13 Do's of Planning & Hosting Virtual Summits

Hosting a virtual summit can be an incredibly rewarding experience for online business owners. It's a fantastic way to build your email list, position yourself as an authority in your niche, and create valuable content that resonates with your audience. However, planning and executing a successful virtual summit requires careful consideration and a strategic approach.

To help you navigate this exciting journey, I've compiled a list of 13 crucial Summit Hosting Do's that will significantly increase your chances of summit success! Let's dive into it below!

13 Do's of Planning & Hosting Virtual Summits:

Define Crystal-Clear Goals:

•  Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives.
•  Examples: Increase email subscribers by 20%, launch a new product/service, and solidify your industry authority.
• Read more about setting goals for your virtual summit in this post!

Craft a Compelling Theme:

•  Choose a theme that is both relevant to your niche and genuinely intriguing to your ideal audience.
•  A strong theme will attract high-quality speakers and entice attendees to participate.
• Read more about choosing a theme for your virtual summit in this post!

Know Your Ideal Attendee:

•  Develop detailed buyer personas to understand your target audience's pain points, desires, and motivations.
•  This deep understanding will guide all your marketing and content decisions.
• Read more on how to define your target audience in this blog post. 

Assemble a Stellar Speaker Lineup:

•  Invite industry leaders, thought leaders, and influencers who are both credible and engaging.
•  Aim for a diverse range of speakers to appeal to various interests within your niche.
•  Offer compelling incentives like 50% commission share on ticket referrals to attract top-tier speakers.
• Read more on how to research speakers in this blog post. 
• And then this one on speaker outreach.  

Create a High-Impact Content Schedule:

•  Develop a captivating schedule of presentations, interviews, and panel discussions.
•  Vary the format (live Q&As, workshops, demonstrations) to keep attendees engaged.
•  Release the schedule early to generate excitement and allow attendees to plan their viewing.
• Read more about how to set up your virtual event schedule in this post. 

Select the Right Summit Platform:

•  Choose a user-friendly, reliable platform that seamlessly integrates with your existing tools (e.g., email marketing).
•  Prioritize features like ease of use for both attendees and speakers, robust live chat functionality, and mobile optimization.
• Check out this post on 7 ways to host a virtual summit!

Employ a Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy:

•  Leverage a diverse range of channels: email marketing, social media campaigns, paid advertising, guest blogging, public relations, and influencer marketing.
•  Create visually compelling graphics, videos, and social media posts to capture attention.
• Read this post on how to promote your virtual summit using your own website. 

Build Anticipation and Excitement:

•  Create a sense of urgency and excitement leading up to the summit.
•  Offer early bird discounts, run engaging contests and giveaways, and provide exclusive content to early registrants.
• Read this post on using a tiered ticket model for your virtual summit. 

Provide Exceptional Attendee Support:

•  Offer clear, concise instructions and FAQs on accessing the summit, navigating the platform, and troubleshooting technical issues.
•  Be readily available to answer attendee questions during the summit.
• We suggest you have a response ready to go for all the common questions to make it easy to get attendees the information they need.

Foster Attendee Engagement Throughout:

•  Encourage interaction through live chat, Q&A sessions, and a private Facebook Group just for your attendees!
•  Host polls and surveys to gather attendee feedback and keep them actively involved.
• Post intros to your speakers and sponsors and make sure to get attendees all the information they need ahead of the event. 
• Read this post on how to make the most of your event Facebook Group.

Capture Valuable Attendee Data:

•  Collect crucial data such as email addresses, interests, and survey responses.
•  This data will be invaluable for future marketing campaigns and personalized communication.

Offer Irresistible Freebies, Bonuses & Prizes:

•  Incentivize attendance by offering a collection of freebies (in a swag bag) to registered attendees, plus exclusive bonuses to paid ticket holders.
•  Consider workbooks, checklists, templates, access to a private community, or one-on-one consultations.
• Read this post on how to use speaker provided event extras in your virtual summit. 

Nurture Relationships Post-Summit:

•  Continue to engage with attendees after the summit concludes.
•  Send follow-up emails with key takeaways, presentation recordings, and offers for your products/services.
•  Encourage attendees to connect with you on social media.