49. Should You Host the Same Summit Again?

What happens when your virtual summit becomes so successful that it starts becoming the thing your business is known for? While that can be a great thing, there's a difference between intentionally building a business around events and accidentally letting your summit take over your business. In this episode, we're exploring how to recognize when your summit has become too central to your business, why a successful event isn't always the right event to keep running, and how to make sure your summit is supporting your bigger business goals rather than the other way around.We'll also talk about how to evaluate your summit's role in your business, what to do when your audience expects you to run it every year, and how to scale back or change your event without necessarily walking away from it completely. Whether your summit is a visibility strategy, a major revenue driver, or the cornerstone of your business model, the important thing is making that decision intentionally.In this episode, we're covering:The difference between being known for your expertise and being known primarily for your eventWhy your summit should support your business offers and goals, not become the reason everything else existsHow to know when it's time to rethink an event, even if it's been incredibly successfulWhat to consider when your audience expects your summit to return year after yearSigns that your summit may be taking too much time, energy, or attention away from the rest of your businessWays to scale back, change the format, reduce the frequency, or even take a year offHow to plan for your summit alongside your core offers, marketing, launches, and other business prioritiesWhy your summit should build momentum for your business, not just momentum for your next summit

In this episode of the Virtual Summit Secrets Podcast, we're talking about how to determine the right size and scope for your next virtual summit. Because just because you can host a 40-speaker, five-day event with all the bells and whistles doesn't necessarily mean you should! After hosting more than 15 summits between the two of us, we've learned that bigger isn't automatically better, and the smartest summit is the one that supports your business goals, serves your audience, and fits your current capacity.We're breaking down how to look beyond registration numbers and think strategically about your event's size, format, and complexity. We'll share why scaling your strategy doesn't always mean scaling your summit, when it might make sense to go bigger, and the questions you should ask before committing to a massive event. Whether you're planning your first summit or your next one, this episode will help you make sure you're building an event that creates meaningful results without creating unnecessary work.In this episode, we're discussing:Why your dream summit and your smartest next summit aren't necessarily the same thing.The hidden costs of hosting a bigger, more complicated event (and why time and energy matter just as much as budget).How to consider your audience's capacity, engagement, and content consumption habits when choosing your summit format.Why a smaller, more targeted summit can sometimes lead to stronger VIP and backend conversions.How to scale your visibility, leads, and sales strategy without automatically making your event bigger.When it actually makes sense to increase the size and scope of your summit.Four important questions to ask before deciding between a smaller, simpler event and a larger production.Remember, your summit is a tool, not a trophy! The goal isn't to host the biggest event possible. It's to create the event that makes the most sense for your business right now.

Your virtual summit can have amazing speakers, a fantastic topic, and an irresistible offer, but if the attendee experience is overwhelming or confusing, you could be missing out on engagement, trust, and sales.In this episode of Virtual Summit Secrets, Jenny Suneson and Lindsay break down how to create a seamless, engaging virtual summit attendee experience from the moment someone registers to long after the event ends. They share practical ways to simplify navigation, guide attendees through your content, encourage meaningful engagement, and build trust that can lead to future sales.You'll learn why more sessions and bonuses don't always equal more value, how to make it easy for attendees to find what they need, and why the experience you create is an important part of your sales strategy. Plus, Jenny and Lindsay share three questions you can use to audit your own summit and make sure every element serves a purpose.In this episode, you'll discover:Why the attendee experience begins the moment someone registers, not when the first session goes live.How to simplify summit navigation so attendees can easily find sessions, schedules, replays, and VIP content.Why a curated virtual summit can be more valuable than one packed with endless sessions and bonuses.How to create intentional engagement opportunities that benefit attendees instead of giving them more tasks.What to do after your summit ends to nurture relationships, build trust, and encourage future sales.Three questions to help you improve your summit experience without overwhelming your audience.Your virtual summit isn't just a collection of sessions. It's an experience that shapes how people feel about your event, your brand, and your business. Tune in to learn how small, intentional improvements can help you host a summit that attendees love and want to stay connected to long after it ends.

