To seasoned webinar organizers, it’s no news that a webinar is only as successful as its marketing. You could nail every aspect of your webinar and still end up with subpar results if you don’t market it strategically. While one could argue that the rising popularity of webinars automatically guarantees more sign-ups and higher attendance rates, that is far from the truth. Marketing a webinar well will ultimately drive engagement and yield the best results.
Marketing a webinar right involves a bit of a steep learning curve and could take a few trials and errors. However, there are a few best practices and general rules of thumb that could make the process significantly easier. Read on to find out what they are.
Choose a topic that has broad relevance
If you choose a highly specialized subject for your webinar, you’ll essentially be restricting the size of your target demographic. Instead, pick a topic that has wide relevance, which will assure the prospective participants of your webinar they can apply the knowledge gained from your webinar to their careers. Simply put, your webinar will attract more attendees if there’s something in it for them.
However, don’t confuse a relevant topic with a vague one. A vague topic will provide no end value and will ultimately be counter-productive.
Email marketing all the way
A survey conducted by Yes Lifecycle Marketing reveals that consumers are 50% more likely to open emails that have a personalized subject. You can split your email list into sections and personalize the emails accordingly. Thank you emails following new sign-ups and email reminders before the webinar can also help win over prospective attendees.
Exit-intent popups are your friend
When we’re thinking of pop-ups, “helpful” or “effective” are not exactly the first words that come to mind. However exit-intent pop-ups (those pop-ups that open when someone is about to leave a website) are in fact extremely useful, especially when marketing a webinar. Besides, they are much less intrusive compared to regular pop-ups. Think of it as your last chance to capture the attention of a potential attendee before they leave your landing page.
The magic of countdown timers
Using a countdown timer on your webinar promotional materials is a subtle way to create a sense of urgency. When your target audience sees a countdown ticking away, they will instinctively want to register before the time runs out. Smart, right?
Reward referrals with incentives
Another lesser-known tactic of marketing a webinar is to ask your registrants to invite other people to sign-up. Although realistically speaking, most people won’t do so without an incentive. Incentivize their referral with a bonus and watch those sign-up numbers go up.
Collaborate for that extra boost
We cannot emphasize this enough — collaborations can save the day when marketing a webinar. Tap into your network of content creators or similar brands with whom you share a common audience and collaborate. Collaboration has been a tried and tested method of boosting publicity, so there’s no going wrong.
Marketing Done Right
Incorporate these tips into your webinar marketing strategy, finetune the strategy as need be, and you’ll be hosting webinars with a full house in no time.
