Webinars are a prime way to build your audience and establish trust, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about doing them.
By making sure your webinar provides value, and leaves participants wanting more of what you have to offer, you can get the most out of this form of marketing.
Selecting the Right Content Focus
Your participants will get the most value out of a webinar that is focused and on point. Avoid overwhelming your participants with everything that you know about a subject.
Pick one problem to solve. What is the one question your clients ask you over and over? That question is a perfect topic for the subject of your webinar.
During your webinar, plan to spend 45-50 minutes sharing quality content and save 10-15 minutes at the end for Q&A. The bulk of your presentation should explain the problem and give your audience concrete steps to follow to achieve the desired result.
Specific how-tos will establish your expertise more effectively than just sharing knowledge. Your goal is to help them to get results, not just give them “fluffy” information.
Presenting Your Information with Slides
When you plan your content, don’t go crazy with text on your slides. (I’ve made this mistake and it doesn’t go over well.) Text heavy slides are distracting to participants. They will focus on the slide and not on you. The strongest information will come from you. Your slides are simply a way to highlight the points you present.
Use slides with large fonts and pictures to call attention to your key points. Tell stories highlighting how you’ve helped others to solve specific problems and use case studies to illustrate your points. It pays to make your slides the best they can be. You can repurpose them on Slideshare after the webinar to give your content more exposure.
Engaging Your Audience with an Offer
Giveaways can entice people to sign up and boost participation. You can give away something as simple as an ebook or a higher-end item such as a private consultation. Offer your bonus only for participants who show up and do it at the end of the call so listeners will stick around.
After your giveaway announcement, you can present the rest of your callers with an offer. The information you provide in the call should entice callers to take advantage of your offer. As the saying goes “Always leave them wanting more.” Your offer gives them a way to learn more about the subject and engage further with you.
After you send out the recording, you’ll have another opportunity to promote your offer. Send the recording the day after the call, and then send a follow up email to promote your offer. People will be more excited about the offer after they watch the replay.
Creating a high value webinar is easier than you think. You already have more than enough knowledge to share with participants. Jump in with both feet! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to build your audience and increase your profits with a unique offer at the end of the call.
Thomas Petty says
Great article! I agree with everything you’ve said here, Sydni. A couple other points that have helped me:
1. Practice ahead of time to make sure your software, equipment, microphone, and screen resolution is all set and working properly. You don’t want to be sweating bullets at the last second because your PC decided to install a Java update for the session.
2. You can record the session, post it on YouTube or Vimeo, and then wrap a blog post around it. Your webinar will continue to generate traffic and interest long after the live event is over. Make sure your link in your offer still works after so people can still sign up after the fact.
Sydni Craig-Hart says
GREAT advice Tom! I love it. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and expertise. 🙂
Amy Kinnaird says
Sydni, thanks for mentioning the point about slides. I try to have as few slides as possible in a 45 minutes presentation. Having only 3 or 4 is my goal. You can create a handout for the participants to download to follow during the session, too. Fill in the blanks is the style I prefer to use. It makes them pay attention enough to what you are saying!
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Thanks for the note Amy! I’ve made that mistake of packing too much info into my slides and my audience told me it was distracting to them. So I moved most of my content to my notes page and leave only the main points on my slides. This is working much better! I’m going to integrate your “fill in the blank” suggestion and see how that goes. Thanks for that! 🙂
Michele Jennae says
Great timing as I am in the process of planning some webinars. You have reinforced some things I knew as well as given me new food for thought.
Thanks Sydni
Michele Jennae
Sydni Craig-Hart says
I’m glad to hear that Michele! What do you think will be the focus of your next webinar?
Sherri Garrity says
Adding teleseminars and webinars to my training offers has been a fabulous way to build and grow my business. Many of my clients are other consultants or coaches who are interested in adding a new stream of income to their businesses, and this is one area I like to recommend. Depending on the market you work in though, you will have tough competition or if you’re lucky, not much (some sectors are new to this form of learning). It is very important to provide value and be very specific in the problem area you are teaching. Thanks for the tips.
Sydni Craig-Hart says
My pleasure Sherri! I really appreciate your comments. And I’m excited that you are encouraging your clients to use these avenues to reach their market. It’s amazing what can be taught (and how much money can be made) by delivering well-designed teleseminars and webianrs. I’m so glad we’re on the same wave length! 🙂
Kelli Wilson says
Thanks Sydni
I just did a teleseminar this week and followed much of what you said so I know I’m on the right track.
It’s all about the value you provide that leaves them seeing that they need more! If they can learn some valueable tips I know I have succeeded.
Sydni Craig-Hart says
That’s awesome Kelli! Good for you. What was the subject of your teleseminar?
Terry Green says
Great information Sydni! Especially the part about selecting the right content focus. I’ve been on far to many webinars where there was no focus, which leads to confusion and overwhelm. Overwhelm leads to confusion, and as you said … a confused mind says no.
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Very true Terry! We all have an attention span the size of a flea these days, so it’s really important we keep that in mind when training others. My goal is always to have my listeners walk away with step by step actionable content. I want my audience to feel empowered and see how they can make BIG changes in their business with simple shifts. Who has time for more confusion! 🙂 Thanks so much for your comment.
Michele Jennae says
I just attended a webinar on holding webinars that took a dull hour to tell me what you have expressed succinctly in about a 5 minute read.
I bet your webinars ROCK!
Michele Jennae
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Wow Michele! That is quite a compliment! Thanks so much for that. I must admit, my webinars are pretty darn good. We’re working on the new schedule, so stay tuned for details. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Rebecca Johnson says
Great info, Sydni! I always love keeping it simple and engaging. I have been on too many webinars/ teleseminars where they did not follow these steps! Very disappointing and lots of time wasted !
Sydni Craig-Hart says
Thanks Rebecca! I agree. When done correctly, webinars and teleseminars are a powerful way to connect with your audience. Do you have any virtual events coming up?
Jennifer Bourn says
Oh my … too much text on your slides is the worst mistake ever! Not only does it make things more difficult for you as the speaker (you’re tempteted to read them because your “talk” and your slides need to match up … but it distracts your audience from you because they are so focused on copying down the slides … then they get stressed when you change the slide and they didn’t get everything … and that reflects badly on you because now they’re wondering what they missed. Keeping it simple is the best way to go – and pictures are even better!