If you're a coach, therapist or healing practitioner planning a summit, the one sheet often decides whether the experts you admire say yes. A summit one sheet is one page, either a PDF or a short web page, that tells a possible speaker who your audience is, what the summit promises, why their topic fits, what you're asking of them, what they get and how to say yes. The right speakers say yes when they can see their own audience in yours and know exactly what they're agreeing to.
Most invitations fall down on those last two points. They talk about the host, give a date and leave the speaker guessing about the workload.
I've seen how much a clear invitation matters. My first summit, the Solopreneur Accelerator Summit, had 27 speakers and was built in two weeks, which I don't recommend. For my second summit in January 2021 I had 37 speakers, and more than half of them approached me. Once people can see what you're building and who it's for, a lot of the persuading is already done before anyone gets on a call.
Key Takeaways
- Send your one sheet after a short personal message, so the speaker already knows why you picked them before they read the details.
- Put the live dates, recording window and promotion dates near the top, because a busy speaker checks those first.
- Describe your attendees clearly enough that a speaker with a different audience can see for themselves that it isn't a fit.
- Spell out what you're asking for in promotion, include a level that asks for none, and let speakers pick.
- Finish with one next step, usually an application link, and have your onboarding ready before the first invite goes out.
What A Summit One Sheet Does For You
Think of it as a sales page written for one reader: the speaker. It needs a hook that makes them want to keep reading. It needs to show early that the event is meant for someone like them. And it needs enough credibility that saying yes feels safe.
PDFs and web pages both work. A web page gives you room for a short video, an apply button and dates you can update without sending everything again. A PDF is quicker to put together and easy to attach to an email. If you're still deciding what kind of event to run, start with what a virtual summit is and how coaches and experts use one, then come back to this.
The one sheet supports your personal invitation. It doesn't replace it. Send a short note, or a video under a minute long, that names the person, says why you thought of them and links to the one sheet. Templated cold emails get ignored. A personal message followed by a well-made one sheet tells the speaker you've done your homework.
What A Speaker Is Weighing When They Open It
Dr. Frank Buck described why he speaks on summits in a podcast interview. The online space is noisy, and a summit gets him in front of people who've never heard of him. Some of them like what he says, go to his website and join his list. That's the trade a speaker is thinking about, so your one sheet needs to show that trade clearly.
In practice, a speaker skims your page looking for answers to four things:
- Is this audience close enough to mine to be worth my time?
- Does this host seem organized and trustworthy with my name and my list?
- How much work is this, and when?
- What do I get that I can actually use?
"You'll get great exposure" doesn't answer the fourth question. Every host says it, and experienced speakers stopped hearing it long ago. Name something concrete instead.
Navid Moazzez gave hosts a useful piece of advice: build relationships before you need them. A one sheet goes over much better with someone who already knows your name. Even so, a sharp one can still get a yes from someone who doesn't.
The Sections To Include, In Order
Here's a layout that answers those questions in the order speakers ask them.
| Section | What to include | What it tells the speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Title and hook | Summit name plus one line on the problem it solves | Whether it's worth reading on |
| Key dates | Live dates, recording window, promotion window | Whether it fits their calendar |
| Who attends | A specific description of your attendees | Whether their ideal clients will be there |
| The promise | What attendees will walk away able to do | Whether the event has a clear focus |
| Why them | One or two sentences about the topic you'd like them to cover | That you chose them on purpose |
| Format | Interview or presentation, length, live or prerecorded | How much prep and time it takes |
| The ask | Promotion levels, including one that asks for no promotion | What they're committing to |
| What they get | Commission, a free gift on their speaker page, other concrete perks | The value of saying yes |
| About you | A short bio and any honest proof | Whether you're credible |
| Next step | One link to apply or book | How to say yes |
You don't need all ten sections perfect on day one. A title, a hook, the dates, a short description and an apply button already put you ahead of most invitations speakers get.
Describe Your Audience So The Wrong Speakers Can Tell
This section does most of the filtering. "Women in business" leaves every speaker free to imagine their own audience. "Women over 50 leaving corporate roles to start a consulting or coaching practice" lets a speaker tell within seconds whether their offer belongs in front of that group.
When speakers screen themselves out, you save a lot of time. You won't have awkward interviews with speakers whose topic doesn't fit, and you'll have fewer people who agree to speak and then never promote because their audience doesn't care about the subject.
Put Dates And Workload Where Nobody Can Miss Them
Speakers want to know when the summit runs and when you'll ask them to promote it. Put both right under the hook, before anything else. Then say how long the session is. Tiffany Neuman ran 10 experts over five days with interviews of 20 to 30 minutes, and asked her speakers to give their best value in the shortest time. A short, clearly stated time commitment makes it easier for a busy expert to say yes.
Make The Promotion Ask Clear And Optional
Speaker promotion is how a summit reaches new people. More than 5,000 people on the EventRaptor list came from other speakers promoting our summits. So asking about promotion is fine. The point is to ask openly.
One approach that works well is offering levels. One level asks for no promotion. Another asks for two or three emails and comes with more benefits. A top level is a full promotional partnership with the most perks and a limited number of places. The speaker picks the one that suits them. If someone picks a level that includes promotion, ask which dates they plan to send. Reminding a speaker about a commitment they chose is very different from pressuring someone who never agreed to promote.
Offer Benefits A Speaker Can Actually Use
Eden Fried made every speaker on her summits an affiliate and kept every resource in one place so promoting was easy. That's the spirit to aim for. Good benefits include a commission on VIP sales, a free gift opt-in on their speaker page so they build their own list, an introduction to another host or a guest spot on your podcast.
