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E28: Where DO I promote my webinar?

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Welcome to episode twenty-eight of “Zooming to Webinar Success!”

Hey, I’m Grant: My clients call me The Webinar Guy.

Today we’re going to talk about “Where DO I promote my webinar?!”

How do I start might be the subtitle! Stay tuned…

In the last episode (twenty-seven) I talked about WIFFM and why it was important. If you missed it, head to TheWebinarGuy.com and look for episode twenty-seven.

Today we’ll discuss some of the many ways you can market your webinar, virtual learning or virtual training event, and your virtual summit. Will this be an exhaustive list? No it won’t. In fact, I’m tossing in a bit of a twist. But I want the thinking or strategy behind this to be what is learned, not necessarily to use this tactic to do that.

In our current world, being “followed” or “liked” is the thing (social media wise!). I think the first most important thing to know is the makeup of your current “following”.

How many people are in your influence circle? Ten? Ten Thousand? Not only is there a huge difference in those numbers, but there’s also a huge difference in the way you market and approach that difference.

I’ve touched on the subject in several past episodes, by the way- take a gander at episodes eight, nine and eleven. Episode seven was even more specific, where “Filing the seats” was the title. Valuable to catch up on if needed, but I didn’t go deep on purpose. I want to add on today.

Let’s assume you’ve listened to Episode seven, so you know most of the options. Above I alluded to whether you have fewer followers or small audience capture, or a larger following. And for no reason other than normal marketing and sales numbers, let’s call that number five hundred.

—-AD—

But before we dig in too far, a word from our webcast and podcast sponsor, TheWebinarGuy.com! (Yeah, that’s me). When you decide to approach your first webinar, and think you need marketing 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!

This episode I’ll concentrate on those of you with fewer than five hundred in your sphere of influence. Here’s the first problem with that number. Most of us have that many in our sphere with just business and social contacts, not even trying for reach or growth. But it’s likely you’re not maximizing that number or just not realized it’s that big.

We’ve all heard the saying that “Content is King”. Yup sure is. High quality content where your audience wants more of your stuff is crucial! So how do you build your audience for better promotion?

The topic on this episode is “Where do I promote your Webinar?” Start with what you have where you are. But I think you need to start six months or more before your event. Why? Social credibility is all about people seeing, sharing and yes, liking your content. Six months gives you the space to start posting content that engages people to follow you.

On Facebook you have so many friends and so many followers. Yeah, kinda weird but people that aren’t your “Friends” do follow what you post. Instagram is even more that way. Then we have Tik-Tok, YouTube, WhatsApp, WeChat, and even more. And that’s only the top six! If your content is more business oriented, add LinkedIn to your list.

Many of us are on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and maybe TikTok and Twitter and even Reddit. There is no shortage of places to waste your time and efforts.

Why do I say that? Learning the nuances of every platform can drive you nuts and waste time. So Don’t. For this first effort, concentrate on the place or places you already have the most traction. Again, I’ll swing towards Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

You’ll want to get people having conversations. So, posting what you had for dinner or your baby blowing bubbles isn’t what we’re going for here.

Posting a great quote, or sharing another post isn’t going to cut it either. Start with a piece of advice. Show people something and ask a question (start the conversation).

Here’s the simplest rule for ANY platform; Get Engagement and don’t take people off THAT platform. Engagement is people commenting on your content, sharing your content, their friends commenting on their comments, and their friends sharing your content.

That engagement is the path to people following you. You can look at stats and ask people to “follow you” and such.

So technically we’re not yet promoting your webinar. What we’re doing is establishing social credibility. Once you are known for “X”, people start asking you for advice and/or you’re seen as the expert. Having your closest twenty friends on a webinar is great, especially for practice, but you’ll likely not be able to build a business model around that. You need twenty, one-hundred twenty, FIVE-hundred twenty and more in your sphere of influence, just to get some traction. Trust me, you want more.

Remember you’ll likely never get all five hundred twenty on a webinar. If you do, call me and I’ll take some advice from you!

It IS a numbers game, but the credibility factor is HUGE!

Your plan for today is to do an inventory of the platforms you’re on, where you have the largest reach and plan to start there, building credibility!

So did I answer the question of “where to promote your webinar, or virtual meeting?” Not in the literal sense, but hopefully in a way to help you plan on approach.

So what do we know now that we didn’t earlier? Don’t drive people from the platform(s) you’re using.

That social credibility and being seen as THE expert is crucial to success! Take time to build that when you’re looking for zooming to YOUR webinar success!

—– —–

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!

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E27: What’s a WIIFM and why is it important?

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Welcome to episode twenty-seven of “Zooming to Webinar Success!”

Hey, I’m Grant: My clients call me The Webinar Guy.

Today we’re going to talk about WIIFM!

What’s WIIFM? Stay tuned…

In the last episode (twenty-six) I talked about using polls and chat interaction in your webinars and virtual meetings or presentations. If you missed it, head to TheWebinarGuy.com and look for episode twenty-six.

So, what is WIIFM? We ALL suffer from WIIFM now and then. At least from the side effects of not knowing what it is and how it affects all we do.

If you’ve been around business or marketing very long, you already know what it is, if not, WIIFM is an acronym for “What’s In It For Me!?”

What’s In It For Me strikes at the base of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs! Maybe not literally, but wanting to know how something will benefit us is so very deeply rooted we may not even give it conscious thought.

We are always looking for things that are pleasurable, make our lives easier, that are fun, taste good, earn us more money and so on. Remember in this instance we are on the subject of holding webinars, on-line meetings, virtual summits, self-improvement workshops, virtual master classes, virtual podcasts, and so on.

So What IS in it for me? Well, define first define “me”. Because you first need to know what is in it for you.

WHY go to all the work of assembling a webinar, writing the script, creating a powerpoint deck, planning, scheduling, finding a moderator and/or host. Planning and creating all the collateral where needed and more!

By the way, as an aside that list is woefully short of what’s really needed. Our webcast and podcast sponsor, TheWebinarGuy.com! (Yeah, that’s me), has a free PDF with the steps needed to cover when you want to get all the details right. More than eighty items to consider. Want a copy? Hit me at WebinarPro@TheWebinarGuy.com, or visit our website (TheWebinarGuy.com) and use contact form! I’d love to send you a copy! Thanks for listening to my commercial!

Back to the subject; Why would you go to all that work? What is in it for YOU!? You should know the answer. “Just deciding” to do a webinar or virtual event is fine but know why you’re doing it!

Why do I do these videos and podcasts? Yes, I’m a bit altruistic and want you to have great webinars and I hope this series helps you. But let’s be frank; I want your business! I want you to look at all those details and think, “I just want The Webinar Team to do it! Yeah, I’m contacting The Webinar Guy!

I’m in this to gain customers plain and simple.

Why do YOU want to have a webinar? What’s in it for YOU. If you’re not real sure, maybe go hit TheWebinarGuy.com and look for episodes four and five. I talk about Purpose and strategy.

Okay, after you figure that out, you better know “What’s in it for ME”- your audience- or “What’s in it for them?” Why would they bother to take part of their day to listen to you? What’s your expertise? What will you offer? What will they gain?

To drive your webinar attendance you must be able to answer that question. Why would someone care?!

I’ve presented or hosted webinars, such as; employment webinars where interested candidates find out about a company and why they’d want to work there.

For a trucking industry consulting company, why drivers would want to become owners instead of just being drivers (it’s to build wealth).

For a consultant on relationships: How to manage a relationship with a narcissist. If you’re in that type relationship, you need her workshop!

