Having Happy And Engaged Summit Speakers

summit speakers Oct 17, 2019

The more engaged your speakers are the better results you’ll see. Here’s how to have happy and engaged virtual summit speakers.

Your speakers are a huge part of the success of your virtual summit. As you’ll find after running your first summit, having engaged virtual summit speakers means having engaged attendees.

And, taking it a step further, the more engaged attendees are, the more signups you’ll get, the more sales you’ll make, and the bigger impact you’ll make.

With that being said, if you can't keep your speakers happy, your attendees aren’t going to have a positive experience, and your whole summit is going to suffer. So let's cover how to have happy and engaged summit speakers.

Encouraging engaged virtual summit speakers

The most powerful way to keep your speakers happy and engaged is to help them understand the true mission behind your summit.

When you reach out to potential speakers, explain why you're hosting your summit and what kind of impact you want to make. Highlight the part they'll play in making that impact.

Let them know that they are part of the difference you’ll make for your attendees. This will make them more excited to be a part of your event than they would be otherwise.

Crafting an engaging virtual summit keeps attendees and speakers having fun and coming back for more!

Give frequent updates

Keep your speakers updated throughout the entire event, especially during the promotion period.

Let them know how sales are doing, how many sign-ups you’re getting, and the reactions attendees are having.

I like to give my speakers an update every Friday where I share exact numbers, things we can improve, what's going well, and even fun quotes from excited attendees.

Doing this helps make speakers know that they're an important part of the event and not just someone being used to get extra sign-ups.

Provide helpful resources

Give your speakers absolutely everything they’ll need to do their job well. This is going to keep them happy and prevent them from getting overwhelmed.

This includes things like:

Graphics for promoting
Social media swipe copy
Email swipe copy
To-do list with due dates
Slide templates
Workbook templates

Providing these resources and presenting them in a way that makes them easy to use will cut down on the overwhelm your speakers feel once they start preparing for the summit. The easier you can make it, the better.

Show them off

Another way to keep your speakers happy is to feature them throughout the summit.

Your speakers are a great way to increase how many people you reach, but they should be able to benefit from that audience as well.

To show off your speakers, feature them on your website. I like to feature my speakers on the Registration page, the Presentation Page, and a separate Speaker page.

You can also feature them on your social media platforms. For example, you could talk about one speaker per day on Instagram along with a little information about them.

You can also allow speakers to go live in your attendee Facebook group to introduce themselves and make connections.

Featuring your speakers will help them feel like they're benefiting from being a part of your summit and getting a great opportunity to get new leads.

Make sure they benefit

Along with that last point, make sure your speakers are getting something in return for their presentation.

You reach out to your speakers, expecting them to share with their audience. You expect them to deliver a value-packed presentation without a heavy pitch. For that to make sense for them, you need to make sure that they benefit in some way.

The easiest way to do this is to make sure that you’re reaching out to speakers who can benefit from your summit's audience. Choose speakers who have a similar niche so they can get in front of people who might buy from them.

Other ways your speakers can benefit through your summit will depend on their experience. You don’t necessarily have to pay speakers, but influencers or people in certain industries might expect it. If you reach out and pitch somebody without offering payment, make sure you have a plan of what you’ll do if they request it.

Many speakers will be happy to take part in your summit in return for affiliate commissions and a way to grow their list. More experienced speakers may want a payment.

For my past summits, I've given my speakers anywhere from 40% to 60% affiliate commissions. (If you want to learn more about working with affiliates for your summit, take a look at Zoe Linda's free affiliate program checklist here.)

I also give my speakers the email list of anyone who signs up for the workbook for their presentation and let them share a freebie at the end of their presentation.

The more your summit benefits each speaker’s business, the more likely you are to get a ‘yes’ from that person and keep them happy throughout the process.

Engaged virtual summit speakers are key

Your speakers are a huge part of your summit and have a big part to play in the level of success you’ll see. But remember, it's not all about you and your success. It's about the success of your speakers and your attendees as well.

The happier and more engaged your speakers are, the better return they’ll see and the better experience your audience is going to have.

Resources

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