How to Develop & Host a Webinar

30 Day plan to webinars that Engage, Entertain, Educate and motivate the attendees to act.

Heidi TobiasSr. Manager of Distance Learning

Constant Contacthtobias@constantcontact

Twitter: @htoby

Agenda

Day 1 to 5■ Is a webinar the right tool for your message?■ Do you have an audience that will attend?

Day 5 to 10■ Logistics and Tools

Day 10 to 15■ Promotion of your Webinar

Day 15 to 22■ Size up registrants profile■ Size up registrants interest

Day 23 & 24■ Mission ready check list

Day 25■ Broadcast day

Day 26■ Reporting and follow up starts

Day 27 to 30 ■ Complete follow up■ Plant seeds for future engagement

Day 1-5: Is a Webinar the right tool?

Is the topic right for a 45 minute webinar format?

■ Concepts & Higher Thinking-yes

■ Specific individual techniques- yes

■ Extremely detail and heavy data-No

Remember: This is not about you but about what you know and how the attendee can walk away with something tangible to apply today.

■ Be specific about the topic/content

■ Set realistic expectations for success

■ # of attendees■ Satisfaction with webinar■ Engagement after webinar

■ Typical this is a lead nurture and not a direct sales tool

Day 1-5: Is there an audience who will attend?

Who do you want to attend?■ Stage of sales cycle■ Model of current successful

customers■ Size does not always equal

success■ Are they willing to attend?

Why would that desired audience attend?

■ Hot topic■ Pain point/need to fix

something■ Research■ Easy way to get

information

Make your webinar objective match the audience motivation.

“Value is in the eye of the attendee.”

Day 5-10: Logistics of the webinar

Time and Date■ What is good for the audience, not

you■ No-Monday Mornings and Friday

afternoons■ How many time zones are you

reaching? (US only)■ #1: 2PM and 11AM Eastern■ #2: 3PM or 4PM

Cost per attendee■ Often as low as $.25 an attendee■ Varies depending on data and audio

choices

Audio- Phone, VoIP, or both■ Connection speed■ Comfort with technology

Registration or no registration

To charge or not to charge?

Day 5-10: Picking the right tool

■ How large is your audience?■ Cost per attendee/budget?■ Do you need a wait list option?■ Audio options-Flexibility■ Audience technology■ What functions do you need to keep the audience

engaged?■ Polls■ Q & A■ Share slides/documents■ Application/desktop■ Video■ Audience interaction■ Audience Control

Lots of choices, no right tool for everyone.

Day 10 to 15: Promoting your webinar

If you build it they will come.

Not with webinars, you must promote and motivate your advocates to promote for you.

Day 10 to 15: Promoting your webinar

Promotion starts with the right title and description

■ Be clear what the end result will be

■ Use power word■ Use bullets or short text

areas■ Bold to attract attention■ Optimize for SEO terms Examples of Power Words:

Learn, develop, hands on, real world, market proven, secret (little known) system, new, power, immediate, insider you , results discover

Day 10 to 15: Promoting your webinar

Foundation is your email readers- let them start the buzz!

Segment on those open to the message■ Batch and blast does not work■ Often will be more than one group

Design your invite for impact■ Less is more■ Basics of webinar■ Why I should care■ Clear call to action

Stage your sent in smart segments■ Most desirable attendees■ People who will talk about it■ Control your attendee volume

Day 10 to 15: Promoting your webinar

Design the invite for sharing

■ Ask the reader to share■ Saying Please does work:

“Please retweet”

■ Forward to a Friend■ Facebook Like■ Tweet an email■ Communities ■ Social Bookmarks

Do not forget to share in your own social media networks!

Day 15 to 22: Registration Results & Interest

Everyone who registered will not attend

Expect 30% to 50% attrition Varies:

■ Time of year■ Day of week■ Free or Pay webinar

Registrations not where you want?- ■ Look at those who did not open invite, try again with different

subject line

Day 15 to 22: Registration Results & Interest

Did you ask questions at registration?

■ Adjust content to meet audience expectations

■ Research trends from registration results and topics recently published on the content

■ RSS feed on Twitter■ Similar topic webinars

Note:Day 20 send out first reminder webinar is a week away.

Day 23 & 24: Mission ready check list

1. Do you have a quiet location to broadcast from?2. Have you tested your internet connection and the computer you

are going to broadcast with3. What is your audio choice? Do you have a back up?4. Do you have all of your presentation material ready to go?5. If you are showcasing a product, do you have public facing data

ready to go in the tool?6. Ensure that you have the conferencing tool help numbers available

for yourself and as well as attendees7. If you have a waiting list and cancelations, let those on the waiting

list that you have room. 8. Prep any polls or interaction tools that are to be used9. Pick the end URL for the webinar.

–Survey? Sign Up action? 10. Strong closing call to action11. Day 24 send out remind on day before.

Day 25: Webinar

1. Send reminder one hour before webinar.2. Plan on starting up the meeting 15 minutes before

start time. 3. Export attendee list and ID the important individuals

to call out as they enter the webinar. 4. Start the meeting and load the resources.5. Start as close to on time as possible. 6. Start recording if possible.7. Follow your outline but leave flexibility to address

needs of audience8. As for interaction and live questions. 9. Have a strong closing call to action 10. End recording and end meeting.

Day 26: Reporting & start follow up

Most tools take 24 hours to provide reporting■ Send email follow up to

both attendees and non attendees

■ Attendees-links to resources, feedback survey, and next logic step in relationship

■ Non Attendees- provide recording or slides, links to next webinar and other ways to engage.

■ Have a real person to contact with questions

■ Provide a link to join list for future webinars

Day 27 to 30: Learn and Engage

Close the loop with attendees and non attendees-People forget if you wait too long

Call attendees with highest value

■ Attendees with lots of questions

■ Attendees in the later stages of the sales cycle

■ Attendees who said they are ready to convert

Guideline: If they did not attend, calling is generally not a good idea. Unless it was a pay for webinar.

Day 27 to 30: Learn and Engage

Review feedback from the webinar.■ Survey■ Email reply■ Chat■ Twitter

Understand:■ What did they like and not

like■ What do they want more of■ Did it feel like it was worth

their time

Day 27 to 30: Learn and Engage

Understand you typical conversion behavior.

Did the attendees over time convert at a higher rate?

■ Yes: plan the next webinar■ No: Look at feedback, learn and try again or try on-

demand resources

“Do not fall in love with hammer”-Webinars are just a tool you can use to grow your business. For some of you it is the right tool and others it is not. Test it, watch the results, learn, try again or try another tool.

Want to learn more?

Attend a Constant Contact Distance Learning Webinar

Watch how the presenter works the crowd

Tips to share with your own customers

Send your prospects to learn more and experience higher conversions