Using a live automated webinar is one of the greatest ways to grow and scale your online business. It’s not surprising that more entrepreneurs are implementing them into their marketing strategies. You may have even decided it’s time to include one in your own webinar sales funnel. If so, it’s an excellent decision, and one that when executed properly can yield great returns.
With that said, there are 10 common live webinar mistakes we see people making. Sometimes the problem is not with the planning itself, but with knowing what to include in a plan. Therefore, in no particular order below we’re sharing what the common mistakes are, and how you can avoid them.
1. Not promoting enough
Here’s a dirty little secret about marketing. People are not thinking about your business nearly as often as you are, let alone as much as you want them to.
You need to be promoting your webinar regularly if you want attendees. That’s not to say you should flood your social media feeds, and inundate your email list with notices, but you do want a healthy amount of buzz for your event.
The truth is that people are forgetful. Out of sight, out of mind, as they say. That’s why even if you have convinced someone to sign up for your live automated webinar, it’s critical that you remind them to show up as well.
2. Selling more than helping
You don’t want to start with a hard sales pitch, and continue hard selling during your entire presentation. This is especially true if your webinar is your first interaction with your audience.
It’s better to give them a bunch of value for free, show off your expertise, and then ease into a sales pitch.
Consider this – if someone you barely know asked you for money, would you give it to them? Odds are the answer is no. But, if it was a friend or someone you trust, you’d be more likely to say yes (depending on the amount of course).
That’s why you need to build the relationship first. You want to prove your worth, and then ask for the sale.
3. Using too many slides
Do you remember your monotone teacher in grade school that droned on and on about a subject? You got all the demerits in their class because you kept falling asleep during the lessons. Don’t be that teacher that puts their class to sleep.
Too many slides can turn into, well, a boring presentation. And, to be honest, it can completely overwhelm your audience. You shouldn’t have more than 5 bullet points on a slide, and the slides shouldn’t be laden with text. People like pictures!
Also – only using slides is also not necessarily the best idea either. Get on camera and show your face to your audience at least once. Or, if you are completely against the idea of showing your face, at least show them a picture of you. It’s easier to connect with and determine if you like someone when you know what they look like.
4. Being disrespectful of your audience’s time
Don’t draw your live automated webinar out into an hour long presentation if you only have 30 minutes of good content. You also really don’t want to make it longer than 90 minutes, because most people simply don’t have that kind of time to commit to a presentation. Short, sweet, and to the point is usually a better recipe for success.
As Forbes says, “Your audience is busy. They’re giving you a precious block of their time. Respect it. 30-60 minutes should be enough time to provide content without losing your audience.”
5. Jumping right into the content without introducing yourself
People want to buy from people. They want to know a real person is behind the brand. They want to hear what inspired you to give this presentation today. It shows them you’re just as invested in your webinar as they are.
An introduction also gives you the chance to explain why you are qualified to present this content. The reality is we are all skeptics these days. It’s why websites like Snopes and FactCheck.org are still so popular. When we prove our expertise however, it’s more likely that our audience will trust what we have to say.
6. Sharing your entire presentation without checking your tools
There’s nothing worse for an audience than tuning into a live automated webinar, only to not be able to see it, or hear it, or in the worst cases – both! It’s why you want to check your tools before you record, and then check that your video is presenting correctly after you load it to your automated webinar software.
Take some time to act like a customer. Register for your own event to see how the registration process looks. Check your emails to ensure that the autoresponders you have in place are working. Then, watch your entire presentation as your customer would to check for glitches and errors. Finally, confirm your follow up emails are working correctly after the presentation.
It’s best to do this test run before you start heavily promoting your webinars. This way you can see if anything needs to be changed or tweaked before sharing it with the masses.
7. Making it too much about you
While you may be the most passionate person on the planet about what you’re sharing in your webinar, it’s critical you keep the focus on your customers. Remember, your audience is showing up to solve their problems.
So, even though they want to know if you can relate to them, and that you have the solution to their biggest issue, they don’t need 20 slides about you and your family and your day to day life. The spotlight must be on the problem they have, and the solution you have to offer.
8. Only sharing your webinar at one date and time
Or, you’re only offering your presentation for just a handful of dates and times. Again, people are really busy. That’s why they need more availability to watch your presentation on their schedule.
When you use the right automated webinar software, you can offer unlimited showings of your presentation. This allows your audience to pick the dates and times that work best for them. And, because of the convenience of having more viewing options, they will be that much more likely to watch and buy from you.
9. Neglecting to engage with your audience
Now you might be wondering, how can you increase webinar engagement with a live automated webinar? Here are just a few ideas:
- Address the frequently asked questions you already get from past clients and customers
- Include questions in your presentation for your audience to comment on
- Offer a giveaway incentive for the most participation
- Mention a webinar only discount or freebie to encourage people to show up
In other words, you don’t want to spend the entire hour speaking at them. Though you don’t want to lie and say your live when you’re actually not, you can let your audience know that you are reading the comments, and that you want them to post their thoughts about what you say.
Speaking of which, you definitely should read all the comments from your webinars. There could be extremely valuable knowledge in there. For example, let’s say you’re presenting on one subject, but 90% of your comments are about something else. You might be able to create a new product or service that helps your audience with that exact thing. Imagine how much business you could drum up if you delivered exactly what your audience asks for!
10. Not following up after the event ends
Picture this – You go on the most amazing date with your dream partner. The night goes really well, and you’re certain the two of you were made for each other. Then, the next day you’re so nervous you don’t message them. You don’t want to seem needy after all.
The problem? Because you didn’t message them, they didn’t think you were interested, so they moved on. OUCH! Bottom line – If you never ask for a second date, there may never be one.
While business may not seem like it has anything to do with dating, it kind of does in that we’re building relationships here. If you don’t keep your audience interested, they might move on. No one wants that. So go ahead, send them a message and see if they are ready for another date. Er I mean, see if they are interested in learning more about your products or services.
It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it can be better
Mistakes are going to happen in business. That’s okay. The important thing is that we learn from them, and make things better from here. We hope this list of live automated webinar mistakes has inspired you to take your presenting game to the next level.
Want to create an automated webinar funnel of your own for your business? It’s never been easier than it is with StealthSeminar. We have helped countless clients create and share presentations that have helped them scale up and grow faster than they ever thought possible. Click here to learn more about StealthSeminars automated webinar software.