How do you know if your virtual summit was actually successful? With so many numbers to track, from registrations and session views to VIP sales and post-summit revenue, it’s easy to get lost in a spreadsheet full of data without knowing what it all means. In this episode of the Virtual Summit Secrets podcast, Jenny Suneson and Lindsay break down the virtual summit metrics that matter most, how to interpret your numbers in context, and why bigger registration numbers don’t always mean better business results.With seven-plus years of experience and more than 15 summits between them, Jenny and Lindsay share how they evaluate summit performance, track conversions, and take the emotion out of their post-summit debriefs. Whether your goal is list growth, revenue, visibility, or testing a new offer, you’ll learn how to measure what matters, avoid getting caught up in vanity metrics, and use your data to make smarter decisions for your next virtual summit.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why registration numbers alone don’t tell you whether your virtual summit was successfulHow to evaluate registration page conversion rates, session views, watch rates, and speaker promotionWhat VIP pass sales and conversion rates can tell you about audience interest and offer alignmentWhy your post-summit offer conversion rate and overall profit are key metrics to trackHow to measure the value of relationships, collaborations, referrals, and visibility beyond your analyticsWhich impressive-looking numbers, like the number of speakers, sessions, and bonuses, can be misleadingHow to choose the right summit metrics based on your specific goalsWhy you should create your profit and loss tracker, stats tracker, and post-summit debrief document before your eventThe three essential metrics every first-time summit host should start trackingHow to use your data to evaluate your summit objectively and improve future events

After hosting 15+ virtual summits between us, we're sharing what actually moves the needle when it comes to planning and hosting a successful virtual summit—and what you can stop spending so much time worrying about! From registration numbers and speaker lineups to branding, bonuses, and tech tools, it's easy to get caught up in the details that feel important but don't necessarily lead to better results.In this episode of the Virtual Summit Secrets Podcast, we're breaking down the five things that make the biggest difference in your summit's success: clear positioning, aligned speakers, a simple attendee experience, strategic promotion, and strong post-summit follow-up. We're also sharing why bigger isn't always better, how to focus on meaningful metrics instead of vanity numbers, and how to make sure your summit supports your overall business goals.In this episode, you'll learn:The five key areas to prioritize when planning a profitable, high-impact virtual summit.Why clear positioning and a compelling summit promise matter more than having the biggest audience or most recognizable speakers.How to choose aligned speakers who enhance the attendee experience and attract the right audience.Why adding more bonuses, content, and tech can actually create overwhelm instead of value.How to evaluate registration numbers, attendee engagement, VIP sales, and post-summit conversions.Why strategic promotion and automated speaker follow-ups can save time and increase registrations.How to turn your summit into a long-term business asset with intentional post-summit follow-up.Which summit-planning tasks you can stop obsessing over so you can focus on what actually produces results.If you're planning a virtual summit and feeling overwhelmed by all the things you could be doing, this episode will help you simplify your strategy, prioritize what matters, and create a win for your speakers, your attendees, and your business.

Planning a virtual summit can feel like making 500 decisions at once. From your speakers and tech to your VIP offer, promotion strategy, branding, and all the little details in between, it’s easy to get stuck researching, second-guessing, and trying to find the “perfect” answer.In this episode, we’re breaking down summit decision fatigue and sharing how we’ve simplified our own planning process after hosting summit after summit. We’ll talk about creating defaults, using our three-option rule, knowing when “good enough” is actually good enough, and focusing on what truly impacts your attendee experience and business results.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why summit hosts often get stuck because of too many decisions—not because they don’t know how to host a summitThe areas of summit planning where hosts tend to overthink the mostOur three-option rule for making decisions without falling down a research rabbit holeHow creating defaults can make future summits significantly easier to planWhen “good enough” is good enough and which decisions deserve more attentionHow to tell the difference between researching and simply avoiding a decisionThe five questions we use to make better summit decisionsWhy “effective over impressive” is a much better goal for your summitHow turning decisions into defaults, processes into templates, and templates into systems can reduce overwhelm

What if some of the things you’ve been told you need for a successful virtual summit are actually making your event harder to host, harder for attendees to navigate, and harder to get results from?In this episode of the Virtual Summit Secrets Podcast, Jenny and Lindsay are sharing their biggest and sometimes controversial opinions about what actually makes a virtual summit successful. From speaker count and Facebook groups to fancy branding, massive bonus bundles, live sessions, replay access, and registration numbers, they’re challenging the “this is just how summits are done” mentality.In this episode, you’ll discover:Why bigger summits aren’t automatically better or more profitableWhen having more speakers can actually create attendee overwhelmWhether you really need a Facebook group for your summitWhy fancy branding shouldn’t replace solid summit strategyWhy extended replay access may not be enough to sell your VIP offerHow implementation and support can create more value than more contentThe pros and cons of live versus prerecorded summit sessionsWhy you don’t need thousands of registrations to host a successful summitHow to turn an existing summit into a long-term business assetWhy the attendee experience should be your top priorityHow to make your summit a win for speakers, attendees, and your businessThe questions you should ask before adding another feature, speaker, bonus, or element to your eventBecause you don’t need to build the biggest summit.You need to build the right summit for your audience, your business, and your goals.

