Howdy! Webinars are an amazing tool to connect with an audience and build trust. They also allow you to showcase your expertise. This can prove that you are worth investing time and money into. Webinars can also help you build your email list and generate sales.
Are Webinars Still Relevant? Discover Why Webinars are More Important Than Ever
Although there are easier ways to get in front of an audience, webinars take time and thought to create. There is also some friction for audiences to sign up, attend, and watch. People are busy, so they must take time out of their day to watch a webinar. Despite these challenges, webinars are still important today for many reasons.
- Connect with clients Clients can meet you and decide if they want to work with you. Webinars allow you to connect in the best way outside of meeting in person.
- Build Trust Quickly Webinars allow you to build trust more quickly with an audience online. If you nail the presentation, webinars fast-forward the trust-building process.
- Provide In-Depth Service Webinars allow you to provide more in-depth service than you can on a short-form social media post. While short-form content is great, webinars allow you to go more in-depth. The engagement that happens in a webinar is wonderful.
The Webinar Resurgence: How the Pandemic Made Webinars Explode
In 2020, webinars had a resurgence because of the pandemic. Since people were at home, many started running webinars to teach and drive people to online communities. Hundreds of people registered for these webinars. The follow-up process after a person attends is also important. Webinars also created spikes in email list growth. Even if nobody purchases, webinars are a way to build an email list. Therefore, you can use webinars to build an email list with topic-specific content.
Ditch the Webinar Platform: Why YouTube is the Future
Using YouTube to run webinars is beneficial. The technology is easier, and you get more reach.
- Reach more people You can reach more people, not just from the live webinars themselves. Some webinars get picked up, and many people come in afterward to watch the replay.
- Showcase Expertise YouTube can continue to plant seeds for growth and showcase expertise.
- Build Trust Webinars on YouTube help build trust faster.
- Generate Revenue You can generate revenue if you know how to pitch without being sleazy.
YouTube is not the only platform that you can use, but Pat Flynn enjoys using YouTube. Other platforms may have a better registration process to collect more information.
The P.O.P.E.S. Framework: The Secret to a “Perfect” Webinar
The goal is to leave a presentation with a new skill set. You may want a webinar to support a new product you are pitching in the future. Therefore, you should be more confident when creating a webinar. Also, having some structure is helpful when you go live in front of an audience. Many tips can help you hold an audience’s attention and pitch something.
The P.O.P.E.S. framework can help you run a perfect webinar. This framework will guide you in setting up the structure of your webinar. P.O.P.E.S. is an acronym for Promise, Oreo, Process, Engagement, and Story. The first three are part of the framework, and the last two should be included throughout the framework.
P: The Promise – Why Should People Care?
Upfront in your webinar, you must offer the promise of why it is important in the first place. You must establish the importance of what you are about to share. Explain the benefits of doing this and why it matters. In the first few minutes of your presentation, start with the promise. This will hook people to stay for 30-45 minutes to an hour. If people are not sure what they will get out of it, they will not stick around. You can even use the words, “I promise”.
“I promise that by the end of this presentation…”.
- “…you will unlock a new skill”.
- “…you’re going to be confident in learning how to sell without being sleazy”.
- “…you will now have this new tool set or the ability to do something that other people in your space can’t”.
Offering a promise puts the pressure on you to follow through. If you do, it is a beautiful situation, and people will be thankful.
The third part is explaining what will happen if they don’t. You must share the consequence of what would happen if a person doesn’t learn this thing. For example, if you aren’t getting involved with webinars, you are missing the opportunity to build trust faster. Everyone is trying to build trust and fight for attention on social media. Also, your competitors are probably showing up on webinars. If two people offer the same product, people are more likely to purchase from the one they invested time with to learn from.
O: The Oreo – Crush Objections Before They Sabotage You
Before you begin teaching, you must address the objections that your audience probably has. Think about the fears, challenges, and stories they’re telling themselves about why this stuff probably isn’t going to work for them. When a person has an objection in their mind, they may not be open to the information you share.
If you were to teach something to a particular audience, think about an objection they may have about why this probably wouldn’t work for them. Share an example and an outcome of what another person who had those same thoughts accomplished. If you do this, you are getting rid of any objections and stories a person is telling themselves. Therefore, they can be open to the idea of working further with you.
P: The Process – Teach With Takeaways
Finally, you can teach a segment of what you are teaching. The webinar should answer the most common question. For example, “How do I even create a webinar that can sell something without being sleazy?”. People should walk away and take home something of value from your webinar.
