Webinars are a phenomenal way to get in front of a target audience and generate leads. It’s what we call a “one-to-many” tool in your sales toolbox that gives you a lot of bang for your time and effort.
Have you ever wanted to do a webinar or two, but you weren’t sure where to start? You’re not alone! Webinars can be scary until you get some experience.
Let’s make that happen. Below, I’m going to give you my three magical tips for a great webinar game plan.
I remember once during a brainstorming session, I suggested the “brilliant” idea that we do 12 webinars in 12 weeks. The timeframe ended up being even shorter once the holidays were considered. As you can imagine, it was a pretty hectic time! But we pulled it off.
Now I definitely don’t recommend diving in quite that deep. But I do want you to use my tips below to explore the marketing advantages of webinars and what they can do for your lead generation.
What type of success can you expect?
Of course, the leads you generate will depend on a few factors, such as your topic’s relevancy. But studies show that up to 40% of B2C webinar attendees and as many as 73% of B2B attendees will convert to leads.
That’s pretty impressive!
So, how do you get started? Let’s go through my 3 webinar tips now, and I’ll even give you a bonus tip at the end.
Tips for Planning Successful Webinars
Step 1. Come Up With an Amazing Topic That Sizzles (For Your Audience!)
The first thing you want to do is to come up with an amazing webinar topic. You need one that sizzles and gets your target audience excited.
Don’t simply choose a topic that sounds good to you; it needs to be one that people will not want to miss. You also want to think about the name of the webinar. The topic name should be attractive, such as “6 Things To Do To Secure Your IoT Devices” or “5 Crucial Things You Must Do Today To Stop Ransomware”.
How do you create a “sizzling” topic? Here are some things to consider:
- Make it approachable (lists are great because they seem easy, 5 things or 6 things to do for…)
- Don’t make it too technical
- Make it actionable (what needs to be done to get a payoff, like avoiding a cyberattack)
- Don’t make the topic title too long (try to keep the title to about 13 words max)
How do you know what is going to get your clients, end users, or prospects excited? Ask them.
Leverage your Facebook or LinkedIn account and ask followers what webinar topics they’d most like to see. This is also a great way to connect with some clients that you may not have touched base with lately. Give them a quick call or email.
You can say, “We are putting together some educational webinars and would love your input on what topics would interest you the most.”
Step 2. Create The Webinar Slide Deck
I’ll be honest, this is the part of preparing for a webinar that I dislike the most. I’m not particularly great at creating graphics. I can spot good ones when I see them, but making them myself? Forget about it!
So how do I get over that? I get help with the webinar slide deck. You don’t have to create it yourself from scratch in PowerPoint.
For example, you can brainstorm ideas with someone on your staff that’s handy in PPT. You might end up finding that your office manager has a hidden graphics talent and enjoys being able to do something creative.
Tools like Canva are also a great way to get your slide deck put together. Canva has preset templates and images you can use.
You can also tap into the freelance community and look for help on Fiverr or Upwork. You may just connect with an affordable design pro that can also help you polish up all your marketing materials.
General tips for impactful webinar slide decks:
- Don’t put too many words on a slide. People don’t want to hear you narrating a story. The presentation is supposed to support what you say, not be read like a novel. If you do that, you’ll quickly lose your audience.
- Use attractive graphics. A picture or diagram speaks a thousand words. Use illustrative images that back up your points.
- Use a color theme and standard fonts. Your presentation should have a uniform look and preferably be in your brand’s color scheme. Don’t get too crazy with fonts either.
- Time & practice the presentation. You don’t want to have so many slides that you have to rush to get through them. Work on timing while practicing delivery.
Pro tip: Try out PowerPoint’s Speaker Coach feature!
Step 3. Don’t Neglect The Call-To-Action
You’re going through your webinar educating and feeling great. Then you get to the end and are about to tell everyone to have an awesome day. Hold on! You’re about to forget the call to action!
The CTA is the whole reason you’re doing a webinar in the first place. You want to convert leads, right? Then you must tell them the next step to take. The CTA should naturally connect to the topic of the webinar.
Here are a few ideas:
- Set up a risk assessment
- Schedule a penetration test
- Schedule a network assessment
- Set up a business tech strategy session
Do NOT overlook the call to action. If you practice anything, practice the transition from webinar “teaching mode” to the call to action so it’s smooth and natural.
Bonus Tip: Get It On The Schedule & Get At Least 2 Signups
It’s easy to let your webinar get stuck in the pile of stuff that you “will do when I have more time.” Don’t stop before you cross the finish line.
Schedule your webinar and get invitations sent out to your client and prospect lists. Post your webinar on social media to promote the registration link.
Next, invite friends and family to sign up. Why? So, you get at least a couple of people signed up. This ensures that you need to show up and hold the webinar. It gives you the motivation to move forward.
Final Thoughts on Getting Started with Webinars
While there can be many steps to hosting a webinar, including outreach and follow-up, these 3+ tips will give you an excellent foundation to get started.
Also, webinars don’t have to be one-and-done. You’ve worked on the topic, slide deck, and a thoughtful CTA. Host it more than once to give everyone that wants to come a chance to work it into their schedule.
Once this webinar is successful, you can begin planning the next topic!