Scheduled Webinars
Scheduled webinars are simply pre-recorded video presentations that must be viewed on appointment. This is really a marketing trick. You should remember when people are made to feel that something is scarce and is going to go away soon, they are more likely to buy. When you market your pre-recorded video as a webinar that people have to sign up for. People are more likely to sign up because they think that you have recorded it just for that event. Little do they know that you’ve recorded it a while back to focus on one topic. People from all over the world can actually set an appointment to view it at different times. There’s really no sense of urgency as far as you’re concerned, but you create a sense of urgency on their end. A distinguishing feature of scheduled webinars compared to live seminars is there is absolutely no question and answer section. After all, you’re not in front of a live audience.
Advantages
As I’ve mentioned above, this is really a promotional trick. You build up hype for the “launch” of the webinar. This increases its perceived value. Once you have achieved this, you get a sneaky way to collect email addresses. When people show up to sign up for the seminar, you can offer part of it for free. To get that benefit, they have to sign up to your email list. You then send an update letting them know that the seminar is on, they see the initial video, the like it, and they sign up for more seminars. This time, they have to pay. The hype period where you are involved in the launch enhances your author appeal. You’re basically sending a psychological signal to your intended audience that you are worth waiting for and that your stuff is so valuable that they should wait for it. Another advantage you get is that you get to use the launch date for your promotional outreach and marketing. Maybe you’re buying ads. Maybe you’re sending out emails. Maybe you’re renting out other people’s addresses.
Whatever the case may be, you can keep coming back to that launch date so there is a perceived scarcity for the webinar. Another advantage to this is the comprehensive value-packed nature of this specific type of video. This usually involves more preparation than long drawn-out video series. You are pushed to basically present your best materials in terms of graphic and content. Also, the video that you are shooting is actually very short. You’re basically going to have to compress everything that is awesome about a specific subject within a short time frame. This increases the likelihood that the video you come up with is exciting, engaging, and very personable. It will probably
do a better job of building up your expert brand than the normal videos you produce.
Another key advantage that you get with this way of selling your expertise is the webinar platform that you use will take care of payment processing. In fact, some of this platforms even have promotional capabilities where people can refer their friends after they’ve signed up. Since this is a coaching method where you pre-record, you stand to make passive exam. You record once and you get paid many times over because people sign up and view your materials many times over. The appointment system can be set to different dates. This means that if people missed the launch date, they can enter their email address and they can get a reminder to check out the next date the video will be available. It turns out that since the video is prerecorded, it’s available all the time, but you are pumping up the perceived value by only showing it at different times. People have to sign up for an appointment. To view the video, they have to pay for that appointment.
Disadvantages
The big drawback to this way of selling your coaching services online is the lack of engagement. Remember, this is canned content. This is not you talking or presenting live in front of a webcam. You have shot this material ahead of time and you’re focusing on a fairly narrow topic. This brings up the second disadvantage. You might actually be talking about stuff that isn’t all that interesting to the viewer. This happens quite a bit. There’s a recognized expert who’s going to be holding a seminar on a specific topic. When people show up to view the video about that specific topic, it turns out that the actual information that they’re looking for regarding that topic is either glossed over, mentioned in passing, or not explored are. Talk about a let-down. You can bet that people are going to feel disappointed if they actually paid money to view the video.
Another disadvantage is that paid webinars carry huge pressure to deliver value “above and beyond” the normal value your books and canned video courses deliver. Otherwise, if people feel let down, your brand might suffer. You might actually lose followers because they’d think that you rip people off or you over-promised and under-delivered. Please understand that since this is not live, you can’t engage the call and response effect. This effect is crucial in making live interactions so much more meaningful and fun.
Step-by-step Guide
To use this way of selling your coaching services, you need to do the following:
Step #1
Pick the right webinar platform
There’s a wide range of platforms out there, but the right one for you should have payment processing capabilities (which means they should be able to take PayPal easily). It should also have promotional elements. When people sign up for a seminar, they should be able to invite their friends or share the materials on their Facebook wall. Also, the appointment setting system must be very robust. It must be clear as to when they’re going to see the video and the system must remind them via email.
Step #2
Write your video script
Remember, you’re not going to be sharing everything you know about your specific subject of expertise. Instead, you’re going to focus on a fairly narrow range of topics within your expertise. Write your video script accordingly.
Step #3
Shoot your video
Don’t try to shoot everything in one take. Try to get audio guides ready or some sort of visual aid. Also, make sure that there is enough helpful audio with the presentation. Now, please understand that this is not a slideshow. This is you speaking to the camera and trying to engage with the viewers using all sorts of props and graphical aids. It can get quite rough. You might have to do several takes, but what’s important is that the video comes off as smooth, authoritative, and professional as possible.
Step #4
Do outreach and promo
You have to promote. If people have signed up to your mailing list, send out an update. If people talk about your author brand on Facebook groups and Facebook pages, announce your webinar there. You might even have to buy Facebook page ads.
Step #5
Set up your appointment setting system
Make sure you set up the appointment setting system for your webinar platform. This way, when
people respond to your ads, they can set up the appointment to view the video. Usually, you should ask
for money at this point.
