4 Reasons Every Online Business Should Run a Regular Virtual Summit
Kris Broholm
Virtual Summit Strategist · 20 March 2026 · 5 min read
After 7+ years of organising virtual summits, I have seen first-hand what they can do for a business. The impact can be remarkable - on lead generation, audience relationships, industry reputation, and direct revenue.
Here are four reasons why I think every online business should be running a regular online conference or summit.
For context: I am talking about a 3 to 7 day, fully online conference with presentations from both internal and external speakers.
Reason 1 - Lead Generation
Hosting an online conference opens doors to a large number of potential new customers. Leads can come from multiple directions at once:
- Speakers you invite, who bring their own audiences to your event
- Affiliates and partners who promote for a share of ticket revenue
- Participants who get excited and share the event on social media
- Paid ads, where the limited-time nature of a live event can significantly lower your cost per acquisition
Reason 2 - Audience Nurture
Most businesses accumulate a list of contacts over time - people who know you exist but have not yet bought. A virtual summit gives those leads a concentrated, immersive experience of you and your brand that a regular email sequence simply cannot replicate.
Add live interaction - chat, comments, Q&A - and you create something genuinely memorable. Participants absorb your message in a way that is entirely different from passively reading a newsletter.
Run it once or twice and it quickly becomes something your audience looks forward to. Repeat participants return with a fresh opportunity to buy, and warm leads who did not convert the first time around often do the second.
Reason 3 - Networking
Hosting an event gives you a natural reason to reach out to fellow experts in your industry and start building real relationships with them. By generously featuring speakers' work and products throughout the event and in your promotional materials, you plant seeds for future collaboration.
This is also how you land well-known names as speakers, often for free. Offer as much value as you can to every speaker, treat them like headliners, and make the experience genuinely worthwhile for them. Speaker quality is typically the single biggest factor in how many new leads your event generates.
Your own presentations can open doors too. Become the recognised name for your topic through your summits, and you may find yourself invited to speak at other people's events - which compounds the growth further.
Reason 4 - Revenue
Even with a generous free ticket option, a virtual summit can be a significant source of direct revenue. The main streams:
- Upgraded ticket sales (all-access passes, VIP tiers)
- Sponsorships
- Affiliate income from event partners
- Backend revenue from your own products and programmes
Much of this is driven by reciprocity: when you give people genuine value for free, they are more inclined to buy an upgrade, enrol in a programme, or support your sponsors.
Here is the single most important thing I can tell you about summit pricing: a free ticket option will make you more money than any other revenue stream. Counterintuitive, but true. I will cover summit pricing in more depth in a future post.
How Often Should You Run One?
I recommend at least once a year. Partly because of the software costs involved - my go-to platform for the event itself is HeySummit - but mainly because an annual cadence keeps momentum with new leads and gives your audience something to look forward to.
The first event is the hardest. After that, you are building on an existing foundation with a warm audience that already knows what to expect.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is a virtual summit?+
A virtual summit is a fully online conference, typically running 3 to 7 days, featuring presentations from multiple speakers in a specific niche. Unlike a webinar or online course, it combines the scale and energy of a live event with the accessibility of an online format. Speakers present on topics relevant to your audience, participants register for free or paid tickets, and the host curates the whole experience.
Do I need a large existing audience to host a virtual summit?+
No. Many people run their first summit precisely to build an audience from scratch. Your speakers and affiliate partners bring their own audiences to your event, which means you can attract thousands of registrants even with a small list of your own. The summit builds your audience - you do not need one to start.
How much does it cost to run a virtual summit?+
Costs vary, but the main expenses are a summit platform (HeySummit starts around $24 per month), any paid advertising, and the time invested in organising speakers and sessions. Many first-time hosts run profitable events with minimal upfront spend by leaning on speaker and affiliate promotion rather than paid ads.
How often should I run a virtual summit?+
At least once a year is my recommendation. Annual cadence keeps momentum with new leads, fits comfortably within platform subscription costs, and gives your audience something to anticipate. Some hosts move to twice yearly once they have the process established.
Can I make money from a free virtual summit?+
Yes, and often more than from a paid-only event. Offering a free ticket builds a much larger registrant base, which increases all-access pass sales, affiliate commissions, and backend programme enrolments through reciprocity. The free ticket is a strategic revenue driver, not just a giveaway.
About the author
Kris Broholm
Virtual Summit Strategist
Kris Broholm is a virtual summit consultant with 7+ years of experience helping online business owners plan, launch, and profit from virtual summits. He has served over 100,000 participants and generated $250k+ in front-end ticket revenue for his clients.
He is the creator of the Total Summit System and a recommended consultant for HeySummit.