“There is nothing more powerful, leverage-able or exponentially more profitable for you and your business than a well-executed webinar strategy. . .” – Amy Porterfield, Online Marketing Expert and Trainer
Building a business from the ground up is no joke. It’s not a job, it’s an entire life path.
Not only does this work require long hours, financial risks and sacrifice, and a plethora of inevitable failures, but it also demands that business owners seek out and find their audience, accrue sizable social followings, and generate top-notch content – and that’s just the top of the blood-sweat-and-tears iceberg.
Where many new business owners end up falling short is crafting the types of content that will attract and resonate with their target audience while also helping them generate revenue along the way.
This is where webinars become a budding business owner’s best friend.
Video currently trumps all other forms of online content and can be used to inspire, educate, entertain, as well as be utilized as a compelling sales tool.
Webinar provider ClickMeeting recently published a free eBook on how to make money using webinars – it’s the perfect companion to those just getting started leveraging this powerful modality.
If you are ready to launch your first business but aren’t exactly sure how to get it off the ground, take a look at how you can use a webinar strategy to turn a new brand into a legitimate company.
#1: Promote Your Event
As a new company, you likely have a minimal social following and email list.
That means you need to promote your webinar in order to expand your audience and drive a sizeable number of signups.
This can be done through a variety of means; email marketing, content marketing, and related disclipines. One of the most common (and often the most fruitful) methods is to use is social media advertising.
Platforms like Facebook provide business owners with a variety of ad types, targeting tools, and other optimization features that ensure entrepreneurs are reaching the right folks, at the right time, and with the most engaging formats possible.
For webinars, the best ad sets you can leverage are going to be video-based as this will allow you to talk directly to your audience about the benefits they can receive by attending your webinar.
#2: Learn to Launch
One of the most powerful ways to launch a business using webinars is through a product launch.
In ClickMeeting’s eBook, the company articulately described the purpose of a product launch:
“A product launch webinar is an opportunity to start a conversation about your overall business, not just a new aspect of it. Think of it as a brand awareness venture to help move prospects into the top of your sales funnel. This is selling by not trying to sell. You show how your product works and how it solves your audience’s problem or satisfies their needs.”
This means that by holding a product launch webinar, you can use the forum to introduce people to your brand and simultaneously generate sales.
Additionally, if your company has yet to deploy a solution for invoices, quotes, receipts, or similar documents, you may want to consider employing a proposal software like PandaDoc to handle all of those tedious tasks; you’ll need these come webinar time.
The key to holding a successful product launch webinar, however, lies in the structure.
The first thing to know is that you should be providing your audience with value in regards to their problem or pain point (the reason they are attending your webinar) before trying to push your offerings.
This helps to develop trust and rapport with your audience.
Once you have supplied your views with valuable insights, tie the problem your audience has to the solution; your company’s product.
This is should be about halfway to two-thirds of the way through the webinar; here is where you will try to send folks to your website.
After you have given your presentation, there is a good chance you have driven some attendees to your website to make a purchase.
What you have certainly gained from all attendees (and those who missed your broadcast), however, is an email address. These valuable snippets of data bring you into the next actionable.
#3: Following Up
After your webinar has ended, you need to send follow up emails to everyone who signed up.
Considering some of your viewers might have taken an action, they are now your customers and should be receiving emails unrelated to your first webinar.
According to ClickMeeting’s eBook:
“Once you close a deal, conduct a webinar to up-sell and cross-sell (such as add-ons). Or once you develop an upgrade, show your existing customers how your new product is better than the older one, and offer a discounted upgrade.”
If folks have not yet converted, send one of two emails to the following groups:
- Those who attended but didn’t buy
- Those who missed the webinar completely
For those who attended, you might want to send them emails that present them with special offers or additional information about your product to try and entice them once more.
For the group who missed the webinar, you should send these folks an email that contains a link to the broadcast so that they can watch it at their convenience. It’s also not a bad idea to include a special “limited time” offer in this communication to pursued prospects into a purchase.
#4: Consistent Communication
The number of sales you get from your first webinar should not be the main focus.
The real victory is that you have acquired a solid number of email addresses for folks that are either now your customers or that you know are interested in your products or services.
It now becomes essential to study and apply the best practices in email marketing.
Launching a brand is a full-scale labor of love. Business owners need to be savvy about the tools and content they deploy; a significant misstep could spell catastrophe.
When used correctly, webinars are a powerful tool for amassing and educating audiences, building email lists, boosting brand awareness, driving sales, and achieving a myriad of other goals. They are often the cornerstone of a successful launch, and can help secure longevity too.