Several for the elder care market, where one client helps current communities manage them better and another on helping those communities help their elder members build memories.

A client that is treating Bi-Polar disorder with laughter, trying to help others with the same challenge.

MANY companies that want you to invest in their bitcoin operation!

I host, present or moderate several hundred webinars each year. There are several common threads; Helping people, selling people, developing authority and trust, generating leads, broadening your current audience and more.

When you know why you are doing your webinar and you can really define “What’s in it for THEM”, you’ll be way down the road on your marketing, your scripts will be better, you’ll have better engagement and the audience you draw will be more open to your message!

What’s in it for me? My goal is more clients and broadening how many people know about the services The Webinar Guy.com offers and sell those services.

What’s in it for you? I want you to hold amazing webinars and have massive success!

So what do we know now that we didn’t earlier? There are two “me’s” for lack of better definition. What’s in it for me as the presenter, speaker, consultant, etc. And the “What’s in it for me” that is really “them”, your audience. Take time to define those for zooming to YOUR webinar success!

—– —–

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!

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E24- Handling Hecklers

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Welcome to episode twenty-four of “Zooming to Webinar Success!”

Hey, I’m Grant: My clients call me The Webinar Guy.

Today we’re going to talk about how to handle hecklers.

First off, there is no one way to eliminate getting a heckler in your session. As with many subjects I chat about, this one has setup and things to consider.

Let’s go back to the beginning and think about the purpose of this webinar. If you need or want audience interaction, your audience will need to be able to use a chat function, and/or be able to unmute their mics at some point and be able to talk.

Most webinar and virtual meeting platforms allow you to turn these functions on and off. For instance, in zoom, you can mute your audience and either allow or not allow them to unmute.

So think about how you want this to happen during your session. There is a belief that charging for a session as opposed to free will eliminate this issue. I can tell you that if someone wants badly enough to harass you, they will find a way.

So now let’s prepare a bit. Assume that in any given session that you may have one or more hecklers- by the way, this assumption will save you embarrassment at some point and being ready for the “might happen” will serve you well.

Step one is to consider your familiarity with the webinar platform you are using. And along with that, are you using a moderator or not? Depending on the formality of your session and how many attendees you expect to have, you may want to have a moderator that is on your session if only to monitor chat and remove idiots, or if mics have been allowed to be unmuted and you get a vocal heckler, your moderator can pop them out of the session immediately without warning.

A lot also depends on the heckler and their goal. As The Webinar Guy team does hundreds of webinars each year, we’ve seen it all- or so we’d like to think! Sometimes you just have pushy, belligerent people that think for some reason your virtual meeting or training is their playground.

Just yesterday, I was doing one of my regular sales hosting sessions where we talk about lead generation. We always start with concepts and strategies on how to generate your own leads. One guy in chat just had to chime in, “Generate my own? I like working off a client list!”

Well, goodie for you! Give me a minute and we’ll talk about that. But why he thought he had to tell everyone that and what he thought he’d accomplish is beyond me. What it did do was eliminate him from my client’s prospective hire list. Any potential salesperson that jumps to conclusions and doesn’t listen has already put themselves at a disadvantage.

Forgive my self-promotion here, but I’m pretty good at what I do moderating and hosting. I’ve had webinar attendees put in chat, “He’s not really live, this is one of those canned webinars!” Imagine their surprise when I call them out!

Using a moderator can really help these kinds of situations. In both the examples above, I did not have a moderator. But my experience level, familiarity with zoom controls and the way I setup my screens allows ME to monitor things in my simpler webinars.

I want you now to consider your personality. How you handle various things will mirror your personality and your brand. Yeah back to your brand. How you handle hecklers reflects not only on you, but your brand or in our case the brands you represent!

Please allow me to take a moment to promote our sponsor, TheWebinarGuy.com (yeah that’s me!). Our webinar and virtual meeting team will work with you to produce stellar events! From a few people on a book cover reveal to hundreds of attendees with breakout rooms, we’d love to discuss how to make your event amazing! Thanks!

Okay, I began this section talking about the goal of the heckler. So far, I’ve really just talked about people that don’t think before they type or talk, or think their opinion matters at a given point. I’ve had people whine about THEIR sound. THEY can’t see my video, When is the Q&A, and my most consistent favorite, “Will this be recorded for us to watch later?” Even though the sign up said it would be, we said it would be in the introduction, and there’s a banner at the bottom of the screen that says that- simply amazing.

My personality is one to take control of the situation, it’s what my clients pay me for, and eliminate, or mitigate the challenge.

On to the bad hecklers…The ones with the goal of embarrassing you, or “calling you out” or trying to damage your reputation.

Sorry if I’m pounding this, but having a moderator really helps. But as I said above, being ready for it and having a few strategies can help.

So again, ensure you know your webinar platform’s controls! Make sure you know how to mute them or remove and block them on the fly.

When someone is calling me or my client out, I realize the issue will be a reputation challenge, so I know to have something ready to speak to that. For example: one construction company I do regular informational webinars for- had a guy turn his mic on and before I could remove him (you’d be surprised what can happen in fifteen seconds!) he swore, used really offensive language and also called us out for poor quality, etc.

I removed him, apologized to the rest of the webinar audience, then having noted his name, I said, “Dang, Sure wish that Dan had gone to the Better Business Bureau site and looked up our A+ Rating. Too bad he also missed our more than 600 positive Google reviews!” Then I used other points in the session to refer back to his interruption. Everyone had a good laugh and didn’t lose one attendee.

On the fly sometimes you just need something snarky to say like, “I remember the last time MY breakfast upset my tummy.” Or “Geez, Larry must be Hangry!”

The biggest point is to acknowledge it, then move on. Most everyone in a webinar or virtual meeting understands this can happen and will overlook it. However, NOT handling it or handling it badly WILL affect your audience. KNOW your controls and how to remove and block.

Okay my really biggest point: Never, ever argue or get into a battle with the heckler. The sooner you can remove them from your session and move on, the better.

I’ve done hundreds of “Live” sessions where we’re in a hotel conference room or other large venue. Depending on the size of the conference, we’d usually have one of the production team ready to call for security. Tough to do with zoom.

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!”

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!

And if you’re listening to the Podcast audio, thanks for listening! Tell a friend!

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E23 Handling the Question and Answer period

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Episode 23- Handling Questions & Answers or Q&A.

Hey, I’m Grant: My clients call me The Webinar Guy. Welcome to episode twenty-three of “Zooming to Webinar Success!”

In case you’re catching up, the last three episodes (twenty, twenty-one and twenty-two) had to do with presenting content via some choice on slide decks (PowerPoint, Prezi, Canva, etc) and the importance of script writing.

So what to do with this episode, twenty-three?

Since we’ve been covering content, let’s talk about the ubiquitous Q&A session, often held at the end for obvious reasons.

You know what you want to say and based on episode number twenty-two, you may have even written and practiced a script to ensure you are actually saying it.

But as you know, no matter how well we prepare, our guests will always think of something to ask. Usually.

Maybe they didn’t pay attention during part of your webinar or virtual meeting. They got a phone call and couldn’t watch for a bit. Yes, I’ve gotten questions that cover those situations. I love it when people ask in the chat feature and others answer the question for you!

Just as likely, especially due to the complexity of a given subject, it’s possible that one explanation just wasn’t enough. Maybe they just didn’t get it!

Pay attention to this! We often think we nailed something when talking about it- due to our familiarity with the subject, but some stares, furrowed brows or tilted heads may say otherwise.

