What a time to be alive! Sometimes, I pause and reflect on how grateful I am to be alive at this particular time in history. Why? The Internet.
It’s amazing how the miraculous magic of the internet revolutionized the way we express ourselves, learn, work, create, and connect with the world.
You no longer have to jump through hoops to write a book or share your knowledge because their internet has, in many ways, leveled the playing field — especially when it comes to entrepreneurship.
Webinars are the perfect way to put yourself out there and share your knowledge.
Before we dive in, I want you to remember the most important aspect of all: your belief in yourself. Having a no-fail attitude is the key to a great webinar because all this seems overwhelming at first. You’re a genius and way more capable than you chattering mind likes to give you credit for.
Let’s create your first webinar, together.
1. Become the expert with thorough research
To inspire or mentor people online by sharing your knowledge, expertise, or advice via webinar you’ll have to do some research.
Expand your creativity with fresh industry insights even though you’re already a subject matter expert.
I invest a substantial amount of time and money in my ongoing education since the creative industry is constantly changing. Committing to being a lifelong learner requires me to constantly work to become a better and more effective entrepreneur and trainer.
With that said, it worth seeing what your competition is doing take notes on the slides they use to illustrate points and use this intel to make yourself stand out.
Pay attention to how much your competitors are charging for access. If your competition is requesting payment for their webinars, offer yours at an enticing rate or for free.
Super important note if you’re offering your webinar for free:
Information may be free, but education is priceless.
To create an amazing webinar experience takes research, thought, effort and a deep commitment to your viewer's success.
2. Decide on a structure
Now that you’ve gathered valuable intel from preliminary research it’s time to focus on what you’ll be doing for the webinar.
Do you want to create a small, intimate and powerful experience with a single speaker presentation or did you want to leave your audience inspired packed with insights from other industry leaders with a panel discussion?
Ask yourself what webinar format resonates most with your audience and what you’re comfortable with producing.
Here are a few format options for you to consider:
Single speaker presentation
Panel discussion
Interview
Tutorial or How-To
Industry insights and news discussion
Don’t be afraid to add your personal touch or add a spin on the traditional webinar format.
As long as your message is clear, delivers incredible value and empowers your audience with tools to positively impact their lives, you’ve succeeded.
3. Find your toolbox
What platform will you use to host your webinar?
Take this time to figure out what you need to determine which platform is right for you.
If you’re looking for an all-inclusive solution, try GoToWebinar or Zoom. With convenience, comes cost, both options are amazing however, there’s a fee.
If you plan on offering your webinar for free, then it wouldn’t make sense to incur additional costs. I recommend YouTube, the live streaming option is perfect and you have control over what audience group can view your content.
We’ve got a handle on the software for your webinar, now let’s explore the hardware.
Here’s a short list of items you’ll need to launch your webinar:
A computer (for obvious reasons) that is capable of running multiple programs at the same time and has a solid WiFi connection. If your WiFi is as slow as molasses, you’ll have difficulty with streaming which significantly impacts video quality.
A webcam or camera. Most modern laptops have webcams built-in — which is perfect for single speaker presentations. Set your camera settings to stream in high definition at a minimum of 1080p or 30 frames per second. If your computer doesn’t have a webcam built-in, I recommend searching on Amazon for a standalone webcam, they run between $25-$60 USD. For prerecorded sets, take things up a notch with a quality DSLR camera.
Microphone. Invest in a USB microphone that’s compatible with your webinar software. My personal favorites are the Blue Ice and Blue Yeti microphones.
Screen recording or sharing software. Good to have, but it’s totally necessary. Some platforms have this feature built-in otherwise, Google Hangouts has this technology readily available at no cost.
4. Create your content
The real win is in the very act of creation.
It’s in the journey, the expression, the doing of the darn thing. This is your time to shine and put your creative genius to work for public consumption.
Super important note:
Balance staying true to your creative vision while also being mindful of giving your audience what they want.
Script. Start with writing your script to supercharge your webinar and keep you on track. It’s not so important to “stick to the script” leave some breathing room to add some valuable insights and quick tangents that your audience would appreciate.
Slides. Before you spend a ton of time or energy trying to come up with what to put on your slides, consider this…
The secret to a meaningful, profitable webinar: putting a spotlight on your views, not you.
The copy on your slides should be concise and compelling. This will make your webinar dramatically more effective, and therefore can dramatically increase your results — even if you don’t think you’re a “good writer”
Combine this technique with a visually appealing layout and the results you produce can be dramatic!
Marketing Collateral. Before your webinar goes live, you’ll want to promote it. This is the time to put your creative genius to use. You’ll need a newsletter for your subscribers, graphics for social media, a banner for your website and dedicated landing page for it as well.
Now that you’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting, it’s time to put all of this into practice before the real deal.
5. Do a practice run
This is your first webinar and I imagine that you’re terrified of looking stupid.
I mean, who wants to appear underprepared or incompetent — especially in front of a camera? No one.
But here’s the thing. Being uncomfortable and trying out something new, is the very definition of how to challenge yourself. The only way you’ll ever grow stronger is if you step beyond what’s easy and familiar.
With that said, pat yourself on the back for putting yourself out there!
Get your software and hardware in place, grab your script and practice, practice, practice.
If you can, get a loved one or friend to watch your entire presentation because you can use that outside perspective to spot things that may have been overlooked.
Now that everything has fallen into place it’s time to…
*drumroll please*
6. Launch your webinar
When you share your knowledge with the world you’ll experience greater growth, higher satisfaction, and lasting fulfillment in life.
Although getting things started was a challenge, the launch of your webinar will be so worth it.
Go ahead and press that record button, show the world what you’ve got!
At the end of your webinar, tell your viewers all the ways they can connect with you: email, social media or your website.
Here are two big takeaways that you can apply after your webinar:
Go to your comments and answer questions from your viewers. Go the extra mile by creating a live Q&A session exclusively for webinar attendees.
Request feedback with a survey or gather testimonials from the comments section and use these assets as promotional tools for your next webinar.
There you have it, everything you need to know to launch your first webinar!
My life’s work is to encourage growth.
Both in myself and others. To nurture and fuel. To share ideas, inspiration, and support so we can collectively rise higher.
Thank you SO very much for reading, commenting and sharing. Your light is a gift to this world. If you know a savvy entrepreneur ready to share their knowledge, please share this post.
Wishing you the very best,
Website Godmother