My Review of HeySummit Virtual Event Software (2022 Ready!)

Note from Kris: This review first appeared on Virtual Event Mob (my virtual event management agency.)

Introduction

In this HeySummit review I’ll be going over all the important features, and share my thoughts on why I consider it to be the best virtual event platform on the market today.

Unlike a lot of other HeySummit reviews out there, this is written by somebody who has actually used the software to run massively successful events with thousands of participants, so I have a lot of experience and insight to share with you today.

Enjoy!

What is HeySummit?

HeySummit is virtual event software, which makes it easy for people, companies, and marketers to run online conferences or “summits” which can be great for networking in your industry, generating a ton of new leads, and, of course, making lots of money too.

Our results with HeySummit

We’ve run 3 major online conferences within HeySummit with more scheduled to come. Our most recent event had over 17,000 registrations and resulted in 6-figure revenue for the client.

I’ve personally tested and tried more than 10 different solutions to organising online summits, and they range from lacking to, well, downright awful.

HeySummit Features

One of the reasons that I like HeySummit so much, and consider them the top choice for organising and running virtual events online, is their comprehensive set of features which make organising an online summit or event a breeze.

Let’s dive in and see what some of these these features are. Naturally, it would be impossible for me to list every feature here, but I’ve tried to list the most important.

What I like about HeySummit

Flexibility when it comes to event and ticket types

No matter how you want to run your online event, HeySummit is capable of doing it.

You want to pre-record all sessions and have them become available at certain times – no problem! (we actually recommend our clients this setup, as it greatly reduces hassle and risk of technical problems)

You want to have a mix of pre-recorded and live sessions? No problem.

You want to make it pay to join, free forever, or some combination of the two – no problem!

You want to have free access for a limited time, but then force people to upgrade to a VIP ticket (or All-Access Pass) – no problem!

You want to have different levels of VIP tickets, like a super premium ticket option as well – No problem.

No matter how you’d like to run and organise your event, HeySummit is natively configured to do that for you.

HeySummit is built with marketing in mind – not as an afterthought

One of the most important aspects of any online event is the marketing of it. Because, if you’re not able to reach your target audience – then what’s the point?

HeySummit has the following ‘marketing’ features built in as a default

• Affiliate Marketing System – This usually requires a standalone subscription or software, but it’s included by default. Make all your speakers affiliate partners and give them access to their very own dashboard. They also get custom graphics in here, but they are not the prettiest so I wouldn’t consider this a big bonus.
• Sponsorships – Sponsorships are also built in, which allows you to use creative widgets and even print the sponsors to your emails (if you use the HeySummit email system – more about that later.)
• Make your event evergreen, or limit it to only certain times of year – the latter increases urgency, while the former provides a stable, passive income source to your business.
• Encouraging Social Shares at the right times – after someone grabs a ticket they are invited to share it on their social media accounts.
• Lead Capture – The default setup is to collect leads with free tickets. HeySummit offers a few different widgets and places to do this, which shows they understand what it’s about.
• Urgency – If you have time limits to your presentations (usually for free ticket holders) HeySummit will make people aware that the clock is ticking, and offer the opportunity to upgrade if/when the time runs out.
• Discounts – offer coupon codes for your event.
• Checkout System – Let HeySummit handle all the payments and have them paid out to your Stripe Account.
• Analytics – Registered users, ticket sales, social shares, affiliate analytics – HeySummit offers a top level picture of your event at all times.

3. HeySummit is easy to use and get started with

Most of HeySummit’s features are extremely intuitive, and can be set up by anyone who’s had a bit of experience online. If you know how to navigate your way around WordPress, for example, you’ll have no problems working with HeySummit.

Everything works from a central point, so you don’t have to edit or update every single event page if you want to make a change. You simply change it in the control panel, and it will be reflected everywhere on your event site.

It’s not like running an event on a platform like WordPress or Kajabi, where you manually have to do a lot of things.

Even the scheduling is set and forget with HeySummit, so you don’t have to log in halfway through your event to limit the access, or make the presentations available at certain times. It’s all automatic.

What I don’t like about HeySummit

Alright.

So far this article has been extremely positive, and this also reflects how I feel about HeySummit overall. It’s in my opinion the best software solution for hosting virtual events on the market, right now.

HOWEVER, every rose has its thorns and HeySummit is definitely not without thorns either.

Let’s check them out here.

General Customisation

HeySummit offer a generous amount of customisation options, but it is held back by limitations in two specific areas:

Customising Text – Changing any “core” text requires inputting it into a super clunky “translation module.”

There is also no option to remove any of these, so you’d have to type in white space or completely change the block to something different to make it fit your brand.

This doesn’t mean all text, as some of your HeySummit text can be edited directly (strangely enough.) I hope they make this a universal thing.

Email Templates – HeySummits built-in email system is actually pretty functional, smart, and it works together perfectly with the speaker, sessions, and sponsorship modules.

BUT, the editor lacks the ability to fully customise the emails, so it’s virtually impossible to create something that is congruent with your brand.

Like the text, some elements are not removable either which can be awkward.

Here’s an example of an email template. All the text itself is fully editable.

What to do for emails then?

I use my own CRM (Kartra) to schedule and send the emails, which gives me complete control over the visuals and also when the emails go out.

This is also the software I use in my business for email marketing and lead capture anyway, and it’s easy to connect to HeySummit via Zapier to carry the leads over.

Appearance is a bit bland

The default design, layout, and visual appearance of HeySummit is definitely not the most exciting. It’s highly functional, and it’s not unappealing to the point where it’s going to turn away potential leads who might have been interested in your event.

HeySummit Pricing

How much does HeySummit cost?

HeySummit’s cheapest plan starts at $25 per month. However, this plan is limited to just 250 registrations and you’ll be paying a hefty 10% transaction fee on top of your subscription.

They offer a total of 3 plans to choose from, all with unlimited active events included. They recently reduced their prices, making it a lot more accessible.

The “Success” plan (at $195/month) unlocks all features, removes all branding, and has no transaction fees for using HeySummit’s payment processing.

Considering that the going rate for VIP Tickets (or All-Access Passes as they’re sometimes referred to) is somewhere between $67 and $197 you wouldn’t have to sell more than few to cover the cost of your subscription.

Here’s the full list of HeySummit features included with all 3 plans:

What does active events mean?

HeySummit consider “Active Events” as events that currently allow subscriptions to them. So, if you want to run your event once a year, you wouldn’t need to continue paying the monthly subscription if registration to your event is currently closed.

Existing participants and ticket holders will still be able to access the content.

Does HeySummit store the videos?

No, we use Vimeo Pro for this. It very affordable, and allows us to stream and/or embed the sessions anywhere. Plus, you can use the same subscription as a live streaming/webinar platform.

Conclusion

In conclusion, HeySummit is in my opinion the best virtual event management software on the market today. While it has some limitations, the rich feature set more than makes up for it. Highly recommended.

Want us to run your next HeySummit event?

Virtual Event Mob is a full-service agency, specialising in organising virtual events on the HeySummit platform.

We take care of everything involved with your event, so all you have to do is tell us who you’d like to present and what dates you’d like the event to go live.

You can read one of our previous case-studies, check out our client feedback, and submit this form to get started.