Why pay attention? If you do many of the same webinars and continually see the same questions pop up, it’s time to modify your presentation. For some reason, your audiences just aren’t getting it.

This is what makes using a script on a zoom webinar tough. You’re so concentrating on the content that you can’t “read” the audience like you can when you’re live on stage. So also take that into consideration. And even if you don’t use a script, the people’s images may be so small as to not be able to track that well anyhow. To me, it’s one of the greatest drawbacks to virtual events.

What’s the answer there? I know in many of the sessions I do, we just tell people to enter their questions in the chat or (Q&A function of some of the webinar platforms) and tell them we’ll wait until the Q&A part to answer. Or we tell them to NOT enter the questions, just to hold them till the end. Then either way, we stay on-task and on-script until the end.

This option also has the added benefit of you answering the question before it’s offered. That happens too.

First considerations: If you have someone like a professional from TheWebinarGuy.com team moderating your webinar and gathering the questions, (and knowing in advance what’s coming) possibly telling attendees “We’ll get to that” or answering simple questions you’ve approved- that helps simplify your webinar. The point here is that a moderator can help you a lot on this.

If you’re running solo, or you don’t have a moderator, tell people that you’re running a “one man show” and can’t monitor the chat and you can’t track questions. Then don’t!

Let’s say you’ve presented your information and we’re now to the actual Q&A. Now that we’re there, let’s back up. This requires planning.

First of all, limit the time for Q&A. Tell people ahead that you’re limiting the Q&A to five minutes, or ten, or whatever. This helps your audience know what to expect. If you followed the advice from the last episode, you should know how long your presentation is within just a few minutes and plan accordingly. So if you have a twenty minute or so presentation, then plan a ten minute or so Q&A and tell people at the start that “Today’s webinar/presentation/training/whatever will be about thirty minutes- THEN STICK TO THAT. But what if people are really engaged and asking great questions? Your call, but it’s “Entertainment Law” to get off stage with the audience wanting more! Suggest they enroll again for the next one- offer a deal! If it’s a series, consider telling people, “Sorry we’re out of time, but we’ll answer more of these: On our blog; Our social media feed, or possibly (not recommended) at the beginning of the next session.

Now that you’ve managed that expectation, one choice is to just wing it. You start reading through chat and take the questions as they come. But another reason to use a moderator is while questions are being asked, they can also organize them and even collapse multiple similar questions into one better question instead of you parsing out answers as you read them- that can get repetitive.

Your moderator can also ignore repetitive, ignorant, or otherwise bothersome questions-because your moderator isn’t trying to read them ‘live’.

Answer questions concisely. Don’t blather on. This is another thing to practice! Keep your eye on the clock!!!

—-By the way, a quick commercial from our current sponsor TheWebinarGuy.com (me). I’ve mentioned utilizing a moderator or session manager several times in this post. Your moderator can also be your tech person, or depending on the complexity of the session, ONLY moderate chat and NOT do any of the tech. Whatever mode you choose, contact our team at the TheWebinarGuy.com and let’s chat about your needs and how we can help you manage your webinar, virtual summit, training sessions, product launches and more! Thanks!

Ok, so what happens if you get to Q&A and you get crickets? NO ONE has put a question in chat? They’re silently staring at you. There are no questions!

That does happen. I do many repetitive sessions for clients and two times in a row won’t get a single question. The next session, with the exact same content, I might get ten- You just don’t know.

First, if you feel it’s needed, have a handful of “canned” questions for your moderator to toss at you. “This is from a recent email…” might be a way to handle it. This may help get the Q&A going.

But if you feel you’ve done your job, people are smiling and nodding, thank them for their attention, announce any follow-up sessions, offers, etc, and get off the call!!

If you sit there, like you’re not gonna end the call until you get to answer a question, it’s just really bad theater. It sucks all the energy you’ve built -out of your webinar session. Honestly, give it ten, twenty seconds, then end the call.

If you can, record the call! For example, zoom sends you a transcript of the chat function. It will help you later to look at that and see what you may have missed.

I hope this has helped you think about how to better manage your Question & Answer period!

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!”

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!

And if you’re listening to the Podcast audio, thanks for listening! Tell a friend!

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E20: Series Recap & Creating Your Slide Deck

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This is Grant: My clients call me The Webinar Guy.

For the last few episodes, I’ve been covering many things to consider as you think about doing Webinars. Mainly your Recording environment- specifically web cams, lighting, and the “set” or space you record in.

So, what’s next? I’ve said here before that maybe other than the decision to hold a webinar, there are many decisions that need to be made and for many, the order really doesn’t matter. You need to do them all!

Since this is episode 20, I want to do a quick recap. If you’ve been following along and have heard previous episodes, you can jump to around the three minute mark, but if you’re new, here’s a recap of what you’ve missed:

E1 was an intro to the series
E2: The real basics to consider such as a CRM or Customer Relationship Management tool as you build your webinar kingdom.
E3 More on audience management and the considerations as you use that CRM, audience tracking and so on.
E4: Finding the purpose of your webinar. Not the actual subject, but what you want people to do when they’ve attended.
E5: Strategy on overall what you’re trying to accomplish- strategically setting up your webinar, webinar series, or virtual summits for success
E6: Was about considering the frequency and cadence
E7: I discussed taking your list of followers and strategy on getting them to the webinar
E8: Having fewer sign ups than you’d like and thoughts about cancelling your event.
E9: Sales funnels P1
E10: Interviewed Special Guest Deborah Gardner.
E11: Looking more at Sales Funnels
E12: Standing in your confidence!
E13: More on marketing and promotion
E14: Even more on marketing and promotion: A lack of preparation.
E15: Planning and the Webinar Guy Checklist- First bit on equipment: Cameras
E16: Sound and your environment
E17: Set Design
E18: Lighting your set, especially if you wear glasses.
E19: How you’ll present: as in solo, with a slide deck, etc.

E20: Today I’m going to chat about another consideration for webinars; Using PowerPoint, Prezio, or other type of slide deck to back up your presentation.

But first a word from our sponsor, which at this point is me… if you need help creating a great presentation or training on how to use a slide deck in a webinar, training on slide deck creation or need a deck created, or coaching on live stage craft, please hit TheWebinarGuy.com and use our contact page. We can help you!

Okay, thanks for allowing my short commercial!

This will be a two part episode, btw to stay in a shorter format. So part one:

Your first consideration is choosing the software you’ll use to create your slides; again such as Prezi, Google Slides, Canva, Keynote, Microsoft PowerPoint, (which of course might be considered the 900# gorilla in the room.

It matters not which you use. But rule number one is remembering that a presentation is only EVER there to support the speaker, not BE the presentation.

Rule number two is that you should be on-screen with your presentation- many folks use a small feature window. We can help you with that too. But switching to ONLY slides takes the personal touch out of it. Trust me, stay on screen!

Rule three: Use “cute” animations, GIF images and such to a minimum.

Rule four: Limit the number of animations, GIF images and such.

Hopefully you get the point being made. So often, we get slide decks to evaluate, or to recreate a slide deck for a client and you can tell the professional level of whoever created it. They’ve tried (or so it seems) to use every single animation available. This zooms in, that one Wipes, then a Pinwheel and more.

Folks, this is NOT professional. A bit of tough love: If you as a presenter need a “cute” slide deck to support you, you need presentation coaching/training . I’d love to help you with that, but if you can’t pass the “Cute stuff” test, know you’ll lose audience.

