I enjoy playing golf. I’m not very good, but I do enjoy playing.
Because I’m not all that great at golf one of the most important parts of my game is how I ‘tee up’ the ball at the beginning of each hole.
I need the ball set at the perfect height for my swing to connect. And how I connect sets the tone for the entire mood I’m in while playing that round. If I hit the ball far, I’m likely to have a tremendous round because I’m starting with a winning attitude.
It’s all in the setup for me!
It’s the same thing for your webinar. If it’s set up correctly you and your audience will have an amazing experience.
Here are a few things that can ‘tee up’ an exciting webinar round:
Create an interactive registration thank you page
Most marketers use the default, boring thank-you page for their webinars.
Every page your audience lands on is marketing real estate. If all you do is say ‘thank you for registering’ and give them a link to join the webinar you are wasting a lot of opportunities to warm up your audience.
What else can be on your thank-you page?
- Embed a video thanking them for registering for the webinar. This is especially great for marketing to cold traffic. It introduces you to them. When they show up for the webinar they will know a little more about you, what you look like and how you speak.
- Embed an additional video of some training related to the webinar topic. This strategy does the same as point #1. It introduces your teaching style. It shows you know your stuff. It gives value before they even show up.
- A link to the offer from the webinar. Why not? Isn’t the end results the actual point of getting them on the webinar in the first place? Now, I would not do this for high-ticket offers that need to be positioned better showing the value. If they click on an offer and see you are selling something for $10,000 on the webinar they may not show up. I would only use this tactic for $997 offers and below.
- Links to your social media channels and other content. Show off your stuff. This will solidify in their mind the value of showing up to the webinar because you give good value.
- Testimonials from your clients or Facebook comments on your past value-driven content. This lets your audience know that others have had success with you. And it shows how the webinar content is going to help them too!
- Post a short survey question so you can address their needs on the webinar. This puts the focus on what’s important…them, not just telling more of your story or product features.
- Embed Chatbot scripts such as Messenger, Intercom, and Drift. Let them ask questions. Just having a chatbot system implemented on this page will make them feel you are accessible and ready to help them.
Every page your audience lands on should be considered a valued piece of marketing real estate. It is a chance to connect with them in an authentic way before they even show up for the webinar.
Pre-Webinar Email Engagement
Email is still the best communication tool available for notifications and follow-up.
Yes, you can add SMS texting, Messenger, What’s App, etc. but email is certainly not dead.
So why not use email to warm up your webinar audience?
Here are a few ways you can send pre-webinar emails to warm your audience up for the event:
- Welcome or Registration confirmation email. Most webinar systems allow for this type of notification. This is a critical step because everyone wants to feel that what they just did actually worked. It is a quick short email confirming that their registration is set.
- The pre-webinar reminder emails: 2 days before, 1 day before, 8 am the morning of the webinar, 15 minutes before the webinar, 0 minutes start time. This is where you can deliver any last-minute tips or reminders. The time frame of the emails you set up are determined by the type of webinar you are running. If you are running a ‘just in time’ webinar there is no need for several days of email reminders. If your audience can register a few days before the webinar, set up a good value-driven series of emails before the actual day of the webinar.
- Email Content that connects with your audience’s needs and pain points. Include some free value in each email (training, videos, blog posts). This will build trust faster than an outbound sales message they may not need at this point.
- Some juicy free training for them to watch right away and a link to the webinar registration page. This is where you make an offer of more value before they even get on the actual webinar (similar to point #s above). If your audience knows in advance what’s coming they will be more likely to show up.
- Quick overview on what’s coming and your call to action link again for them to register now so that you have their email address for future marketing purposes (similar point number above). This is where you can invite people who are on the fence about attending to this webinar.
- 15 minutes before with a reminder and your call to action again (similar point number above). This is where you can get people who are on their way or already in front of their screens ready for what’s coming up next! You don’t want them to miss the “best part”.
- 0 minutes with just a quick reminder. This is where you can go into more detail about what they should expect when they get on the webinar platform so that there are no surprises for them once it begins.
Send out an email one day before or more telling them why they should attend. A personal story of how this webinar has helped you in some way, perhaps? Or maybe just share with them what’s coming on the webinar. This can create a sense of urgency to sign up and attend the webinar because it’s ‘sold out’.
Send them a short video with a few tips on how they will benefit from attending your event. Just give them one or two takeaways that you know will help their business grow if they implement what you are going to
Create a pre-webinar opt-in email and send it out several days before the actual launch. In this initial email give them some good information from one of your blog posts or videos about what you are going to cover in the webinar. Create an email series of at least two emails leading up to the launch. Use them as a way to warm your audience up for engaging in the webinar, and make sure it is educational!
Use this pre-webinar email opt-in opportunity to also give people information about what they will get if they sign up for the live event, an upsell or bonus materials. It’s important to give something extra so that you can increase the value of your webinar, but also warm up their interest in receiving it!
Create a pre-webinar survey and commit to responding during the webinar.
Get to know your audience. A pre-webinar survey is a great way to see what your audience needs and wants before the webinar even begins.
This will help you plan out your content for the actual event, as well as give you more time to prepare your answers about it.
One of the best ways to engage with audiences before any sort of event is to do some research on them.
Tell them in the survey you will be responding to their questions live during the webinar.
Tips for a great pre-webinar survey:
- Keep it short. Use a survey platform that shows progress so they know it will only be a few questions. You can also announce it as a “quick 3 question survey”.
- You don’t need a name and email. You can add that at the end if someone wants feedback directly. Asking too much personal information will only reduce your response rate.
- Create multiple-choice questions. Reducing the brain power needed to take a survey will increase the chances that they will complete it.
- The final question should be an open text question box for any additional question they may have but don’t make it a required response.
This is a great way to get information from your audience and even create some buzz about your webinar before it takes place!
Bonus: Offer a pre-webinar 15 minute Q&A Live Chat
Q&A sessions are typically reserved for after an event. But why not both?
In your webinar reminder emails and on the thank you page you can announce a 15 minute open Q&A before the webinar. Yes, you may be answering their questions during your session, but the personal touch is amazing for building relationships with your audience beforehand.
This is a great way to connect with those who may not feel comfortable speaking up during the webinar itself. It also gives people another chance to ask questions and get any important information they might need before the event begins!
Live chat helps the audience feel that you are truly interested in what they have to say, which will help you gain more trust.
Talking live to your attendees makes them feel like they are getting professional answers to their questions.
What better way to get people excited about attending your webinar than by letting them ask questions they might have before the event begins?