Step #6
Set up an email system to remind people
You should link the appointment setting system with the email system so that when people sign up, they automatically get a reminder that that they’ve already signed up and paid, and that the webinar is happening soon.
Step #7
Send out event notifications and gather emails
If you’ve done this right, when people set up an appointment, they’ve already signed up on your email list. However, if these are somehow disconnected, you can still get people to sign up to your mailing list. Of course, when people show up, they can then watch the video. Now, how exactly can you make money off your mailing list? Well, once you have people on your list, you can notify them of another seminar you’re having. You can also send them ads for affiliate programs. When people click on these affiliate links and they buy something, you get a commission. You can also rent out your email ad blast to people looking for solo ads. They can pay you up to several hundred dollars per email blast. You can even sell your own products. Of course, you should push your own Kindle books as well as your courses on Udemy and other platforms.
Live webinars
Live webinars involve actual live presentation in front of the camera. You’re going to be talking about a very narrow range of topics. The seminar is very specific in terms of subject matter. What makes this different is that you’re using a free-form approach. You just rehearse what you’re going to talk about in terms of talking points, but everything else is up to the crowd. People will show up and view you on their webcams. They then type in their questions and you’ll answer these in real time. These live webinars are one-time events. However, you can set up an option where you can record the live webinar for viewing at a later date by people who have paid to view the original. Appointments are set up for only one time. These can only be viewed when you’re talking or people who couldn’t show up can view the recorded version. That’s it. This is supposed to be special. It’s supposed to be a one-time thing.
Advantages
The big advantage here is you get to market anticipation for the seminar. This is supposed to be launched. It’s a one-time thing and it’s a special event. You have these things going for you. Also, when people sign up for your live webinar, it’s a golden opportunity for you to sign them up to your mailing list. The form usually has an email collection component. You can use this to get more mailing list members. The biggest draw to live webinars is the live interaction. You’re actually coaching live. You’re coaching a group of people at once. You cater to each specific audience’s needs. These audiences vary so they all have different needs. This is why people get a lot more value from live webinars. They ask questions that are most important to them. Have you ever gone to a live lecture and you get a chance to question to lecturer? It’s very interesting because different crowds have different questions. This adds to the perceived value of the seminar. Every single seminar is going to be different because there are different crowds there. You actually get to charge more money for a live audience because of the impromptu and the improvisational nature of the call and response and audience dynamics involved. This is a golden opportunity to highlight your expertise. People can see that you really know your stuff because regardless of the questions they throw your way, you know how to answer them.
Disadvantages
You really have to know your stuff. This is the biggest disadvantage of live seminars. The worst thing that you can do is to say, “I don’t know.” You’re going to destroy your coaching brand if you let that bomb drop. The way to save face is to say, “I will get back to you,” or “I will find out.” Never ever say, “I don’t know.” Also, please understand that a lot of other experts are using the same live webinar format. This is not new. This is revolutionary. Please note that depending on your niche, there might actually be saturation. It might seem like you’re the 100th person offering a live seminar on your topic. This saturation can lead people to believe that your stuff is not really all that valuable. After all, if it’s that unique, why is everybody and his dog offering it?
Finally, you have to be quick on your feet. As awesome as the call and response dynamic may be. It can also be very rough on your nerves. You have to know what you’re talking about. You have to listen to questions very carefully, understand them very quickly, and answer them in such a way that builds up your expert status. Step-by-step guide
Step #1
Pick a live seminar software platform
At the very least, this platform must have a billing and promotional component. It must also have an email collection component or it must tie into your current email collection system for your mailing list.
Step #2
Pick a date
It’s really important to pick the right strategic date. You don’t want to pick a date that is too close because people might have made other problems. You also don’t want to pick a date that’s so distant in the future that people can easily forget. There has to be enough urgency in the date. This is how you increase the likelihood that lots of people will book your live seminar.
Step #3
Practice prepared materials as well as possible stuff that might come up
You have to know your stuff. You can’t look like a fool. You can’t look like a deer stuck on headlights. It doesn’t really matter how much of an expert status you have managed to build up prior to this point. All of that will go up in smoke if people think that you are a complete moron. Brush up on your expertise. As much as possible, prepare stuff and keep rehearsing until you have become completely comfortable with the materials that you’re going to present.
Step #4
Look alive, motivated, and eager to help
If you’re having a tough time trying to figure out the kind of persona you want to project, look at motivational speakers. Look at how they pump up the crowd. Now, I’m not saying that you should be the second coming of Tony Robins, but you have to look lively. You don’t want to look like a stiff robot. That’s not going to help improve your brand.
Step #5
Remember that your brand is on the line
Regardless of what you do, please understand that when you are in a live seminar, your brand is on the line. Things might get knocked loose. It might be an unforeseen accident. Any of these could be murder on your brands. Please conduct yourself professionally, don’t insult people, be helpful, be positive, and be optimistic.
Step #6
Call people to action regarding your books
You have to understand that although you’re getting paid for this live seminar, this should not be your only way to earn a living. You should also push your books, your canned videos, as well as your live coaching services. Finally, you should call people to action to share the word about your seminars. Tell people to tell their friends and family members about the stuff that they’ve learned and that you’re always available. If people like your stuff, you’d be surprised how many people will refer you to people within their circle of influence.