In that same vein, many presentations love to use GIF animations. I’d love to say “don’t”, but at least find ones that animate for a moment then stop. When you use motion on the screen, it draws the eye. If that GIF is one that is going to repeat forever, learn how to take it off the screen, have it exit or disappear. It’s really distraction and is unprofessional.

Enough on that? I HOPE so!!

This subject is going to be a two parts to keep the content where I want to time-wise, so I’ll wrap up here. Hit the next episode, 21 for the wrap!

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!”

As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Thank you for watching! Would love to hear your questions and comments!

And if you’re listening to the Podcast audio, thanks for listening! Tell a friend!

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E18: Set Lighting Challenges

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This is the last part about the space you record your sessions or zoom meeting virtual meetings or virtual summit. I also cover the challenges with lighting for those that wear eye-glasses.

Set lighting challenges

This is Grant: The Webinar Guy.

For the last few episodes, I’ve been covering several things surrounding your webinar recording environment- specifically web cams or cameras and mics. Then I talked about really thinking about the brand you’re putting forward in that “look” you’re broadcasting.

And I promised to cover lighting soon.

Well, here we are. Finally. I’m going look at lighting a bit differently than you might expect.

As mentioned previously, there’s plenty of video tutorials on lighting you can find. As with everything on the ol’ interwebs, some are better than others. But I had a unique challenge. Well, at least unique to those of us that wear glasses.

The first time it occurred to me that I was going to have a challenge was a long while back when I was on a live zoom meeting or virtual training I was watching. The trainer had done everything correctly on lighting. The back lighting was great. A couple focus lights were aimed to eliminate dead spots in the room. And they’d used a ring light to light there face well.

Ring-light

If you’re not familiar with ring lights, its exactly like it sounds. It’s a round lamp and on most setups you can put your camera in the middle, so you’ve got (mostly) perfect lighting.

Like I said, their lighting was nearly perfect. Except one thing. They’d not considered how ring lights would act on their eyeglasses.

What happens with glasses and ring lights is that the ring lights put a fairly large white dot on the glasses. And the wearer cannot see that dot (unless they look in their feed).

So the whole time this presenter talked, every, single, move of her head was accompanied by that little dot dancing all over her glasses.

Talk about distracting!

Many people wear glasses! So how do I beat it? With almost ZERO direct light. Everything is off angle as opposed to straight on (see ring light!).

I’m also told a polarizing filter on your camera lens can help eliminate that. My results varied.

Let’s wrap up lighting. I really didn’t intend for this to be THE ANSWER to your lighting issues, I wanted to call attention to it. I see no point in redoing training and instruction that’s already out there.

But many presenters don’t consider not only how they look, but the room around them.

A couple tips, if you’re using a “natural Setting” (no green screen), watch for dark “dead” spots in the room where a little fill would help.

On the other hand, glare can be a problem. Think about sun movement. If your virtual meeting is only 20 minutes, likely not a big deal. However, if you’re running an all-day virtual summit or a webinar of any length, pay attention in the days ahead to see how your space is affected by sun travel. You might be surprised. Also is planning for one type lighting (say overcast) and you get another (yeah, the sun came out).

Most possibly, a green-screen setup can be better as you pretty much set it up and forget it. It can also help eliminate the variables in a naturally lit space. And the same goes for a dedicated recording space using a “natural” set.

But that glasses thing. Again, just pay attention to this and you’ll be fine! One last trick I learned. I have four monitors in my studio. Yeah, four. It’s GREAT for screen and software management, but yikes! If you have windows open on your desktop, use white backgrounds on a WORD script, that also will drive you nuts with glasses. TOOO much light to reflect. So I have a black desktop I switch to before recording and I use a blacked out Microsoft word setup to read scripts. It helps!

Oh, by the way, it took two different camera set ups and more lighting changes than I care to try to recount and the black screen/close windows you don’t need open trick to get my glasses and lighting “right”. Best luck!

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!”

As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Thank you for watching!

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E17: Managing your “Visual” recording space

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Episode 17- This is Grant: The Webinar Guy.

For the last two episodes, we’ve covered two essential things:

Recording Equipment- specifically web cams or cameras and mics.

This episode I promised to cover lighting.

But I’m going to side-step that for a moment. Today, we’re going to discuss your “brand”. Think of any newscast you’ve watched. The late night shows. Talk shows, and sports talk discussions. They all have a “look” and purposefully designed set.

I bring this up because I want you to take a moment to think about the perception that your recording space will pass along about you and your brand- and its direct correlation to your product or service. I’ve a friend that does his video podcast from his recording booth. He’s a fellow voice artist, so that makes perfect sense.

A client serving the elder care market records from a nice- “just this side of plush” office. Classy, but not overly done. It looks like he is “successful“ but the office doesn’t look “ornate or costly”. In other words, successful here means that prospective clients would think he’s very capable, can be trusted with advising them on retirement plans and won’t be soaking them for dollars.

Perception is EVERYTHING here. Think hard about the surroundings you’re presenting while “on camera”.

A while back I was hired to evaluate an organizational specialist doing a webinar. She was suffering horrible results and wondered why.

Let’s start with the bookshelf behind her that looked like anything BUT being organized. Books were leaning every which way. Photos were badly displayed. And a couple weird things were on the shelf that the audience I’m sure spent more time wondering what “that” was, than on what she was saying. Even her hair was a bit tousled and messy. Remember we can listen to a LOT of words and if our minds are distracted visually, we’re not really listening. In fact you MUST understand we’re constantly forming opinions.

And in this case, almost nothing in the frame fit her “organized” brand. She was creating a disconnect and it’s my opinion that anytime the brain experiences disconnect, it does just that.

Oh, yeah. Did I mention she started late? Yeah. That.

All that said, think set up. Do you need to have others IN your recording space to record interviews? There is a great energy of having people “in your space” when interviewing, but not necessary! Frankly, this is a whole ‘nuther thing and well beyond this episode.

So let’s get back to “just you” and what you’re doing. My experience says that the less tech you can deal with, the better.

Try to eliminate using a green screen unless there’s a great reason to do so. Eliminate using the platform-provided backgrounds, you know the famous zoom palm tree island? Yeah, try NOT to use ANY.

“Natural environments” (you in your office, etc) are best in many ways. But be sure to eliminate the distractions. Heck, hire a real estate stager to help design your space if you lack design skills. But the important thing is to NOT step back and admire your set from across the room! Pull it up on camera and see how it looks there. What sticks out? What can be eliminated?

What do YOU look like? Take who you are to your best advantage.

Here’s a change I made. Last year, I started recording videos about getting started in the voice over business. Some of my early missives are quite humorous. I did them mostly in a black t-shirt. Okay, fair enough. A voice artist gets hired for his voice, not his camera presence.

But starting these podcast videos about successfully holding webinars (Zooming to webinar success), I knew my audience was different. First, if I flub a line in VO, I just re-record it. In some ways I get unlimited tries.

But being a live emcee or moderator doesn’t carry that same flexibility. I needed to pass along confidence in my delivery, my production values, and yes, put on a jacket.

I’m the same guy that did the videos in a t-shirt. No warp forward in skill, but I didn’t want ANY disconnect that I could eliminate. Suit coats are still the part and parcel of professionals. It makes a difference.

Take a piece of paper and describe your brand. Maybe you want to do webinars about Motorcycle insurance. Maybe wearing a biker vest and doing your webinar from your law office works.

After describing your brand, now think of your set design. Use the “record” feature on zoom or google meets, or whatever and record a few different looks and get feedback. And as always, The Webinar Team is well-versed in helping our customers design space and can help you evaluate yours!

