PODCAST - Episode 68

Hey there, welcome back to another episode of the Virtual Summit Show. I'm super excited to talk to you today about bundles. Honestly, I kind of wished I hosted a bundle way sooner because I had so much fun doing it. It was actually quite easy and simple, and it brought in so many new subscribers to my email list, and it only in 5 days. Anyway, I'll get into all of that. But before we get started, I just wanted to welcome you and let's get right into it.

So I'm sure you've seen bundles before. I'm sure that you've signed up for bundles before.

Maybe you haven't, and that's totally okay. The thing that I love the most about the bundles bundle is that there are so many tools that are available to you. And, and by— and I say this, and by all means, like, you don't have to sign up for every single thing in a bundle. Like, when I sign up for a bundle, I'm really, really super picky about what I sign up for, because I sign up for the things that I know I'm gonna need in the future.

Like, I know without a doubt I'm gonna need in the future, but also the things that I need. Like, I, I don't sign up for everything just for the fun of signing up for everything, right?

Um, you also— I feel like I'm really conscious about protecting my content consumption and also course consumption, right? And a lot of these things are mini courses or templates or, um, different things like that that can help you in your business.

Um, so I'm super conscious of like signing up for bundles and making sure that I sign up for only things that— because it can get overwhelming, right? Especially when the bundle has like many, many different things. So, but a bundle is essentially a collection of resources from multiple creators that people can sign up for and explore.

So like, they're just so much fun, right? Like, it just goes beyond the signing up for the freebies, right? So what many people don't realize though is that bundles are actually, like to me, they're one of the simplest and most powerful collaboration strategies you can use to grow your audience. And so I hosted my first bundle in the fall of 2025, and I had hosted 4 summits prior to that. It was, that's why for me it was like so easy to host a bundle, but in 5 days, and these were my results.

I kept it super simple. It was email list growth primarily for me and the people who are part of the bundle. I ended up having 80 collaborators, 80 people who've, you know, gave something or not gave, but like provided something for a limited time to the bundle. And within, it was 5 days only. So you sign up for it for 5 days.

Now, obviously I had a later expiry date for the offer. So people actually had time to download all of the things they wanted to download. But I kept it so simple. There was no upgrade, no nothing like that. I did have— I didn't call them sponsorship. It was more like a visibility upgrade. So I think I sold 10 of those. And, but I didn't have a VIP offer of any kind.

It was basically just sign up and you get access. Super simple. All I needed was my website, Thrivecart, and my email. That's it. So for me, it was so simple and also kind of wish I did it before I did it.

Um, so they're collaborative, they're generous, like super generous. And when done well, they can create incredible momentum for your business, right? Like, like I know I talk about this all the time, like virtual events, they create the momentum that you need and then you can just keep on riding the wave.

That's the beauty of collaborative events.

So today what I want to talk to you about is what bundles actually are, which we talked a little bit about already. What happens behind the scenes, which is probably one of the main things that people question, but also feel overwhelmed about even thinking about it, right? Why they work so well. How people can monetize them, because just because I didn't monetize mine doesn't mean that you can't monetize yours. I mean, I did a little bit, but, and how they can lead into larger collaborative events like virtual summits.

Okay. So let's get right into it. So first I want to talk about what a bundle actually is, and I've already touched on this. So I'm kind of just going to go quickly.

So at the most basic level, a bundle is when a group of creators come together and each contribute a resource. Now, that being said, you know, I said I had 80 contributors to my bundle. That's probably not the norm, and it's not necessary, right? You can have as little or as many contributors in your bundle as you want. There is no right or wrong. If you have 10, that's beautiful. If you have 100, also, that's beautiful, right?

Like, it's not about what's inside or how many people are in the bundle. It's about the quality of the things that are inside the bundle, the resources, but also you want to make sure that they are appropriate for the theme of the bundle and also that they're legit offers, right? Like, you don't want them to be like shitty offers, which for the most part they're not. But you know, that's why you make sure you vet your people, but also you sign up for the offers to test them before the event actually goes live or actually before even saying yes to these people, right?

As being part of your offer and permission to be selfish here.

It's not personal, it's business because what's included in the bundle is a reflection of who you are as a business owner. So that's really key. So there's, so the things that people contribute, the resources could be like guides, templates, mini trainings, toolkits, workshops, small digital products, like things like that, right?

