How To Promote A Webinar

by Bruce Newman

(This article was originally published in the wwWebevents newsletter and in conjunction with one of Bruce’s webinar presentations.)

One of the most common mistakes people who present webinars make is that they consider a webinar a standalone event.  It is not.  While it is arguably the key component of a webinar-based marketing campaign, it is still only a component.  Prior to the webinar, it is essential that you promote it and build a landing page designed to inform potential attendees about its content that also entices them to sign up.  Following the webinar, you must have a marketing campaign in place that includes some (almost) immediate takeaways once the webinar ends along with some longer term strategies..

The webinar I will be presenting this Friday will discuss many of these critical webinar development touch points.  Its main emphasis, however, will be on webinar promotion for without a solid promotion campaign that drives people to the webinar , you will have already failed; the quality of the webinar and follow-up, notwithstanding.

Here is a list of important ways to promote your webinar. You should start to do them 2-3 weeks prior to your webinar:

1. At your website
2. Email and newsletters – email is particularly effective if properly targeted and effectively written.  Too often people send out general blasts that even if success in quantity, fail in quality – i.e. they don’t reach their target audience.
3. Social media – remember to consider if it’s b-to-b or b-to-c.
4. Public relations – press release.  There are several free press release services.
5. wwWebevents.com – an influential free webinar listing service that provides email notifications to your targeted audience.
6. Craigslist.org
7. Relevant industry lists
8. Local newspapers and associations (i.e. chambers and networking groups)
9. Videos, audios and interviews – note: you can also use these as a reminder.  Videos are particularly effective.
10. Guest blogs – be careful here. Some blogs may not allow your post if it is too promotional.
11. Podcasts
12. Advertisements – should be geared towards your target audience. Select those areas that are relevant and use the appropriate terminology for that audience.
13. Affiliate programs (if relevant)
14. Put an announcement in your email signature
15. Ask friends and colleagues to sign up and help promote your event

Obviously, you can’t do this entire list because of time and cost constraints. However, you can decide on which promotions will work best for you.  It’s also important that you track their effectiveness – and what entices people to sign up.  You can use – and refine – this same insight for future webinar promotions.

Bruce Newman is the president at wwWebevents.com and an expert on webevents (webinars and virtual events) and social media marketing.  wwWebevents.com offers a free (and premium) listing, search and customized notification service for any webevent as well as webinar and 3MinfoVideo development and promotion services.  Make sure to sign up for Bruce’s upcoming webinars.  Bruce can be reached at bnewman@wwWebevents.com

Related posts:

1. How Would You Promote A Webevent?
2. The Roadmap to Successful Webinar Strategies
3. 6 Steps to Improve Your Webinar Presentation