Webinars are one of the high-converting strategies for selling online courses. So why doesn’t everybody use them?
Often, it’s because people are uncertain about how webinar platforms work, how they are going to sound, and what they should say.
Let’s break down those three elements in some more detail.
1. “I don’t know how webinars work”
Even if you’re not the most technologically savvy person, you can learn how to run a webinar. You’ve probably already gained some experience by being a participant on webinars in the past. But even if you’re a complete beginner, you can still become a webinar guru – remember, everybody has to start somewhere.
The best way to get comfortable with webinar technology is to practice as much as you can. This is easy to do, as many platforms have free trial periods or a free subscription to a basic package, e.g. Zoom, Demio, WebinarJam. This means you can sign up and start running test webinars right away.
Divide up your practice sessions into technical and content. For example:
- Short five-minute sessions to become familiar with which buttons to press
- A ten-minute session to run through your slides and see how they look on screen
- One or two longer presentations to practice your content
- At least one full run through of the complete webinar, as if you were giving it live
2. “I don’t like the sound of my own voice”
Feeling self-conscious about the sound of their voice prevents many people from starting webinars. If this is you, don’t worry. Most people feel this way when they start presenting, but with practice you’ll become more comfortable hearing your own voice (or at least tolerate it).
Once you’ve done a few practice sessions, listen back and review how you came across. You can also share a recording with someone you trust and ask them for their feedback.
A few important things to remember in a webinar are:
- Vary the tone of your voice. A flat monotone won’t engage your listeners as much as a varied tone.
- Inject energy into what you say. You want to motivate your listeners, so get excited about your webinar!
- Speed up your voice if you speak naturally slowly, and vary the speed throughout.
3. “I don’t know what to say”
If you’re promoting an online course for the first time, you might be worried about what to say during your webinar. The good news is that you already have all the content you need to do a webinar – it’s all in your course!
You should base the majority of your presentation on an overview of the solutions you provide in your course. In a 45-minute session, that means around 25-30 minutes spent on ways to help your students with their challenges.
Other things you can include are:
- An introduction to you and your expertise
- Short testimonials of people you’ve helped with similar challenges
- An explanation of the benefits students get from your online course
- An invitation to join you as a student
- A call to action to go to a sales page and buy now
Though these three concerns prevent many business owners from running their own webinars, they’re very common and easy to overcome. Make sure you practice often to get comfortable with webinar technology and the sound of your voice, and repurpose the contents of your course for your webinar.