’t underestimate it!
Once you’ve mapped out your summit goals, timeline and tech it’s time to start thinking about launching your virtual summit!
Marketing Your Virtual Summit
No matter how great your summit content is, it won’t help if no one knows about it! You need a strong marketing plan to get more attendees signed up and to create excitement for your event.
Spend 2-3 weeks ahead of the summit dedicated to promoting your event everywhere you normally show up online, from your email list and social media to your podcast, YouTube and any other public spaces you’re allowed to promote in.
You’ll also want to encourage your speakers to promote the event as well, even if you aren’t requiring promotion as part of your agreement with them. Make your summit easy to share with eye-catching graphics, done-for-you promotional email and social media caption swipe copy, and you may even want to offer to create custom promotional materials if it will help bigger names promote your event
Conclusion
Virtual summits are one of the best ways to grow your audience, build trust and visibility for your brand and create long-term relationships with peers in your industry. It can be a lot to take on, but if you set clear goals for your event and keep your summit strategically simple, it can be more than manageable for a small team or solopreneur to pull off!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Should a Virtual Summit Last?
The best length for a virtual event, like a summit, depends on things like your content, audience, and goals. Usually, successful virtual summits run for 2 to 5 days. This time allows you to share plenty of valuable content in a live session format while also being mindful of the attendees' available time.
What is a virtual summit and how does it differ from a physical conference?
A virtual summit is an online event where industry experts share their knowledge through webinars, interviews, and presentations. It differs from a physical conference by eliminating geographical barriers, enabling global participation, reducing costs, and offering on-demand access to content post-event.
Does a virtual summit really help you grow your email list?
Yes, hosting a virtual summit can significantly help grow your email list! By offering valuable content and extra incentives to registrants, you can attract more sign-ups and capture leads effectively. Leveraging the reach of your speakers and promoting your summit well can also enhance email list growth. Remember to nurture these new leads post-summit for continued engagement and conversion opportunities.
How can I increase my virtual summit registration conversions?
Increasing your virtual summit registration conversions can be achieved through various strategies. Firstly, ensure your landing page is compelling and clearly communicates the value attendees will receive. Offer early bird discounts or bonuses to incentivize quick sign-ups. Utilize social proof by showcasing testimonials or endorsements from past participants. Collaborate with speakers to promote the event to their followers and networks. Implement targeted email campaigns and retargeting ads to reach potential registrants effectively. Lastly, make the registration process seamless and user-friendly to reduce drop-offs.