So all of those resources get packaged together into one collection that people sign up for. From the audience perspective, it feels like gaining access to a library of helpful tools all at once.

Like, bundles are really awesome. I remember the first time I signed up for a bundle, and actually, and we're gonna get into this, but It was a paid bundle and the resources were like, it was so exciting. It was so amazing. And it's still exciting to sign up for a bundle.

So, but instead of downloading one lead magnet from one creator, then suddenly you get access to resources from like 20 or 30 different experts or, or 80. Now, if you're hosting a bundle that has this many contributors to it, you just want to make sure that everything is really well organized and like simple for people to access. Like, the customer journey is really important here, and the simpler you keep things, the better.

So, um, but the real magic of the bundle isn't just the resources. It's the collaboration behind them. So it's fine and dandy that you get access to this bundle, these items in this bundle, but the true magic happens behind the scenes with the collaboration. And if you've listened to some of my other episodes, or I really truly believe like, and I've known this for a long time because I used to do network marketing, but your net worth is in your network.

It's not the people you know.

It's not the people on your email list. It's not the people in your audience on social media. It's the people that your people— it's the people that the people you know know. It's the people in your people's audiences, right? And you have access to that, which is so, so, so powerful.

So here's what's actually happening behind the scenes. So every contributor shares the bundle with their audience, right? Sometimes once, sometimes two, sometimes even three times. They share it with their social media community or their school group or whatever, wherever their audiences are. Maybe it's on LinkedIn.

It's, it's wherever they, their people are at, right? Which means that every audience is being introduced to everyone else. That is magic. It truly is. So instead of one person trying to grow their business alone, right? Instead of me trying to get out there in front of all of these, you know, people globally, I suddenly have 20 or 30 or 80 people all helping amplify the same events.

That alone is— like, if you remember anything from this call, this should be it. Not this call, but this, this episode. This should be it. Your next customer is in someone else's audience.

Your next customer is in someone else's audience. That is truly powerful, super powerful. So if you are sitting here listening to me and you haven't done any kind of collaborations yet, what are you waiting for? Do it. Get out of your own way. Go do the collaborations, even if that means that you're— if you're not ready yet to host your own, go and be in stuff. Go and be in virtual summits. Go and be in bundles.

Go and be in giveaways.

Go and be in freebie swaps. Go and be in all of these things because you are tapping into other people's audiences. Now, yes, you want to be picky about the the bundles, the events, the virtual events that you choose to participate in, because obviously you want their audience to be your audience, right? This is business after all. But that's why bundles can create such incredible momentum. They're not just a lead magnet, they're a collaboration engine.

So they help people discover new experts, right? Which is super awesome because like You are setting yourself up as an expert when you're hosting an event, or when also when you're part of these events. But now you are building your authority because you are bringing in all of these experts to share to the collective all of these great resources.

You build partnerships and you grow their networks in a really natural way.

And honestly, it's one of my favorite things about them. They remind us that business doesn't have to feel like we're doing everything alone. It shouldn't. And if done right, you won't feel alone.

You won't feel alone, I promise. Okay, now let's talk about something people often ask about. Are bundles free or paid? So If you're listening to this, perhaps you have joined a bunch of free bundles. Maybe you've only joined one.

Maybe you haven't joined any yet. But sometimes these bundles, they can be paid, which is not the norm. It doesn't happen very often, but once in a while you'll see bundles that are paid. And there's no right or wrong here. I just feel like personally, me, if I'm looking to grow my email list significantly, like 1,150 people like I did in, in the fall of 2025, 1,150 new people on my email list in 5 days.

That's, I did it free, I did it free, right? So, but that is the good way to monetize your bundle. And, but the ones that I see the most often are free and I feel more aligned with offering a free bundle. Than a paid bundle.

Now, there's nothing to say that you can't have a VIP pass attached to that, right? So basically, people sign up, they join your email list, and then they gain access to the collection of resources. It's that simple. And that is the most common format, and you don't need, like, super, like, the fanciest software out there. Honestly, I did it I used my website for registration and everything was inside Thrivecart. And I've obviously used my email to send out emails and all that stuff, right?

