The Summit Host Hangout Podcast

Hundreds of episodes filled with real stories, real strategies, and real numbers to help you make your virtual summit (and the launch that follows) as streamlined and profitable as possible.
Get a curated playlist of episodes here!

How to Be a Good Virtual Summit Speaker

Adding speaking to your visibility plan? Here’s what to avoid as a summit speaker, what summit hosts really want, and how to make the process easy on yourself.

So you want to get out there and be visible?  If speaking at virtual summits is part of your visibility plan, it's time to make yourself into a good virtual summit speaker.

Being a good summit speaker will ensure that hosts ask you to come back to their events, refer you to other hosts, and it will make the process easier and more beneficial for you too!

To help, let's talk about...

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Should I Share the Full Attendee List with Virtual Summit Speakers?

We all want our speakers to benefit, but how? Today, we'll break down whether or not you should share the full attendee list with virtual summit speakers.

It used to be standard for virtual summit hosts to share the full attendee list with all of the speakers. But with GDPR, all the privacy rules, and modern marketing tactics, what’s the right answer?

A Quick History of Virtual Summits

Back when summits first started it was standard to share the full attendee list with all your speakers. In fact, back then, it was the biggest reason that...

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4 Mistakes to Avoid When Pitching Virtual Summit Speakers

We all know a bad pitch when we see it, but do you feel confident in your pitches? Let’s cover 4 mistakes to avoid when pitching virtual summit speakers.

Bad speaker pitches are giving virtual summits a gross vibe. As long as bad speaker pitches keep going out, we'll have more and more people thinking poorly about virtual summits. 

We all know how amazing a summit can be!

I really want to help turn this mindset around, so let's cover the 4 mistakes to avoid when pitching virtual summit speakers and turn a "gross, heck no" into a...

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What You Need to Know About Speaker Agreements with Casey Handy-Smith

In this episode, we're chatting with Casey Handy-Smith to talk about whether you need a speaker agreement, what it should and shouldn't include, and more.

Some links in this post are affiliate links.

No one likes sending out legal documents. Especially when you've invited someone on to speak at your event, you want it to be fun and casual, and you already feel like you're asking a lot of them.

But, if you're thinking about skipping the speaker agreement for your virtual summit? Think again!

No matter how well you know your speakers or how...

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Do You *Have* to Pay Virtual Summit Speakers Affiliate Commissions?

Do I have to pay my virtual summit speakers affiliate commissions? Let’s cover whether it’s a requirement, why, and how to overcome any hurdles with it.

There are a lot of decisions to be made when it comes to your virtual summit speakers. How many should I have? Who should I pitch? What should I give them for participating?

Recently, in the Summit Host Hangout Facebook group, I was asked, "Do I have to pay my virtual summit speakers affiliate commissions?"

Today, we're going to break down the answer to that question and cover whether or not...

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4 Reasons Speakers Say "Yes" When You Pitch Them for Your Virtual Summit

Intimidated by pitching virtual summit speakers? Generally, they’re not interested in the size of your list. Here are the top reasons that speakers say yes!

When it comes time to pitch virtual summit speakers, it's easy to get in your head about how much you are (or aren't) paying them or how big (or small) your audience is. The thing is, those aren't the reasons someone will agree to participate in your summit.

Reasons we think speakers say yes

There is no way I can cover all reasons that any person on earth might say yes, but we’ll...

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How NOT to Treat Your Virtual Summit Speakers featuring Desola Davis

You wouldn’t have a summit if it weren’t for your speakers. Let’s chat about how NOT to treat your virtual summit speakers and go through an extreme example.

We spend a lot of time talking about what to do in different areas of your summit, but a recent summit I was a part of, along with my friend Desola Davis, sparked the need to look at things from a different angle.

We know that, as a host, you never want to treat your speakers poorly. But it can be tough to know what actions will encourage your speakers to participate and share about the...

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Do I Have to Pay My Virtual Summit Speakers?

Trying to decide whether or not you need to pay virtual summit speakers? Let’s cover both sides of this argument and what to do if you can’t afford it.

Trying to decide whether or not you need to pay your virtual summit speakers?

There are two opposing answers to this questions and I'm breaking down both sides in today's episode.

We'll cover what the two sides of this argument look like, my thoughts on when you do and don't have to pay, and what to do if you can't afford to pay speakers.

“You have to pay your speakers”

Let's start...

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Can I share my potential speaker list to show I’ll have a diverse virtual summit?

Have you been asked to share your speaker list, before it's final, to illustrate that you'll have a diverse virtual summit? Is it even okay to do that?

Have you been asked to share your speaker list, before it's final, to illustrate that you'll have a diverse and inclusive virtual summit? Is it even okay to do that?

Today, we'll break that down and cover:

  • a cycle you'll get into if you can't share this information
  • whether it's okay to share a list of unconfirmed speakers
  • how to do it the right way if you do
  • my story with asking a...
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How to Pitch to Speak at Virtual Summits with Michelle Lewis

Did you know there is a magic formula to craft an insanely effective summit pitch? Here’s how to pitch to speak (and get speakers) at virtual summits.Did you know there is a magic formula to craft an insanely effective virtual summit pitch? There is and Michelle Lewis is going to map it all out for us.

In addition to the magic formula to help you land more summit speaking gigs, Michelle also shares how to get around the time-sensitive nature of a virtual summit pitch and her best tip for pitching big-name speakers to be on *your*...

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