It's frustrating to have an offer that you know is amazing that's struggling to take off.

That's what today's guest, Heather Levin, was experiencing prior to hosting her first summit. She had an amazing niche, a great membership, but nothing she was doing got it to take off the way she knew it could.

The good news is that her first summit completely changed that.

Tune in to this episode to hear what made Heather decide to go for it with her first summit, what the experience was like, and how it completely transformed her business.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/278

Customer service is a part of summit hosting that most look at as a "necessary evil". It can be hard to read a piece of feedback, detach yourself from what's being said, and keep emotions even while crafting a response.

In this episode, Margaux Fraise is here to share how her extensive experience in retail prepared her to handle summit customer service in a way we can all learn from!

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/277

I always love a good behind-the-scenes look at what other business owners are doing so today I'm sharing some fun details about our recent launch of Challenges That Make Bank!

In this episode I'll share what made me go with a beta offer for the first time, why I launched with a webinar, the biggest "oops" moments we had in the launch, final results, and more.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/268

After months of planning, it's finally here! Join Kate and I as we take you behind the scenes of what our live summit week looked like.

We'll cover what went on each day, what each of us were focused on, and what happened when my team had to run everything without me.

For show notes and resources, head to: https://summithosthangout.com/175

This week's episode is taking you behind the scenes of what the week before our summit looked like.

I'll share the finishing touches that were happening, how encouraging speakers was a main focus, an what our numbers look like.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/174

In this week's episode, I'm sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the first week of speaker promotion. Overall, I finally started feeling better about the event this week and found that making a few small changes (and looking at the correct numbers in Google Analytics) made a big difference!

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/173

My summit registration is open and while the numbers aren't bad, they aren't what I was hoping for.

In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly what my numbers are looking like and how I'm focusing on solutions over problems and data over drama. (Not that I didn't take a day to sulk about it.)

For show notes and resources, head to https://summithosthangout.com/172.

No matter how many times you've hosted your virtual summit, you NEED to test. There is so much room for small details to be missed and it's simply not worth the risk.

In this week's behind-the-scenes episode, I'm sharing how I tested my summit, the issues I found, how collecting presentations is going, and more.

For snow notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/171.

Registration for my next virtual summit is drawing near, which means I've had a heavy focus on organizing and incorporating my sponsor activations.

In this episode we'll cover how I'm keeping my sponsorship activations organized and how the process is going, finalizing my speaker lineup, speaker communication, and some final website updates.

https://summithosthangout.com/170

You've got the perfect speaker lineup and you're ready for your summit to happen...but...then someone drops out. Now what? In this behind-the-scenes episode, I'll share my favorite ways to fill a spot that opens in your summit schedule, whether it's a month out or a few days out from your event. We'll also touch on sending speaker update emails as well as conducting interviews.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/169

I’m excited to announce today that my team and I have been hard at work preparing to open up the doors to a brand new program very soon. It will give you access to the entire Summit in a Box System, along with high-touch support on a level we’ve never offered before.

In addition, we're hosting a private training on April 26 (replay will be available for those of you listening after the fact) that will cover our 3 part framework for replacing your slow-growth marketing with a virtual summit that leads into your biggest course launch yet and sets you up for even more post-summit profits in the months that follow.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/accelerator

You've got your speakers and you know their topics. Now it's time to put it all together in a way that makes sense and provides the smoothest possible transformation for attendees.

In this behind-the-scenes episode, you'll hear about the process I used to take my group of 35 speakers and put together a meaningful event schedule.

In addition, I'll share an update on sponsorships and speakers, how I'm handling affiliates, and some smaller tasks I tackled.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/168

Remember how last week I said that I wasn't going to pursue summit sponsorships?

Well, in this week's episode, I'm talking through how I onboarded $8k in sponsorships with two more potential sponsors in the pipeline.

We'll walk through how each of the 4 sponsors came to be, what the onboarding process looked like, and more.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/167

I've talked a lot about how great my team is over the years and today you get to meet some of them for yourselves!

I brought all of my employees on to share what they do at Team SIAB, what they do outside of it, their favorite parts of working here, how we work so well together, and more.

