to build your lisT - Squarespace

THE #1 WAY

to build your lisT HOW TO PLAN, PREPARE & HOST

Your First Webinar

PLANNING, PREPARING & HOSTING YOUR FIRST WEBINAR I know it can be really overwhelming to plan out or even decide to do your first webinar. Hosting webinars for business has been an amazing way to grow our lists and connect with our tribe. Your first webinar can be both scary and exciting! That is totally normal. Before you jump in, let us preface. When we went down the road of planning a webinar we had no idea what we were getting our selves into. In fact, we did many of the steps out of order and it caused some ma jor headaches. Here is everything we wish we had known before we planned our first webinar!

DECIDE YOU ARE CAPABLE Seems reasonable enough, but convincing yourself can be tricky. You have to be confident that you can do this. That you can get in front of a camera and you can put yourself out there.

PICK A TOPIC Find a topic relevant to your audience. Pick a topic that will resonate with people. Make people think and get them wondering what’s inside the shiny box!

DECIDE WHERE YOU WILL BE HOSTING IT There are many options available out there. After much investigation we decided on Webinar Jam. It came highly recommended by both newbies and seasoned webinar givers alike.

TEST THE HOSTING SERVICE Put the system to the test in front of a small audience, or even a close friend or family member. Make sure you understand all the capabilities and where all the levers and switches are. It isn’t exactly like riding a bike. You have to put some time and effort in to make sure you are comfortable.

GET SOMEONE TO MODERATE THE Q&A Having a chat box flooded with questions is a great problem to have, but you don’t want to have to be jumping through hoops to understand what is going on. Ask a friend (preferably one who has hosted a webinar before) to keep an eye on the chat box and when it is time have them serve the questions to you on a platter.

© T HI N K C R E AT I V E C O L L E C T I V E 2 0 1 5

|

w w w. t h i n k c re a t i v e c o l l e c t i v e . c o m

TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT Social accountability is a ma jor driver in your following through. Tell your friends, tell your family. Leak a rumor on your blog or social media accounts.

WRITE A BLOG POST Give people more detail about what you will be diving into throughout the webinar. Again, what relates to the topic, but what also creates mystery and wonder. This valuable content can be used again and again across social media and other channels later.

CREATE AN EVENT PAGE Give people a place to land when they want more information. This can be a carbon copy of your blog post, or can go into further detail.

GIVE PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO OPT-IN From your event or lead page ask people to “snag a seat”, “reserve their spot”, “RSVP” or whatever other language you decide on. Make sure on the opt-in form to get their name and email address. Save this info, you will need it later.

TALK ABOUT IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA Get savvy with your social channels. Work the opportunity to talk about it into multiple posts on different days in advance. Get crafty with your messaging and watch yourself from being too repetitive.

REPOST IN EVERY BLOG POST THE WEEK BEFORE Don’t make the whole blog post about your webinar, but use content that relates in topic or scope. At the bottom, give a brief teaser that leads them directly to the opt-in and gives them the opportunity to visit the event or lead page if they want more information.

REMIND PEOPLE THEY RSVP'D Send out several e-blasts as reminders. If you are having people RSVP more than a couple days in advance, don’t just remind them. Give them a reason to keep opening your email. We personally sent them a welcome message with a bit more about us, our company and some bonus freebies.

PLAN OUT YOUR TIME AND CONTENT YOU WILL BE SHARING ON OR OFF SCREEN Get your slides and your script together. Don’t wait until the last minute if you can avoid it. Have someone else review all your written content to make sure you didn’t misspell anything or have any errors. Remember you can’t necessarily go back and fix it later if it is recorded and you showed a misspelled word on screen. Well you can, but it would take some unnecessary video editing. (See next section for an in depth tutorial on what to include)

© T HI N K C R E AT I V E C O L L E C T I V E 2 0 1 5

|

w w w. t h i n k c re a t i v e c o l l e c t i v e . c o m

After you've decided on your webinar platform and gotten your attendees registered now you just have to figure out what to say and how to arrange it. So after hosting many of our own and helping other creative bosses host and plan their own webinars we've created this step-by-step guide to help your next webinar run smoothly.

STEP ONE Spend the first 1-3 minutes with the video on your face as opposed to immediately going into slides. This helps remind viewers who you are and that you're a real person hosting the webinar - rather than it just being a recording of slides. Expect a delay anywhere from 5-45 seconds depending on your webinar host. To make this delay less awkward keep speaking and repeating a few phrases until you get acknowledgment that your viewers can see and hear you.

A SA MP LE I NT RO : "Hey all! We are live right now! You are here for "Super Awesome Webinar"! We are going to get started in just a few minutes so if you can just leave a comment in the chat box that you can hear and see me then I'll know we are good to go! Feel free to tell me where you're from/your social media handles/your industry/your favorite dessert. So please leave me a comment so I know you can hear me and then we will get started in about 1 minute." Once people start typing in you can begin acknowledge them by name or whatever you asked them to post. This helps reiterate the fact that you are live - people love getting called out on air!

