If you've posted steadily for a year and still can't say where next month's clients will come from, your content isn't the only thing to blame. Random content builds slowly, and most of the people who see it already follow you.
A virtual summit builds authority and qualified leads faster than random content because it fits months of visibility into one focused event. Other experts bring their audiences to you, and every registrant opts in on the topic you want to be known for. A follow-up you planned in advance then gives those people a clear next step while they're still paying attention.
I'm writing this for coaches, therapists, healing practitioners and other experts who are good at the work but still get clients in bursts. I'll cover why summits move faster, what that looked like when Jennie and I did it, and what you need in place so the speed turns into booked calls.
Key Takeaways
- Choose a summit topic that sits right next to your paid offer, so the people who register are likely to need what you sell.
- Invite speakers who serve the same audience and give each one a tracked promoter link, because their audiences bring in most of your new people.
- Write your offer and your follow-up emails before the summit opens. Registrants cool off fast once it ends.
- Expect to keep using the content: one summit's sessions can feed posts, emails and podcast episodes for months.
- If you're a therapist or practitioner, keep your sessions educational and check your licensing board's advertising rules before you promote.
Why Random Content Rarely Turns Into Booked Calls
A typical post lives in the feed for a day or two. The people who see it mostly follow you already, nobody hands over an email address to read it, and there's no reason to act this week. The algorithm decides who sees it.
So you post again. Some weeks a message comes in. Most weeks nothing happens, and you can't tell which post (if any) brought in the client who did book.
That's why so many experienced coaches get clients in bursts and then go quiet. The content can be excellent. It still doesn't reach new people, collect contact details or give anyone a deadline.
Four Things a Summit Does That a Post Can't
Other Experts Bring Their Audiences to You
Each speaker shares the summit with their own list and followers. That puts you in front of people who've never heard of you, and someone they already trust introduces you. More than 5,000 people on the EventRaptor list came from other speakers promoting our summits. We'd have struggled to reach those people any other way.
The speaker relationships also last after the event. You now know peers you'd never have had a reason to contact, and some will invite you onto their own stages.
Hosting Puts You at the Front of the Room
You picked the topic, chose the experts and led the conversation. When people see your name as host beside respected peers, some of the trust they give those peers passes to you. A carousel post can't do that.
Every Registrant Has Told You What They Care About
Someone who signs up for a summit on rebuilding confidence after a career change has told you what's on their mind. That tells you far more than a like does. They're on your list, tagged by event, so you can follow up on the exact problem that brought them in.
A Summit Has a Start Date
A post can be read any time, so nobody hurries. A summit opens and closes, which gives people a reason to register now. Sessions are usually open for the whole day, so busy people can watch before work, at lunch or after the kids are in bed. That makes it easier for registrants to actually see you teach.
| Random content | A virtual summit | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sees it | Mostly your current followers | Your followers plus every speaker's audience |
| What you capture | Likes and the odd message | Names and emails, tagged by event |
| Reason to act now | None | Fixed open and close dates |
| How trust builds | Slowly, one post at a time | Quickly, as host next to respected peers |
| What's left afterwards | Posts that stop showing up | A list, speaker relationships and recordings to repurpose |
If you'd like a fuller picture of the format first, here's what a virtual summit is and how coaches use one.
What It Looked Like When Jennie and I Did It
I left my job on July 6, 2020, to start a coaching business. I had no list to speak of, no connections and a six-week course priced at $497. My first summit opened on August 31, 2020, with 27 speakers over four days. My list grew from about 100 people to 750, and I sold four places on the course plus $3,500 in VIP tickets. That came to about $5,500, eight weeks into a brand-new business.
My second summit, in January 2021, had 37 speakers. More than half of them approached me. It added 863 people to my list, and the three-day event it promoted took more than $30,000 in orders for my group coaching.
Own Your Stage, in February 2022, was the first summit Jennie and I ran on EventRaptor. It took about 20 hours of admin and drew about 600 registrations, which added 466 new people to our list. It brought in more than $24,000 in sales within two weeks, and more than $50,000 by February 2024 as new registrants kept buying.
