A blog post

Why Organizing Your Own Telesummit is a Bad Idea

Posted on the 05 January, 2011 at 11:08 am Written by in Virtual Event Host Tips

I no longer believe that anyone should organize their own telesummit.

Before I share with you my reasons why, let’s first look at the differences between organizing one and hosting one.

According to Dictionary.com, a host is a master of ceremonies, moderator, or interviewer. Because telesummits and virtual events help get you noticed, facilitating each session one-by-one is an awesome idea.

So, yes, you must (and can) host a telesummit.

But organizing one is completely different. Not only do you host your virtual event, but you also:

  • Invite the speakers
  • Follow up with the speakers to get their bios, photos, etc.
  • Give direction to your virtual assistant on what needs to be done and when
  • Create the products, autoresponders, affiliates
  • Build the virtual event platform
  • Sign up for the bridgeline or webinar service, then set up the number of events that correspond to the number of sessions you’re hosting
  • Write all the promotional copy for the sales page, affiliate emails, attendee emails, prospect emails, plus tweets for Twitter and posts for blogs
  • Schedule all these bright, shiny email messages in your email management or shopping cart system – one by one
  • And these are just the pre-event tasks. I didn’t include the tasks that must be performed while you’re hosting the telesummit or afterwards.

Do NOT underestimate how much time and effort goes into producing a telesummit. In a recent survey I conducted, 51% of telesummit hosts indicated that they spent anywhere between 6-15 hours per week organizing their own telesummits.

I don’t know about you, but I have better things to do with my time than to email speakers for their bio. And sadly, many who are hosting their own telesummits are not using a virtual assistant to help them.

Trying to organize your own telesummit is like going to a high end boutique and asking for the pattern and fabric to make the dress hanging in the window instead of just buying the dress that hangs in the window. You’re being driven by money (doing it as cheap as possible) instead of time (doing it as effortlessly as possible).

On this vein, I’m discontinuing a few of my products. I’ll no longer sell Virtual Event Marketing Blueprint or Build a Virtual Event Platform. These 2 programs will only be available to those who take the Certified Virtual Event Manager™ program which will launch in the Spring. I no longer believe that you should be doing your own events.

So, if you’re a Virtual Assistant, Virtual Event Specialist, Online Business Manager, Meeting Planner, Project Manager, Workshop Leader, my focus will be on you. I’ll teach you how to add a profitable income stream to your business managing virtual events for others. The certification program will be held in April 2011. More details if you’re on my list.

For change agents, messengers and catalysts, in other words, leaders who are trying to serve their market with their mission, there are 2 self-study programs I highly recommend:

Plan a Pain-Free Virtual Event – This is the genesis of your telesummit journey. It provides you with the foundation so you produce a profitable telesummit that stands out in a noisy marketplace. I teamed up with Virtual Event Manager, Lynn Pearce, to provide some gems that’ll help you avoid costly mistakes.

Virtual Event Host Tips – This is a 3-part system that teaches you how to confidently facilitate virtual sessions so you don’t sound like a newbie. There are checklists, templates and audio training to help prepare you for your big day.

Both these programs will be ready in a just a few days and if you’re on my list, you’ll get more details.

Lastly, if you’re ready to get help for your virtual event, you can find help through the International Association of Virtual Event Managers.

Don’t be fooled. Organizing your own telesummit on your own dime is a recipe for disaster. I promise that if you do it this way, you’ll spend $2000 to make $200.

  • Louise Crooks

    Wow, Leesa! Courageous tweaking of your amazing knowledge and expertise, and it feels so right. It makes so much sense. :) Best wishes on this new journey of ‘You’.

  • http://twitter.com/lexirodrigo Alexis Rodrigo

    Congratulations, Leesa! I’ve been following you for the last couple of years and I’m impressed with your growth. It’s also refreshing to hear an entrepreneur talking about giving God a say in their business direction :-)

    Your plans make complete sense and they sound great. I’m looking forward to learning about the details of your new programs.

    All the best to you!

  • http://savvysubcontracting.com Savvy Subcontracting

    Sound glad you’re being upfront stating this. I do have a teleseminar and I am finding out these exact issues. I would like to connect with a event manager and consider doing some bartering to get mine off the ground.