I know you'll love hearing from Elli, Kate, and Mel!

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/267

In this week's behind the scenes episode, we're covering my speaker pitching process.

While a lot of hosts send all of their pitches at once, I like to sort speakers into several rounds to increase the likelihood of anyone I don't know well feeling comfortable enough to say "yes".

In this episode we'll also cover some final tasks I completed before pitching and what my payment plan stats looked like for last year's all-access pass.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/166

After you decide who you want to invite to speak at your summit, you can go ahead and pitch them, right?

Technically, you could. But to give them a great experience, look like you have your act together, and answer questions before they even come up, there's more work to do before the pitch emails go out.

In this episode, I'm sharing a behind the scenes look at what all I did in preparation for pitching summit speakers.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/165

Deciding who to pitch for your summit can either be super easy or a fairly complex process. But going the extra mile will very likely have a positive impact on your summit results.

In this episode, I'll walk you through my full 7-step process to go from a blank spreadsheet to deciding exactly who to pitch for my event. It's not easy, but it's worth it!

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/164

We're 163 episodes into this podcast and I think it's time that we try something a little different.

Instead of throwing a bunch of strategy at you, in this new series I'm going to take you along with me as I plan and host my next virtual summit.

In this first episode, we'll cover the background of my event, initial project planning, how partners were involved (and then not), goal setting, and some fun changes I'm planning to make this time around.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/163

We're all used to seeing virtual summits hosted in a specific way. The structure of the event, the way affiliate payouts work, presentation structure, and more tend to be the same.

But what if those go-to strategies aren't quite right for your audience?

In this podcast episode, Tenae Stewart is joining us to share about her incredibly successful Empowered Modern Witches Summit. In it, she changed up everything from free-access length, all-access pass pricing, speaker earnings, and more. This is an episode you don't want to miss.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/161

You've heard about the power of niching down for a virtual summit, but this summit host took it even further and found an unserved sub-niche within an already specific audience.

In this episode, you'll hear how Samantha Radford found an underserved part of a niche audience, hosted an incredibly helpful and impactful event for them, and saw higher conversion rates because of it.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/161

If you've ever doubted that B2C summits can work and make an impact, this episode is for you.

Today, we're talking with Brandi Mahon about her Card Maker Success Summit, which not only changed her life and business, but her entire industry.

In this episode, we'll dive into details around Brandi's summit, how she worked with speakers who weren't used to summits and didn't have email lists, how she landed sponsors, and how her entire industry is changing as a result of her event.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/160

The more shareable a virtual summit is, the better. Sure, you want your speakers and affiliates to be excited to share, but what if your attendees can't help but show off what they're learning and doing during your event?

To start a new series featuring B2C summits, Anastasia Sharova is here to talk about her Food as Medicine summit.

In this episode, Anastasia shared why she went with the live event format, the 3 types of sessions the event had and how the attendees liked them, what made her event super shareable, and the potential she sees for other B2C summits.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/159

Having connections to reach out to when summit planning is enough to make the entire process flow more smoothly, specifically when it comes to creating your speaker lineup.

It is totally possible to create a lineup of speakers without it feeling transactional, forced, or awkward. To break down a step-by-step system that you can maintain in 5-minutes a day is Michelle Warner, the creator of Networking That Pays.

In this episode, we'll cover why traditional networking feels gross, how it is for far more than landing new clients, what her 4-step system looks like, and more. For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/158

Today we're wrapping up our virtual summit tech series with a rapid-fire Q&A episode.

We'll cover things like what to do with your registration page once the summit starts, what to do with your domain if you run multiple summits, how to make fillable worksheets for all-access pass holders, and more.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/157

In this episode, I'm taking you behind the scenes of how my team has evolved over the last 8 years.

You'll hear about nearly every hire I've made (the good and the bad), the reasoning behind the hires, and the biggest lessons I've learned while building my dream team.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/266

ThriveCart is hands-down my top recommendation for your summit's cart and affiliate management platform.

You can totally make it work with all kinds of others out there, but if it's in your budget and you're looking for something new, ThriveCart will not disappoint.