Hosting a virtual summit is easier than ever... so why does getting people to actually care feel harder?In this episode of Virtual Summit Secrets, Jenny and Lindsay are diving into the changing landscape of virtual summits and exploring the question: Are summits getting easier or harder to host?The answer? Both.With AI, automation, and more event technology than ever before, many of the logistical pieces of hosting a summit can now happen faster and more efficiently. But while the mechanics may be getting easier, standing out, earning attention, getting registrations, and creating an experience attendees actually want to participate in has become more challenging than ever.In this episode, we’re talking about:Why hosting a virtual summit is both easier and harder than it used to beHow AI can help with brainstorming, copy, workflows, and content repurposingWhy you should use AI as an assistant—not the hostWhat summit logistics are perfect for automationHow technology has raised attendee expectationsWhy more sessions, speakers, bonuses, and platforms don't automatically create a better eventWhat attendees really want from virtual events todayWhy standing out and earning registrations requires more strategy than everWhat we would do differently if we were hosting our very first summit todayWhy the future of successful summits is about innovation—not chasing every shiny new toolTechnology can make your summit easier to run, but it can't make your summit matter more. And that's the distinction every summit host needs to understand.Tune in for an honest behind-the-scenes conversation about where virtual summits are headed and how you can use the tools available to you without losing the human experience that makes your event unforgettable.

What should you automate when hosting a virtual summit and what should always stay human?In this episode of the Virtual Summit Secrets Podcast, Jenny and Lindsay are pulling back the curtain on the summit-planning shortcuts they happily take, the ones they refuse to take, and why knowing the difference can completely change the experience you create for your speakers and attendees.From automated emails and reusable templates to AI-assisted brainstorming and project management systems, there are plenty of ways technology can save you time. But automation should never come at the expense of thoughtful leadership, strong communication, or genuine connection.In this episode, you'll discover:The summit tasks you should absolutely automate to save timeWhy reusable templates and systems are some of your best planning shortcutsWhere AI can help and where it shouldn't replace your expertise or voiceWhy speaker selection should always involve human judgmentHow to create a better experience for your speakers through clear communication and organizationThe small attendee-experience details that can make or break your eventWhy quality control and testing are worth every extra minuteWhich parts of summit planning should never be rushedHow to automate the busy work without automating the relationships that matterBecause the goal isn't to remove yourself from your summit. It's to remove the repetitive work so you can be more present for the moments that actually matter.If you're planning a virtual summit, this episode will help you identify where you can work smarter while still creating an intentional, high-quality, memorable experience for everyone involved.

What if your next big summit idea isn’t actually a new idea at all?In this episode of Virtual Summit Secrets, we’re busting the myth that you need to create a completely new summit every year. If you’ve already hosted a successful event, you’ve built something valuable and starting from scratch all over again could be costing you time, energy, and money.Jenny and Lindsay are breaking down why repeating a summit isn’t lazy—it’s strategic. You’ll learn what to keep consistent, what to refresh each year, and how to build event equity so your summit becomes a recognizable, anticipated asset in your business rather than a one-and-done project.Inside this episode, we’re talking about:Why your successful summit may be worth repeating instead of replacingThe biggest benefits of leveraging the systems, assets, and messaging you’ve already createdWhat should stay the same when you repeat a summitWhat you should refresh, including speakers, session topics, and bonusesHow to build event equity and turn your summit into a signature annual eventThe myths around returning attendees, repetition, and “having” to reinvent everythingWhat to document and analyze immediately after your summit to make the next one easierHow to determine whether your existing summit has the potential to become an evergreen business assetBecause sometimes your next big win isn’t creating something new—it’s taking something that already works and making it even better.Before you start brainstorming your next summit from scratch, listen to this episode and take another look at the event you’ve already built. It might just be your next signature summit waiting to happen.