When you’re planning a virtual summit, there’s one thing that can make or break your launch:

Your promotion strategy.

And if you’re anything like me, that part can feel ... uncomfortable. I don’t want to blow up inboxes. I don’t want to sound like every other person shouting “SIGN UP NOW!” in a crowded season full of events.

But I also know that if people don’t hear about the summit, they can’t show up. And if I don’t promote confidently and intentionally, my speakers, partners, and audience miss out on the full potential of what we’ve built.

So the question becomes:

How do you promote a summit without feeling spammy?

Here’s what I’ve been doing for Teach Me How to Summit this year—and how I’ve adjusted our strategy to stand out during a particularly noisy season of online events.

1. We Opened a Waitlist Tied to Speaker Affiliate Links

This year, we’re running the summit during a month packed with other virtual events and collaborations. Instead of trying to compete for attention last-minute, we shifted our timeline and started promoting earlier than usual.

We opened a waitlist page connected to speaker affiliate links in ThriveCart.

That means when speakers shared the waitlist, they were still tracked as affiliates, even before registration officially opened. This gave them a head start without missing out on credit for referrals.

It also helped build buzz early and gave us a list of warm leads ready to go when registration went live. This honestly feels so much better than opening registration without having anyone already signed up as interested. 

2. We Gave Speakers What They Needed—Early

If you want your speakers to promote, you need to make it easy. That starts with having updated, event-specific promo materials ready in advance.

We created custom graphics, email swipes, and captions for the waitlist phase, not just the main registration. There’s nothing worse than watching someone promote your event with outdated branding or incorrect information, so we made sure they had exactly what they needed, right from the start.

And instead of pushing for a coordinated “launch week,” we gave speakers the flexibility to promote as early as they needed to, depending on their own schedules and priorities.

That alone took a lot of pressure off everyone, and even though our main push would still be 2 weeks prior to the event start date, it felt right! 

3. We Opened Registration Early—and Let It Work

Our registration page is designed to convert-

unlike the waitlist page which is basically just a form.

So instead of waiting until 2 weeks before the event, we opened registration a full 30 days early to give our audience, speakers, and affiliates time to send traffic to the page.

Yes, that meant shifting our entire project timeline. We had to build everything earlier—copy, design, integrations, emails.

But it was worth it.

When you have a high-converting registration page, you don’t want to keep it hidden. Getting it live early helped us maximize every opportunity and allowed people to register at their own pace, not just in a last-minute rush.

4. We Reworked Our Email Strategy (Big Time)

This year, I was feeling the pressure in my inbox. And I knew our audience was too. There were a lot of emails flying around, and many were from people who had similar audiences. 

If we wanted to break through the noise, we had to step it up—and get more strategic than ever before.

Here’s what we changed:

We segmented our list instead of sending the same messages to everyone.

I usually skip segmentation, but this time, it felt essential.

We created separate sequences for:

•  Members of Summit Club
•  People who had purchased from us before
•  Past summit attendees
•  General email subscribers

Each segment got a unique email flow based on what we knew about them.

Some sequences were more frequent, some were shorter. Some were detailed and informative, others were quick and to the point. This allowed us to speak directly to each group’s needs and interests.

We offered a summit-only unsubscribe option.

If someone didn’t want to hear more about the summit, they could opt out of just those emails without leaving the list entirely. This gave them control—and protected our relationship for the long run.

5. We Focused on Value-Driven Messaging

We knew we had to send more emails than usual, but that didn’t mean we had to make them feel salesy.

Some emails were educational—sharing summit speaker topics, behind-the-scenes stories, or helpful launch tips. Others were short, personal reminders with a clear link to register. We're trying to keep them balanced to keep things fresh and aligned with our brand voice.

It wasn’t about sending more for the sake of it—it was about sending the right messages to the right people at the right time.

My Final Thoughts

I’m not here to pretend that summit promotion is effortless.

It’s not.

It takes intention, flexibility, and yes—sometimes a complete rework of your normal launch schedule.

But by planning ahead, customizing our approach, and focusing on clarity over pressure, we were able to show up with confidence without feeling spammy.

If you’re planning your own summit and worried about promotion burnout—for you or your audience—remember this:

You can promote often and promote well. You just need the right systems, clear messaging, and a willingness to shift the strategy when needed.