We all know how powerful webinars can be today because in the new, digital world online meetings play an incredibly large role. They are an opportunity to build relationships and bonds with the audience, build your authority as an expert, as well as generate valuable leads and boost sales. They deliver real value, and sell great products in an environment where you command attention. And, when you attend a good webinar, you will feel inspired, motivated, and ready to conquer the world.
Undoubtedly, webinars are powerful tools to promote your business. It's high time to learn how to do a webinar that people will actually want to watch. So get the most out of running an online seminar by following these 10 easy steps!
#1 Set your goals
First, think about the main reasons why you’re running a webinar – is it lead conversion, establishing your position in the industry or maybe growing your mailing list? So start by prioritizing. When you have a clearly defined goal, then you will know which direction to take and what steps to take. This will make it easier for you to start your adventure with webinars.
Write down your goals and keep them in mind while developing the webinar’s strategy and choosing the perfect formula for your online seminar.
#2 Follow the plan
Aware of your goals? Great! Now you should transfer them into an easy to follow, step by step plan of your webinar, as well as the schedule of the project.
While making your to-do-list, try to be as specific as possible and avoid using too broad terms as “Asking X to be a guest speaker”. Instead, slice the cake by breaking your task into little steps – e.g. “A. Google X’s contact details. B. Send an invitation e-mail.”
This method will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed and will enable you to track your project’s progress more effectively.
#3 Hit the perfect time
Timing is everything! Especially when you’re running a webinar with attendees spread all over the world.
Here are some key factors you should consider while picking the date and time of your seminar – time zones, national holidays and the working style of your target audience.
Midweek may be the optimal time for hosting a webinar –Wednesdays and Thursdays have the highest attendance rates, while unsurprisingly Saturday and Sunday seminars are on the opposite side.
Not sure what time would be the most suitable for your audience? Simply ask the participants in a poll and let them pick up a date that will not interfere with their daily schedule. If you’re looking for a less direct way to match the time with your audience preferences, use your Google Analytics data – the activity peaks on your website might lead you to the perfect time for hosting your webinar.
#4 Open for new audiences
How to make your webinar reach high attendance rates? Apart from inviting your core target, people that already appear on your e-mail list and are familiar with your company, broaden the audience. Reaching out to people that have never heard of you and convincing them of your webinar has unique values might be worth a try! Why? Because new audiences mean new opportunities. If you're successful with your current audience, that's great! But you can also gain the trust of new customers. It only requires the right type of promotion...
#5 Spread the news
Behind every successful webinar there is a well-thought out promotion strategy.
Plan a promotion campaign, including specific targeting and segmentation, which will help you reach the preferable audience. Start implementing your promotion strategy at least 2 weeks before the event. The earlier you begin, the more opportunities you will have to grab the recipients attention and build anticipation for your seminar.
Create a user-friendly landing page and make sure that signing up for your webinar is effortless. Run social media and email campaigns in which you remind users to sign up and highlight the benefits of attending your webinar.
Before promoting your event, don’t forget to set campaign tracking parameters which will measure the effectiveness of your promotional activities and help improve them in the future.
#6 Stick to the script
Want to run your webinar like a pro? Even if you’re 100% prepared and passionate about the topic, write down a script, which shortly speaking is a detailed scenario that will organize your pitch, keep you on track and prevent from repeating information. The webinar’s script is a compass that will guide you through your presentation and may also serve as “a cheat sheet” on which you can rely in emergency situations.
#7 Be technically ready
And we mean it! As the webinar’s host you don’t want to worry about any technical issues. Prepare the right software and hardware, especially focusing on the quality of audio and video to bring your audience a truly live experience. If you’re in the speaker’s role, think of providing yourself technical support. The presence of an assistant may save your webinar from a technological disaster and keep your mind free from wondering if your laptop will run out of power.
#8 Engage your audience
How to engage your audience and keep them focused to the very end of your webinar? Simply by interacting with them! Let your guests express their thoughts, doubts and ask them to share their experience during a question & answer session. You may also encourage attendees to be active on your social media canals, run a poll or start a group chat.
Moreover, rethink the way you present the data – you may need to master your slide deck. Instead of boring, static Power Point presentations, take your slides to a new level by enriching them with animated pictures or project charts.
#9 Practise making it (almost) perfect
When it comes to live events such as webinars, rehearsals are a real must.
Before the final day, preform your pitch and test the equipment at least once. Even after practicing your speech several times, keep in mind that there will always be things beyond your control, but you can overcome any obstacles by staying calm and keeping a positive mindset.
#10. Follow up afterwards
The best way to improve the quality of your next online seminar is asking your attendees for feedback. Thank them for joining the lecture and ask about their experiences from the webinar. Examine if they found the content useful, what topic they’d want to discuss during the next session and who should be the next speaker. Add a special thank you bonus to your follow up mailing list – share a recording of the latest webinar or an exclusive interview with one of the lecturers.
And most importantly, don’t be afraid of criticism – the most successful companies are open for all kinds of feedback, even the negative one. Try to step into your recipient’s shoes, because knowing his point of view gives you the opportunity of providing even better services in the future.
Here comes LiveWebinar
LiveWebinar allows you to create powerful webinars right on the spot.
Interactive webinars
What is the point of boring webinars? LiveWebinar lets you create a masterpiece of a webinar with various options. There is nothing better than an engaging experience for your audience. Use surveys, polls and tests to get quick feedback. Utilize Presenter mode to deliver insights like never before. Stay in touch with your audience via our chat widget and organize discussions as you please. Send CTA banners during the webinar, and high-quality recordings (that you can directly edit!) after it.
Collaboration at its finest
LiveWebinar offers interactive, collaborative whiteboards that you can use for working at the same time. If you want to power it up, use our Presenter mode to work in real-time with everyone in your webinar room. We believe webinars are to be a dialogue, not monologue, and each feature of our tool spells that out.
Captivating integrations
Integrate LiveWebinar with email marketing tools, platforms for marketing automation and lead generation software to make the most of your webinars and online conferences. Furthermore, if you want to explore it even more, you can integrate LiveWebinar with practically any tool of your choice via Zapier.
Make even more and better webinars
LiveWebinar gives a lot of possibilities itself in a free plan, but it’s the paid plan that will help you discover the world of webinars even more. Make evergreen webinars, monetize your knowledge with paid webinar features, and enjoy no limits on your meetings.
The secret to creating a great webinar is to put in a big effort and follow a few simple steps. If you follow the rules, you will be satisfied with your results. Therefore, be persistent and detailed and there is a good chance that everything will go your way. Keep in mind that LiveWebinar is here to help you succeed as you've never achieved before.