Maybe next episode we’ll talk lighting.

Until then…

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!”

As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Thank you for watching!

Podcast audio

Would love to hear your questions and comments!

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E16: Sound (*mic) and Recording Environment

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Episode 16- This is Grant: The Webinar Guy.

Last episode, 15, I had two main points:

Equipment and sound!

In that episode, I covered some web cam considerations. I did not go way into depth, however. There are plenty of reviews online that are exhaustive.

So what’s next? Another basic consideration is sound. As you may or may not know, I’m also a voice actor. I’m recording this in my home studio. I mention this as so often people want to go spend big bucks on recording equipment and miss one huge lesson.

The room you’re recording in, or in this case hosting your webinar, virtual summit, online training, etc- — The ROOM can be more critical than the mic you buy.

You may not need to buy anything! Let’s go over a few things here and I’m also going to post a link to a video I did specifically on sound a while back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8lIGlhjGu4 (Episodes 1, 2 & 3)

I have several regular clients that do their zoom, Webex, Webinar Jam and other sessions from a room in their house, use the natural background, (“Natural” in this case meaning no greenscreen or cute platform backgrounds) and use a good earbud/mic combo where the mic is on the wired connection. Note that word “wired”.

I highly recommend to NOT use blue tooth connection earbuds. Dropped signals, dead batteries and bad mics are significant issues. It’s not a big deal when your buds lose power listening to music in the garden, but in your webinar with 100 people, that’s not a good time to have equipment fail.

Above, I referenced three videos I did on my Grant’s Voice YouTube channel. I highly recommend you watch them. But here’s the short hand:

First is that the environment, the room, the space you are in is a HUGE part of the sounding good equation! My living room is a long box with hardwood floors. The echo in that room is substantial! Walk into this studio and that issue disappears.

Look for a room to work from with lots of soft things (sofa’s, pillows, etc) (or watch the videos!!).

Second is the actual mic. Go into any voice over forum and ask what the best mic to buy is. I dare ya. It’ll be like asking four guys down at the lake what the best bait is. Those four guys will give you 8 answers.

You can spend less than $100 on a really decent USB mic! You can also spend THOUSANDs on professional level mics.

Here’s the problem: A better mic will pick up more ambient sound. The recommendation here is to work with a company (if you’re in the US) like sweetwater and let their salespeople help you choose for your voice, your environment, or your budget.

Or another solution is buying from that “return friendly” site online where you can return the mic if you don’t like it.

The biggest lesson here is to not overspend on equipment when you’re starting out. If this is your first online meeting or webinar, people will most likely be kind and understanding. Use that grace period to try different environments and see what works best for you!

Next episode we’ll talk lighting.

Until then…

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!”

As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Thank you for watching!

Would love to hear your questions and comments!

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E14: Webinar & Virtual Meeting Planning! It is Critical!

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Episode 14- This is Grant: The Webinar Guy.

For several episodes now, I’ve been talking about marketing and promotion. Why so much concentration on that?

It’s the juice that gets the seats filled!

Over my marketing and brand development career, I’ve held to one constant example;

Would you start a business in a blind alley, not put up any signs and then not tell anyone you’re open?

Well, of course not! So ALL of your marketing is quite frankly a decision on what you can afford (in dollars AND time) as you promote that Webinar, Virtual Summit or expo.

The biggest challenge I see in this market is a lack of preparation.

One great thing about the webinar and virtual conference space is that people are forgiving when the technology is a bit rough (who hasn’t lost a connection or had a shaky one?), They forgive glitches and less-than-perfect hand-offs.

But to me, its sort of like the fast-food market. When you hit the drive-through, you KNOW full well the food is NOT going to be high quality. You KNOW you’ll have to wait too long. You KNOW the food has a 97% chance of being cold when they hand it to you. But in a crunch for time, what do we do? We go through the drive through knowing that the experience will be disappointing!

But when you really want to enjoy a great meal, what do you do? You go to your favorite sit-down restaurant. What made it a favorite? On nearly every visit the staff did everything they could to provide great food, great service and a great overall experience.

I want you to consider the ENTIRE package of your virtual session, training, or hybrid event: The question to you OVERALL is this: Do you want to be drive-through or fine dining?

Answer that and you’ll have the answer on how to approach ALL the planning you do from day one. This is not to say that you need to Aim, aim, aim and never fire. There is the well known quote: “Perfection is the enemy of greatness”. But decide today, right now; drive-through or fine dining?

This is a pretty serious thought process! And now I’m going to toss one more at you. We already have discussed the want to “Aim, aim, aim and never fire”, but most people have no appreciation for the amount of planning, work, and experience it takes to provide “fine-dining”.

Remember this; there is a reason fine-dining is more expensive than take-out. We can hire a 16 year old and with 3 hours of training they are a “cook”.

Or the chef at your favorite restaurant that has a degree from a culinary school that knows how to build fantastic recipes from scratch.

Be the chef.

The more you can do ahead of time to conceive ALL that you are going to is crucial!

I’ve done many a first-time session for a client, that had planned to do “X” more sessions, then realize that their normal schedule doesn’t allow for the exact thing they wanted to do!

Another example, back in the day, I did a lot of marketing for clients that wanted to produce a regular newsletter. They’d get the first one done. Then the second one was harder, if not late on the cadence they’d hoped to achieve. After a while I found them missing the next episode all together. Then dropping it altogether.

In case my 17 examples haven’t worked, here’s the advice, and I know you’ll be surprised to find out it includes “The Webinar Guy” and “The Webinar Team”; At the very least, engage with us (Or someone you know that knows the webinar, zoom meeting, virtual event space) for at least an initial strategic planning session.

It’s surprisingly affordable and can make a huge difference!!

One more story and I’ll stop. Probably. I’m an avid motorcycle driver- I ride ALL THE TIME. Often 5K miles a year and more. I’ve worked as an instructor.

Years ago a buddy of mine, thinking he wanted to ride took a riders training course (not one I taught and very smart, BTW). After the course he took, he never wanted to ride again. That simple investment made him change his mind on riding.

Many take that same course and now know they are better prepared to move forward as a rider, maybe long-term like me.

Let’s get together and strategically plan your Virtual meeting. We can get you started, and it’s surprisingly affordable!!

Remember: Do you want to be drive-through or fine dining?

Next episode I’ll tackle more off our Webinar Planning form available on TheWebinarGuy.com

Until then…

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!”

As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out at WebinarPro@TheWebinarGuy.com

Thank you for watching!

Podcast audio

Would love to hear your questions and comments!

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E13: The LAST word about sales funnels for promotion (honest!)

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Episode 13- This is Grant: The Webinar Guy.
We’re staying with marketing and promotion: For several episodes now, I’ve been talking about Sales Funnels. So we’re gonna close this up and move on today.

Let’s be frank, there’s ton of work to create effective sales funnels. We’ve been working on ours at The WebinarGuy.com for several weeks now, in between other things.


How best to create yours? As with everything, there’s a million choices. But to concentrate on one or two sources, take a look at Don Miller’s “Marketing Made Simple”. The lessons are simple and easy to follow. It will help you move through understanding the psychology of the process and what it’s designed to do. He’s also got some good video on YouTube.
The other reference to this material is Jason Fladlien who I’ve mentioned before. In addition to YouTube, look for his book “one to many”. Good stuff.
I mentioned in episode 11 the epiphany I had was this:
1) I realized that if someone was on my website, or a given web page, and they were there for more than 10-15 seconds, they were probably interested in my offering. Web stats across the world say you get less than that for a visitor to decide to stay or bolt.
2) Then the question hit me: if they appear that interested, why not ask to start a relationship?
Since then I’ve talked to many clients and potential clients about sales funnels. The most consistent answer?

