How to be a Great Telesummit Guest
by Sheri Kaye Hoff
I decided to write this as I was nearing the last few days of the Summer Success Summit and was receiving many emails and inquiries regarding future guest presenter options. I regularly feature top experts and best selling authors on my transformative Your Path to Success Summit series. Sometimes I work with experts who have never participated in a virtual event. I thought I would share information with you on how to be a great telesummit guest.
If you have a message, a product, a book and/or are an expert in your field, participating in a telesummit, is a great way to get your message out and possibly you will even make some money in the process.
A telesummit is a teleconference or webinar event where the host brings together expert interviews over a series of days and sometimes even weeks or months. Attendees have the advantage of signing up once and being able to access experts with a certain theme (e.g, success, marketing, joy, etc). Many times (possibly most of the time) the event is free, but upgrade packages are offered. If a product is offered, presenters usually have the opportunity to earn affiliate commission on the product. Telesummits are powerful for attendees, hosts, and guest presenters. They are usually win/win for everyone.
If you decide that you want to be a guest presenter on a telesummit, I have some suggestions on how to make it a great experience for you, your host, and attendees. You want to be asked back or be asked to present at other events.
Providing Information
When you first receive your invitation; then upon your acceptance, your confirmation email from the host: be cognizant of all of the information that you need to provide and the due date deadlines. You will at a minimum, need to provide a pic, a bio, and a topic. You may also be asked for your paypal email or an address to send an affiliate check. If an affiliate opportunity is available- you may have to sign up for this yourself- or your host might take care of setting up your affiliate id for you. (I take care of this for all of my guests). You may also be given the opportunity to submit questions for the host. (This is a great opportunity for you to make sure that you cover all of your points in your presentation). You may be asked to provide a bonus offer or free offer for attendees (put some thought into this- this is one of your main ways to build your list, sell your products/services and build a strong presence). You also need a quick easy way to deliver your offer (usually a download from a landing page). The host may ask you for your twitter id so she or he can include this in promos. Each summit is slightly different, so there could be additional requests.
Meet all deadlines.
Promoting the Event
You also will receive marketing material from the host- a sample email and/or sample social media promos/newsletter blurbs, your affiliate link etc. As a good guest presenter, you should promote the event. The host will heavily promote and the most successful guest presenters , also heavily promote the event. The more you promote- the more affiliate commission you will make and the more attendees you will have on your live call. It is helpful to let your host know when you are promoting (e.g. when your mailing is going out, when you are posting on twitter, fb, etc). Hosts love getting these kinds of emails.
Promote other guest presenters to help create synergy. Tweet. Blog, or facebook about other guests.
Communication
Realize that your host may get a couple hundred to a couple thousand emails a day, so if you have a question, keep your emails short and to the point (bullets help). Be sure to reference your event in the subject line. Don’t dramatically change your presentation right before the summit- stick to the plan. Respond to email questions from the host in a timely manner. Realize that only the most grave emergency is an acceptable reason to cancel your participation after the summit page is up and public.
Your Presentation Day
· Dial in to the Summit when your host asks you to (usually anywhere from five to ten minutes early).
· Call in from a fully charged phone or landline.
· Be fully present for your presentation (avoid any distractions- such as email, social media, etc).
· Be prepared for the unexpected. These are live events- there could be technical difficulties. This is where you need to go with the flow.
· When speaking, take breaths and pause occasionally- in case the host wants to jump in and ask a question to expand on the point or topic.
· Avoid tangents.
· There may be an opportunity to answer questions from attendees. It is okay to pause and think before answering.
· Keep in mind that during telesummit, events attendees may jump on the call anywhere from fifteen minutes ahead of time and then throughout the call- most are on the line by about ten to fifteen minutes after starting time. When you are presenting- avoid prolonged exercises that might confuse people if they call in during the middle.
· Note: on some conferences- the recording will time out after a minute of silence.
· Be authentically who you are.
· Have fun.
After the Summit
· Follow up on emails from new prospects right away.
· Give the host feedback and thank the host.
· Debrief your own presentation: Acknowledge what went well and note anything you want to tweak for next time.
· Note affiliate commission payout dates- if you made some affiliate commission – great- if not- that is okay too.
· Note the benefits you gained from participating (visibility, product sales, energy, making a difference, etc).
· If you really enjoyed being a guest- look for other guest opportunities.
The Host perspective
As a host, I am committed to bring value, fresh ideas, and tips and techniques that people can use right away. I create huge events that reach a wide audience with a diverse guest presenter panel and I cherish guest presenters who share the vision of helping people to truly create their own path to success. If you are extremely professional and great at what you do- you might be a perfect guest for one of my future events.
