I recently hosted the Launch Made Simple Audio Summit. I received so much positive feedback from the event and emails asking how to build your own Micro Audio Summit™. I wanted to sit down with my friend, Wendy Breakstone, who is the creator of the Micro Audio Summit™ to share more about her framework and how you can build your own too!
What is a Micro Audio Summit™?
Karrie: I want to start by sharing a little bit about what it is, my experience, and the results I had, and why I think everyone should be doing Micro Audio Summits™, but first let me introduce you to Wendy Breakstone, the creator of the Micro Audio Summit™ framework.
Wendy: I think Micro Audio Summits™ are going to take over the world, and at the same time I hope they don’t because the concept is so unique and special, I almost want to keep it to this cool, secretive underground thing for coaches and program creators, like ourselves, that want to have this magical lead generation system in our back pocket. So while I don’t want everyone to know about it, I also want the people that really need it to be able to use it.
When I think of a Micro Audio Summit™, it’s a phrase that I’ve trademarked to this framework that I created. At its core, it’s a lead generation system. It grows your email list so that you have engaged, highly targeted leads that will need your programs, products, or services.
The Micro Audio Summit™ system is meant to be a runway into your programs or launches. If you think about what a big full-scale virtual summit is, or a traditional virtual summit, you often think about a multi-day event with dozens of speakers that a host will bring together. There’s a lot of video and/or slide presentation watching, and clock watching so you are sure to turn in to the speakers you want to see. There’s often an upsell to a VIP package, so if the attendee doesn’t watch what they want or binge these dozens of speakers in a limited period of time, they lose access. And it’s a lot for the attendee.
What I realized in this process is number one, personally, I don’t want to force my audience to sit and spend more time at their computer screen. To me, that is almost borderline unethical at this point, because as online entrepreneurs, we’re already forced to spend so much time at our computers. And if we are at our computers, if we’re staring at our computer screens, in my opinion, we should be doing income-producing activities.
I wanted to find the sweet spot of bringing a lot of speakers together, getting free access to other people’s audiences (which is kind of the reason that people want to host a summit, right?), and creating a magical ecosystem. But I didn’t like the high number of speakers required in a traditional summit. I didn’t like all of the fluff and the bells and whistles, and I didn’t like how these fuller scale, virtual summits have started to feel very like salesy webinars.
With all that in mind, I sat down and created the Micro Audio Summit™ system. In a nutshell, it’s like if a virtual summit and a podcast had a baby, it would be a Micro Audio Summit™.
What Is the Framework of a Micro Audio Summit™?
Wendy: A Micro Audio Summit™ is a small scale event with four main features that make up the framework:
* It’s four to seven speakers so it’s super manageable for you as the host, and it’s also manageable for your attendees to watch. They’re not overwhelmed with so much minutia that they walk away feeling like they’re an information overload. It’s really nice for the speakers because you shine the light on the speakers and they’re not getting lost in this sea of presentations.
* It’s free for attendees. There is a registration window and anybody that registers during that open window gets free access. You don’t remove the access from those that have registered, and there is no VIP pass upsell. They can continue to have access as long as you choose whether six months, a year, or longer.
* All of the interviews are released at the same time on the same day. There’s no crazy schedule. This makes it easy on you as the host and also easy for the attendees to consume. They can binge-listen in a couple of hours to your entire audio summit and immediately get into action. They don’t have to wade through so much content that they just don’t know what to do.
* It takes on average five to six weeks to create. If you’re someone hoping to build your own Micro Audio Summit™, know that you don’t have to burn yourself out doing it, and you don’t have to sell your soul to the devil to make it happen. There’s no expectation that you have to ignore your family or your business to create a really high-quality, low-effort event in six weeks.
Karrie: Amen. And I love the backstory too. I mean, I’ve mentioned that same analogy too: it’s like a podcast meets a summit and they had a baby because it’s really true.
We’ve all been down the traditional summit route and they’ve been around now for at least a couple of years. I’ve participated in a few of them, myself. From a participant standpoint, I had to create the slide presentation, and then record the slide presentation. Often there’s an expectation that you create something for the VIP bundle, and it can be a lot. But the participation in summits is good for growing your list potentially.
That said, I’ve been in summits where I went through the work and I didn’t get many leads, so it can go either way.
When I followed up with the speakers from my Launch Made Simple Micro-Audio Summit™, the feedback from them was that it was easy to participate. They just showed up and had a conversation. There was no expectation of fancy slide presentations. They were still able to get in front of each other’s audiences and on the summit registration page, we shared all the links to their lead magnet and how to get in touch with them.