  • Winnie

    How wonderful for you to come to this realization! Epiphanies are wonderful (and how appropriate this is being published today of all days….it’s the 12th day of Christmas! The Feast of the Epiphany!!).

    I’m organizing my first multi-part webinar and even THAT is exhausting. I don’t want to worry about these details. And I have a friend who is a pofessional meeting planner who I’ve been trying to convince to move into the virtual world. I’ll be sending her the email you sent out as well as this post.

  • British Hill

    LOVE YOUR POST LEESA! As you know I am preparing to host my first virtual event in March and I can even begin to imagine doing it all myself!!!! After working with both you and Lynn Pearce over the last month or so, I am very clear ALL that it takes to make this event successful. The money to have an experienced team around you (Leesa Barnes and Lynn Pearce) will absolutely be money well spent!! The last thing you want is to have a failed event, low profits and a BAD reputation within your profession because you put on a half baked virtual event.

    Advice: Use the tools Leesa has available and make your event a HIT..in every way!!

    Thanks Leesa and Lynn for being my ROCKS of wisdom, I know DSSR will be HUGE!!

    Gratefully,

    British Hill

  • Anonymous

    Lee,

    You know I’ve been following you on this journey of self discovery.

    And I am Sooo proud of you. You’re brave. You’re smart. And always ahead of the pack. It’s inspiring.

    Thank you for sharing the truth… Your truth.

    Shan

  • Karlene

    Way to go, Leesa! I’ve been following you since 2006. We all need to reinvent ourselves from time to time.

    Karlene

  • Maykyyue

    I like what I see here. You are starting to resonate with me. I am a change agent. I have soul search for awhile now too. I have decided to have a unique voice to get my message out. Once I have done that then the virtual summit makes sense otherwise is the same old same old everyone is doing.
    I appreciate what you have just related to me. Now I can see what you do makes sense with me. This is my website http://www.taoofyouth.com Looking forward to see your product. May Yue

  • http://twitter.com/ItsUnderstood Sue Johnston

    Well done! Your leadership in rethinking telesummits – and in helping to train/provide support for people who WANT to do the admin part – can only improve their quality and value. All the best with this new focus.

  • http://www.livhealthy.tv Jennifer

    You Go girt!

    I’ve been on my own journey too… isn’t it wonderful when you get clarity on the direction to go in? Thank you for sharing… would love to hear more :)

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    Karlene, it’s great having a familiar name pop out & give me a high five. Thanks for sticking with me over the past 5-years.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    Yes, the clarity is super amazing. I just hate the valley we have to dig through to get here. That part sucks, but going through it gives us the tools to help others. Don’t forget to ping me once you’ve arrived at your clarity, k?

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    Oh Sue, I’m so passionate about connecting the trend setters with those who support them. I can’t wait to start training support professionals on how to plan these things well. I hope that you’ll be around to see how this all pans out.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    I just watched one of your videos and I see that you’re a storyteller just like me. Video suits you because your personality comes out. Hosting a telesummit is right up your alley. I do hope I can help you as you move forward planning your virtual event.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    I’m not sure when you plan to host your virtual event, but I’ll be looking for virtual events to assign to students taking the certification course. Since you’re on my list, you’ll get info on how to be selected in about a month or two.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    It’s just making so much sense now. We’ll need to chat in a few days. And I appreciate you for everything.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    I can’t believe the timing and thanks for pointing this out, Winnie. On the night that the lunar eclipse happened on Winter Solstice, I was amazed at the clarity I got on what I should be doing next. One of my pals, Maryam Webster, said that I was coming into my light just as Winter Solstice is the celebration of longer daylight to come.

    And now, another discovery on The Feast of Epiphany. Wow, God is truly working here.

    Do point your friend to http://virtualeventmanager.com as she’ll be able to get a free video series on the benefits of becoming a virtual event manager. She’ll appreciate it.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    It was awesome meeting you in person a year ago (2009 wasn’t it?) and like I said to Karlene, I appreciate having someone like you share your observations about my growth.

