seven common webinar mistakes and how to avoid them

Common Webinar Mistakes to Avoid7

Mistakes can be made in both the planning and execution stages of a webinar. Even in a nearly perfect presentation, if one thing goes wrong, that one thing is what people remember.

Help ensure success and avoid pitfalls by following these tips.

MistakeThinking a Single Promotion is a Good Idea

Limiting yourself to a single promotion means a smaller window of opportunity to reach receptive people, resulting in fewer participants.

1

• Use a two-week promotion strategy, allowing multiple opportunities for engagement.

• Deliver a variety of e-mails with different messaging.

Solution1

2MistakeFailing to Have an Optimized Registration and Confirmation Page

Fewer than half the people who begin registration for your webinar will complete the form, often due to issues with the form itself.

• Avoid lengthy registration forms because busy consumers will give up.

• Use consistent design elements to assure prospects they’re on the right page.

• Embed helpful tools, like a calendar invite to make adding the webinar to an existing calendar easier.

• Include a confirmation page telling them they’ve successfully registered.

Solution2

3MistakeLeaving the Audience Out of the Conversation

Audience members will logoff if they feel bored or if they’re staring at a talking head for too long.

• Have a live Q&A so that the audience can participate.

• Poll your audience so you can see how they’re engaging with your content.

• Include group chat features so audience members can communicate with one another.

Solution3

4MistakeBoring Text and Too Many Bullet Points

After a few PowerPoint slides crammed with too much text and too many bullet points, your audience will start to tune out.

• Limit the amount of words on screen so the host becomes the storyteller.

• Compel the audience with imagery.

• Consider including bullet points only to summarize sections.

Solution4

5MistakeSelling to Your Audience Instead of Helping Them

No one wants to sit and watch a snake-oil salesman do his thing, especially when they registered for your webinar expecting to be helped.

• Be direct and helpful.

• Offer participants new ways to think about their toughest business problems.

• You can address your product/ service if it’s from a perspective that helps solve their problem.

Solution5

6MistakeNot Valuing Your Audience’s Time

Your audience won’t appreciate you starting or ending late and will also recognize when you don’t have enough information to fill the timeslot.

• Don’t exceed the advertised length! Do dry runs to be sure you’ve got the timing down.

• Don’t start more than about 2 minutes late (allowing late comers just enough time to join).

• It’s okay to end a few minutes early if no more questions are coming in.

Solution6

7MistakeTreating All Leads Equally

All leads are not created equal. Some prospects will be more clearly suited for your message than others.

• Use intelligent lead scoring to evaluate and score leads.

• Utilize registration data to help gauge which participants to further target.

• Track attendee activity and engagement to help qualify leads.

7Solution

Following these tips can help you increase attendance and ensure the audience focuses on your content.

Learn more with Webinars For Dummiesby John Carucci and Sharat Sharon

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