In this episode, we'll walk through why ThriveCart is a great fit for summits, keys to setting up your cart and affiliate management, and features I've used to increase my all-access pass conversion rates.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/156

Wondering how to make your all-access pass's fast-action offer expire after 15-minutes? Or how to automate a price increase?

In this episode, we'll break down tech for limited-time offers and price increases in your virtual summit.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/155

In a typical virtual summit, attendees have access to each presentation video for 24-hours. However, if they choose to upgrade to the all-access pass, that window gets extended.

But how in the world does that work?

In this episode, we'll break down how to manage 24-hour versus ongoing access to virtual summit presentations.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/154

The right tech tools have a big part to play in how easy it is to manage your speakers. Because, let's be real, trying to get material from 20+ people by a certain deadline can get a little scary.

In this episode, we'll cover the tools you need and my top recommendations for everything from your initial speaker outreach to creating presentations.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/153

Wondering how fancy your virtual summit's presentation videos really need to be? Not sure what tech to use to record and host?

In this episode, we'll chat about everything you need to know about your virtual summit videos. The good news? It's all nice and easy.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/152

You've probably seen a virtual summit offer MP3 recordings as a part of the all-access pass. The thing is, MP3s aren't easy to keep track of and listen to for most people.

In this episode, Lindsay Padilla, founder of Hello Audio, is here to talk about how offering a private podcast feed for your summit is an incredibly powerful way to make your summit easy to consume, while increasing its value.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/151

Circle is an incredible modern community platform that has been growing in popularity lately.

You've probably seen it used to host communities for memberships and courses...but have you ever considered using it to host a summit?

Today, we have Moira Cleary to share how the setup worked, the unique features of Circle she used, pros, cons, and more.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/150

Thinking of hosting a virtual summit on Kajabi? It's a great option if you're already familiar with the platform or starting from scratch, want a ton of flexibility, and prefer for all of your tools to be in one spot.

In this episode, we'll cover what it looks like to host a pre-recorded virtual summit on Kajabi, how the pieces fit together to make it easy, and tech integrations you'll need.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/149

Thinking of hosting a virtual summit on WordPress? It's a great option if you're already familiar with the platform and want a ton of flexibility for a reasonable price.

In this episode, we'll cover what it looks like to host a pre-recorded virtual summit on WordPress, how the pieces fit together, my favorite plugins for the major functionalities you need, and a few external tech integrations you'll need to have.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/148

With a big task like setting up your virtual summit's website, it's nice to know what you need before diving in. In this episode, we'll cover the must-have pages on a virtual summit website.

We'll talk about 5 must-have pages and what they are, a few that are more in the "nice to have" category, and I'll share a couple of bonus website tips.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/147

This episode kicks off a series that will give a fun behind the scenes into the way my business has evolved over the years. My hope is that it will be both interesting and inspirational from a listener standpoint!

In this episode I'm sharing the 7 stages my business has gone through over the years and what's coming next.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/265

Hosting a virtual summit is something that requires a lot of tools and software. If you're not familiar with the process, you'll find yourself running into one thing after another that you didn't realize you needed.

To make the process smooth, in this episode we'll go through an overview of the tech you need for a virtual summit.

We'll cover the major pieces of tech you need to have covered, why you need it, and I'll share my favorite tools for each.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/146

Let's wrap up our series on post-summit topics with a rapid fire Q&A.

We'll cover things like how many emails to send once your summit is over, what to have on the website, how long to wait before hosting another summit, and more.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/145

What if the 3+ months of work you put into a virtual summit didn't have to stop bringing in results once the initial event was over?

With an evergreen summit, your one-and-done event can continue running as long as you want it to. And it's easy!

In this episode, Jenn Zellers is back to share what an evergreen summit is, how to make a summit evergreen, and the most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to ongoing marketing.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/144

You ran an incredible virtual summit and have all kinds of new ideal audience members on your email list. But now what?

What you don't want to do is get to the end of your summit and realize that you don't have a plan for the new audience you've built.