The relationship doesn't have to end when the summit does. If you'd like speakers to keep recommending you afterward, a partner referral kit that makes your coaching offer easy to recommend builds on the same idea.
A Sample One Sheet For A Hypothetical Summit
This example is made up, to show how the parts fit together. Imagine a career coach putting together a summit called "The Second Act Summit".
The Second Act Summit helps women over 50 turn decades of corporate experience into a consulting or coaching practice they own.
Live: October 6 to 10. Recording: September 8 to 19. Promotion: September 29 to October 5.
Who attends: Senior managers and directors planning their exit in the next two years. Most have expertise but no audience yet.
Why you: Your work on pricing for first-time consultants is the session our attendees keep asking about.
Format: A 25-minute recorded interview. I'll send the questions a week ahead.
Choose your level: Speaker (no promotion), Featured (two emails), or Partner (full promotion, four places).
Apply here. It takes about five minutes.
Notice what it leaves out: no paragraphs about the host, no vague promise of reach, and only one next step.
Extra Care For Therapists And Healing Practitioners
The same layout works for a practitioner summit, with a few adjustments. Describe the summit as education, and leave out any promise of mental health outcomes in the hook or the promise line. Don't ask speakers to bring client stories or testimonials from therapy clients into their sessions. Let speakers know the event is educational and isn't therapy, so they can frame their talks that way.
Before you send anything, check your licensing board's advertising rules, and let licensed speakers know they should follow their own boards' rules too. Many practitioners like summits because they get to teach alongside respected peers. Being this careful protects that reputation for everyone on the lineup.
What Should Happen After A Speaker Says Yes
A one sheet only works if saying yes is easy. A smooth sequence looks something like this:
- The speaker clicks apply and answers a short set of questions about their topic and audience.
- Once you approve them, they fill in a details form with their bio, headshot, social links and free gift. Tell them it takes about 10 to 15 minutes and that it's there to make them look good.
- They sign the speaker agreement.
- They book their recording slot.
Add one more question to the application: "Who else do you know who'd be a great fit for this summit?" Speakers who say yes tend to know other good speakers, and this question turns one yes into a few warm introductions.
This part used to mean a form tool, a calendar link, a document-signing app and a spreadsheet to keep track of it all. On EventRaptor, speakers apply through an application form you can adjust (show or hide fields, relabel them, set word limits). They sign agreements with e-signatures and status tracking, and their profiles feed the speaker pages and schedule, so nobody rebuilds a page by hand for each speaker. Each speaker gets a promoter link, and they can all see a leaderboard showing who's promoting. Speaker records can also be tagged in GHL/CRMRaptor, so those relationships stay organized after the event.
If you'd rather not do any of this yourself, our done-for-you team handles speaker outreach, writes speaker introductions and session descriptions, and manages the onboarding. We've produced over 40 summits for clients, and after the most recent one, several attendees and speakers told us it was "the best run summit they had ever seen." Speakers remember how a host treated them, and that memory decides whether they'll say yes next time.
Need more names for your list? The EventRaptor speaker directory has more than 3,800 speakers who want to be invited to events. Speaker Connections, the free Zoom networking event Jennie started, meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month and usually brings together 70 to 110 speakers and hosts. If you're worried nobody knows you yet, read about hosting your first virtual summit before anyone knows your name.
One Sheet Checklist Before You Send It
- The hook names the problem your attendees have, not your credentials
- Live, recording and promotion dates appear near the top
- The audience description is specific enough to filter speakers
- There's a personal "why you" line for each speaker you invite
- Session length and format are stated plainly
- Promotion levels are clear, including one that asks for no promotion
- Benefits are concrete things a speaker can use
- There's one link to apply, and you've tested it
- Practitioner summits avoid outcome claims and follow board advertising rules
- Your onboarding steps are set up before the first invite goes out
Frequently Asked Questions
What Should A Summit Speaker One Sheet Include?
It should cover the summit name and hook, key dates, a specific description of your attendees, the promise of the event, why you're inviting this speaker, the session format, what you're asking for in promotion, what the speaker gets, a short bio and one next step. Put dates near the top, since speakers check those first. Leave out anything that doesn't help the speaker decide.
Should My Summit One Sheet Be A PDF Or A Web Page?
Both work. A web page lets you add a short video, an apply button and update dates without sending everything again. A PDF is faster to make and easy to attach to an email. Many hosts start with a PDF and move to a web page once they run summits regularly.
Do I Have To Require Speakers To Promote My Summit?
No. Offering levels, including one with no promotion, lets each speaker choose what fits their business. When a speaker picks a level that includes promotion, agree on dates with them and follow up kindly if those dates pass. Clear expectations up front stop resentment from building on either side.
How Long Should A Summit One Sheet Be?
One page, or one screen plus a short scroll on the web. Busy speakers skim, so short sections and a visible apply button matter more than covering everything. Any detail they need later can go in your onboarding emails.
Can Therapists Use A One Sheet To Invite Other Practitioners?
Yes, and a summit is a respectful way to build referral relationships with peers. Present the event as education, avoid promising mental health outcomes and never ask for stories from therapy clients. Check your licensing board's advertising rules before you publish the one sheet or the summit pages.
Your Next Step
Today, write two parts: the audience description and the dates block. Those two take the most thought, and once they're written the rest comes together quickly. Then send the draft to three speakers you already know and ask what's missing before you invite anyone new.
If you'd like help planning the lineup, the one sheet and what happens after each speaker says yes, Book your Client Attraction Planning Call. We'll look at your audience and your offer, and help you work out whether a full summit or something smaller is the right place to start.