Webinars can drive traffic, build your brand, get you exposure, and help you assemble a list of qualified prospects. But they can also pay off right away, in cash now rather than the potential for cash later. Here are a few tips for webinars that pay.
Pick one thing to sell. In an ideal world, what would your audience buy in the midst of your webinar? Would they sign up for your subscription service or buy your book? Pick one thing to focus on promoting. Trying to sell too many things will leave your audience confused.
Mention your product. Webinars are, by definition, supposed to exist to provide some benefit to the audience—valuable information that they need—and shouldn’t be a sales presentation. But webinars take a lot of work, and as long as you’re delivering high-quality content, there’s no reason you shouldn’t specifically mention your product. In addition, some audience members will be new to what you do, and may not know what else you offer. Mention your product or service—not constantly, but at an appropriate time—so they know it’s an option.
Make it easy to buy. Audience members should be able to easily find a link to purchase what you sell. Make it obvious what you’re selling and how you’re selling it, and don’t make them look for a link.
Offer a discount. Make sure that attendees know they get a discount on what you’re selling for attending the webinar. Put it in all your webinar promotions, via email, social media, on your website, and elsewhere. Mention the discount when you talk about your product during the webinar.
Use time constraints. Make sure people at your webinar know that there’s a time limit for their discount. Maybe they only have until the end of the week to buy—or another 48 hours. Experiment with different time limits.
Follow up. Send an email to attendees who haven’t bought your product by the time the webinar is over, and remind them that the discount will expire. Do this several times, depending on the length of your deadline.
Webinars bring great benefits in terms of marketing, brand awareness, and list-building—but they can also pay off more immediately. Focus your sales efforts on one product or service, offer a discount, remind your attendees, and make it easy for them to buy—and you should boost conversions both during the webinar and in the days after.