“Oh, I don’t want to be pushy”.
Fine. And how is being passive working for you right now?
I’m going to be really selfish for a minute here. If you’re a small business owner, you are my target client. I want you to be in business next year to keep buying from me! I love long-term relationships!!
To me, it’s like the dating scene. I’m going to (Fill in your favorite spot) and sit facing the wall and hope some potential partner stops to start a relationship with me. Yeah, sounds dumb, huh?
Why not stand up, face the crowd, and when that lady smiles at me, walk over and say hi! no need to be belligerent, just say Hi.
That’s what a sales funnel does. A potential client is on your site and still reading and interacting with “you” forty seconds later. Why not say Hi and ask to start a relationship?
Okay enough with the funnels, Grant! I GET IT!! Do you really? Promise me you’ll stop being passive about your business! If I have your word on this I need you to do two things, if you would.
1- I need you to go to TheWebinarGuy.com and drop me an email from the contact forms there. Tell me you’re changing your ways!
2- Will I answer? you bet! I WANT to start a relationship with you!! I want to help you have AWESOME webinars! I want to sell for you. Tell for you. I want your business to grow beyond your wildest dreams!!! And I want our team to be part of that!
3- Start now to find out how to build your own sales funnels on your website. You promised to stop being passive! IF you need help from the Webinar Team, let me know. But please, find the resources and start. now.

I promise no more about sales funnels. Probably. Maybe.
Okay, so let’s say we’re now fully funneled as it were. Great! What’s next?
Well, more planning for your webinar. Next episode I’ll tackle more off our Webinar Planning form available on TheWebinarGuy.com
Until then…

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!”
As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out at WebinarPro@TheWebinarGuy.com
Thank you for watching!
Podcast audio

Sales funnels. Think about it. More next week!

Would love to hear your questions and comments!

Can we help your webinar be awesome?

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E11: More on sales funnels for promotion

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Episode 11- staying with marketing and promotion: looking more at Sales Funnels

In E10 I had the honor to interview my good friend Deborah Gardner. Deborah is a very accomplished professional and the interview is worth a watch in my unbiased opinion!
And I introduced TheWebinarGuy website, which as of this recording is about 72.3% complete. Take a look! For a while I’ll be posting these videos here and on TheWebinarGuy.com to help establish the brand. If your company or someone you know is planning a webinar or event, I’d appreciate the referral!! Thanks for your support!

Before that, in episode 9, we started talking about sales funnels. To recap, you know after a period of time on a website, or when you go to leave, an offer pops up. It’s one last attempt at a relationship.

In today’s episode- number 11-
I’m going to work more with the sales funnel concept.
For most of my “on the web” career and having built more than 100 websites over the years, they’ve ALWAYS been passive. And for sites where I do business? The same! Why?
I don’t want to offend anyone that visits with an “in your face” sales offer.
Then several things happened.
1) I realized I want to build a large business.
2) I realized that if someone was on my website, or a given web page, and they were there for more than 10-15 seconds, they were probably interested in my offering. Web stats across the world say you get less than that for a visitor to decide to stay or bolt.
3) Then the question hit me: if they appear that interested, why not ask to start a relationship?
4) And related to that, Was I really going to “offend” someone that “Mattered” to my business?
It seems our world is now full of “offended” people. I may even offend someone by saying that.
But I realized having a “pleasant” website, with a “nice” picture and a “polite” presentation wasn’t getting me the sales I want to have.
Did people buy? Well yeah, but I’m betting they were already intending to buy due to the nature of my previous contact with them.
To build a larger business, I needed to reach outside my comfort zone. I needed to start asking for the sale! I want visitors to KNOW that I’m ready to do business (NOT passively)!
But here’s where a funnel can work for us. While a funnel/pop up CAN be used to “sell”, when done right, you’re inviting a visitor to start a relationship with you. You’ll offer your new friend something of value to download, and by submitting the form, they’ve agreed to continue the conversation- connect again.
Back to what I said earlier, “Was I really going to “offend” someone that “Mattered” to my business?” I don’t think so. I want you to know your relationship with my company matters and that I want to do business with you. If that offends you, You might not be my customer. I’m willing to take that chance.

Sales funnels. Think about it. More next week!

Would love to hear your questions and comments!

Next episode: Part 2 of reaching/promoting.

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!”
As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out at WebinarPro@TheWebinarGuy.com
Thank you for watching!

How can we help your business succeed?

See other episodes at: GrantsVoice.com

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E10: Special Announcement! (with guest Deborah Gardner, cmp)

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Zooming to Webinar Success with guest Deborah Gardner, cmp and a special announcement! E10

Two great reasons to watch the WHOLE episode. First is my special guest, Deborah Gardner (https://www.deborahgardner.com/) AND my special announcement about my new offering for #webinar success!

In E9 I talked more about filling the seats.

But for today’s episode- number 10- I’ve got two amazing things!!
First is my guest, Deborah Gardner.
Second is an announcement you’ll have to hang around for!
I’m so pleased to have Deborah in this Super Special Episode!
I had to chop down her bio, or we might have had another episode!
Deborah Gardner is a swimming champion, author, consultant & competitive performance expert who is professionally trained to transform people that want less resistance and more momentum while working and living in the fast lane. Better known by many Fortune 500 companies as the Pit Bull in a Skirt, Deborah is a highly regarded and in-demand global keynote speaker that successfully brings an explosive high-energy, captivating, engaging and in your face sassy approach.
Deborah owns several entrepreneurial businesses as a high-impact leader worldwide. Her laundry list of honors includes CNN’s Top 75 Keynote Speaker Worldwide, Meetings Today Magazine Top 20 Meetings Trendsetters, Smart Meetings Magazine’s Top 50 Smart Women Leaders, Meetings Mean Business Ambassador, Fabulous Arizona Magazine’s Fabulous People to Watch, crowned as Mrs. Arizona 2020/2021 and Mrs. America with the American Queen Organization 2021/202.

Learn more about Deborah at: DeborahGardner.com

Deborah is one of the most accomplished people I know and proud to call her friend!
So what DO you do after lunch? Really too bad you’re not more motivated!

HISTORY Together:
I’ve known you for around 18 years or so. you were referred to me when I was creating marketing and websites, and doing brand development.
—Chat—

TODAY:
Beyond the exhausting list above, what all are you doing today?
(Maybe bring up Hosp Today last?)
—Chat—

Five Tips on Interviewing:
Using your Hospitality Today show as a reference, Hit me with your top five interviewing techniques or approaches.
—Chat—

Being Competitive:
Since we’ve been connected, you’ve come from a stance of competition; How does that resonate with you? (and/or why?)
—Chat—

Your Turn:
What do YOU want to talk about?
—Chat—

ANNOUNCE: “The Webinar Guy” business and website.
I’d like for you to kind of take a moment here to interview me on how I got to this point and what I’m doing.
—Chat—

Next week, episode 11 and I’ll jump back into “Zooming to Webinar Success!”

I’d love to hear your questions and comments!

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!”
As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out at TheWebinarGuy.com

Can we help you create & produce an awesome webinar or event?

Editor’s Note: This was originally posted as a “Grants Voice” post before we split the brands.

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E09: Using Sales Funnels

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Episode 9- Invites and managing Filling the seats Part 3 (also known as marketing/promotion!)

