How Michelle Used Summits and Bundles to Grow Her Email List Fast

This is an interview with Michelle Pontver.

Hey, Michelle. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

Hi, I’m Michelle and I like to call myself an Easy Events Expert. I love of low-lift list growth and lead generating events that grow your business without overstretching your limited time, energy and capacity.

After quitting a shiny career as a Hollywood Set Decorator and moving to Paris, I spend my limited “desk time” helping small business owners grow their list and boost their visibility by hosting impactful yet low-lift online events (like a summit, conference, bundle, giveaway and more!). 

I’m also a neurodivergent caregiver to a high-support needs kiddo, wife, cat herder, Australian living in Paris, France. And I can usually be found playing with my son, cuddling my kitties, knitting a Scandi sweater, or munching on some delicious local patisseries.

How and when did your online business journey begin? 

I started my business in 2019 with a baby in arms after being downsized while on maternity leave.

What does an event strategist do exactly?

I mostly work with people inside my group program Simple Audio Summits and in 1:1s to map out how to design an event experience that leads naturally to your offer without burning you out in the process.

I love finding a standout topic that attracts the right audience and designing a truly valuable free experience that primes them for your offer, while keeping the back-end of your event experience as easy as possible for you to pull of. 

I was drawn to hosting events myself after struggling to market and grow my list with the other traditional organic strategies, and found creating my own space and getting in front of existing audiences to be far more effective and less draining.

How long did it take you to make your first money online?

My very first invoice was for a web design project about one month after starting my business.

Back then I did done-for-you website projects, but I quickly pivoted to offering 1:many courses and digital products as fitting client work into my limited “desk time” wasn’t working out for me.

Looking back at your first year in business, what did growth look like in terms of clients, income, or visibility?

Once I started focusing on selling courses, I realized quickly that I needed to grow an audience to sell to.

I tired everything (blogging, Pinterest, freebies, social…) but it was a real slog to get those first subscribers.

Then I raised my hand to be part of a bundle one of my mentors was hosting, and suddenly my list grew by thousands! And it was a love affair with collaborative events from then on.

What was your very first event like? What worked and what didn’t?

The first event I hosted was a pop-up collaborative blog post with 3 friends, where we shared our journey from serving clients to selling digital products.

It was super easy to put together, I loved sharing it with my audience and I got a few hundred subscribers from it!

The only thing I’d change was giving it more time as my people loved it but not everyone had time to dive in before we closed the event experience.

How has your event strategy evolved since those early days?

I still love taking a creative approach to my events and exploring different formats, like the pop-up blog post!

However, these days I tend to host larger summits and am building them into my marketing calendar intentional to give them lots of time in the spotlight.

When did you first realize summits and bundles could lead into higher-ticket group offers?

From the start, I saw that these high-value free experiences were a great lead into your paid offers – when done right.

Picking the right topic is key to those post-summit sales, espeically for higher-ticket offers figuring that out upfront is key.

How did you attract your very first clients and students?

Mostly through networking and then through participating in other people’s events before I started hosting my own.

How do new clients or students typically discover you today?

Either through my own collaborative events or other people’s summits and bundles I’m participating in.

Can you walk us through your content strategy?

Email is my main marketing channel and I send out a newsletter 3-4 times a week with helpful content and behind-the-scenes.

I also host an audio summit 3 times a year, as well as smaller collaborative events between those larger launches. 

What are the key elements of a successful virtual event that actually converts?

• Picking a great fit topic that speaks to your ideal audience;
• Keeping it simple and focusing on building relationships vs trying to sell right away;
• Not waiting until you’re “big enough” to get started! This is how you grow that larger audience!

What role does audience-building play before an event even happens?

While you do want to have some sort of audience (I recommend 100+ subscribers) you don’t need to do a big push for audience building before hosting your first event as that’s what your event will do for you!

What strategies do you use to maximize email signups?

• Providing real value upfront and not asking for the sale right away;
• Offering longer access time so people can actually enjoy the event;
• Encouraging collaborator promo;
• Making a fuss about the event in all my marketing for 3+ weeks prior to starting.

What ways to grow your brand have worked for you?

Collaborations have been by far the biggest growth strategy for me

What tools or platforms do you recommend for hosting smooth and engaging online events?

• Hello Audio is my go-to for hosting private podcasts;
• ThriveCart for registration pages thanks to their easy integrations;
• Flodesk for emails;
• Slack for communities.

Do you use AI tools in any way?

Nope, I don’t use AI in my business or programs.

What’s the biggest mistake you see entrepreneurs make when hosting their first summit or bundle?

• Adding in way too much stuff and overwhelming themselves and their attendees;
• Jumping to the sale right away;
• Not having a clear and specific topic and audience for their event.

How do you measure the success of an event beyond just signups or revenue?

• How it felt to host;
• Invitations to other collaborations;
• Affiliate sign-ups;
• Recommendations;
• Visibility.

What’s your favorite story of a client who saw major results from one of your strategies?

My first ever audio summit happened to go live while I was sick in bed, and it was still one of the most fun and engaging experiences I’ve had in my business to day.

Where do you see the future of online summits and bundles heading?

• Less is more;
• Human-fist connection is key;
• People exploring smaller, more focused events but hosting them more often.

What’s next for you and your business?

I’m welcoming in the next cohort for Simple Audio Summits in October and then working on my next audio summit in January!

You can find me at MichellePontver.com.