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. 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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkLBEckHsB0 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. Quotes:                                                                                                                                    “The nature of a summit is that it's live to some degree. It's exciting because it's happening now, so it's cutting-edge material.” – Tom Morkes “There has to be congruence across everything you do. There has to be a purpose behind it.” – Tom Morkes “Summits that work best are selling something beyond just content—some kind of service, software, experience—not just ‘here’s more content.” – Tom Morkes Takeaways: 01:55 Virtual summits are powerful lead generation tools that offer free, high-quality education to potential customers. 12:42 Successful marketing campaigns focus on solving specific problems within a narrow, well-defined niche. 27:16 The most effective summit upsells are services or experiences, not additional content. 25:50 Virtual summits work best as time-sensitive, live events that create excitement and urgency. 29:46 Selling more content after a free content-rich summit is challenging and often ineffective.