How to run a successful webinar

Are you getting ready to host your first webinar? 

We know it can be a stressful experience, but fear not! There are many things you can do to set yourself up for success.

This guide will show you how to run a successful webinar, including the steps to take. We’ll cover:

• Reasons to run a webinar
• How to plan and run a successful webinar

If you’re at the stage where you might want to run a webinar but are unsure of the benefits, here are five reasons to run one:

• Reach people from anywhere in the world – hosting an event online means you can invite anyone with an internet connection.
• People can interact with you directly – being able to interact with you can be a huge enticement for loyal (and new) customers.
• You establish trust – showcasing your expertise during one of these events tells your audience that you must know what you’re doing.
• Helps you gain leads – Registering for a webinar requires an email address, giving you a way to get in touch with attendees afterwards.
• Leads to other content – if the webinar is successful, you can use its content to create blogs, social posts, infographics, and more. 

So you’ve decided to run a webinar to help promote your business. Here are some tips to help you along:

The first thing you need to do is tell your audience about your webinar and get them excited about it. 

Use your social media, website, email, and other marketing tools to spread the word about your event. You’ll have a higher chance of getting more signups if you can create a buzz about your webinar beforehand. 

You can also ask attendees to send their questions or comments to you before the event to get them engaged. This way, you can also ensure the webinar will provide value to your audience.

In addition, if your webinar will have a giveaway or special feature, be sure to shout about it to stand out from other webinar hosts. 

When considering how to run a successful webinar, it’s important to think about your platform. 

You want to use a reputable webinar platform that makes it easy to register and supports multiple ways to join. For example, some people might tune in from their laptops while others use their mobile phones. 

In addition, some platforms have lots of advertisements on their sites and others have a maximum number of attendees. You’ll want to consider these things when choosing your platform to ensure it’s right for you and your audience.

Platforms you can use include:

• JetWebinar.
• Livestorm.
• Zoom.

Consider what time your audience is most likely to attend your webinar. 

For example, Monday mornings and Friday afternoons might not be the best time for business professionals to join an event like this. Those times tend to consist of catch-up and last-minute tasks. 

You can use Google Analytics to determine when you get the most traffic to your website and base your time on that. 

Alternatively, you could run a poll on social media and ask people when they’re most likely to attend a webinar. Then host your event at the time that received the most votes. 

The equipment you use could make or break your webinar. 

Using good tools will boost your webinar’s quality and ensure a great experience for participants. On the flip side, poor sound or image quality could cause people to give up on your event even if the content is good.

So, instead of relying on your laptop’s built-in mic, use a headset to ensure that the audience can hear your presentation clearly. 

It’s also a good idea to test your internet connection ahead of your webinar to make sure it’s strong enough to support it. 

Tip: Print out extra copies of your slides so you can carry on speaking even if you encounter a glitch. 

To get people excited about your webinar, you need to talk about something that resonates with your target audience. So, when choosing a topic for your webinar, focus on what your audience cares about.

The best approach is to hone in on a specific topic and really get into it. An in-depth webinar is more valuable than a general presentation of a broad topic. 

Whether you want to tell them about a product or educate them on a new industry trend, the key is to provide value by:

• Clearly communicating your message in regards to the topic. 
• Giving the audience actionable tips and advice. 

Once you have your topic, prepare and rehearse to ensure you can present it confidently.

If you hope to keep people interested for 30-60 minutes, give them something nice to look at. 

So, create a slide deck that includes the key points of your presentation and is visually appealing. A generic PowerPoint presentation simply doesn’t cut it anymore!

Make your presentation fun to look at by:

• Including relevant images and graphics.
• Designing your slides with your brand colours.
• Making your key points clear and short. 
• Not over-cluttering your slides. 

Aside from a nice slide deck, consider using alternative methods to keep your audience interested. 

For example, you could:

• Show a video that covers a point in your presentation.
• Share a downloadable checklist to help your audience follow along.
• Run a quiz during the webinar where the winner gets a prize. 

There are many ways you can spice up a webinar, so do some research and consider which methods would serve you best. 

Now that you’ve successfully hosted a webinar, it’s time to follow up. Send an email to your attendees and thank them for joining you. Ask them to provide feedback and rate their experience if you want. 

You can also offer freebies or other perks to encourage people to attend a future webinar or take the next step with your business. Remember to send a recording to people who registered but couldn’t attend the webinar so they can catch up.

You also want to evaluate how your first webinar went, looking at things like:

• What went well? 
• Where can you improve? 
• How many people attended? 
• Which platforms got the most traction ahead of time?
• What did people say about your webinar afterwards?

Then, use your findings to make your next webinar even better!

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