    I know not everyone will like that I’m talking about God, but that’s ok. I know that I’m not for everyone so I’ll just carry on with those who resonate with what I’m saying.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    Louise, I’ve heard that word courage at least 3 times today, all in reference to me. I’m at peace right now because I know that I can’t fight what God wants me to do. If God is behind me, then the path that lays ahead will be full of abundance. And now that I’m utterly clear on how to help people, I have no fear.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    British, you’re definitely one of my fav clients and I’m excited about your upcoming virtual event. Yours will be another example of why it’s important to hire the right resources to help you with your telesummit and allow you to focus on you. DSSR will be huge and I can’t wait to get the save the date page up and running. Yay!

  • http://reginabaker.com/ Regina Baker

    Way to go Lee! I love your program, and you’re right, it’s very time consuming. Look forward to hearing a lot more from you on the subject. You’re my ‘shero’ ;-)

  • Portalcoach

    A moment of sanity and a stroke of genius. Good Luck, I’m sure you are already attracting the absolutely perfect tribe for each program.

  • http://www.websuccesscoach.com Demetria

    Wonderful that you realize and implement the needed shift– I wish you much success- and yes, this does make sense, as I can testify to ALL of the labor which goes into creating events.

  • Mezzo

    Yes, I wish I had known so much before planning my first virtual event. I am in the throws of it now and have had that overwhelmed feeling on many days. I’m now on the home stretch, or so I think, LOL. So many decisions that I made early on have yielded the primary challenge of virtual assistants being unable to help me. The main challenge? I chose to use a membership registration software that was not industry standard, so the assistants out there do not know how to use it and therefore cannot assist me. I only found this out about two months before my event. Too late to make changes. Sighs. Needless to say, many lessons learned and I too had a spiritual journey. I will host many more virtual events, and maybe even plan them myself (as good help is so hard to find). But I am also coming up with a way to streamline this process to make it much simpler. God bless you and all of the others out there in this field.

  • http://savvysubcontracting.com Savvy Subcontracting

    What a wonderful idea. I will be looking forward to it. It will help me learn from those doing it as well.

  • http://twitter.com/LelaBryan LelaBryan

    Yes I agree with you I am in the middle of doing http://www.menopausesummit.org and it is a LOT of work and we do have a fabulous VA but it still a lot of work for little money.

    I would like to know a better way. By the way any hot and flashy ladies please join us….

  • http://taylormarek.com/ Taylor Marek

    Good job Leesa. I’ll be around to hear the latest! ;)

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    Thanks Taylor. Hopefully, this’ll be a lesson to you as well.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    I imagine that the little money has to do with the fact that you’re not charging for admission to your event. That’s a flawed model. Read my blog post on why you should never do a free telesummit – http://bit.ly/cNk10w

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    Mezzo, I’d love to hear about your discoveries after you’ve hosted your first virtual event. Keep me in the loop.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    It’s a wonderful reward in the end, but a nightmare to put together if you don’t understand all the pieces. Frankly, if one wouldn’t organize a trade show with exhibitors, speakers and sponsors, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to organize their own telesummit. Demetria, you have the war scars to move on & plan your next one, but for everyone else, if you have a business to run, get help with your first telesummit.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    Yes, and I hope you’ll be part of that tribe as well.

  • http://virtualeventsuccess.com Leesa Barnes

    Aw shucks, Regina. You’ve been attached to my hip since Ryze days. So good that you’re still here for the journey.

  • Pingback: 3 Stages of Virtual Event Success for Messengers, Change Agents and Leaders

  • Tonya K. Freeman

    Excellent blog post Leesa! Thank you for the wisdom and information shared. You are greatly appreciated. It is good that you took the time to really listen and follow your heart. I honor you.

  • http://twitter.com/JudyHWright Judy H Wright-Auntie

    Leesa, I was so impressed with your presentation on Livestream the other night. You made me realize the message is much more important than the messenger.  Great to see you here and we will meet soon.  Judy Helm Wright aka Auntie Artichoke, the storytelling trainer.

  • Barbara

    Hmmm… I totally agree with everything you say, Leesa… Why do you say “The certification program will be held in April 2011.”? Typo? *lol* Soul Greetings, Barbara

  • Leesa Barnes

    Yes, I remember your online handle. Made me smile. I can’t wait to see how you incorporate your message into your virtual events and other areas of your business. Great to meet you.

  • http://leesabarnes.com Leesa Barnes

    Yes, I remember your online handle. Made me smile. I can’t wait to see how you incorporate your message into your virtual events and other areas of your business. Great to meet you.