Creating the perfect webinar is challenging if you don’t have a proper guide. Here in this article, will walk you through the steps for creating the most impressive and captivating webinar.
After this easy-to-follow guide you will be able to:
- Learn how to draw and keep your audience’s attention
- Professional design content in the most effective and efficient manner
- Know about the best industry practices used by professionals
The greatest strength of webinars is to generate genuine interaction and develop trusted relationships.
If you follow our 10 steps guide, then you can create the perfect webinar which will help build confidence in your business and drive sales.
With all that said, let’s go through the guide step by step.
10 Steps to Create & Host a Successful Webinar
You want to seek to market a product or educate and enlighten your audience. It may seem obvious but, to deliver anything insightful and memorable you need to follow these 10 steps.
1. Goal Creation
The first step is to determine the goal of the webinar. Is your product or service being promoted? Who is the webinar’s intended audience?
Focus on resolving an issue and providing value to your audience once at a time. Make it worth spending their time with you! Also, identify your call to action.
After they’ve finished viewing, what do you want them to do? Also, determine how you’ll track your webinar’s outcomes if it is successful.
2. Choose a Time & Date
Next, choose a date and time. According to research, the best days to hold a webinar are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Morning or just after lunch (10 a.m.–2 p.m.) are ideal times. If your demography spans many time zones, take that into account as well. You should start preparing for the webinar around a month ahead of time.
3. Pick a Catchy Webinar Title
After your goals are defined and you know what your webinar is about it is time to choose a title that people will care about. Make it crystal clear what problem this webinar will solve. Titles that are easy to remember, such as “Creating a flawless live stream setup: top 5 best practices,” do well.
4. Prepare the Webinar Registration Page
Make sure to create a unique registration page for sign-ups. Make sure you include your brand logo and name on it.
This will set your webinar landing page apart from the rest of the generic webinar sign-up pages and give it a professional vibe.
It will be even better if you can host the webinar on your website, if not then youtube is fine.
5. Decide on a Webinar Format
You can decide to hold a webinar in a variety of ways. Here are a few common options:
Expert presenters (single or dual)
We strongly recommend co-hosting a webinar.
Because there is a more natural discussion flow with two presenters, they tend to do better.
Even if one of the hosts takes a break, the other can keep the program going. Alternatively, one person can serve as an anchor, presenting and regulating questions, while the other serves as an expert.
This structure works well for most webinars.
Interview Format
You can invite an experienced speaker to answer your questions.
This type of presentation may frequently elicit more active audience engagement since they will want to ask questions.
You have the option of inviting the guest into your studio in person or involving them remotely.
If you intend to invite visitors from outside, keep in mind that coordinating with them will require time and effort.
Experts’ panel
A moderated panel discussion on a certain topic may be highly engaging and provide a diverse range of ideas and viewpoints. This talk-show-style webinar may become a little complex, but when done well, it can be quite effective.
Webinar with Q&A
The viewer asks a question via social media or chats during a Q&A webinar, and you respond in real-time. This is a great approach to show that your firm is willing to help.
Product Demonstration
If you want to market a product, then a product demo style or an educational format is ideal.
6. Webinar Setup
A webinar’s technical setup consists of three key components:
- What will you be showing? (Video)
- What will be the source of the sound? (Audio)
- Where and how will you stream? (Webinar software)
How many video shots do you intend to include? Will you share your computer screen with others? Will you be bringing in a remote expert? Are you going to display any product shots? These are some questions you will need the answer to.
Helping you is this rundown of the key components you will need to consider while selecting your setup.
Video setup
The simplest (and perhaps most common) webinar option is to record the full-screen on a computer with the speaker’s voice in the background.
In a more intriguing setting, we view the presenter through a webcam in a picture-in-picture arrangement.
Changing the designs will provide a more dynamic vibe for your webinar, making it more attractive to watch.
Consider how you’ll bring in an expert or many remote presenters. Each presenter should, ideally, be connected to a web camera.
Audio setup
One of the most crucial aspects of a good webinar is the audio. Make sure you’re utilizing high-quality microphones in addition to making sure the area of recording is silent.
If you’re bringing in a visitor or using numerous remote presenters, make sure everyone has a decent microphone.
You can use a headset with a 3.5 mm jack and a mouthpiece: A directed microphone will produce better sound than just a built-in laptop mic that is omnidirectional.
Webinar Software
Webinar software generally has a variety of capabilities. Some of the features are the ability to share your screen, invite remote guests, transfer control, call, in-webinar polling, Q&A, etc.
You don’t have to worry about the invitation and reminder emails because they handle it for you.
You can check out our list of the best webinar software that does all this and more. These are all-inclusive strategies that can provide great results.
7. Webinar Script Preparation
Compose the talking points for the live presentation now that you know the topic of your webinar.
The webinar script should include a beginning, middle, and finish to convey a story. Combine live sessions with pre-recorded footage to add drama and speed.
Throughout the webinar, the host’s role is to narrate the tale and summarise the plot for the audience.
Begin with the fundamentals and progress to more advanced subjects or ideas later on in the webinar
7.1 Include Value in your Webinar:
Don’t mention your business services or goods directly. Instead, concentrate on what will provide value to your readers.
