Estimated read time: 7 mins

I’m supposed to go to this party tonight, but it’s been a week (yes, I know it’s only Tuesday 😆).

Can I summon the energy to tweeze my eyebrows and dust the snow off my car? Not sure. 

If you’ve ever thought about participating in an online summit or bundle, and you’re introverted or *try* to be super strategic with your time like me, maybe you’ve thought the same thing: 

“Do I have time? The energy?” 

“Will it be worth it?” 

“Will the new friends I make really be aligned potential clients and customers or will they only like me for my spinach dip?”

I ask myself those same questions for parties and online summits and bundles alike. 

Quick aside: if you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s the scoop on these two free audience strategies… 

SUMMITS: Think of summits as virtual slumber parties for nerds in your niche (popcorn and pajamas totally optional). 

The host gathers a crew of experts (that’s you!) to share your magic in a series of talks, workshops, or panels over a few days. 

Attendees sign up to soak in all the juicy goodness, usually for free, and if they love your vibe, they opt into your list to snag your irresistible freebie. 

Translation: a sweet dose of authority-building and a flood of new subscribers, no late-night karaoke required.

BUNDLES: Bundles are like the mystery grab bags of the online world — except instead of plastic trinkets, they’re stuffed with premium goodies (courses, templates, guides) from different creators. 

Everyone offers one resource, and the whole package gets shared out for free or a steal of a deal price point. Every time someone nabs your resource, you get a shiny new subscriber. 

It’s list-building gold without the stress of hosting, pitching, or doing much more than sharing something you’ve already got. 

In the last year, I’ve participated in 6 bundles and 1 summit. Was it worth it? Keep reading to find out 👇

What you’ll learn in this article:

🍵💲Subscriber growth, retention, upsell %, and more summit and bundle BTS 

🍵💲What you need to have in place if you want to participate in either 

🍵💲Should you host your own summit or bundle?

The Tea: Summits and bundles — yes please or pass?

Over the past year I’ve had the privilege of participating in 6 bundles and 1 summit. Most of them were small and super niche specific and all of them were AWESOME and brought a lot of high-quality humans into my orbit. 

My top takeaways… 

⇒ I added a total of 1133 new subscribers and today 739 of them are still on my email list. 

That’s a 65% retention rate which I think is pretty dang good, especially if you compare it to something like paid ads which is more like 20-50%. 

⇒ My upsell conversion is only 4% — which I think makes sense based on the fact that people think they’re getting something completely free. When they see the option to purchase a lil extra sumthin’ it’s easy to say no. 

(It’s worth noting that my typical upsell conversion for the exact same offer when people pay for it is closer to 50%.)

⇒ Between the tech and the copy that went into doing my part to promote each bundle and summit to MY community, we clocked around 22 hours. 

So it wasn’t ~effortless~ but over the course of a year that’s a pretty low lift for me time wise. 

⇒ I do often get slightly higher unsubscribes from emails promoting a free summit or bundle. 

My favorite way to promote them is to organically weave the plug into my weekly newsletter (yep, the one you’re reading right now!) 

So are bundles and summits worth the effort? 

Here are 10 reasons why I think yes! 

1. They’re totally free to participate in

Unlike a lot of marketing strategies that can drain your wallet, participating in a summit or bundle costs nothing but a little bit of your time and brainpower. Who doesn’t love a zero-cost way to grow your audience?

2. You get to meet the coolest collaborators

Bundles and summits are a fast pass to building genuine connections with hosts and other contributors who get it. Hello, potential future partnerships and DM chats that don’t feel weird.

3. Your new subscribers are crazy aligned

People who opt in to summits and bundles are looking for exactly what you’re offering. They’re not just randoms — they’re your kinda people, which means they’re way more likely to stick around and eventually buy from you.

4. It builds serious authority

You’re literally featured alongside a curated lineup of experts. It’s like walking into a room full of people saying, “Yes, I belong here,” without having to humblebrag.

5. It’s a low-pressure way to experiment

Thinking about testing a new lead magnet or tweaking your pitch? Bundles and summits are a great playground to try things out with a fresh audience.

6. You’ll grow your list without launching

Launching something new can be a whole thing. Participating in a bundle or summit? Way less stressful, but still gives you that sweet new subscriber bump.

7. It’s less time-consuming than you think

Sure, you’ll spend a few hours getting everything set up, but compared to the ROI, it’s a small price to pay. Plus, if you recycle resources you’ve already made, it’s a very low lift.

8. You don’t have to be “on” all the time

Most of the time your contribution will be pre-recorded. No live Zooms where you’re worried your dog might start barking or your kid decides to reenact The Floor is Lava. You contribute your part and let the host do the heavy lifting.

9. Your people will love you for it

Sharing summits and bundles with your audience gives them access to valuable resources they might not have found otherwise. I get lots of messages thanking me for sharing (which makes any extra unsubs feel like water off this ducks back 💦)

10. It’s a long game win

Even if not every new subscriber stays forever, the ones who do are gold. They’re likely to open your emails, engage with your content, and eventually become loyal clients or customers.

Psst…I wish I had better data to share with you on the customer piece. 

Still sorting that tracking system out over here but I can say with confidence that I get many buyers who came in through a summit or bundle collab, especially for my templates! 

Into it? 

Here’s what you need to put in place if you wanna participate in the next bundle or summit opp that comes your way: 

✅ An email list or following to promote to (even if it’s small!)

✅ A welcome sequence to nurture your new subscribers 

✅ For summits: A signature talk or workshop 

✅ For summits: An epic free lead magnet — might I suggest a quiz? 

✅ For bundles: An Easy Yes paid offer (under $97) 

✅ For both: Upsells on your Easy Yes offer or tripwires on your lead magnet to turn subscribers into sales 

^^Missing some things on that list? I’ve got your back with ALL of it. 

Watch your inbox for my Black Friday sale and save big on all the resources and support you’ll need to create a high-converting quiz, a bomb welcome sequence, signature talk, and Easy Yes offer!

“Sounds great Chanti so where the heck do I find summits and bundles to participate in within my niche?”

Gooooooood question. The answer unfortunately isn’t super straightforward. Finding cool summits and bundles to participate in isn’t exactly Google-able. 

I find Perplexity (an AI powered “answer engine”) to be a lot more useful here. 

Plug in a prompt like this one: 

I run a {describe what you sell}. I sell {describe what you sell.} I’m looking for summits and bundles in this niche that I can pitch to participate in. Can you give me a list of online summits and/or bundles in this space or tangentially related niches?

… you’ll get some good answers. Mostly for summits or bundles that have already passed. But if they were successful, the host is likely to do it again (and again and again) so you can reach out and see if they’re looking for contributors next time around. 

Another option if you’re a real go-getter is to create your own summit or bundle. I’ve participated in multiple summits hosted by my friend Eden and she shares a bit here how she pulls off summits that make $16k (probably more now, this is an older pod). 

I’ve worked with multiple clients whose businesses absolutely exploded (in a good way) because they started hosting summits. 

Personally, the idea of organizing that many people scares me, but maybe that’s a sign? 

In any case, you probably already know of a few big summits or bundles in your niche so go forth and pitch to be a contributor if you want an easy way to grow your email list with aligned humans 🙌

Sip on this…  

🧋 A lil reminder to support local this Black Friyay!