Webinars are great tools for most business owners. You can create a free or paid version. I usually suggest to my clients that they start by creating free webinars, so they can get a handle on them. They are an art and a science mixed together.
A webinar is usually live presentations where the viewers can watch your computer screen and listen to your voice. It’s one of the most dynamic and best teaching tools being used today.
I wanted to bring in a special guest, for the #mktgchat that I hold every Tuesday on Twitter at 2pm EST (11am PST). Chris Garrett was the right person for the job. Chris is down to earth, super smart and very caring. Oh and he’s been helping people with webinars for years.
I captured the best tweets from our chat. If you’ve ever thought about putting on a webinar you should probably bookmark this page for later reference.
I loved how Chris described webinars as an events because that’s exactly what they are. It’s a live event that can really engage people when done well.
Knowing what your audience wants out of a webinar is very important. If you don’t deliver on their expectations then you won’t increase your authority in your niche or sell any products. Before you even create a webinar you should ask your audience what they are struggling with then craft a webinar around this issue.
Creating an engaging webinar is just as hard as creating an engaging speech. When I first started doing webinars a lot of people would leave or click away from the screen. It’s your job to keep them excited and looking forward to what you are going to say next. Chris nailed it with his last tweet. Being a good story teller is very important to keeping people tuned into your webinar. A good story sucks people in and peaks their curiosity and convinces them that they want more from you.
This question came out of the conversation and Chris gave out some amazing responses. My favorite is the Story formula. You have to create a hook with a situation for a compelling character (usually you). What was your challenge and how did you overcome this obstacle. The last part would then be the “sales” portion of the webinar, showing people how they can be this same character that finds happiness, makes sales, or whatever you are trying to teach and sell.
I love that Ali Luke was asking a question about garnering responses from people. Because the more you can get people to ask questions on the webinar the more likely you can answer their objections and turn them into buyers, that is if you are selling something.
Promoting a webinar can be a little tricky. It depends on your audience. That’s why I liked Gemma Weirs question about blogging possibly working in different niches.
Your audience is different from everyone else’s don’t assume email will work the best. Try different promotion techniques and see what works best for you.
I’m a fan of offering bonuses at the end of a webinar, but like Chris said just don’t make this so important that it distracts people from the webinar. A bonus is nice, but make it a surprise, you’ll get people who really want your information on the webinar and reward them with a surprise that will make them feel special.
Delivering on your promise is very important. If you don’t walk away from the webinar without thinking you gave too much away then you didn’t give enough value. People will buy because they trust that you know what you are talking about and that your product will help them. They won’t buy if you were too mysterious or too salesy.
You can read the whole Twitter stream via PDF right here.
Your Turn
What is one tip that you can share with us about creating and executing a great webinar? What have you done or what have you seen from other webinar presenters?