Getting Started With Webinars
If you’ve been trying to grow your online business, you’ve probably heard people talking about doing webinars to increase your sales and build your audience online.
I’m going to explain exactly what is a webinar and how they work.
When I first started out online, I didn’t know what a webinar was or how it worked - and it seemed really complicated.
I put off doing webinars for years because I was so nervous about the tech, being on camera, and messing up!
When I did finally do a webinar, it was so fun and the connection it provided to my audience was amazing! I could actually answer my audience’s questions LIVE while they asked me - it was a whole new level of interacting with and having fun with my readers.
What is a Webinar?
A webinar is a free, usually live presentation that is delivered virtually over the Internet to your viewers from all over the world.
You can either create a slide presentation, or just show yourself live on camera teaching, or even be streaming yourself doing something hands-on live!
The webinar presentation itself is free, but often times the presenter (you!) will pitch a paid product or service at the end of the webinar.
When you do a webinar, you’re providing tons of highly valuable information for free, so it’s totally natural to give your audience a way to take they information you’ve just shared to the next level (with more support or more detailed instruction) by purchasing your program, course, done-for-you service, coaching, etc.
On the webinar, you present your best, super relevant information for free for about 45 minutes. You want to pack in as much valuable free information as you can!
Some people are nervous about “giving away too much”, or aren’t sure what info to give away for free on a webinar versus the paid content in their program, product, or course.
I always tell my students and clients to give away the best info they can in the 30 minutes of teaching time they have on the webinar!
Think about it - you only have about 30 minutes of teaching content time on a webinar (with the intro and transition to the pitch it ends up being about 45 minutes total, but only about 30 minutes are the core content).
You need to blow your audience away in that short period of time so that they feel confident in you, your expertise, and want to work with you more or buy your product.
So put your best content into the webinar. There is always more in your product, course or coaching program, but you want to impress your audience immediately with how smart you are!
Why should you do webinars?
Webinars have been the single biggest factor in growing my online business quickly!
I think of them as the shortcut or the “fast track” to growth.
You’ll be able to grow your email list quickly:
Want 600 new subscribers in 48 hours? It’s totally possible with webinars!
Most other list-building strategies can take weeks to start to work, or don’t have a very high return on investment (ROI) for the time it takes to implement. Webinars are the fastest way to grow your email list!
You can sell like a rockstar on a webinar:
Unlike email, which has an average conversion rate of about 1-2% (meaning for every 100 people on your email list, you can expect 1 person to buy your product), webinars are known for having incredible conversion rates.
We’re talking up to 20% or higher - This is unheard of in any other medium!
That means for every 100 people who shows up to your webinar, you can make 10, 15, 20 sales or more!
This is because it’s much more powerful than email to have that personal, live connection with your audience, and you can create more urgency.
It also allows you to really sell your product from your heart, where your audience can hear you bubbling with excitement about your product or service!
You’ll build meaningful relationships with others in your industry:
With joint venture webinars, you’ll be able to create relationships with the influencers, bloggers, and other top people in your niche.
Online business can be lonely. It’s really important to create friendships with people in your niche who understand your business, and can support you.
Before I did webinars, I wished I could connect with others in my niche somehow.
When I learned how to do webinars, I had a really good reason to reach out and connect with people and see if they wanted to collaborate on a webinar together, creating amazing friendships that have become some of my best real-life friends!
You build your authority:
When you start doing webinars, you will literally become the go to person in your niche.
Because a live event like a webinar stands out (it’s not just more blogging!), you quickly become the most memorable person in a sea of sameness.
Everyone will recognize you and your brand from your signature, irresistible webinars and trainings.
Create incredible engagement with your audience:
This one is seriously my favorite!
Webinars are an awesome way to talk to and engage your audience, creating a legion of fans for life! When you show up, talk to your audience live, show your personality and answer their questions, you create a real connection!
You can’t do this through email or blogging - you have to show up LIVE and interact with your audience in real time.
How do webinars make money?
Webinars make money by the offering a paid product at the end of the free webinar.
You can also follow up with those who didn’t buy live and offer them a special limited time bonus.
We have another guide all about how webinars make money so make sure to read that here!
Examples of Webinars:
I’ve done so many webinars over the years on tons of different topics!
Here are a few webinars I’ve done:
There are many types of webinars that you can do - not just the typical “slide show presentation” that can get a little boring if your niche already has a lot of webinars.
Here are some examples of the types of webinar you could do!
1. Tech Training Webinar:
You would show how to use a certain software or application. This is a screenshare type presentation, where you show “over your shoulder” as you actually use the software, app, or show how to do something from your screen.