And then for the paid bundles, they— people purchase access to the products inside the collection. Now, you know, the price of the bundle will vary anywhere from, I don't know, like $7 to $200, $300, $400, right? So You'll be the judge of what you want to create and feel free to think outside the box. Also feel free to have a conversation with your favorite AI boss, you know, or boss helper or whatever you want to call him.

Strategist, AI strategist.

Because they can be super helpful in helping you decide what you want to do and what feels aligned. So, and even When a bundle itself is free, there's still ways that you can make money. So for example, you can offer a VIP pass that gives attendees extended access to the resources or like extended access, like extended access, or maybe some extra goodies that are only available in the VIP pass. Again, like permission to think outside the box here.

Maybe it includes some networking, maybe it includes like, you know, I often just go to ChatGPT and talk this, talk this through. What I feel like would be most, you know, I don't know, like highest converting for the bundle or the even, even a virtual summit, right? To what to include in the VIP pass. But you can also bring sponsors. So, you know, sponsors, we see them all the time.

I know that I sign up for bundles. To be, to be part of bundles. And there's always some opportunity to also be a sponsor. There's different levels, et cetera. So that's a good way of making money. Also, what I did is I had a visibility upgrade. So that was like, I did it at like $100 and I had 10 spots. That's it.

And they sold right away. And what I included with that was like, you know, preferred placement inside of Thrivecart. They got a dedicated email. Things like that, just to showcase them a little bit more, right? So again, you do you, and there are different things you can do to make money in that way. But then there's also the opportunity to include upsells, upsells, right? So things like, I don't know, maybe you're offering spreadsheets to help them go through the bundles, different things like that, right?

And then obviously you can get the the contributors to the opportunity to earn affiliate commission if there are any upgrades on your pass, right? Or if, if your bundle has a VIP pass or any types of upgrades, you could also offer the collaborators affiliate commission on that.

So, so while bundles are often positioned as a free collaboration, they can absolutely become a revenue-generating event as well. And that honestly, like, it's fun money, I think. And the thing is, is that you're not gonna make your money upfront when you're hosting your bundle, because the thing is, you are getting all of these new people to join your email list that are going to potentially be your future clients, whether it's in 2 weeks from now, right now, or in 2 years from now, right?

So That is the power of collaborative events in getting them onto your email list.

And that's why it's important to be picky about the audiences that the people that you decide to let into your collaborative event, but also the ones that you choose to be a part of as well is important, right? Okay. So another reason why I love bundles and that they're actually much simpler to run than people think is that when people hear the word events, they sometimes imagine something complicated. But compared to something like a virtual summit, bundles are actually— bundles actually have fewer moving parts, simpler tech, shorter timelines, and less pressure on contributors.

So definitely fewer moving parts. And honestly, I love— I'm a Google girl all the way. I use Google Forms to get collaborators. I use Google Forms for my surveys. I use Google Docs for, you know, whatever I need to share with them, the swipe copy for promoting the event.

And I use Google Spreadsheets for my own tracking. I have my website that I used for signing up for people to register for the bundle. ThriveCart had the free checkout and then they got into ThriveCart and that's where they could sign up for everything. And honestly, I kind of do the same for my virtual summits.

I try to keep things so simple in my business because one, it makes my life easy, but also two, you want to make sure that the customer journey is so it flows effortlessly because as soon as you start getting extra buttons or extra clicks or extra this and extra that, people get lost and they don't want to be there anymore. So simplicity wins with me all the time. And that, like I said, simpler tech, right?

Shorter timelines. Now I've seen bundles be like a month long, and that's okay.

You decide, right? Mine was 5 days, and I was so happy with that. It worked out perfectly. It was a Monday to a Friday and it was awesome.

And definitely less pressure on contributors because all they have to do is contribute an offer that they already have, right? Like that could be a requirement when you're looking for people that the offer must already be created because if you're waiting after people to create offers, then that can get messy. So I suggest just getting people to contribute something that is already built, already been sold, all of that stuff. And also making sure it's not a free thing, that it's actually a paid thing.

A lot of people now have, and I do this myself, I have a few checkouts that are $0 and they're specifically for events that I'm in. And, but I say that on the page, right? Like it's not something that I share for free anywhere, anytime, except for when I'm in a bundle.

Or a summit. So, but that's why I often suggest bundles are a great starting point because if you're interested in collaboration-based growth, and you should be, they help you build partnerships. They help you like build relationships that you wouldn't otherwise build if you weren't doing anything. Like I know also you can do, you can do that by also being participating in bundles and virtual events, but this way is like just more advanced.

