A webinar may be easier to design than an in-person workshop or other events. However, it is also more easily botched with a few bad decisions.
Here are some tips for how to design your content to make the best possible impression from beginning to end:
Create a strong and memorable title.
Your webinar’s title can greatly influence whether it fills up or not. At best, your attendees should immediately know what the topic of your webinar is without having to read any other information about it.
If you want to emphasize a particular benefit of your subject matter, put that in the title to help it stand out. For example:
- How to Sell Products Online
- Social Media for Small Businesses: Over 50 Million Marketing Opportunities
- Help Your Customers Master Technology With These Tips
Title your webinar using strong action words that make it clear how attendees can benefit from attending.
Examples include “Learn,” “Discover,” “Uncover,” and so forth.
Clickbait titles are not recommended, as they do nothing to explain why your webinar is valuable. Instead, focus on how you can help attendees solve their problems or achieve their goals through your content.
You may be tempted to make your title as long as possible by squeezing in several phrases. Resist this urge, especially if you have limited real estate on your webinar registration and host page.
As much as possible, keep the information about your webinar short and sweet so that attendees can easily scan it when deciding whether or not to register.
Create a strong, attention holding summary.
While your title can help attract new attendees, the first sentence of your webinar’s description will determine whether they read any further or click away.
In addition to clearly explaining what your webinar is about, use this paragraph to explain why you’re qualified to host it and how their business can benefit from attending.
Use these paragraphs whenever possible to get right to the point without bogging down your description with too much text by using any or all of the following:
- Bulleted lists for easy scanning.
- Short sentences. (Keep in mind that you are writing for the web, not a newspaper.)
- Strong, direct opening statements.
Make sure that these first two paragraphs engage your reader immediately. Anywhere between 50-75 percent of those who click through to your webinar registration page will leave immediately after reading these paragraphs.
Use keywords and phrases that attendees might type into search engines to help increase the likelihood of them finding you.
Include a compelling call-to-action at the end of each paragraph that tells attendees what they need to do next. If you want them to register for your webinar registration page, include a call to action that says “Register now.”
Eliminate all distractions from the start of your description.
Remember that you could be appealing to people who are searching or scanning out of boredom – make sure they have something interesting and valuable to read through immediately.
Include a link at the bottom of your summary to easily register for your event instead of forcing them to search around or fill out a long-form with lots of questions.
Don’t waste time enticing people who have no interest in what you’re offering – they’ll leave anyway.
Choose the right length and format.
Short webinars can be appealing to many attendees because they don’t take much time out of their day – especially if they’re on the go or have demanding jobs.
If you choose a long webinar, highlight its benefits to convince people why it’s worth their valuable time.
You can also allow everyone in your audience to feel like an expert by posting any prep materials online (videos, slideshows, etc.).
Consider posting a short video introducing yourself and explaining why you’re hosting the webinar. Then include your most significant content items as images that are embedded into your registration page or hosted on an external site.
Choose a webinar length that matches the amount of detail you can share within that time frame – i.e., is it a 30-minute webinar or an hour-long?
Consider including a “bonus” in your webinar if people register early. This incentive can encourage more people to sign up ahead of time, which is especially helpful for those on the fence about attending live.
Create landing pages for each section of your presentation.
Once you’ve written your summary, it’s time to create landing pages for each section of your webinar so that you can host it online.
Promote the importance of registering early by highlighting any potential bonuses attendees will need to claim if they sign up ahead of time (e.g., a free trial membership, lifetime access to recorded versions, etc.).
Also, make sure you link directly to your registration page each time you share the webinar’s info online.
Consider offering a discount or gift with an early purchase to encourage people who are on the fence about attending live. (It’s also helpful if a lot of attendees choose to pay at the door.)
Keep it simple.
This may seem like a wasted effort if you’re not planning to go live with your webinar, but some people are interested in your topic and will search for details online.
If you make the information available on your website or host a summary of the presentations online, then you can build an audience over time that you can market to when you’re ready to host your official event.
Offer support through tools like GoToWebinar, WebEx, or other third-party platforms that will record the webinar and allow you to share specific moments with attendees at a later date.
Create an email follow-up sequence for those who didn’t attend live.
It’s surprising how many people sign up for a webinar, don’t show up, and then never follow up to see what happened.
If you host your presentation live, then make sure you create an email follow-up sequence that includes any links or resources attendees need access to review the material in greater depth.
If you’re hosting an online presentation, then encourage people to download the slides or other resource materials for later review.
Do what successful webinars do best: keep it simple and allow people who miss your event to feel included by sharing your information with them afterward.
Include a survey link at the end of the presentation.
Use a survey link to gather feedback from your webinar attendees. You can do this by creating an online form or embedding the survey code into a presentation slide.
If you decide on the latter, make sure you give people time to fill it out before you wrap up your event.
Don’t ask too many questions in this survey either – keep it simple and ask for 2-3 responses per topic (e.g., questions about the length of your presentation or recording options).
Consider offering incentives to encourage people to participate in this survey (i.e., free access, special deals, etc.).
Prompt people to leave their contact details.
Allow attendees to share their information with you via a survey link or online registration form.
These tools are self-explanatory – simply prompt people to fill out as much of their contact info as they feel comfortable sharing.
Note: if you’re planning on hosting your webinar online, then be sure to follow up this part of the presentation with an email follow-up sequence.
Consider sharing personal stories to make it more relatable and interesting for attendees.
This is probably one of the best ways to drive people towards taking action – I usually share a very brief story about how I’ve overcome a similar challenge in the past and encourage my audience to learn from it.
Be sure to include this part of the presentation in an email follow-up sequence where possible. If you give away any free resources or access at the end of your live event, then be sure to tell people about it in a post-event email.
Hosting a webinar is an excellent way to promote your business, build your brand, or share valuable information with those who are interested.
The best part is that there’s such a variety of different tools out there that you can use regardless of your budget – from simple Google Hangouts to more sophisticated platforms like GoToWebinar.
If you’re looking for a way to connect with potential clients or customers, have an expert share their knowledge, or want to take your business to the next level, then hosting a webinar is definitely worth considering.
Good luck!
Ali is a digital marketing blogger and author who uses the power of words to inspire and impact others. He has written for leading publications like Business2Community, Inc. Magazine, and Marketing Profs. When not writing, he enjoys spending time with his family.