If you've been in online business for more than a couple of years, you've probably noticed the shift that's been happening recently. People are more skeptical, they need a higher level of trust before making a purchase, and they're being more selective about who they'll engage with online.
Instead of complaining about this change, I want to focus on how virtual summits can be the perfect strategy for building instant trust and authority in what's being called the "trust economy."
I brought in Anthony Obey to dive deep into this topic with me. Anthony is a direct response copywriter and digital marketing consultant who's been helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses since 2007. Today, he's sharing how virtual summits can be the perfect strategy for building instant trust and authority in this trust economy we're experiencing.
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Episode at a glance:
[1:25] Anthony shares how he and his wife started planning their first summit using Summit in a Box® in 2023, and then hosted their homeschool summit later in 2024. Despite being new to the homeschooling niche as content creators, they chose virtual summits as the perfect way to share their 13+ years of homeschooling experience with other families.
"We've been homeschooling for 13+ years, but this was going to be our first time putting something we put together as a homeschooling family wanting to share and teach other homeschooling families. And the perfect way that we thought to do that was a virtual summit. And the best program to help us fine tune strategy: Summit in a Box."
[5:00] After sharing his summit background, Anthony explains what he means by the trust economy. Trust has become the number one currency we're trading in online business today. This isn't scary if you've been building with the right foundation all along. Social proof, thought leadership, and transparency are now more critical than ever, and virtual summits naturally provide all three elements.
"The number one currency we are trading in today in online business is trust... in a trust economy, social proof is so important. So peer reviews, case studies, ratings, all of those things are very important in addition to your essential core message."
[10:00] There's a difference between being authentic and being strategically authentic. You need to strategically share mistakes or challenges that led to your solution, not just overshare personal details. This builds trust while positioning your expertise effectively.
"You need to be strategically authentic. You need to be strategically transparent about where you are, what you're dealing with, or what led you to the creation of the product or service that you're now offering."
[11:30] Virtual summits require you to be visible and share your story. From your registration page bio to video introductions, you have multiple opportunities throughout the summit process to build trust through personal connection and social proof.
[13:00] Before thinking about your product or service, identify your core values, personality, and what drives you. This helps you build a business that energizes you rather than drains you, and attracts people who are aligned with what matters most to you.
"You have an opportunity at the beginning to build the type of business that you really love yourself, one that energizes you. So you don't want to build your business by attracting people who are misaligned with core values."
[17:50] You can incorporate your values into your summit even if they don't directly relate to your main topic. This creates deeper trust and community safety for your aligned audience members.
[21:00] Start with the end goal and work backwards. Identify the three main pain points your audience faces, then create topics that help remove barriers without cannibalizing what you're trying to sell on the backend. Focus on the beginning stages since most people will be beginners.
"Think about topics that complement what you're selling and not competing or cannibalizing what you're trying to offer on the back end."
[25:00] You can provide massive value by explaining why you do things the way you do, rather than giving away all the step-by-step how-to content. This builds trust and positions your expertise while preserving the value of your paid offerings.
"That's such a big part of selling is talking about why you do things the way you do, instead of just talking about, okay, now here, take this step, this step in this step."
About Anthony Obey
Anthony is a world-class Sales Conversion Copywriter and Digital Marketing Consultant with a proven track record of success since 2007.
Having consulted with and created top-to-bottom launch campaigns and evergreen sales funnels for hundreds of companies worldwide, Anthony and his wife, Crystal, offer trustworthy guidance and results-focused strategies to the clients of their business - Life and Launches.
The Obeys have recently launched a pivotal program and podcast called Homeschool Money - to help 100,000 parents self-fund their homeschooling journey. Through this course the couple aims to answer the number one question most parents ask when interested in homeschooling - how can I afford it.
Anthony and Crystal have been married for 23 years and have five children. The couple live in Dallas, Texas where they enjoy homeschooling and countless family fun activities. Lastly, seafood gumbo and Tex-Mex are two of his favorite things…ever.
Life and Launches | Time to Breakthrough Course | Homeschool Money
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