Wendy: It becomes a mutually beneficial program for both people. It truly is a win-win for the host and the speakers. And it’s also a win for the attendees because a lot of the times when you sit through or when you register for a full-scale virtual summit, you may have the best intentions, but life gets in the way.
In reality, nobody has time to watch, 20 plus hours of videos or slide presentations. It’s silly. Right? And so, and if you don’t buy the upsell, you’re going to lose access.
In my opinion, you’re doing the attendees a disservice. And so I want to give them the information that they need to get traction. You can do that really well in a Micro Audio Summit™. You don’t have to give them a full transformation; all you need to do is give them traction so that they can take the next best step. And that’s really important. So it’s a true win for the attendees.
What Are the Benefits for the Business Owners?
Karrie: I wanted to touch on something you mentioned about hosting a traditional virtual summit, curating the line up, and gathering all the materials.
Wendy: Yes, when you ask your speakers to send in presentations, the host is adding more tasks onto their to-do list, another nagging thing. And then you have to bug them to send it in, right? That’s not the way to create a power alliance with somebody that you want to have a deep relationship with.
When you build your own Micro Audio Summit™ and invite someone to the stage to interview them, you get to shine the light on them and pull out their expertise. They are going to be super grateful for you, and they’re going to want to reciprocate. So when the time comes, and they have a platform they’re going to turn around and invite you to it.
You don’t want to be just another thing on somebody’s to-do list. You want to build a relationship with them. And so not only is the Micro Audio Summit™ system built for those targeted leads that you want to get to your email list. It’s also built for creating those rich quick power alliances with your speakers. In business, this is really, really important.
Karrie: Yes. I definitely to add to that too. You may have a mentor or, someone you admire online. And you would like to create this relationship, but you’re hesitant about how can I approach them? It can be challenging when there is a dynamic of ‘Ooh, they’re up here, and I’m just little ol’ me with little platform here.’ The Micro Audio Summit™ system gives them a way to shine and it gives you a reason to reach out, as you said.
Who doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of that? Knowing hey, someone’s following me and they think that I’m really cool. And they actually want me to come and speak in front of their audience. And so, it just makes it easier and takes away that awkwardness.
People just love creating a relationship. When you build your own Micro Audio Summit™ you’re creating that power relationship and it gives you a reason to reach out. When I curated Launch Made Simple, I reached out to all of the speakers and they all said yes. Only one or two had scheduling conflicts. No one was put off and said, no, I don’t want to do it. When the timing was the issue, I was able to offer that I was going to host four more throughout the year since they were so easy to host. I was able to offer to reach out next time.
Wendy: Yes, you can stay in touch throughout the year. Reach out to them and you don’t know what it will lead to. Maybe a collaboration, a referral partner, or whatever it is. I just love that.
Karrie: I have to touch on something else. What I love about this is that you design it around your own life. Unlike a podcast or a YouTube channel, which is what I did last year, is every single week you have to crank out a video or a podcast. Or if you go the traditional virtual summit route, it could be a six-month commitment where it just takes over your life or you need to hire a team. The Micro Audio Summits™ are quick and easy. I already have them scheduled throughout the year based on my calendar and availability.
Wendy: I think one of the fundamental problems that I see with a YouTube channel or a podcast is that they’re never “done”? You jump on the endless podcast hamster wheel or the endless video production hamster wheel. And because you’re not collecting email addresses upfront, you may be collecting followers, but followers are not leads until they join your email list. And so if you are newer to podcasting or you don’t have a stable base of audience authority or email lists already, who are you going to promote a podcast or a video channel to?
That’s why I really love the Micro Audio Summit™ framework because there’s urgency and concentration built-in. It really helps you maximize your growth and get that surge to your email list.
Remember, this is about growing your email list. So you have warm, engaged, highly targeted leads to sell your programs, products, and services.
Karrie: Perfect. For me, that was my number one goal for 2022. I need to work on lead generation especially since I recently pivoted my business to provide launch management services, I needed to change my audience. So when I heard about the opportunity where I could build my own Micro Audio Summit™ for this, it really helped.
How Can You Build Your Own Micro Audio Summit™?
Karrie: The other thing that I’ve learned through years of being in business is when I buy a course, it usually sits on my hard drive. The reason I got this off the ground as fast as I did, in six weeks, was because you have this incredible accelerator program.
Wendy: The Micro Audio Summit™ Accelerator is a six-week, no-nonsense, produce your Micro Audio Summit™ with me guiding you through the way.
We meet every week, and I answer your questions. It helps you remove the roadblocks and stay in action. And just like anything that you do the first time, it is going to be and feel more overwhelming and more complicated than it truly is.