One client story: Lucy Bedewi, a personality-driven copywriter, hosted the Out-Earn Your Man summit in September 2021, and we produced it for her. Her list grew from 25 people to 825. She booked 4 discovery calls right after she presented, and all 4 became clients. Her talk brought in $10K in sales. These are individual results, Lucy's and our own. They don't predict what another host will get.
I've also had a summit go badly. I was too exhausted to put a proper offer together. Speakers and attendees loved it, and it added 476 new people to our list, but it made only about $1,800 during the event. The summit brought the people in. Without an offer and a plan for following up, very few of them bought anything during the event.
Speed Only Pays Off When Your Follow-Up Is Ready
Once EventRaptor made summits easy to run, I noticed a pattern. Customers would add hundreds of people to their list and turn few or none of them into clients, because they had no follow-up process. In my experience, a good follow-up process might turn 10 to 15% of registrants and attendees into clients. That's an observation, not a promise. Either way, "build it and they will come" is a myth.
Before the summit opens, make sure you have:
- One clear offer that matches the summit topic
- Welcome and reminder emails timed to the event
- A post-summit email sequence that invites people to a call
- A booking calendar connected to your CRM
- Tags that separate VIPs, free registrants and each promoter's people
For the emails themselves, this guide to turning every guest appearance into a follow-up system works just as well for a summit you host.
A Note for Therapists and Healing Practitioners
Summits suit practitioners because you get to teach rather than sell. Keep every session educational. Make no promises about mental health outcomes, never use stories or testimonials from therapy clients, and make clear the event isn't therapy. Check your licensing board's advertising rules before you promote.
For example, a couples therapist might host a one-day event on communication habits for new parents, with a few peers from related specialties. Viewers get a feel for how she thinks, and the other speakers become a source of professional referrals. If a full summit feels like too much, start with a micro event that builds authority.
How EventRaptor Takes the Weight Off
The software won't create demand for you. You still need a clear topic, an offer and your own time on camera. What it removes is the admin.
Speakers apply, sign their agreements and upload their details in one place, which keeps it all out of your inbox. The schedule, speaker pages and attendee dashboard are built from those speaker records, so you don't rebuild anything by hand. Each speaker gets a promoter link, and a leaderboard they can see shows who's sharing. Reminder emails go out on the event's timing. Registrants sync to GHL/CRMRaptor with tags, so your follow-up can start the day they sign up. Live sessions run on Zoom.
If you'd rather not run it yourself, our done-for-you team can produce the whole summit, so your job is to teach, host and sell. We've run 13 summits of our own and over 40 summits for clients, and we take no ticket fees on summit sales. When you're ready to choose speakers, this guide to recruiting summit speakers who actually promote will help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need a Big Audience to Host a Virtual Summit?
No. I started with about 100 people on my list, and my first summit took it to 750. Most new registrants come from the speakers' promotion, so who you invite matters more than how many followers you have, and this 13-week plan for a first summit with a small list shows how to start.
How Many Speakers Should a First Summit Have?
There's no fixed number. My first summit had 27 speakers. One of our clients, a 70-year-old coach, ran a summit with twelve speakers on EventRaptor without help from anyone else. A one-day summit with 5 to 10 speakers is a manageable way to start.
Is a Virtual Summit Better Than a Podcast or Webinar for Getting Clients?
They do different jobs. A webinar happens once at a set time, and a podcast builds a following slowly over many episodes. A summit puts you in front of several speakers' audiences in a few days, which is why it tends to bring in new people faster. Many coaches use all three.
Can a Summit Replace Posting Content?
It can cut how much you post. Every session can become clips, blog posts, emails or podcast episodes, so one event can supply content for months. Keep posting where it suits you, and point that content back to your list and your offer.
Your Next Step
Take ten minutes today and write down the one problem you'd want a summit to be known for. Then list ten people who serve the same audience without competing with you. If you can name ten, you have enough to start.
Want help turning that list into a plan, with a lineup, an offer and the follow-up ready before day one? Book your Client Attraction Planning Call. We'll look at what you sell and how people find you now, then help you decide whether a full summit, a smaller event or better follow-up should come first.