Consider a guest speaker.attendees. The expert can also add credibility to the educational or promotional messages. Even Fidelity Investments, with a deep bench of financial experts, invites outside professionals to participate in their webinars. Make sure in advance that the guest’s talking points align with your organization’s beliefs and product messages.
Offer it for free — usually. Prospects are more likely to provide their contact information if the webinar is free. If your goal is to generate leads or introduce a new product, then free is mandatory. In some cases, however, it’s appropriate to charge for a webinar if the content goes beyond your direct business interests and features independent content experts. “If your topic merits an in-depth workshop, don’t be afraid to create one, and actually charge for it,” advises of Marx Communications.
Limit registrations. Restricting registration, to 30 seats for instance, creates demand. The average webinar has about 28 attendees, although size varies. “In setting limits, plan on some no-shows.
Pursue all available promotional means.
Marketing the webinar through all possible channels, including your website, blog, email newsletter, social channels, press releases and offline channels, is the best strategy to attract attendees. Online advertising can also produce webinar registrations, though it can add substantially to promotional costs. Focusing on the benefit to the audience is critical.
Schedule it wisely. The best time to schedule a one-hour webinar is 11 a.m. Pacific time (2 p.m. Eastern), according to research b That avoids the lunch hour on the West Coast and the lunch hour on the China Email List East Coast. Mid-week is the best time to schedule webinars and to send promotional emails; Mondays and Fridays are less effective. People are too busy catching up with work on Mondays and too eager to leave on Fridays.
Promote it early. Longer promotions attract larger audiences. In the past marketers typically sent promotional emails a week or two before the event, but almost a quarter of attendees registered more than 15 days before the event, according to research by ON24. Don’t hesitate to send promotional emails three, four or six weeks before the webinar.
Optimize registration forms. Research shows that only 48% of those who open the registration page complete the registration, according to ON24. The usual problem: Registration forms are too long and design is unattractive or inconsistent. The solution is forms that request only basic information and contain consistent colors, imagery and language.
Retaining the Audience
Start strong. A major challenge is that webinar participants frequently drop out within the first few minutes or even the first several seconds. Long-winded descriptions of you and your company or idle commentary CRYP Email List prompts listeners to bail. Begin with a clear, concise agenda that shows what listeners will gain. Concise information about the sponsoring company and brief bios of the presenters’ accompanied with their headshots, help retain interest.
Stress educating, not selling. “Educating is the new selling. This cannot be emphasized enough. Think of your audience’s needs or problems,” emphasizes Bruna Martinuzzi, president and founder of Clarion Enterprises Ltd., in th Structure your webinar to identify and solve the audience’s pain points.