In E8 we got this going- I talked about The possibility of cancellations, and/or having to cancel an event

Today’s episode- number 9-
A VERY Cool “Almost announcement” at the end!! Stay around!
Let’s talk today about sales funnels.


You know the ones. When you land on a page, there’s either an offer there (give us your email), or one will pop up when you go to leave the page.
I used to equate these with swarmy used car salesmen. But then I realized several things (Stay with me on this).
1- You had to have driven enough interest in your offer to get people to your site, or they’d not be seeing your offer!
2- WHY ARE YOU here?? I’ve not had one single potential client come to me and say, “Hey I want to give away everything I know, pay you to manage the event and not expect ANYTHING in return!”
3- No body. I DO have (and its a majority of clients) that DO offer an initial free webinar, but it’s always to the goal of a paid something.
4- Nobody had to cooperate with a funnel page. Click on!
5- If your “free” funnel page has a legit offer- something you ARE giving away to collect an email address, What’s wrong with a fair exchange? It’s not like we don’t know!
6- Finally, there’s NOTHING to stop someone from putting in an email, getting your offer and unsubscribing! (I may have done that. Once).

That’s the chance we take with a sales funnel. But there are businesses making serious money, I’m talking LOTs of zeros– selling through sales funnels!
We’ll come back to this in episode 11!

But Grant, what about episode 10 next week?
Well, next week, in episode 10 I’m going to interview one of CNN’s top 75 keynote speakers, and the entrepreneur behind the “Hospitality Today” video production/podcast series that discusses tough subjects affecting the hospitality industry, her experiences and helping me introduce a new website and service called… oh you gotta come back!
I’m so excited to have you meet Deborah Gardner, Certified Speaking Professional and hear about all that she’s got going on!
I’d love to hear your questions and comments!

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!”
As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out at TheWebinarGuy.com
Thank you for listening!

Can we help you create & produce an awesome webinar or event?

Editor’s Note: This was originally posted as a “Grants Voice” post before we split the brands.

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E08: Marketing & Promotion (& Cancellations) Part 2

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Episode 8- Invites and managing Filling the seats Part 2 (also known as marketing/promotion!)

In E7 we got this going- I talked about how far out to connect about your webinar and options to reach your fans.

Today’s episode- number 8-
We will look at light sign ups and cancelling.

Let’s review the options I gave for connecting and inviting.?
· Email (Direct and in Sig file)
· –Share button!
· MailChimp-Constant Contact-others
· Blogging
· Any “Property” (social, etc) you own!
· Popups on webpage (Timer?)
· Friends & Family
· Fellow presenters/keynotes
· Chamber of Commerce, networking groups, etc.
· —Lower on the ladder are
· SMS texts
· Paid ads on social media
· Influencers you can afford

Why? We need to remember that people love to buy/ be involved with people and organizations that they know and trust!
‘DUH,’ right?
With that in mind, in my opinion- we reach for the audience that we know best and that knows us best.
Long term we should be working to ALWAYS build that long-term audience and virtually the entire list above helps build audience.
So we need to look at that audience first when we start reaching out.
If this is your first webinar, I’d also suggest reaching out in the most organic way possible.
Obviously, this has a lot to do with the size of your audience. If your current “natural” audience is only 20 or 30 people, pick up the phone or message them personally!
Otherwise, pick each channel (they’re likely mixed over several channels, right?) and send a message to inform there.
This should be your earliest people to sign up. Make your offer solid and without desperation. Many clients I work with get nervous at some point ahead and want to start “begging” the audience to attend. DON’T!

  1. Remember one of our first points was that you’ve been building an audience and they’re already saying they want focused content! “When will you do a webinar???”
  2. If your content or audience is so weak that you’re not getting sign-ups, reconsider!
  3. IF you do decide to cancel, pull it off your site, or better yet- change the page to “Coming soon; date TBD” for the “next” one.
  4. And just let it fade on social and other channels. NO “we cancelled” notices. Regroup and reconsider. The ONLY time you should announce a cancellation is for reasons OTHER than low sign up numbers!!
  5. If sign ups are still really low, go back to calling, yes, calling close friends and get SOME bodies on the call. Even if it feels like the audience is way less than you’d like, this is a golden opportunity to practice and ensure you know what’s going on.

Use this session to get feedback from your friends!
Next week, episode 9 and part 3 of filling the seats!
I’d love to hear your questions and comments!

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!”
As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out at TheWebinarGuy.com
Thank you for listening!

Can we help you create & produce an awesome webinar or event?

Editor’s Note: This was originally posted as a “Grants Voice” post before we split the brands.

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E07: Marketing & Promotion Part 1

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Episode 7- Invites and managing Filling the seats P1 (also known as marketing/promotion!)

In E6 we discussed frequency and cadence

Today’s episode- number 7-
We’re going to back track a bit. With all that going on and being decided, now we need to think about taking our list of followers and getting them to the webinar! In my “Zooming to Webinar Success Prep form” of over 50 steps, how you’ll communicate with or in this case TO your audience that you’re having a webinar is next.


First question is how far ahead to communicate. The obvious approach here is to communicate and invite through the channels you’re already attracting them by.
There is a sweet spot somewhere less than 3 weeks, more than 7 days that you want to hit. It will depend on your audience, but longer than 3 weeks loses immediacy and less than 7 days doesn’t give people enough time to plan. Many feel that 14 daysISH is pretty decent to start.
So what are the options?
· Email (Direct and in Sig file)
· –Share button!
· MailChimp-Constant Contact-others
· (With MailChimp being the 900#…)
· Blog
· Any “Property”(social, etc) you own!
· Popups on webpage (Timer?)
· Paid ads on social media
· Friends & Family
· Influencers you can afford
· Fellow presenters/keynotes
· Make sure reg page is optimized
· Chamber of Commerce, etc.
· SMS texts

And I know companies that have jump-started a campaign through a purchase of CellPhone numbers and used SMS, integrated video, etc.

Would love to hear your questions and comments!

Next episode: Part 2 of reaching/promoting.

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!”
As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out at The Webinar Guy.com
Thank you for listening!

Can we help you create & produce an awesome webinar or event?

Editor’s Note: This was originally posted as a “Grants Voice” post before we split the brands.

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E05: Your First Webinar (Strategy)!

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Episode 5- Strategy

In E4 we discussed defining the purpose, goals or objectives. Hopefully you have now defined WHY you’re having your webinar, or better- WHAT you want to accomplish.

Today’s episode- number 5- we’re going to strategize a bit.
Think about the learning by firehose memes you’ve seen. We all GET the metaphor. So defining what you wanted to accomplish should inform how to go about your inaugural webinar. In other words, we don’t want to firehose your audience! We want to break it down.

Lets assume several things for the sake of this episode.
Assumption 1) You have hundreds (or more) followers on various social media platforms- And/or hundreds of legit email contacts (And for “legit”, we’ll discuss that on a later episode).

Assumption 2) they like your content that you’ve been dribbling out piecemeal. This isn’t a slam on that approach, it’s how we build audience and will be used to make a point in a moment.

