The Art of Online Business
The Definitive Guide to Rocking An Online Summit | w/ Marisa Corcoran
Wed Jun 28 2023Description
This episode explores Marisa's unique approach to summits, focusing on inclusivity, charity, and effective copywriting. Marisa shares her Signature Summit System and how she creates, positions, and delivers her summits. The episode covers topics such as creating an uncopyable message, the journey to starting summits, community-centric approaches, summit organization and delivery, pitching guests for podcast summits, creating collaborations and disrupting the industry, the Copy Chat Society and future summits, and final remarks from Marisa. Join the CopyChat community and learn from Marisa's success in the summit space.
Insights
Marisa's Unique Approach
Marisa's summits stand out due to her focus on inclusivity, charity, and effective copywriting. She creates a community-centric approach that engages participants and promotes collaboration.
The Power of Messaging
Having a clear and specific message is crucial for selling and attracting the right people. Marisa emphasizes the importance of messaging before marketing and highlights how copy enhances the messaging by showcasing personality and values.
Marisa's Summit Journey
Marisa's journey to starting summits was influenced by her acting background and her experience as a copywriter. She focused on selling her program rather than just building a list of subscribers, promoting speakers heavily and making the community feel engaged.
Community-Centric Approach
Marisa puts the community at the heart of her CopyChat event, aiming for people to remember, rave about, and refer the event. By cutting the number of speakers in half, she achieved the same results while creating a diverse lineup from marginalized communities.
Summit Organization and Delivery
Marisa's summit organization includes welcome emails, onboarding emails, daily interviews with different speakers, and additional content in a Facebook group. The opt-in page reveals speakers without their exact titles until after the interviews have been conducted.
Pitching Guests for Podcast Summits
Personalizing pitches and showing genuine interest in guests' work is key to successfully pitching guests for podcast summits. Building relationships with potential guests can lead to future opportunities.
Creating Collaborations and Disrupting the Industry
Marisa's podcast aims to bring together high-caliber speakers and create collaborations. The focus is on disrupting and changing the industry with integrity and a reputation-centered approach to selling.
Copy Chat Society and Future Summits
The Copy Chat Society will open its doors soon, with a shortened duration of around four weeks. There is a deliberate break between the summit and the sale to allow for promotion. Season eight of the Copy Chat will be held in early 2024, right after the summit for the first time.
Connect with Marisa and Final Remarks
Join the CopyChat Facebook group to connect with the community. Marisa aims to give away her student loan of $178,000 and has achieved over $2 million in revenue without paid advertising. Creating a community is powerful, and Marisa invites listeners to sign up for her next Copy Chat Summit in July.
Chapters
- Marisa's Summits
- Creating an Uncopyable Message
- Marisa's Journey to Summits
- Community-Centric Approach
- Summit Organization and Delivery
- Pitching Guests for Podcast Summits
- Creating Collaborations and Disrupting the Industry
- Copy Chat Society and Future Summits
- Connect with Marisa and Final Remarks
Marisa's Summits
00:01 - 06:54
- People have had positive experiences with Marisa's summits, such as signing up for email lists and engaging in Facebook groups.
- Marisa's acting background influenced her approach to creating successful summits.
- Rick introduces Marisa Corcoran, who does summits differently and focuses on inclusivity and charity.
- Marisa shares her Signature Summit System and how she creates, positions, and delivers her summits.
- The episode offers ideas for doing summits differently and raising money for charity.
- Marisa is currently on a cross-country trip with stops in various cities.
- New Orleans was a particularly enjoyable city on the trip for Marisa.
- Marisa is a copywriter who emphasizes the importance of effective copy in business.
Creating an Uncopyable Message
06:32 - 12:58
- Creating an uncopyable message and supporting copy is crucial for selling and attracting the right people.
- Messaging is essential before marketing, as unclear communication leads to difficulty in selling.
- Having a clear and specific message simplifies business operations.
- Messaging is what you say, while copy enhances the messaging by showcasing your personality and values.
- Summits have been around since at least 2015, but there's a unique twist to Marisa's signature summit system.
- Marisa started doing summits after being a copywriter for them and having multiple jobs in her life.
- Flexibility was necessary for Marisa due to auditions and other commitments.
Marisa's Journey to Summits
12:31 - 18:54
- The speaker was auditioning for acting roles while also looking for flexibility in her schedule.
