Virtual Event Success

I just finished reading yet another speaker invitation email that someone sent me. They’re planning a telesummit and would love to have me speak.

I’m on the receiving end of many invitations to speak at telesummits and virtual events. I say “No” to far more than I say “Yes” and the criteria I use to accept a speaker invitation or not isn’t based on a scientific computation. The speaker invitation email needs to provide critical information that answers the following questions:

1. Do I know the person who’s sending the invitation?
If the invitation comes from someone I know, this makes me lean more towards saying “Yes.”

2. What are the dates of the virtual event?
Knowing when the virtual event will be hosted helps me determine whether I have room in my calendar to even speak at the event and if I can help out with promotions.

3. What’s the promotional committment?
In other words, can I simply send out a few tweets or are they requiring that I send out three (or more) solo emails to my email list? If I’m already committed to another marketing campaign – either my own or someone else’s – and I’m required to send 3 solo blasts as a requirement for speaking at the person’s virtual event, I’ll most likely say “No.” I can’t overwhelm my list with too many offers and I can’t flake out on commitments I’ve already made as that’ll reflect poorly on me.

4. Who’s the target market?
I’m very specific about who I target (this after 5-years of blowing in the breeze of niche uncertainty). I know who they are, what makes them tick and why they buy. If the person who sends me the invite doesn’t share who they believe is going to show up for their virtual event, then this is an obvious “No” for me.

5. Is this being hosted over the phone or via webinar?
Over the phone gets a “Yes” because I just dial a number and talk. I have to think long and hard about a web based virtual event because it means I’ll have to prepare slides, then spend a few minutes testing out my set up, then getting my team to set up the handout via a hidden link so only the participants can find it, etc., etc., etc. I won’t say “No” to web based virtual events, but I will analyze the hassle of preparing all that extra material against the target market, money earned and what time of year it’s being held.

6. Is the virtual event being offered for free?
This is a biggie. People are beginning to recognize my bold, outrageous and provocative statement (or B.O.P. as Andrea J. Lee calls it) which is to charge for your telesummit, video summit or virtual event. I simply cannot speak at telesummits or multi-speaker virtual events that are being offered for free because this would be a contradiction of what I believe.

At the end of the day, just sharing the name and dates of your telesummit or virtual event just isn’t enough. If I have to figure out what you need, what your telesummit is all about and who your target market is, I’ll take the easy route and just say “No.”

• If you invite speakers to present at your virtual or non-virtual events, what additional information do you provide so the speaker can make an informed decision?
• If you’ve been invited to speak at virtual or non-virtual events, what information do you need in the initial email to help you say “Yes?”

Please share your thoughts below.

The biggest mistake I see people make after hosting their first successful telesummit is to create a telesummit secrets/blueprint/masterclass type product and push that out to the market.

The goal of hosting a telesummit isn't to become a telesummit expert. Just like publishing a well read ezine doesn't make you an ezine expert. Nor does owning a popular blog make you a blogging expert.

Each of these are simply tools you use to bring your message to the market.

But, I understand why this happens.

[...]

This is probably the most brilliant virtual event that I've come across in quite some time, not because of who's hosting it (although I adore him), but because of who's NOT speaking at it.

Best selling author, Michael Port, announced a virtual event featuring 20 hours of free Book Yourself Solid secrets.

Huh? Michael's giving away free virtual event content? Doesn't he read my blog? So, I clicked on the link to find out more, troubled that my colleague and friend is falling into the freemium virtual event trap.

And what I found was pure genius.

[...]

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.

Good telesummit hosts aren't born, they're trained. Okay, maybe that sounds a bit cliche, however, not everyone can be an effective telesummit host.

Some of you may be saying that you speak in front of large crowds or you train people for a living, so you'd have no problems facilitating virtual sessions. Well, I've seen some of the best speakers and trainers fall apart trying to host a virtual event because they can't "feel" the energy from attendees, nor can they see them.

Believe me - I wasn't that great when I first started out. Back in 2002, I prided myself with being an excellent speaker. And then I hosted my first virtual training and I was lousy.

With thousand of hours of virtual event management under my belt, I've pinpointed the 6 reasons why some people make lousy telesummit hosts. You can see these 6 reasons in the video below. I also offer tips on how you can shine and be a really good telesummit host.

Watch, scrutinize, learn, then comment.

Click here to learn more about Telesummit Host Tips