You don’t want to teach too much because it can be overwhelming. They should be able to take home information and even use it. However, they may also need more information. You can reserve some information for an online course or a follow-up workshop. If they want to invest in you, they can, but they can also find that information elsewhere.
E: Engagement – Keep Them Hooked
You can include specific things in your slides to encourage people to engage. One of the biggest struggles is how people engage with their audience. It is great to call people out by name in the chat. However, there are ways to engage with the audience more.
You can ask your audience to do something. For example, on the first slide, you can ask them to type “yes” if they have run a webinar before or “no” if they have not. It is also important to get everybody to engage. You can also have them type a number, put an emoji, or type yes or no. It is easy to engage, and it trains the audience to get used to typing and paying attention.
Including those kinds of things in your presentation is important. Every 5-10 minutes, have one way for a person to type something in the chat. This can be a question or some sort of survey.
S: Story – Make It Personal
Story is key. You can start your training with stories. The more you understand the art and power of storytelling, the better the engagement will be. The presentations that have done very well include some story. Stories relate, and they help a person understand that you were just like them or that someone else was just like them. They show that they are not alone and that there is a challenge but also a positive outcome.
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Million-Dollar Webinar
Here is a look behind the scenes of a presentation that has accounted for over $2 million in revenue. This is a presentation for people interested in starting a podcast.
To start the presentation, ask a question. For example, you can ask in the chat if they listen to podcasts with a yes or no answer. You can also throw in some data. Data can show trends. Ask another question like how many podcasts they are subscribed to.
After that, show why podcasts are so powerful. The audience can support your cause. Also, show people why the thing you are teaching is important.
Next, prep people for what is to come. You can also start your pitch. Let people know that something is coming. Letting people know upfront prevents blindsiding them with a pitch.
Mention what they are about to learn is an open window inside of your course. If they would like to work with you more, you have some resources for them. By being honest and upfront, it doesn’t become a bait and switch anymore.
Here’s some more engagement that happens that also helps you survey the audience. The reason this slide is important is because you can get a sense of who’s in the room. You can cover people who have just heard of the topic to the pros. Cast a wide net of people who are there.
Next, paint a picture of their future. You can use metaphors. Metaphors are an incredible tool. Also, share proof that you have done this as well. People will want to know if you know about the topic. Tell them a little bit about yourself, share your expertise, accolades, and achievements around this.
Then, go over the road map for today. You should also cover monetization. People want to know how to generate money from it. Saving some of your best stuff for the very end will hold people. What is the goal of this presentation?. To give them another skill set or a tool they can use.
Here comes the Oreo – objection, rebuttal, example, and outcome. Start with the promise and do things to paint a picture of their future. What are the stories that people who want to start a podcast are telling themselves that stop them?. Get in front of your audience so they can be open to receiving the information you are about to share with them.
After the myths and objections, move into the meat of the content. These slides will help guide along the way. If you switch between you talking and the slides, it is a more advanced strategy to continually engage.
Nail the Pitch: Convert Viewers into Customers (Without Being Sleazy)
At the end of every presentation, transition into the pitch. First, ask two questions. By training them to type and engage, they are very kind.
The first question is, “What was the most useful thing you learned today?”.
Have the live audience prove that your content was useful and they got value out of it. Then nobody can say they didn’t learn anything and you’re starting to sell them stuff.
The second question is, “May I have permission to talk more about where you can get more?”.
You are asking your audience permission for the pitch. If people give you permission, they will be excited about it.
Mention your offer in the beginning so it doesn’t feel slimy. You drive hard value and almost earn the right to share a little bit for anybody who wants to learn more.
Conclusion
Webinars can be a very powerful form of marketing. If you create an engaging webinar that people watch, it proves your expertise and builds trust. You can sell into a program, coaching program, software, or physical product because you can demonstrate live and answer questions. By following the P.O.P.E.S. framework, you can be sure to deliver a webinar that wows your audience.
FAQs
How do I engage with the audience? Have them type a number, put an emoji, or type yes or no. It is easy to engage, and it trains the audience to get used to typing and paying attention. Include those kinds of things in your presentation. Every 5-10 minutes, have one way for a person to type something in the chat.
What if nobody says yes when I ask permission to pitch? You can transition to say there might be some people lurking who might be really excited about the opportunity. Imagine that they said yes.
How far in advance should I schedule a webinar? 3 to 4 weeks in advance is ideal. Any longer than two months, you start to get people to sign up and register and then forget.