Webinars are a great marketing, sales, and educational tool. They can serve diverse purposes and achieve multiple ends. However, they often fail to deliver any results.
The question is why. Why do they fail more often than they succeed? Why don’t people throng to sign up? Why do they leave in the middle of a webinar? Why do they not return to attend subsequent ones?
There are all sorts of causes, but here are five general reasons for why nobody is (or has stopped) coming to your webinars.
- You don’t deliver what was promised. This is the age-old case of “bait and switch.” It’s bad news bears in any context, so don’t do it. You may want the catchy headline or tagline, but it’s a bad move to make if the content doesn’t align with it. If the two don’t match, you’ll be publicly flogged on social media. Good luck getting anyone to sign up for a webinar after that. You’re now known as a person who cries, “Wolf.”
- You use the same anecdotes. Every. Single. Time. If you’ve shared the same story so many times that the audience could give the webinar for you, it’s time to find a new story. You should always look for new angles and insights into a topic. Even if you use the same case studies, look for different ways to approach the data in order to keep people engaged and interested in knowing more.
- You’re unprepared. You don’t want to sound like a robot, but you should rehearse what you’re going to say. Make sure you stay within the time limits set by the webinar host—even if that host is you. If your webinars are supposed to be half an hour, with ten minutes left for questions, aim to hit the mark every time. Also do sound and technical checks before going live. While you can’t account for every variable, you should do everything in your power to provide an enjoyable experience to the end viewer.
- You sound like a robot. To the point above: people can tell when you’re reading from a script. Maybe you’re nervous, but that isn’t an excuse for giving a boring presentation. Even the most boring of subjects become interesting when the person speaking sounds excited about them. So, practice your delivery. Record yourself and listen to your tone, rhythms, and inflection. Ask for feedback. If you’re still struggling, it may be wise to seek another spokesperson for your webinars. People won’t come back if they don’t enjoy the narration.
- You don’t give people information they can use. It’s a good idea to give people a sort of call to action in the webinar. It can be best practices they can implement right away, or it might be a referral to some downloadable content. Whatever the case may be, you should always have something that viewers can hold onto and share with their friends and family. Ask, “What do I want people to take away from viewing this webinar?” If you can figure out the messaging before you go live, you’re more likely to see people communicate it clearly and correctly with others.
Obviously, there are other reasons why nobody is coming to your webinars. They might be too long, or they’re irrelevant to the audience. Maybe they aren’t marketed well enough. The five causes listed above, though, are easy ones to address. Practice before going live. Give people a message they can easily and quickly share, and always, always deliver what you promise.
Image: Max Wolfe (Creative Commons)