Short answer: summits, giveaways and collaborations get you visible by getting everyone involved to promote the same thing to their own audiences, so you all get in front of each other's people. As a speaker or contributor you get visibility and grow your list through your own free gift. As the host you get the most visibility and your email list grows fastest. Don't launch a high ticket offer straight from a summit: use it to fill something free or low priced first, then sell.

When you don't have a big audience, one of the fastest ways to grow is to team up with other people who have one. Summits, giveaways, joint masterclasses, exchanges and affiliate launches all work on the same simple idea: everyone promotes, so everyone gets in front of each other's audiences.

I've hosted my own and taken part in plenty of other people's. Below is how each one works, a step by step plan for joining one and for hosting your own, the emails to send, and the month by month plan I'd use to turn a summit into sales.

This is part of my ultimate guide to getting coaching clients from zero. Summits and collaborations are one of the fastest ways to borrow an audience when yours is still small.

How does a summit work?

A summit is like a virtual conference. A group of speakers come together around one theme and each delivers a session on their angle. They can run from a single day to a week, live, pre-recorded or interview style. A giveaway works the same way, but instead of talks, each contributor adds a resource to a bundle (think of a hamper) that might be worth $1,000 to $3,000, and people opt in to get it free.

1. The host creates one opt-in page for the summit or giveaway.
2. Every speaker or contributor promotes it to their audience during a set window, say 7th to 10th July. All that traffic goes to the host's page, so the host's list grows the most.
3. Everyone who opts in sees every speaker, so each speaker gets in front of all the other speakers' audiences.
4. Each speaker offers a free gift on their own opt-in page, so they grow their own list too.

When we hosted our own virtual conference, the International Coaching Festival, we brought together 28 speakers. It grew my email list, got everyone in front of each other's audiences, and sponsors paid to be featured, so it generated revenue too. Every December we also run our own giveaway, 12 Days of Giftmas.

Option 1: Join someone else's summit, step by step

Step 1: Build a free gift worth opting in for

Your gift sits on a page next to everyone else's, and for a lot of people it's their very first impression of you. Don't be the gift that makes someone think "that was a waste of my time". Good options: a short video training, a PDF guide, a mini course, a recorded masterclass or a private podcast series. If you have transcripts of past trainings, you can turn one into a guide quickly with AI.

Time: 2 to 4 hours, once. Done when: your gift has its own opt-in page and a thank you page. Short on time? The Funnel Builder inside Ascendia OS builds the opt-in page and thank you page for your gift, ready to go live.

Step 2: Find summits

Ask people you have relationships with, ask your audience, and search Facebook groups and communities for "summit", "speakers" or "giveaway contributors".

Time: 30 minutes a week until booked. Done when: one summit or giveaway booked in the next 60 days.

Step 3: Promote like you mean it

Do what you agreed, on time. The hosts remember who promoted, and that's how you get invited back.

Time: 1 hour. Done when: your emails and posts are scheduled for the promo window.

Step 4: Make your session do its job

Teach a mini masterclass with one action step, then point to your free gift. Mention it at the start and the end.

Step 5: Follow up

Everyone who opts in for your gift goes into your email nurture sequence, and gets an invitation to your next free masterclass or challenge where you can make an offer.

Time: Set up once. Done when: new opt-ins automatically receive your nurture emails. The Email Marketer in Ascendia OS writes that nurture sequence and the invitation emails for you, in your voice.

Option 2: Host your own, step by step

Host your own if you want your list to grow fast. You don't need a big audience, because the speakers bring theirs.

1. Pick the theme and dates (6 to 8 weeks out). One theme your ideal client wants, like "more sales without more hours".
2. Invite speakers or contributors who serve the same ideal client in different ways.
3. Build one opt-in page and a resources page listing every speaker and gift.
4. Create the promo pack. My team creates all the promo content, emails and graphics and gives them to everyone a week before promotion starts.
5. Set clear asks. We ask each contributor for one valuable resource, two emails to their list (however big or small) and at least three social posts during the promo week.
6. Add a $27 VIP upgrade on the thank you page with extra resources, and give contributors an affiliate link so they earn commission on upgrades from their audience.
7. Run it, then sell using the month plan below.

Can I launch my offer from a summit?

You can, but be careful. Summits bring in lots of people who are brand new to you, and the attention is shared with every other speaker. Launching a four figure programme straight from a summit to a cold audience is hard. Here's the month I'd run instead:

Breaking it down week by week keeps people engaged for the whole month and gives new people enough time with you to trust you.

What other collaborations work?

• Joint masterclasses. Find someone who serves the same ideal client but does something different, and run a masterclass together. You both promote, you both grow.
• Exchanges. You promote their free resource to your list, they promote yours to theirs.
• Affiliate launches. When I run a free masterclass, I invite my audience to become affiliates. If someone they bring in buys the paid offer, they earn commission (for example 30%). On a low priced offer, I've given affiliates 100% of the commission, because I'm happy to make my money on the core offer those buyers move into later.

Worked example: joining a 20 speaker summit

Example: a business coach joins a 20 speaker summit where 2,000 people opt in.

• If 10% of attendees opt in for her free gift, that's 200 new leads.
• At a 3% average, 200 leads is around 6 sales if she has a way to sell to them. With a $27 offer on her thank you page and 8 to 10% buying, that's 16 to 20 small sales straight away.
• Her free masterclass two weeks later fills partly with these new people, and that's where the programme sales happen.

Example numbers to show the maths. The real win is the 200 people now in her world who'd never heard of her.

Common mistakes (and the fix)

• A weak free gift. Fix: make it your best free thing, it's a first impression.
• Not promoting. Fix: do what you agreed, on time.
• Selling high ticket straight from the summit. Fix: free or low priced first, programme two weeks later.
• No follow up. Fix: a nurture sequence and an invitation to your next event.
• Hosting without a promo pack. Fix: write the emails and graphics for your contributors.

Your action plan

Today

• Decide whether you're joining or hosting this quarter.
• Choose the free gift you'd contribute.

This week

• Build or polish your gift and its opt-in page.
• Send 3 summit applications or contributor invitations.

Next 30 days

• Book one summit, giveaway or joint masterclass.
• Write your promo emails and posts.
• Plan the free or low priced event you'll invite new leads into afterwards.

Summits and collaborations are part of borrowing other people's audiences, alongside guest speaking. For the full plan, read visibility without ads and the ultimate guide to getting coaching clients from zero. If you want the whole path from new lead to repeat buyer, that's what my course Content To Clients® walks you through.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a big audience to join a summit?

No. Hosts want valuable speakers with a good story. Look for summits in Facebook groups and communities, and ask people you have relationships with.

How long should a summit be?

Anything from one day to a week works. Shorter summits keep attention higher, while longer ones fit in more speakers.

What's the difference between a summit and a giveaway?

A summit is built around talks or interviews. A giveaway is built around resources people can download. Both work the same way: everyone promotes, everyone gets visible.

Should I sell high ticket from my own summit?

I wouldn't. Most attendees are new to you, so use the summit to fill a free or low priced event first, then sell your programme from that.

Laurie Burrows is a UK-based marketing and sales strategist who has built a business that's generated multi-seven figures in sales through social media and digital marketing. Today, Laurie helps business owners use social media, content and digital marketing to get seen, attract more clients and make more sales. She's also the founder of Ascendia OS.