5-4-3-2-1…and you’re live. But you’re only talking to six people. Sound familiar?
All those beautiful slides you created, rival the work of master artists and could be on showcase at a museum, right?
The amazing handouts you designed with the perfect font and images would make others envious of your talent.
Not to mention all the promotions you did…
…all for six people.
Ugh!
Everyone in the world should appreciate how much work you put into this.
But you go through the presentation anyway. They don’t know there are only six attendees so you put on your game face and power through.
If you’ve ever poured your heart and soul into a webinar, you know how crushing it can be if you don’t get the number of attendees you were hoping for.
It’s enough to make you drown your sorrows in a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.
You’ve got this great offer at the end as well but how in the heck are you going to get a decent number of takers if you don’t have a good turnout on your webinar to begin with.
Maybe they signed up but were a no-show. Maybe they joined but left before the half-way mark (or sooner).
You start wondering, “Is it me”? Sadly, it could be. The good news is with a few tweaks, you can change that.
Since webinars are a great way to generate leads, you want to maximize your registration and attendance.
Here’s how to capture your audience’s attention so they look forward to your webinar like a kid going to Disneyland.
Tip Number One – Your Topic Needs to Offer Value
The topic is going to be the driving force for getting registrations. You don’t want to offer the same thing as everyone else. You need to position yourself as an authority for what you are sharing. Don’t just do the same thing everyone else is because it’s trending. Find something else that no one else is talking about.
That’s not to say it can’t be a popular topic. It should be something people want and need to learn. But what’s your secret sauce that will make people flock to your webinar like the best deal on Black Friday?
Make sure your webinar topic and title and registration page all reflect the new twist or angle you’re going to share.
Maybe you found the secret to how x works. Or you’re exposing myths. It’s great if you can do both.
You also need a compelling title. Spend time on this. There are plenty of tools that can help you create amazing titles.
Consider these recommendations:
- Turn your Webinar Title into a Provocative Question
- Use Powerful Value-driven Verbs in the Webinar Title
- Start with ‘How to’’
- Keep the Title Short and Clear (you can use a tagline or sub-title for more info)
Research your options and research a topic that is interesting to your target audience. It should also be broad enough to attract a larger number of people. Don’t narrow your topic down too much.
Tip Number Two – Host Your Webinar at the Correct Time
What are you doing Friday night? Yeah, that’s not the best line to attract webinar guests.
In fact, you need to consider who your audience is. If you are in the B2B sector, you may want to host your webinar during the day.
If you’re speaking to consumers, you may need to do an after 5:00 pm webinar to get those who have a 9-5 opportunity to show up. Unless you are speaking to stay-at-home moms for instance.
If you can do two webinars at two different times, even better. This way you can split test what works best.
Research shows that the best time of the day to host a webinar in the US is on Wednesday or Thursday at 11:00 am.
Here’s the thing. If your webinar attendees are in multiple time zones, you’ll want to gauge where you think the bulk of your audience is.
This is why offering two webinars at different times is beneficial. And not these are for Live webinars. Recorded webinars can be run continually but that’s a different story.
Tip Number Three – Include a Giveaway
Do you like getting free stuff? Heck yeah.
So does everyone else including your webinar attendees.
Don’t be afraid to bribe them to show up. A popular tactic is to offer a giveaway. There’s a lot of opinions on when to send this.
Some people will send something as soon as someone shows up.
Others will share the special free gift at the end of the webinar with a link to download.
Or you can have one of each. Send something as soon as they sign up and let them know there’s something else special coming for those that attend the webinar and stay until the end.
And yet there are also special offers for those who only attend “live”.
Businesses are starting to adapt to how customers purchase items, and this includes giveaways. It doesn’t have to be a large prize. However, your prize should work to make your attendees feel committed, excited, and valued.
Popular giveaway items include your latest freebie, a special discount offer only for attendees, or a free strategy session or demo, or even a drawing for a really cool prize.
You don’t have to break the bank either, but it needs to generate hype and encourage attendance to your webinar.
Be creative and think outside the box. What type of incentive would it take for you to attend a webinar?
If you’re in some Facebook groups where you can take a poll, do so. Try to come up with 3 or 4 things and ask for feedback to see what’s most popular then offer that.
Tip Number Four – Send Reminders That Have Value
They signed up. Now what?
If you have people registered for your webinar, there is clear interest there. It’s a fantastic start! But you don’t want your webinar attendees to get busy and forget about your webinar. One of the easiest and most convenient ways to remind them is by sending an email. Texts and messages are also good but you will need to shorten those.
Your emails should have value.
Ideally, you want the email to act as much more than a reminder. Let your attendees know the value and insights your webinar will offer them.
Create some excitement and buzz. Remind them of what you’ll cover and what your free offer is.
Ultimately, you want to send out a minimum of four reminders.
- The day they register.
- The day before the webinar
- An hour before the webinar
- Ten minutes before the webinar
If there was a longer period of time before the day they register and the day before the webinar, you may want to add in one more.
For instance, if you are promoting for a full week, and let’s say someone registers on a Wednesday for your webinar the following Tuesday, your reminders may look like this:
- Wed – thank you for registering for the webinar
- Fri – don’t forget the webinar next Tuesday
- Mon – webinar tomorrow
- Tues – webinar starts in an hour
- Tues – webinar starts in ten minutes
If your webinar is on Thursday and you start promoting on Monday, your reminders may look like this:
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- A reminder goes out the day they register (could be any day Monday to Thursday)
- Wednesday – Webinar is tomorrow
- Thursday – two reminders, one an hour before and one ten minutes before the start of the webinar.
These four tips can help you fill your webinar seats so you have plenty of attendees to share your amazing message with and hopefully take action on your offer. Want more help? Contact us today for a complimentary strategy session.
