Hosting an online summit can be quite the process when you’re just starting out. So here at Virtual Summit Search, we reached out to 3 Online Summit experts and asked them to shine the light on their first summit experience and what they learned.
Krista Miller
Q: What do you wish you’d known before creating your virtual summit?
Krista: It sounds cheesy, but the one thing I wish I’d known before creating my summit was how much of an impact it could have for my audience. I knew it was going to be a fun event and all that good stuff, but I had no idea that I’d literally be transforming businesses. I went into hosting the summit hoping to grow my list and increase my reach, but seeing the difference I made for other people was more powerful than any kind of business growth I could have asked for.
Q: What yielded the most success for your summit?
Krista: I saw the most success for my summit through creating an engaged and connected community. A lot of summits feel so cold. You sign up, get some emails, go to a few presentations, and that’s it. I created my summit with a community focus. We had a super active Facebook group and ways for attendees to ask questions to myself and the speakers. That engagement did a ton to increase sales and keep people talking about the event months after it was over.
Q: What would you do differently for your next summit?
Krista: Something I’m doing differently for my next summit is trying to put a bigger focus on diversity. When I looked at my speaker list the first time there wasn’t much of it so I’m determined to turn that around and use my platform to showcase a diverse group of speakers.
Website: www.summitinabox.co
Summit She’s Hosted: Simply Profitable Designer Summit
Bailey Richert
Q: What do you wish you’d known before creating your virtual summit?
Bailey: I started implementing a 20-minute fast action offer using Deadline Funnel into my virtual summit funnel in my second year. Wish I would’ve done it during my first summit because it works so well at increasing conversions!
Q: What yielded the most success for your summit?
Bailey: It is critical to maintain weekly communication with your speakers if you want them to promote your virtual summit. Simply asking them to do their interview then getting back in touch 3 months later when you want them to share your event won’t cut it.
Q: What would you do differently for your next summit?
Bailey: I’m always trying and testing new ways to make my virtual summits better – not just for myself, but for my speakers and viewers as well. Some ideas work better than others, but you must always be trying to grow.
Website: baileyrichert.com
Summit She’s Hosted: Infopreneur Summit
Terra Bohlmann
Q: What do you wish you’d known before creating your virtual summit?
Terra: Whether the virtual summit would be better attended if it were live vs. recorded.
Q: What yielded the most success for your summit?
Terra: I used my online summit to feature speakers, high profile guests and local influencers to build awareness to my in-person live event in Houston, Texas. I would interview the guests and at the end of every interview give an offer to invite who was watching to attend my Business Upgrade (Live) Experience Event in Houston + purchase tickets with the Summit Exclusive Promo Code.
Q: What would you do differently for your next summit?
Terra: We created marketing graphics for the guests to share to invite their own tribes to enroll in the virtual summit. I would have someone watch for their promotion efforts more + send reminders to help promote the virtual summit.
Website: TerraBohlmann.com
Summit She’s Hosted: The Business Upgrade Online Summit