- A friend suggested she use her writing skills to help with websites and copywriting.
- She learned on the job and realized that acting skills translated well into writing copy.
- She started creating her own summits after being inspired by friends who found success in creating their own platforms.
- The speaker created a summit called the Copy Chat, which premiered in February 2019 and has since had multiple seasons.
- The first program she sold was the Copy Confident Society, which she opened shortly after starting the Copy Chat.
- She focused solely on running the Copy Chat and selling into the Copy Confident Society for two years without distractions or other offers.
- The speaker approached her summit as a way to sell her program rather than just building a list of subscribers.
- She promoted the speakers heavily and made the community feel engaged and involved in the event.
Community-Centric Approach
18:27 - 25:03
- The creator of the CopyChat event put the community at the heart of it.
- The goal was for people to remember, rave about, and refer the CopyChat.
- The typical summit format with 20-30 speakers was overwhelming for listeners.
- By cutting the number of speakers in half, they achieved the same results.
- Season four of the CopyChat had 10 speakers and over 4,000 sign-ups.
- The event focused on creating a diverse lineup of speakers from marginalized communities.
- All profits from the all access pass were donated to charity, raising over $100,000 so far.
- VIP access included lifetime access to interviews, a bonus class with the creator, and a workbook.
- The VIP upgrade cost $27 during the promo period and increased afterward.
Summit Organization and Delivery
24:43 - 31:08
- During the summit sign-up process, participants are presented with an offer to purchase the Copy Chat Kit and support a charity.
- Welcome emails and onboarding emails are sent throughout the two-week period of the summit.
- The core interviews with guests are recorded in audio format, while additional content in the Facebook group is delivered through video.
- Guests are interviewed based on specific topics related to copywriting and given the opportunity to suggest other topics they feel passionate about.
- Daily emails are sent during the week of the summit, featuring interviews with different speakers and providing links to listen to them.
- The opt-in page shows the speakers for the season without revealing their exact titles until after the interviews have been conducted.
Pitching Guests for Podcast Summits
30:47 - 36:38
- Pitching guests for a podcast summit can be challenging
- Many people pitch in a poor and ineffective way
- The key is to personalize the pitch and show genuine interest in the guest's work
- Being specific about why you want to have them as a guest is important
- Building a relationship with potential guests, even if they decline initially, can lead to future opportunities
- Changing the way summits are pitched is a passion for the host
Creating Collaborations and Disrupting the Industry
36:14 - 42:38
- Speakers are allowed to share a free gift and promote it throughout the podcast.
- The podcast aims to bring together high-caliber speakers and create collaborations.
- The host encourages guests to be part of a movement to disrupt and change the industry.
- Selling is approached with integrity, focusing on the reputation and integrity of the summit.
- After the summit ends, an email is sent with information on money raised and what to expect from the community.
- A pre-launch period of four to seven weeks is used before opening doors for sales.
- Promotion of the Copy Confidence Society is done subtly throughout interviews and discussions.
- There is a deliberate pause between promoting the summit and starting sales.
Copy Chat Society and Future Summits
42:08 - 48:35
- The Copy Chat Society is opening its doors in a couple of weeks.
- The duration of the Copy Confidence Society used to be longer, but it has been shortened to around four weeks.
- There is a break between the summit and the sale to give space and time for promotion.
- The host has never tried going right into a sale immediately after the summit.
- Season eight of the Copy Chat will be held in early 2024, right after the summit for the first time.
- The focus of the summit is on quality rather than quantity of listeners, with specific messaging and intentional steps throughout.
- Specificity and intention in every step of the system can lead to successful results, such as increased sign-ups and charity donations.
- Each day of the summit covers different topics related to copywriting, including messaging, copy specifics, social media, and mindset.
- To sign up for the July Copy Chat, visit TheCopyChat.com when it becomes available. The promo period will start on June 27th.
Connect with Marisa and Final Remarks
48:10 - 51:02
- Join the CopyChat Facebook group to see the community and what they're up to
- DM Marisa on Instagram for support
- Summits haven't been covered on the podcast before, so it's a fresh perspective
- Marisa has had success with summits and is helping others do the same
- She aims to give away her student loan of $178,000
- Over $2 million in revenue without paid advertising
- Creating a community is powerful
- Marisa's website is Marisa.com and her Instagram handle is @mtonym
- Sign up for her next Copy Chat Summit in July at thecopychat.com