Today we'll go over what not to do with your new audience, what to do if you do and don't have an offer to sell, and a way to leverage your summit community.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/143

Was your virtual summit a total flop? Maybe you didn't hit your registration goal, you made less revenue than you expected, or you're frustrated that your speakers didn't promote.

I know it's not fun to think about. You put in way too much work for it to be a total flop.

But what if you could turn it into a win instead?

There are two ways you can look at a "failed" event and we're going to cover them both and how you can move forward in today's episode.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/142

When you host a virtual summit not only are you doing a lot of work, but you're creating an extremely high-value resource that doesn't need to end once the live run of the summit does.

Instead of letting your summit become a thing of the past, repurpose the content!

There are all kinds of ways you can do it. Some nice and easy, some more complex. Today we'll break down 9 ways to repurpose your summit content.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/141

Want to host a profitable virtual summit without relying on paid ads? Whether you want to skip paid advertising altogether or layer other strategies on top of your ads, it is totally possible.

In this episode, Margaux Fraise is sharing how she brought in $20k in profit in her first virtual summit without any paid advertising by leveraging community and connection.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/140

It's easy to get caught up on the number of followers you have, your summit registration goal, and the profit you see once your event is over.

But what we often miss is the impact authenticity and connections can have in everything we do.

When it comes to a virtual summit, this can show up in how you approach speakers, how you promote, the way you connect with attendees during the event, and what results you focus on after.

In this episode, we have Mia Lauren to walk us through why authenticity matters over vanity metrics in your summit, on Instagram, and in your business as a whole.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/139

Have questions about virtual summit speakers? I've got answers for you in today's speaker-specific rapid-fire Q&A episode.

We'll cover questions like:
- Have you had speakers drop out when you send an agreement?
- How can I convince speakers if I don’t pay them?
- What do I do if a speaker asks for the full email list?
- Can I use presentations in my membership?

And a whole lot more.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/138

There's a widespread strategy where virtual summit hosts pitch speakers and, at the bottom of the email, mention that a list size of at least 5000 subscribers is required.

So the pitch goes something like, “I love what you do, I’d love for you to provide value to my audience, they’ll love you, but all of that is only true if you have 5000 people on your email list”.

You've probably already caught the direction that this episode is going to go, but today we'll break down whether you can require a certain email list size from virtual summit speakers.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/136

"Limited-time access feels like a trick."

"You send too many emails."

"All you do is sell!"

Feedback like that hurts, especially when you pay careful attention to always come from a place of serving your audience and running an ethical, values-based business.

The thing is, no matter how careful you are, you're going to get negative feedback at some point in your business journey. I've gotten my fair share and in this episode I'm breaking down how I keep it from derailing me (at least most of the time).

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/264

How many virtual summit speaking opportunities have you said "yes" to and regretted later? ...I'm definitely counting on two hands.

This happens because speakers feel obligated to say "yes" to opportunities that aren't truly a good fit. ⁠⁠Then, it turns into an obligation that you're annoyed by a few weeks later. ⁠⁠
⁠⁠
There are 5 areas to look at before saying "yes" to a speaking opportunity:⁠⁠ the host, your availability, the fit, the likelihood that you'll benefit, and your desire to participate.

⁠⁠We'll break each of those down in this episode!

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/136

It's not rare to hear virtual summit hosts complain about how little their speakers promoted.

Newsflash: The blame should never be placed on the speakers when that happens.

It's up to you as the host to make it EASY for speakers to promote. This includes both the act of promoting as well as their desire to actually do it.

The strategy for how to make promotion easy for speakers isn't simple, but it's worth the effort. In this episode, we'll cover the #1 reason speakers don't promote, how to make promotion easy for your speakers, and examples of the three summits I've gone hard with promotion for and why.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/135

Odds are, when you start pitching virtual summit speakers there's going to be a handful that you don't hear back from right away.

What should you do in that case? Follow-up? Assume they're not interested?

In this episode, we'll dive into whether you should follow-up with virtual summit speakers after pitching, when to do it and how many times, and I'll share my favorite no-pressure follow-up strategies.

For show notes, head to https://summithosthangout.com/134