THI NG S TO K E E P IN M IND • Start as close to on time as possible, be mindful of your viewer's time • Don't feel weird repeating yourself for those first couple of minutes - some folks don't sign in right away and may not have heard you the first time • If people are having viewing/connection issues ask them to shut down and sign back in or to close other programs/windows they have open • Remind people at this point that there will be a replay (if you are enabling a replay) so they don't freak out if they lose connection

STEP TWO Now you can start getting into your content. Let viewers know you are switching to presentation mode and there may be a slight lag (this should correct itself). You can make your presentation in Google Slides, Powerpoint, or any design software. When you switch to presentation mode, make sure to put your slides full screen rather than just sharing the screen. Spend the bulk of your time during the content sharing portion. Be sure to let your viewers know they can ask questions throughout by popping them in the chat box (but tell them you will answer all q's at the end of the webinar). Don't try to answer too many q's during the content portion because it's super easy to get side tracked.

© T HI N K C R E AT I V E C O L L E C T I V E 2 0 1 5

|

w w w. t h i n k c re a t i v e c o l l e c t i v e . c o m

A SU G G E ST E D O R DE R • Title of webinar + name of host(s) • What people will learn in your webinar • Why they should stay until the end (think about adding a bonus to people who hang around) • Introduce yourself + establish your expertise + share your journey • Get into the core content of your presentation • Remind people what they learned/wrap up the content • Make your call - to - action clear (purchase your product, download a freebie, hire you, etc)

STEP THREE Depending on your webinar content now is the time you either leave your CTA up on the screen and wrap up the webinar or head into live Q&A. If you head to live Q&A we recommend you flip back to the video of yourself rather than the slides. If you have a link that you want people to head to so they can buy your product we suggest typing the link in the chat box or have it as "the lower third" of your screen. Now you just browse through the chat box and pull out any q's that you want to address. Viewers really love this part of webinars!

STEP FOUR As q's start to die down or you get close to your end time it's time to wrap it up. Thank everyone for coming, let them know about a replay and how to stay in touch with you. That's it!

THI NG S TO K E E P IN M IND • If there are technology difficulties just take it in stride - don't panic! • Communicate with your viewers about the entire process of the webinar so they know what to expect • You don't have to have a specific CTA for your viewers - you can have a webinar just to hang out with your people • Wrap up when you said you would - be mindful of your viewer's time • Have fun, be relaxed, breathe!

RETEST A HOSTING SERVICE By now, you have picked and tested a hosting service at least once. The morning of the webinar run through it one last time to have everything fresh in your mind. The last thing you want to do is be scrambling on screen.

© T HI N K C R E AT I V E C O L L E C T I V E 2 0 1 5

|

w w w. t h i n k c re a t i v e c o l l e c t i v e . c o m

TEASE WITH A VIDEO ON SOCIAL MEDIA Tape a 15 to 30 second clip of you inviting people to the webinar. Post on social media and watch as more signups come in the door. Let’s be real, most people don’t read – by getting in front of them with video they immediately think what you have to offer is a no brainer.

DECLUTTER YOUR SPACE Clean up your desk and office. Test the camera to see what will be in the shot and make sure to simplify or stylize what people can see behind you. This may require moving to a different room or rearranging your monitor/camera for the best angle, etc.

LOOK LIKE A MILLION BUCKS Sounds simple enough, but make sure you do all the things you would normally do to get your picture taken. Wear a cute outfit that looks good while sitting. Style your hair and makeup as you normally would. Don’t forget about those chipped nails. Gotta look polished people!

SEND ANOTHER E-BLAST THE MORNING OF THE WEBINAR Pre-schedule this in advance to make sure everyone who has signed up gets a link to the webinar room. Remember to add details like the date, time and timezone to the email. Remind people to add to their calendar and set a reminder.

AUTOMATE A REMINDER TO BE SENT 15 MINUTES BEFORE YOU START One last time, just to make sure they don’t miss anything. Give them that webinar link and tell them to head over immediately.

GET A GOOD NIGHTS REST Get some shuteye so you look bright and shinny the morning of.

VISUALIZE HOW YOU WANT IT TO GO Take a few moments and calm yourself before you begin. Visualize the outcome you are hoping for. Sit in peace for several minutes undistracted by phone, email, social media, etc.

BE READY FOR TECHNICAL GLITCHES To avoid any technical glitches close as many other programs and windows as possible. Give your computer a nice restart and then only open the few windows you will need to make this webinar possible.

POST YOUR NOTES Use post-its or an iPad to post visual notes around your screen to reference throughout the webinar.

© T HI N K C R E AT I V E C O L L E C T I V E 2 0 1 5

|

w w w. t h i n k c re a t i v e c o l l e c t i v e . c o m

ARRIVE EARLY You can get into your system controls prior to your participants being able to join the room. Get cozy, even 20-minutes before, so you are totally ready when the clock strikes time.

DO THE THING Do the webinar. Remember to smile, be yourself and remember no one else will ever know if you forget to mention something you had in your notes.

THANK PEOPLE FOR COMING & SEND THE REPLAY TO THOSE WHO RSVP'D Thank people for coming directly on the webinar. For those who were unable to make it or had to leave early send across a replay link. P.S. Don’t forget to press record! So excited for your next webinar! Let us know how this guide helps you and presentations you put together based on it.

© T HI N K C R E AT I V E C O L L E C T I V E 2 0 1 5

|

w w w. t h i n k c re a t i v e c o l l e c t i v e . c o m