5 Online Summit Mistakes To Avoid

Hosting an online summit can bring massive growth for your business. It's an opportunity to bring in thousands of new leads, make tens of thousands in sales, and position yourself as an expert for both your audience and others in your industry.

However, we’ve all seen summits that didn’t feel quite right. Maybe you watched the first presentation and weren’t interested after that. Or maybe there was so much pitching involved that you felt gross and didn't want to be a part of what was going on afterwards.

We want to make sure that your online summit leaves your attendees excited and feeling like they’ve made progress towards their big goals. We also want your speakers to feel that they’ve been a part of something great. So today, we’ll go over 5 online summit mistakes to avoid.

Mistake #1: Doing too much

The first big mistake I see from first-time summit hosts is committing to too much on the first try.

There are powerful strategies you can use to get the most out of your summit, but summits are a big enough event to host on their own without trying to add new bits and pieces when you’ve never done it before.

So your first time, keep it as simple as possible and be prepared ahead of time.

Anything you can get done early, have it done so that you can put your attention on things that come up during the week of your summit.

Mistake #2: Choosing the wrong speakers

The next big mistake is choosing the wrong speakers. When it comes to the speakers for your summit, the quality of content is far more important than the size of their email list.

You don't want to choose your speakers based just on the size of their list or choose people that you know don’t necessarily have the best content.

A lot of summit hosts will choose the most popular people they know just for their audience size but what you don’t realize is that a lot of those big name influencers won’t even be willing to share with their audience, meaning that the size of their list isn't all that useful to you.

So when you reach out to speakers, choose people who you know have amazing high-value content to share and won’t just come to pitch to your audience. The more value they include in their presentation, the more excited and engaged your attendees will be. And the more return you’ll get out of your event.

Mistake #3: Overdoing the pitch

The next mistake to avoid is overdoing your pitch. If you are selling anything through your summit, it’s important to get it in front of the attendees as much as possible, but you don’t want them to feel like it’s one big pitch fest.

You can include information about what you're selling in your emails and Facebook posts each day, but make sure it’s more focused on content and your audience making progress towards their goals.

If you do this and your audience is getting value, they’ll naturally be more inclined to purchase whatever you have to offer them. 

Mistake #4: Webinar-like presentations

The next mistake to avoid is presentations that are more like webinars, rather than training.

The common webinar includes 30-45 minutes of content that doesn’t really teach your audience anything. Instead, it helps them realize they’re missing something and then pitches an offer to fill that gap.

We don’t want that for your summit presentations.

Instead, we want your attendees to walk away feeling that they’ve learned something that they can implement right away. Make sure this is clear to your speakers upfront and that you're pitching speakers who you know will deliver the value your audience is looking for.

Mistake #5: Missing the engagement factor

And the last mistake we’ll talk about today is missing the engagement factor in your summit. The more engaged your speakers and attendees are, the more return you’re going to see.

You’ll have more people sharing an event that they’re excited for, which will lead to more sign-ups. And, as you know, more sign-ups will lead to more sales.

Encourage engagement through live videos, starting conversations in your Facebook group, and offering prizes to those who are engaged in your community.

Are you ready to host an online summit?

An online summit can be an amazing thing for your business when it’s done right. If you avoid these 5 mistakes, you are on a path to hosting an event your audience will talk about for months to come.

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