Welcome to episode thirty-two of “Zooming to Webinar Success!”
Hey, I’m Grant: My clients call me The Webinar Guy.
Today we’re going to talk about one of my most asked questions “How Long Should my Webinar Be? (As Robert Southey author of Goldilocks might’ve said “Just Right!”)”
As you already know (I HOPE you know by now!!), you can always catch up on the first thirty-one episodes hered on TheWebinarGuy.com- just hit the links to the right, or use the search bar!
Okay, maybe not every day, but almost every day, I get some version of the question, “How long should my webinar be?”
I’m sure you’ll not be surprised by my answer. “Long enough”! But as usual, let’s back up a bit.
Another thing I tell clients nearly every day is, “Begin with the end in mind”, made famous by Dr. Stephen Covey.
I can’t overemphasize how important planning is. It’s really the point of this entire series! And it follows that this single issue is a constant. Every week I get a message, “Are you available to host or moderate a webinar…(wait for it)… tomorrow?
Oh sure!
When you begin with the end in mind, you know WHY you’re having your webinar or virtual meeting! Back in episode twenty-seven, I asked you to consider WIIFM, or what’s in it for me, or more accurately for your audience (them). So that is one great goal, what IS in it for your audience?
But what is it YOU want out of it. The reasons that TheWebinarGuy’s clients have virtual summits, virtual meetings, hybrid events are as varied as the businesses they operate.
In episode four I talked about finding the purpose of your webinar. Then in five, the Overall strategy on what you’re trying to accomplish. So go listen to those think about the answers.
When an audience is being asked to absorb new information, you need to allow the information time to trickle in. We’ve all heard the “learning from a fire-hose” or similar statement. Try that in a webinar and you’ll lose your audience.
Generally speaking, my sweet spot is under twenty minutes. Why? That’s a great time length, where it’s long enough to impart the information, leave some time for Q&A and not leave everyone tired, bored or no longer on your webinar!
If you’ve been in sales, there’s a constant in how you think of prospects and sales. You may have heard the phrase, 10-6-4-1. You have to get ten prospects, talk to six, four will be interested and you’ll close one.
How did that information jump in here? Stay with me for a minute…
Like a Realtor would say, “location, location, location” we here at TheWebinarGuy.com say “Planning, planning & planning!”
We love to be on your team from the time you first think about doing a webinar!! Yes, I’m the webcast and podcast sponsor, TheWebinarGuy.com! (Yeah, that’s me). When you decide to plan your first webinar or you’re looking to plan a larger, or multi-dimensional virtual summit, and think you need assistance, we have many resources and would love to help you! Hit me at WebinarPro@TheWebinarGuy.com, or visit our website (TheWebinarGuy.com) and use contact form! We’d love to work with you! Thanks for listening to my commercial!
Back to the sales rule 10-6-4-1. Look it up on the internet and you’ll see different numbers, but they are all relevant to the point.
If you need ten sales from your webinar, you’ll need to fill one hundred seats. One mistake, in my experience, is when people try to have a webinar and try to get two hundred in their virtual sales meeting to get twenty sales right then.
That might work. And then they pack every single thing into that first webinar, then they are disappointed that the audience thins out early and the remaining thirty people don’t buy. Most often, they’ve been overwhelmed!
Here’s a solution; Plan that webinar to be the first part of the funnel. Get one hundred or two hundred in your webinar or virtual summit! But plan to give “Just Enough” information to your audience to get the right number to the next webinar. In other words, every virtual seminar is a break down to the next.
Why blow all your time and energy on an audience that isn’t going to buy. Here’s an example. We do a TON of bit coin, binance, and DeFi webinars for clients.
They’ll do fifteen minutes on what bit-coin is, and how it relates to ten minutes on how secure block-chain technology is. Then seven minutes on their platform and how great it is. We’re now over thirty minutes. And I sit and watch the participant list drop one by one. And they’ve not gotten to their CTA!
And God-forbid you have a boring speaker that drones on and on and those numbers drop like a rock!
What could they do? Start with a statement by your webinar moderator from TheWebinarGuy.com that this webinar is a bit advanced and for those that understand bit-coin, block chain and are ready for a better platform! (read: Manage expectations).
First touch on both what bit-coin is, then touch on block-chain, maybe two to three minutes tops. Mention another webinar you’ll be having later that is more in-depth on those things. Get those people in THAT webinar.
Now work on how your platform works and the benefits of using it. You can do a lot in the next five to seven minutes. Then do your Q&A. Five minutes tops. Then do your CTA. We’re around fifteen minutes and I assure you you’ll have better numbers. Make sense?
Your CTA IS a sign up offer (why not!?!), but now get those really interested into that next harder sales push webinar with some great offer. Say 5% sign up bonus for those that sign up now for the next webinar.
If you’re planning a sixty-minute webinar, or even anything over thirty-minutes- you better have five things:
- Be an interesting speaker with Great Content
- Solid webinar design and
- Tight planning agenda run by professionals
- Concise, meaningful Q&A
- An interesting, well-crafted CTA
So what have we defined? A sort of sales funnel where we’ll try to peel off attendees that would be better served in a different webinar. Next, we’ll have planned content for the “real” audience and either close them with a call to action then, or, have a deeper, more detailed content webinar soon after.
This is related to sales, but it works for nearly everything. Need VoiceOver training? How about my webinar on that? But I’ll first make sure what phase of your career you’re at, “This webinar is for those that…”, then the call to action might be a three lesson course.
Selling a beauty regimen? Trying to solve racism, or hunger in your neighborhood? Helping people in some way?
Hope this helps you plan!!
This series is for smaller organizations and solopreneurs that may not be tech savvy, don’t know all the steps, or don’t WANT to know all the steps.
Over the series, I’m going to lead you through the significant decisions and capabilities you’ll need to “Zoom to Webinar Success!” If you have a subject you’d like me to cover, please subscribe, then drop me a note or comment.
As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out at WebinarPro@TheWebinarGuy.com
Thank you for watching! Would love to hear your questions and comments! Don’t forget to tell a friend or two!
And if you’re listening to the Podcast audio, thanks for listening!