Assumption 3) You’ve decided to sell a coaching package. How THAT is delivered will be another episode!
So to reiterate, you’ve got an audience that to some degree is ASKING for a webinar, and your end goal is to sell coaching. Your goal might be different, say sell a course, a book, a PAID webinar or other goal, but this should help move us forward.
The obvious point here is to use THIS first webinar to whet their appetite, not sate it. As PT Barnum might have said, “Always leave them wanting more!” This is where piecemeal comes back in. We don’t want to dump, we want to tease a bit and feed.
Use this webinar to set the stage and bring your audience all to the same place. What do I mean? Remember that some of your early audience joined you at the preface of your “story”, some joined on chapter 6, and some joined last week and have been binge reading. Start with the basics:
1) where did you from (history relatable to the story)?
2) what got you into the situation you solve?
3) what was your breaking point that helped you decide to fix it?
4) how did you test your hypothesis?
5) who else found the solution valuable (do you have testimonials you can use?)

These first five help all your audience to know you better.
Now think…
1) do you have a free ??? to give away that starts helping without someone having to buy your coaching package?
2) Remember our assumption that our goal is selling coaching; have you priced your coaching according to your value and the benefit to the buyer?

There’s likely there more to decide, but even that is a lot of information to assemble and put into an initial package!
From my experience as a professional presenter, corporate trainer and webinar moderator, I can tell you to plan your webinars, especially this first one, to come in under 30 minutes.
If you can do all the above in a really short time period (Less than 15 minutes?) you need more proof of concept and MEAT for your audience. It will seem hurried, rushed or like, “where’s the value”?
More than 30 minutes and you’d better be an AMAZING presenter. I notice that my clients often start to lose audience (remember we’re talking virtual!!) after 20 minutes and REALLY drops at 30 minutes. (There’s MANY reasons for this including, “my lunch is over)!
Therefore I try to encourage (especially initial) webinars between the 20 and 30 minute mark is good. Remember we have to open the webinar with talking and close it with an offer and that takes time too and needs to be considered in the above- as well as time for a short Q&A.
Several issues control this;
1) How interesting you are.
2) How valuable your content is.
3) How interesting the content is
a. revealing? stunning? etc.
4) Date/time of day held

The goal here is to get people to the webinar, establish you and your credentials to “prove” your value/worth, then offer the next step.
This is when we create a limited offer like taking the next/first 10 people into your coaching program.
AND offer the free downloadable PDF that people can start with on their own.
There are MANY strategies and tactics, so this is only one.
Hopefully you know see how we’re moving people along.
Free webinar, There MUST be value, not just sales.
Another offer for a free thing (PDF)
Offer to enroll in the coaching program (First 10 save $15%?)
Would love to hear your questions and comments!

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!”
As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out at VoicePro@grantsvoice.com
Thank you for listening!

Can we help you create & produce an awesome webinar or event?

Editor’s Note: This was originally posted as a “Grants Voice” post before we split the brands.

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E04: Purpose, Goals, Objectives

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In E3 we discussed managing your contacts. We assumed you have some type following and as a result of that episode #3, you’ve now created some type of structure to manage contacts. This is one of the most critical early steps!

Today’s episode- number 4 we’re going to discuss purpose, goals or objectives.
As simple as this may sound, in consulting on webinars and business both, it stuns me how often people don’t consider the real purpose of what they are doing!
There’s an old story that then President Kennedy, remember this was moon-shot-planning days!— asked a janitor what he did at the White House. Supposedly the man answered, “I’m helping put a man on the moon!”
True or not, it really demonstrates someone who understands their purpose.
So, I ask you; What is the purpose of your webinar? What’s the goal, the objective?
When I’ve coached professional speakers on their speeches and presentations and stage craft, I always asked, “At the end of this speech, what do you want your audience to– feel? What do you want them to DO? Change? Enact? and more.

So I ask you- WHY are you doing this?
I consulted with a client yesterday who is about this phase of webinar planning. I asked her the same question.
She had the base answer. “I want to XX”. After using the “ask why five times” exercise, we discovered there were SEVERAL purposes (porpi?).
Give away free information
Build audience for future paid webinars
Build audience for a planned paid course
Attract clients for private consulting

FOUR perfect goals that go together! But when we first started talking, she was no where near that.
So todays homework for you: Write down ALL the goals/objectives…Reasons you’re having this webinar and now see if they fit together, or is there something there better left for the future?

One example of this from another consultation. The client wanted to do a 90 free webinar for single moms. Great. But how many single moms, that work, do you know that can sit through ONE 90 minute webinar?
Exactly.
Once considered, we started working on breaking that down to initial free “Teaser” information and one later paid event.
When I know what you’re trying to accomplish overall, I can really help you more towards the longer term goals.

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!”
As always, if you need help now, don’t hesitate to reach out at VoicePro@grantsvoice.com
Thank you for

Can we help you create & produce an awesome webinar or event?

*Editors note: This was originally posted as a “Grants Voice” post before we split the brands.

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E03: Managing Your Audience

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Episode 3- Managing contacts

E2 was the start of the “meat” as it were. I talked about having a website, managing it, social media- a way to establish a “following”?

Today’s episode- #3 will assume you have some type following. This is almost always from one or two places: Over a period of time you’ve established a solid email newsletter list: 2) You have established a following on various social media platforms. In essence, you have followers or fans and they are WANTING more content.

The question then for today is, “How will I manage the audience?- or How to manage contacts?”
There are MANY ways to manage a list of contacts.
From typing them into the simplest of text editors, into excel, to managing them in your email program of choice to on-line CRM’s that can be pricey!
What’s a CRM Customer Relationship Manager? The previous list could be argued as such, but sophistication is what you are buying as you spend more.
What we need here is a way for you take whatever list you have now and amend it by those that will sign up in the future.
The challenge here is now we start combining webinar teasers, with a funnel or squeeze page and the new sign ups.
But when they sign up, will you know what offer they responded to? Of course! How about a year from now? Maybe not.
How often has “Brad” signed up for various classes? Was Sheila interested in your book when published?
Will the CRM send the webinar invite? Can it follow up with an “after response?
There are many services that will do this, but what is the best one for you?

This series is for smaller organizations and soloprenuers 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!” Thank you for listening!

May we help you plan and execute your webinar?

*Editors note: This was originally posted as a “Grants Voice” post before we split the brands.

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E02: The Very Basics

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Welcome to Episode 2 Welcome back! 

Welcome to Episode 2

Welcome back!
You want to reach your audience on a deeper level, teach, cajole and maybe even sell.

But where do you start?
After a meeting this week with a new client I realized that I can’t assume anything- so will start with some of the most basic of basics.
In order to have a webinar, it may sound obvious, but you really need an audience!
So the question becomes, how to build an audience. This series isn’t about that. There are many, many videos on tweeting and toking and building that audience -on youtube and various other channels. So when you’ve built that audience, please stop back!

This series will assume several things;
–You already have one or more social media or other channels (such as an email list) that you can market to.

–You already have an established website that is up to date and you can be found in search.

Now that we’ve leveled the starting point, what’s next? There are probably 10 things we need to do all at once, but since we can only do a few at a time, we’re going to start from the excel sheet I’ve built with more than 50 things we’re going to be covering.

In my mind, number one is how you will manage your audience. Most likely that is going to be some type of Customer Relationship Management tool, or CRM.
Having one that integrates with your website is a great way to go, although there are ones that can work in conjunction with your site to gather names and sign ups, manage funnels, send out invites, meeting links and more. Some services to consider are ClickFunnel, Kajabi, GroveFunel, Kartra and more.
Next episode we’ll cover how these are used and the strategy behind them.

So to reiterate, You’ve already built a following, you have social media channels, an email list and functioning website. And if you’re missing any of that, or don’t want to wait for the next episode and need help, please reach out.

Thanks for listening!

May I help you plan and execute your webinar?

*Editors note: This was originally posted as a “Grants Voice” post before we split the brands.