You may have observed that there are a lot of webinars available, so if you’re simply talking about yourself or marketing your items, your audience has the option to switch off.
During these trying times, including value will improve your brand’s perception, which will be remembered later.
7.2 Break the Webinar Down:
Choose a topic and divide it into pieces of no more than 10 minutes each.
Consider how a script can be split down into manageable parts to make it easier to watch. On webinars and during live presentations, people’s attention spans are significantly shorter and they become weary much faster.
As a result, digestible, bitesize bits of knowledge will help you keep your webinars moving at a nice, rapid pace.
7.3 Guest Selection:
As the host, your goal is to select people who will work well together.
Experts mixed together is an excellent approach to providing entirely fresh knowledge.
By merging them your audience can have a fresh experience. Viewers will also identify your brand with trust and confidence.
It doesn’t matter if you invite the greatest people in your industry to speak; if they can’t get along with the others, your audience will have a bad time.
7.4: Conduct Q&A at the end of the Webinar
Reserving the Q&A to the conclusion of the webinar will help you plan and manage the time.
Because the webinars are versatile in their Q&A part, they may be enlarged or cut short for time.
It may not appear to be a significant issue, but it is in the case of webinars. You reserve your take-home message until the end of a presentation to a large group of people.
8. Webinar Graphics Preparation
Text-only presentations should be avoided at all costs because they will bore your audience to death. Using a PowerPoint presentation to deliver graphical elements during a webinar is a smart idea.
Use more visuals and try to limit the amount of text on each slide.
Consider what additional documents or video sources you might wish to include.
Keep your brand in mind.
The graphics in the webinar should ideally mirror your brand’s colors, and your video frame should include your logo.
9. Market your Webinar
This step is sometimes forgotten, but it is essential. It’s critical to generate as much buzz as possible around your webinar.
Without your active participation, viewers will be unable to locate it.
Begin promoting two weeks before the event. Here are some ways to implement marketing of your webinars
Invitations through email
Send an email to your mailing list with an invitation. The first email should be sent out around two weeks before the webinar.
One invitation followed by two reminders is a decent rule of thumb. The morning before the webinar, the last reminder should be emailed out.
Social Media Marketing
Use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to promote your webinar. You can also make a blog post about it on your website or as a guest post. It’s important to remind people about it!
Registration page setup
As mentioned above, setting up a registration page is very important.
It is because you would really want to understand who your intended audience is, so collect much information when possible.
Plus, you will be able to record leads for further follow-ups if you register.
You should check out the Best Webinar Software list which will help you with this process.
This software can automate the process for you like scheduling the webinar in advance, sending out invites and reminders, and even posting on social media on a set timetable.
10. Re-Check and Rehearse Everything
We continue to emphasize the need to thoroughly test all parts of your setup before going live.
Test your audio, webinar software, and internet speed, as well as your equipment configuration. Here is a quick rundown;
- If you are starting a webinar for the very first time, establish an unlisted/private session on your webinar software and try it as a demo.
- Keep an eye on the time throughout your dry run. Keep track of how much time you spend on each talking point.
- Perform a speed test on the internet. If at all feasible, set up a separate LAN connection with enough bandwidth for your webinar).
- If you’re bringing in a remote expert, schedule a call with them a few days ahead of time to go over the interview in detail.
- Also, make sure to run a complete sound test as well, and pay close attention to the audio quality and delay.
- Finally, if you’re flying solo, check through your slides, pictures, and other resources. And If you have an assistant who is doing the switching, have them practice switching between different media.
10 Quick Tips For Creating the Perfect Webinar:
- Use XLR microphones and an audio mixer to level out everyone’s sounds for the greatest results. Some individuals speak more loudly than others. When bringing in a visitor across the network, this is handy.
- Send a video-on-demand version to people who couldn’t make it and those who couldn’t.
- You should use an HD camera if you want to hold a webinar with better image quality or if you want to make a product demo.
- The presenter must try to mold and lead their conversations to bring out the best in everyone.
- Make sure you review and evaluate your webinar’s attendance and retention statistics.
- Keep the script filled with easy questions to which the audience has answers. They will have a fast victory at the moment and will also keep enjoying.
- Plan your editing procedure so that you can share the webinar recording as soon as possible.
- Gather your production team and analyze after the webinar is over. Make a list of the content that worked well and what might be improved.
- Within 24–48 hours, send a follow-up email to your audience. Thank them for attending your webinar and include a call to action.
- At the start of each webinar, remind the audience of the goal, and always discuss the following webinar in full at the end of each session
Summary
Yes, planning a webinar takes a lot of effort, but the advantages may be well worth it. Keep in mind that most of the suggestions on this list are intended to increase audience interaction.
A webinar, of course, is only as effective as it is interesting. That’s where this article comes in. A perfect webinar that is both captivating and unforgettable is in your hands.
We hope that these pointers will surely assist you in learning how to create the perfect webinar. We wish you all the best with your upcoming webinars!
Editorial Team at 99BusinessIdeas is a team of experts led by Rupak Chakrabarty with over 25 years of experience in starting and running small businesses. Started in 2010, 99BusinessIdeas is now one of the largest free small business resources in the industry.