The Micro Audio Summit ™Accelerator is meant to get you into action, allow you to build your own Micro Audio Summit™, and launch it. It’s such an easy process, the second one and the third one are going to be a breeze because you just rinse and repeat. You don’t have to start from scratch or reinvent the wheel, but really it’s that first one that I want to help you through.
The Micro Audio Summit™ Accelerator
Wendy: I created the accelerator in two parts. The first part is six weeks of hand-holding with week over week coaching. I do have a few extra bonus trainings here and there. The second part of it is the complete Micro Audio Summit™ system, which is all of the materials, training, templates, and trackers you need to make it happen and continue to make it happen. So you come into the program ready to hit the ground running, and then by the end, you’ve created your first one. You maintain access to all of the system and all of the assets that you purchased. And then the next one, and those thereafter just get easier and easier.
Karrie: That’s exactly why I joined. I know we’ve all bought courses with all the intention of using them. I’ve gotten to the point I don’t buy a program unless there’s some sort of accountability. This was exactly what I needed.
The first time is always the most time-consuming. It’s not the hardest, but it’s time-consuming. That’s where I look forward to the rinse and repeat.
A Community of Business Owners
Karrie: You forget about the added benefit, and one I really enjoyed. I thought I was coming into this accelerator where there’d be everyone like me. Instead, I was really pleasantly surprised at the different people that were in the Accelerator.
One of the neat things was we took your framework and then we added our own, little spin on it.
They were taking your framework and adapting it to their audience and how they want to use it. There’s flexibility.
Then too, as with any program, there’s the networking. I was a guest on someone else’s Micro Audio Summit™ that I recorded recently. These are people I would never have had access to their audience. It was the perfect complementary audience. I love that it gives me a chance to expand my network and meet other people.
I was on the summit circuit in 2019 & 2020. I would be seen because you’re creating your expert status. I was finding I didn’t have to pitch myself anymore because people were seeing me and in turn inviting me to their summits. The visibility is great, but the accelerator provided that networking, and just the variety of people was neat because you can see how other people use it.
There is also that continual inspiration from the community members of what I might be able to try next time. I’m planning to have four more this year, but there are going to be layers of things, taking ideas from other business owners that have tried different things.
Wendy: I love that! Also one of the reasons that I created it was because of the flexibility. Personally, I don’t want to be tied into anything. I am a Gemini. I get bored after the first time of anything basically. So I love the idea you can change up the number of speakers depending on what fits your lifestyle at that moment. For example, at a time when you’re on summer vacation or planning back to school maybe you’d plan to have fewer speakers and make it a little bit tighter.
So at different times of the year, depending on the season that you’re in, the season that your family is in, and the season that your business is in, you can decide if you want to have a smaller one or a bigger one.
I do recommend when you build your own Micro Audio Summit™, you focus on four to seven speakers. I wouldn’t go over eight speakers, frankly, even though sometimes we feel like we want to and only because we’ve been trained to supersize everything. Just like, McDonald’s just like, you know, throwing everything in the kitchen sink into a low ticket offer. We’ve been trained that more is better.
The Micro Audio Summit™ actually is the reverse of that. It’s less is better. It’s higher impact with less effort for you and an easier time for your attendees.
What Results Can I Expect when I Build My Own Micro Audio Summit™?
Karrie: I still pinch myself sometimes that it’s turned out so well for me, I can only speak for my results from the first summit, but my email list increased by 30% and I’m totally excited about that. There was no ad spend. I’ve never grown my email list that fast without having to put money behind it. Yes, there was time investment, but I’ve also created valuable relationships.
If you’re wondering how you can build your own Micro Audio Summit, you can visit THIS affiliate link which will bring you to Wendy’s masterclass where she will even go more in-depth about the process. I know it was so value-packed, I think that I was sold on the idea in less than 30 minutes. I happen to know that there’s a special, fast-acting bonus if you sign up after watching the Micro Audio Summit™ Masterclass, but it’s so important to have the groundwork explained first
Wendy: Yes, it’s helpful to understand where I was when I created the program and it lays out in more detail, the features, and the benefits that you can expect with it. And then you can really decide if it’s right for you or not.
Karrie: Wendy, thank you so much for sharing all about your Micro Audio Summit™ framework and Accelerator program. I know it was hugely beneficial to me and others in your first cohort who have launched their Micro Audio Summits™. Learn more and get started today!
Micro Audio Summit™ is a trademark of Wendy Breakstone, Wow Your Prospects, LLC. All rights reserved.
