299: Organize a Virtual Summit for Instant Traffic, Credibility, Subscribers and Sales with Tom Morkes

Tom Morkes and his company Insurgent Media specialize in virtual summits, affiliate marketing, and book launches.

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A virtual summit is a virtual online event where 10 to 30 subject matter experts each present in their sub-area of expertise with you as the organizer. This is a fantastic way to build a list, get credibility, and network with your peers. He walks us through his entire 4-6 month process in 5-6 phases that he plans with clients:

strategy/planning: 1 month (two half-hour calls)
research/recruitment: celebrities, leaders, popular/interesting topics (14 days for research, 2 months for recruitment)
trust building: start conversations
pre open-cart / pre-promotion: 2 weeks
summit: 1-2 weeks

Tom also discusses upsell opportunities. For example, summits are not very evergreen and tend to contain specific, cutting-edge information, while a membership site (which you can have as an upsell) contains evergreen information. You can also have a lot of fun with your summit and offer it for free, but later charge for replays and shownotes.