Hosting a virtual summit is the easy part, the harder part is making sure that your summit is profitable.
That is why in today’s episode, we are chatting all about the 5 key elements to a profitable virtual summit.
We have hosted over 6 summits between the two of us, and have helped countless others do the same. So we know the common threads of what make a summit profitable or a complete dud!
Key Element #1: Have a niche focus
It is extremely important to hone in on a specific group of people for your summit. You want to avoid a super broad topic.
For example, take Jenny’s upcoming summit – The Profitable Podcast Summit.
She isn’t just targeting podcasters, which would be too broad.
She is targeting podcasters who want to use their podcast to make money.
You could even go more niche than that if you want.
Ways to niche down:
- A specific group of people – like wedding photographers
- A specific aspect of topic – like lighting for photographers
Sure you could go more broad, and you might gain a lot of traction. BUT would all of the attendees be your target audience? Probably not.
Key Element #2: Give yourself enough planning time
This is a NON-NEGOTIABLE when it comes to summit planning.
We cover this question in-depth in Episode 3: How Long Does It Take to a Plan a Virtual Summit? So go check it out!
Key Element #3: Pick the right speakers
You do not want to pick speakers who won’t be a good fit for your audience or pick speakers just for their email list size.
We recommend you sit down and plan what topics you would like to cover in your summit and then find speakers to cover those. Not the other way around.
The key here though is to not try and force a speaker to “fit” a certain topic.
You want speakers who have a good relationship with their audience. That is more important than someone who has a 10,000 email list with little to no engagement.
Key Element #4: Have a good offer
This is an area that we have been actively working to improve with each and every summit and we have learned a lot in this area.
Remember the free part of your summit is still an offer. So you don’t want to skimp on what is include in the free version of your event.
This is an element that might take you a few times to get right. Each summit we’ve made changes based on audience feedback and what best aligns with our values.
Your paid offering needs to be stacked with value.
We approach it as “how can we add even MORE value”?
Some new things we added for our past summit included:
- A 2021 Goal Planning Session
- Hot Seats with Jenny and Lindsey
- VIP Day Giveaways
The options are pretty much limitless here, so get creative and value stack!
Key Element #5: Have good follow up with attendees
You want to make sure that you continuously engage with your attendees leading up to the summit, receiving just a confirmation email is not enough!
This will help keep excitement up for the event.
This is a part that we have dropped the ball in the past. It is probably the easiest place to slack and not do, but that would be a monumental mistake.
If you are not building rapport, if they’re not getting reminders about the summit, they are not going to show up, and they aren’t going to upgrade.
While it is important to make profit from your event, it isn’t the only goal.
Remember that each attendee is a real person and not just a number.
Remember that selling is serving (a saying we heard first from Anna Frandsen) and that you want to create a relationship so you can sell to them in the future and not miss out on those opportunities.
Because if you have a product/service/program/etc. that could significantly help someone, you are doing a disservice by not offering it.
So while making a profit directly from the summit is important, your goal should be engaging and nurturing your audience for the long haul.
So tell us, what was the key element that contributed to your profitable virtual summit?
Resources Mentioned
- Take our fun quiz “Is hosting a virtual summit right for you?” to discover is a summit should be in your future!
- Download our free Summit Planning Blueprint to learn more about our signature 5P Summit Planning Framework™ today.
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