Have you ever attended a webinar? Many bloggers have attended webinars on online marketing among other things. Even if you haven’t I’m sure you’ve heard about webinars. You might even know that many marketeers use them as an effective way to sell their products and services.
Do you think webinars are just for people who are at an advanced stage in their business? Do you feel too much of a rookie to jump onboard and host a webinar?
Webinars are a very effective way of marketing and can be used in any niche to sell almost anything. With many successful entrepreneurs citing webinars as one of the keys to their success (Amy Porterfield, Kimra Luna to name just two). For very little outlay you can share your message with hundreds or even thousands of people at the same time through a webinar. They are easy to set up, comparatively cheap to organise, they convert very well in general because they give attendees a chance to see you teach and to ask questions in real time.
Yes you can buy expensive webinar software and add in a few more bells and whistles, but it’s possible to run a webinar for free using YouTube Live and your WordPress blog.
When is the right time to host a webinar?
There are a few key questions you can ask yourself to know if it makes sense for you to host a webinar. If you’re being asked a specific detailed question time and time again. If you’re launching a new product; especially one which needs explaining. If you teach as part of your business and can present well to a group of people, keeping the presentation upbeat and useful, then it’s probably a great vehicle for you to use.
Before we dig further into how to host a webinar let’s make sure everyone is up to speed.
What’s a Webinar?
A webinar is an presentation which takes place online. Webinars can be live, pre-recorded of even on demand. Webinars tend to have titles like blog posts, and promise a certain amount of knowledge. For example, 5 steps to working with brands or 3 skin care tips that will change your life.
There are some advantages of a live webinar. The real-time interaction and questions, plus the chance for the audience to learn about you and your personality, hopefully making a connection with you. Increasing the Know, Like and Trust factor. A live webinar will also have a chat box, so the attendees will chat to each other and this can create a great atmosphere and a chance for excitement to build. You can use polls, have a team member respond in the chat so you don’t miss anything and even drop the call to action/buy now button at an appropriate time.
Once you have run your webinar live you can take that recording and turn it into an evergreen webinar meaning it can form a passive income funnel.
How do you actually host a webinar?
There are so many different options out there, some pricer than others with many differing features. You might not need them all, but it’s good to be aware of what’s out there so you can make the decision as to what you need/don’t need. Obviously, the more money a solution costs, the more features it’s likely to have.
Here are some features you may find in webinar solutions:
- Chat box
- Polls and surveys
- The ability to have speakers in different locations
- A way for the attendees to ‘raise their hands’ and ask a question
- The ability for both the attendees and the ‘staff’ to respond individually to people, rather than to all attendees.
- The flexibility to use a live or pre-recorded presentation
- A digital white board
- See who signed up but didn’t attend
- Screen sharing by the presenter
- Recording of the entire webinar
- The ability to easily share the replay
- Some may also have an integrated email sequence or the ability to hook up to your own email service provider.
Webinar pros?
As I’ve touched on earlier webinars allow you to connect with your audience in a way very few other methods do. You can run a webinar from your home and technically you only have to look screen ready from the waist up (hello pjs!). Other people can connect with you from all over the world and no-one is restricted by travel or any of the usual limitations; travel, time off, child-care. As the host you don’t have to hire a venue, organise refreshments or anything like that, you can just turn on your computer (after the set up) and go for it.
Webinars are very flexible. They can be used across niches, industries, products, services. For sales or purely for education. You can also build your exposure and email list by joining with someone to run a joint venture webinar.
The way you teach on your webinar is also totally up to you. You may choose to present using slides or you may just want to speak directly to camera, or a bit of both; it’s your call.
Usually when people host a webinar they add a Live Q&A at the end which can be extremely powerful in terms of sales and conversions.
What do you need to host a webinar?
Apart from the software, you need to make sure you have a strong internet connection. The last thing you want is for your broadcast to be interrupted or lost. Some people plug into the internet with an ethernet cable to ensure they stay ‘live’. A good quality microphone would be a great addition, I love my blue yeti (affiliate). I would also advise using a webcam, as they give you a much higher quality image than the built in webcam, mine is a Logitech C920 (affiliate).
You might choose to go down the budget route and use a page on your WordPress blog and embed a YouTube Live. Or you might want to use one of the robust solutions such as webinar jam or webinar ninja. You can also get WP plugins which have many great options. I use WP Webinar Platform (affiliate).
Your attendees will opt in when they register to attend. Depending on the solution you pick you can add reminder emails or you may have to organise these separately. In these emails you can tease the content of the webinar and give them the details of when, where and how to access the webinar.
When it’s time to present make sure you choose a well lit place to present, that the surroundings are quiet and not distracting.
Why are webinars popular?
People love to learn and webinars are a great tool to be able to entertain or educate. They are free training, even if there is a pitch at the end. Often you are receiving the training from superstars of your industry, that you would have to pay a fair bit to be in the same room as. So webinars are a great way to absorb their knowledge.
As the host running a webinar can position you as an expert in your niche and get more eyeballs on you and your content.
Here are 5 Ps you need to host a webinar;
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Planning
There are a few essential things you need to do before your webinar. You need to choose your topic carefully. If you have a product or service to pitch then the content needs to do a good job of positioning your product/service as a viable and desirable option. What knowledge do your audience need in order to want to buy your product? If you’re not pitching, what do your audience most need to know?
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Preparing
You will need to prepare your slide dec and set up the back end tech. Customising the colours on the various pages you will need and writing those pages (opt in page, thank you page, webinar page, sales page). You will also have to write the various emails (confirmation, and a few different timed reminders and then those sharing the replay and special offer).
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Practicing
Make sure you know how everything will work with your chosen platform when it’s showtime. You will have set things up, but you need to know what to click. Make sure you’re comfortable with it and know you know your way around.
Then read through your presentation a few times so you know it and you’re not going to be reading from the slides. You want the slides to merely prompt you when you host a webinar.
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Presenting
Make sure your presentation fits with you and your brand. Slides don’t have to be stuffy and boring. I LOVE the addition of a gif or two in my presentations and it is a great way to keep the audience engaged. Make it fun, interesting and authentic to you. Keep the amount of text on a slide to the minimum. For a 45 minute webinar you should be looking at around 80 slides if not more. You want to keep the slides moving every few seconds. It is a great idea to be on camera at the start and end of your presentation and even do picture and picture during the slides. Your audience will get to know you more seeing your face.
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Profiting
Webinars typically convert well, with people buying on the webinar. You can add in a fast action bonus to those buying while the webinar is live too. Don’t forget to send out the replay so you can try to convert those too (if they’re a good fit).
So are you going to host a webinar?
Webinars are popular because they work. They’re definitely not to be reserved for the top flight business owners, in fact most businesses could use webinars to increase sales and exposure. Now’s the time to start planning your webinar and take your business to the next level. Are you going to host a webinar? What will your topic be?
