What Makes a Good Webinar?

After holding my second webinar last week, I didn’t take into consideration how the participants perceived how well (or how poor) the class went. I had a colleague suggest to me to deliver a survey to those on the call to see how they felt about it and whether or not they received any value from it. This will be a great idea to follow through on after my next webinar or teleclass!

However, I do want to share with you how others view what a good teleseminar or webinar should be like. This is what I compiled from other coaches and VAs:

• A webinar is an ideal means of conveying to a captive audience the value you deliver as a host and the relevant expertise you can share, which in turn, can bring in new clients that want to work with you. If a webinar is performed well, a participant should be able to walk away with information they can use.

• What will help make the webinar interesting is to arm your participants with an agenda beforehand so they already know what you are going to deliver and they are on the call to “catch” what you have to say. What will make that audience happy too is knowing they will receive a follow-up recording of the webinar or call. I know of several participants that went back and listened to my most recent webinars. Then they contact me to discuss their needs or ask questions.

• A speaker should feel like that he/she is conversing with the audience; sort of like having an interview with the callers. I personally like to get to know my participants by having them introduce themselves at the beginning of the call. You want to make your callers feel welcome and comfortable.

• Have fun with the webinar. Adding a sprinkle of humor throughout your call will also grab the attention of your callers. I have definitely had to break out the humor “card” when I felt like my audience was starting to fade away from me!

• Be sure that you are speaking to your target audience. Even before you have the webinar, you want to promote your event that YOU know will target those you want to bring to the call. Otherwise, you are doing yourself a disservice and not “preaching” to the right audience. You will get little or no response after the call.

So before you schedule your next webinar or teleseminar, take into consideration these participant tips so you can deliver your expertise to your audience and keep them on the call. Better participation leads to more potential clients for your business!

Your Planning To-Do List for a Teleclass or Webinar

Before you decide to hold your own *free* or paid teleclass or webinar, be sure to sit down and write out a to-do list beforehand. Trust me…I’ve done this before and plan on hosting more and more *free* and paid webinars in the future.

Take these five tips in consideration in the planning phase of your event:

1. First off, research a topic or create a survey and send to your target market to find out what they want to learn more about. You can also “google” key words that will help you search the top sites or articles that would identify what your market is looking for in terms of resources.

2. Listen in on a few telecalls or webinars to get an idea of how to host a call. Usually you start the call with what the call is about. If there is a guest, they will be introduced, followed by the objectives of the class. The call ends with what the caller needs to do to take advantage of the offer or bonus. I even recommend having the offer in the middle AND the end of the call.

3. Subscribe to a *free* or paid conference line with call recording capabilities. You can always use this recording as a complimentary download or bundle it with another offer and sell it as a product.

4. Design and host a landing page (and I recommend using WordPress for this). This is the page where you make your pitch to have them sign up for your teleclass or webinar. Some will use testimonials, bullet points, objectives and bonuses on this page. Also, make signing up simple. Use a web form that requires a name and email address only. Include a 1-year subscription to your newsletter in order to keep them on your mailing list.

5. Lastly, send a broadcast or special announcement to your existing subscriber list, to the listservs or online network groups you belong to. You can even subscribe to a teleclass announcement service such as Planet Teleclass. Then watch the registrations come in!

But before you follow the five steps above, take inventory in your business and your personal life and make sure you are ready to host your own teleclass. If you plan the date, the time and you’ve done everything you can to market the event, e sure you are ready to “sell” yourself on the call. Remember, your listeners are picking up on whether or not you can clearly convey that you are an “expert” in what you are teaching or informing your audience about.