I want to do webinars, but I don’t know how to get people to show up.
I hear this all the time.
And it’s heartbreaking.
Why? Because I know the massive impact doing webinars has had on my business.
In fact, in the past 3 years, webinars have been the #1 best thing I’ve done in my business.
They are the most highly leveraged use of my time.
Webinars have built my reputation as an expert and authority.
Webinars allow me to build relationships with thousands of prospective clients and customers at scale.
And webinars even allowed me to quadruple my email list in 7 months.
Think of all the time you’ve wasted going to networking events and cocktail parties.
Think of all the boring conversations, the mind-numbing chit-chat, the business cards you toss in a drawer and never do anything with.
Wouldn’t you like to have that time back?
Guess what? You can.
Webinars are a radically different approach.
With webinars…
- You target people one to many rather than one to one (it’s like shooting with a canon instead of a slingshot)
- You can build a highly targeted prospect list of thousands – no more guessing
- You can live anywhere (you don’t have to travel or even put on pants!)
- People from any corner of the globe can buy from you
And webinars are HOT. According to ON24’s research reports on webinars, average viewing time has been increasing and more people are spending more time watching webinars.
And new platforms like Persicope, Blab and Facebook Live are all evolving what we think of as a webinar … creating more interactive, engaging broadcasting and training platforms that operate in real time on a global scale.
But I also recognize that it’s not easy to get started.
DOWNLOAD MY FREE WEBINAR GETTING STARTED EBOOK
And when people get started doing webinars, they are concerned about getting people to show up. Especially if they’ve never done a webinar before.
So maybe you are reading this thinking yeah, I really should give webinars a shot. I’ve heard good things.
But you’re not sure where to start.
Here’s the good news…
You can get 100 People to Register for Your Webinar
It’s much easier than you may think to get people to register for your webinar, even when you’re just getting started.
Here is an easy 4-step plan.
Step 1 – Mine Your Inbox
You can probably brainstorm a list of at least 10-20 people off the top of your head who might benefit from your webinar. They could be friends, past clients, current clients, colleagues, etc. Those are the first people who you should contact.
Start by opening up your email and scrolling through your inbox.
Chances are someone you’ve emailed with in the past week to 10 days would benefit from attending your webinar. Start with that person, and find a few more.
Email these people and say this:
Hey George: I was thinking of holding a free webinar next week on XYZ topic.
I was wondering – since you are interested in XYZ, does this sound interesting to you? If you were to carve out time to watch the webinar, what 1 or 2 things would you want to see covered?
Thanks very much –
YOUR NAME.
Now, some people don’t want people they already know to come to their own webinars. I think this is crazy. If you’re going to use webinars as a tool for sales and marketing (which you should), you’re much more likely to make a sale from someone who already knows, likes and trusts you.
Step 2 – Invite Your Social Media Connections
Beyond your inbox, you probably already have a lot of people who you are connected to on social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn who would naturally be very interested in your webinar presentation.
These are people who have shared interest in the work that you do.
You should be sure to share your call to register for your webinar on these social platforms, but take it one step further.
Proactively reach out to the people who you are connected to on social networks and invite them.
After all, why are you maintaining all of these connections if you aren’t going to use them?
This is a great way to convert these connections from very cool to much warmer.
You’re elevating these connections from a loose tie (connection on a social network) to a stronger connection — as a subscriber on your email list. Eventually they will become a buyer.
But you have to start by getting them onto a webinar and onto your email list.
Step 3 – Use Free Webinar Listings Directories
When I was getting started with webinars, I used free webinar listings directories to get people to register for my webinars.
Your mileage will vary, but every little bit helps. Even if you can pick up 10 or 20 people to register for your webinar from these sites, it will justify the minimal time investment it takes entering your webinar as a listing on their site.
Here’s a partial list of a few sites to get you started:
Step 4 – Ask Friends to Invite Friends (And Make It Easy)
Finally, you should ask your friends to invite their friends to your webinar.
You can make this easy by drafting a message your friends can forward along.
Tell your friend why your webinar is going to be very valuable and exactly the kinds of people who will get the most out of it, then ask them if they can forward the message to 2-3 friends who they think will be a good fit.
Eventually, you can use this approach on a larger scale by doing collaborative webinars (aka JV webinars) with companies, groups, universities or people who have much larger lists of friends in the form of an email list.
I write more about this approach in my ebook.
Pick a Date for Your Webinar
Final thought: you’ve read this far. You’ve obviously interested in doing webinars.
You want to become a recognized expert and authority in your niche.
You want to get invited to speak, get high quality clients (who pay well and on time), and you want to have more control over your work.
You want to hop OFF that marketing merry-go-round.
You can do all of this it starts with one simple choice which you need to make now.
When will you schedule your webinar? Commit to a date by posting the date in the comments below.
The number one biggest barrier I see which keeps people from doing webinars is they never go from thinking some day to committing to now.
Its a very small step, but its a necessary one. Share your date below.