They help you expand your reach, which win-win. Thank you very much. You're welcome. And they help you grow your email list without needing a massive audience to begin with, right? Like, you can host a bundle even if there's like 50 people on your list.

It doesn't matter. And you can host your bundle if you have 10,000 people on your email list. It really doesn't matter. But anybody can host a bundle no matter what phase of business you're in. If your website's not done, who cares? Just like we want to grow our email list anyway from the get-go, right? So that's why I think everybody should host a bundle anyway.

And so what's really interesting is that bundles often become a stepping stone into larger collaborative events, right? Because then you get your feet wet, you get a bit of like exposure, and you get the experience of building your own something. So many creators eventually move from a bundle into things like virtual summits or collaborative workshops, multi-speaker experiences, or larger community events. And there are more.

I'm just like listing a few here. So bundles truly help you build the relationships, the confidence, and the experience that make those bigger events possible later on. Also, whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, like, anyone can do this. So they're often the first step in a collaboration ecosystem, which I love, love, love. Collaborations are honestly like the love of my life.

If hosting a bundle is something that you've been curious about exploring, like if you're listening to me talking, you're like, holy cow, like I want to do a bundle now. I actually have a program for you. It's called Bundle Brilliance, juliecbutler.com/bb, where I actually walk you through exactly how to plan and host one from A to Z, the spreadsheets, the, the Google Docs, the swipe copy, the The custom AI assistants that can help you along the way, it's fully, it's all in there.

So, and it's going to be able to let you grow your email list like you truly want, build partnerships in your niche and create real momentum in your business.

Because here's the truth, bundles can be incredibly powerful when they're planned strategically. And also, as, as a side note, if you're someone who's thinking bigger about events in general and like want to think outside the box, I really, really encourage for you to theme your event, which is like my newest love. I love, love, love theming my events. Like, it's so much fun and it makes them— I believe it makes them more profitable.

But I also have Event Alchemy, which is actually included as a bonus inside of Bundle Brilliance. So, but it's also really, really cool. And it's just basically Event Alchemy is just basically designed to teach you how I added a theme to my event, my last bundle that I hosted in November of 2025, and how I got a higher signup rate.

An almost 100% contributor promotion rate. And it was just all so much more fun all around, from the people who are participating to the people who were signing up, just all around great fun.

But honestly, bundles and summits and collaborative events are all part of the bigger picture. So if collaborations are something that you've been curious about exploring in your business, Bundles can be a wonderful place to start. Honestly, they're approachable, they're collaborative, they're con— they're high converting, and they remind us that growth doesn't have to happen alone, right? And sometimes the best way forward is simply finding the right people to grow alongside you.

Like the relationships that you can create throughout hosting these events are magical. They truly are. So that being said, I also would like to extend a little invitation, um, that hasn't actually gone out in the public yet.

But if you're listening to this, you are one of the first ones to be invited to my new school community. It's going to be in the show notes, but it's called Virtual Event Growth Co.. And it's honestly a place where we can talk openly, more freely about what it takes to truly grow our audiences without depending on the friggin algorithm, right? And if you do social media and it works for you, that's cool too.

You are welcome. It's not only for people who don't want to, you know, dance around on social media and all that good stuff. And this is not what this conversation is at all. But I'd love to invite you to this new school community where we stop waiting to be visible, and we build the room instead. And so I'm inviting you, the special invite hasn't been like, I've invited, it's only been by invite so far.

But if you're listening to this, you get, you get a front row, not a front row seat, but you get like a VIP invitation. So honestly, it's juliecbutler.com/school, S-K-O-O-L. And it's also going to be in the show notes. So I hope that this conversation kind of like opened up your heart to hosting a bundle. If you were on the fence about hosting a bundle, if you have any questions at all about hosting a bundle and you're like, oh my God, like, Julie, I kind of want to, but I'm not sure.

Or if you have any questions about Bundle Brilliance, which is my program to help you host a bundle, by any means, please reply to my emails or come and find me on social media, send me a message. I'm happy to chat with you about any of this stuff and also in the Virtual Event Growth Co., obviously. So thanks again for listening and I will chat with you in the next episode.

Episode 68

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