How to Develop & Host a Webinar | A 30 Day plan to create webinars that Engage, Entertain, Educate and motivate the attendees to act.

1. How to Develop & Host a Webinar 30 Day plan to webinars that Engage, Entertain, Educate and motivate the attendees to act. Heidi Tobias Sr. Manager of Distance Learning Constant Contact htobias@constantcontact Twitter: @htoby

2. Agenda Day 1 to 5 Is a webinar the right tool for your message? Do you have an audience that will attend? Day 5 to 10 Logistics and Tools Day 10 to 15 Promotion of your Webinar Day 15 to 22 Size up registrants profile Size up registrants interest Day 23 & 24 Mission ready check list Day 25 Broadcast day Day 26 Reporting and follow up starts Day 27 to 30 Complete follow up Plant seeds for future engagement

3. Day 1-5: Is a Webinar the right tool? Is the topic right for a 45 minute webinar format? Concepts & Higher Thinking-yes Specific individual techniques- yes Extremely detail and heavy data-No Remember: This is not about you but about what you know and how the attendee can walk away with something tangible to apply today. Be specific about the topic/content Set realistic expectations for success # of attendees Satisfaction with webinar Engagement after webinar Typical this is a lead nurture and not a direct sales tool

4. Day 1-5: Is there an audience who will attend? Who do you want to attend? Stage of sales cycle Model of current successful customers Size does not always equal success Are they willing to attend? Why would that desired audience attend? Hot topic Pain point/need to fix something Research Easy way to get information Make your webinar objective match the audience motivation. “Value is in the eye of the attendee.”

5. Day 5-10: Logistics of the webinar Time and Date What is good for the audience, not you No-Monday Mornings and Friday afternoons How many time zones are you reaching? (US only) #1: 2PM and 11AM Eastern #2: 3PM or 4PM Cost per attendee Often as low as $.25 an attendee Varies depending on data and audio choices Audio- Phone, VoIP, or both Connection speed Comfort with technology Registration or no registration To charge or not to charge?

6. Day 5-10: Picking the right tool How large is your audience? Cost per attendee/budget? Do you need a wait list option? Audio options-Flexibility Audience technology What functions do you need to keep the audience engaged? Polls Q & A Share slides/documents Application/desktop Video Audience interaction Audience Control Lots of choices, no right tool for everyone.

7. Day 10 to 15: Promoting your webinar If you build it they will come. Not with webinars, you must promote and motivate your advocates to promote for you.

8. Day 10 to 15: Promoting your webinar Promotion starts with the right title and description Be clear what the end result will be Use power word Use bullets or short text areas Bold to attract attention Optimize for SEO terms Examples of Power Words: Learn, develop, hands on, real world, market proven, secret (little known) system, new, power, immediate, insider you , results discover

9. Day 10 to 15: Promoting your webinar Foundation is your email readers- let them start the buzz! Segment on those open to the message Batch and blast does not work Often will be more than one group Design your invite for impact Less is more Basics of webinar Why I should care Clear call to action Stage your sent in smart segments Most desirable attendees People who will talk about it Control your attendee volume

10. Day 10 to 15: Promoting your webinar Design the invite for sharing Ask the reader to share Saying Please does work: “Please retweet” Forward to a Friend Facebook Like Tweet an email Communities Social Bookmarks Do not forget to share in your own social media networks!

11. Day 15 to 22: Registration Results & Interest Everyone who registered will not attend Expect 30% to 50% attrition Varies: Time of year Day of week Free or Pay webinar Registrations not where you want?- Look at those who did not open invite, try again with different subject line

12. Day 15 to 22: Registration Results & Interest Did you ask questions at registration? Adjust content to meet audience expectations Research trends from registration results and topics recently published on the content RSS feed on Twitter Similar topic webinars Note: Day 20 send out first reminder webinar is a week away.

13. Day 23 & 24: Mission ready check list Do you have a quiet location to broadcast from? Have you tested your internet connection and the computer you are going to broadcast with What is your audio choice? Do you have a back up? Do you have all of your presentation material ready to go? If you are showcasing a product, do you have public facing data ready to go in the tool? Ensure that you have the conferencing tool help numbers available for yourself and as well as attendees If you have a waiting list and cancelations, let those on the waiting list that you have room. Prep any polls or interaction tools that are to be used Pick the end URL for the webinar. –Survey? Sign Up action? Strong closing call to action Day 24 send out remind on day before.

14. Day 25: Webinar Send reminder one hour before webinar. Plan on starting up the meeting 15 minutes before start time. Export attendee list and ID the important individuals to call out as they enter the webinar. Start the meeting and load the resources. Start as close to on time as possible. Start recording if possible. Follow your outline but leave flexibility to address needs of audience As for interaction and live questions. Have a strong closing call to action End recording and end meeting.

15. Day 26: Reporting & start follow up Most tools take 24 hours to provide reporting Send email follow up to both attendees and non attendees Attendees-links to resources, feedback survey, and next logic step in relationship Non Attendees- provide recording or slides, links to next webinar and other ways to engage. Have a real person to contact with questions Provide a link to join list for future webinars

16. Day 27 to 30: Learn and Engage Close the loop with attendees and non attendees -People forget if you wait too long Call attendees with highest value Attendees with lots of questions Attendees in the later stages of the sales cycle Attendees who said they are ready to convert Guideline: If they did not attend, calling is generally not a good idea. Unless it was a pay for webinar.

17. Day 27 to 30: Learn and Engage Review feedback from the webinar. Survey Email reply Chat Twitter Understand: What did they like and not like What do they want more of Did it feel like it was worth their time

18. Day 27 to 30: Learn and Engage Understand you typical conversion behavior. Did the attendees over time convert at a higher rate? Yes: plan the next webinar No: Look at feedback, learn and try again or try on-demand resources “Do not fall in love with hammer”- Webinars are just a tool you can use to grow your business. For some of you it is the right tool and others it is not. Test it, watch the results, learn, try again or try another tool.

19. Want to learn more? Attend a Constant Contact Distance Learning Webinar Watch how the presenter works the crowd Tips to share with your own customers Send your prospects to learn more and experience higher conversions