MIKE AGRON, EXECUTIVE WEBINAR PRODUCER’S

WebinarReady TM

A Step-by-Step Guide to Hosting Successful Webinars

SPONSORED BY

BY MIKE AGRON, EXECUTIVE WEBINAR PRODUCER

AND CO-FOUNDER OF WEBATTRACT
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 2012
 Table of Contents
Prologue ................................................................................................................2
The Role Informational Webinars Play in Today’s Content Marketing Mix .............3
Why are Webinars so Effective? ............................................................................4
WebinarReady is a scripted
TM

Sounds Great–What’s the Catch?...........................................................................5

methodology, with best
The Case for WebinarReadyTM Methodology, Best Practices, and Metrics...............6
practices and metrics that
Getting Started......................................................................................................7
Act I – Setting the Stage for a Smooth Production ................................................8
ensure predictable outcomes,
Act II – Getting the Right Audience to Register ...................................................15 while encouraging creativity
Act III – Breathing Life into Your Production ......................................................25 and iteration as the webinar
Act IV – Sound Check and Go Live!.....................................................................35 ensemble performs to attract
Act V – Put Your Sales and Marketing Hat On ...................................................39 and engage an audience.
Epilogue ..............................................................................................................46
Appendix A..........................................................................................................47
About WebAttract ...............................................................................................49
About GoToWebinar®...........................................................................................50

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT
 Prologue
Who is this eBook for?
If you are currently responsible for lead gen or content marketing and looking for a new take on
producing and delivering webinars that will allow you to harvest more qualified sales leads, this
eBook is for you. If you are new to webinar demand generation, or if you want to produce and “A webinar is considered
deliver a polished webinar for training or other purposes, this information will help you maximize WebinarReadyTM when
your outcomes. all the moving parts
and logistics have been
This “How To” reference guide takes you step-by-step through the process of demand generation
seamlessly coordinated to
webinar planning and lays out what you need to do before, during, and after the webinar to be
provide an engaging event
successful. Anyone can deliver a webinar – the GoToWebinar® platform is easy to use. Our goal is
with predictable commercial
to help you to produce engaging, results-assured productions using our proven methodology and
outcomes that meet or
best practices that have helped a variety of organizations deliver high-performing, high-impact
exceed the expectations
webinar events. of the audience.”
This eBook presents a unique value proposition: the marriage of a step-by-step GoToWebinar®
– Mike Agron
guide with WebAttract’s strategic consulting advice and a deadline driven project management
approach that leads our clients to High Performing – High Impact Webinars – something that
meets your business goals, and meets or exceeds your audience’s expectations. We’ll tell you when
and where you need to develop strategies and action plans, and the considerations you need to take
into account. We also give you checklists to keep you on track and encourage best practices leading
to a successful outcome.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT PROLOGUE
 The Role Informational Webinars Play
In today’s content marketing mix
Everything in life or in business
is about timing. Informational HERE’S A CASE IN POINT
webinars attract people who are
Meet Harry J. Friedman, founder of The Friedman Group
either moderately curious, who have
www.thefriedmangroup.com, recognized the world over
needs that are not currently being
as the premier provider of retail sales consulting and training. Harry’s
met, or who are actively searching for a solution to
goal is to go beyond the traditional marketing channels to reach
their problem. Seldom do we get someone to attend a
a new audience. To that end, we identified goals for the webinar,
webinar if they’re content with their current situation.
including establishing Harry Friedman as a thought leader and
As such, webinars are attractors for prospects who are
promoting brand awareness. When we began the process of developing
RIPE to become your customers. However, webinars
webinar content, Harry admitted he felt like an old dog in a new world.
are not about selling; they are about stimulating
someone’s intellectual curiosity, teaching them The idea of giving content away was difficult to swallow, but Harry
something, and inspiring them to want to have followed our advice. The result was a compelling webinar called
a conversation. Then you can determine how you “Culture Shock: Shake Up Your Company, Your Store, Your People –
can help them, and convert them from a prospect And Sales Increases Will Follow!” It proved to be the perfect catalyst to
into a customer. start a conversation with a Fortune 500 big box retailer that had never
heard of The Friedman Group before, and Harry closed a $1 million sale.

A webinar targeted to a demographically matched audience with the right message and content is a great way to
establish your thought leadership and value so they’ll want to have a conversation with you after the webinar.
– Mike Agron

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT THE ROLE INFORMATIONAL WEBINARS PLAY
 Why Are Webinars So Effective?
ᔢ Everyone’s time is valuable and travel is costly.

ᔢ You can serve up information in real time, cutting across geographies and time zones.

ᔢ Webinars level the playing field by punching up the weight of even the smallest companies.

ᔢ You have a good chance of making a connection with a prospect you would not otherwise make.

ᔢ Webinars breathe life into existing content such as case studies, research, and whitepapers.

ᔢ Webinars help you begin the sales process to convert prospects into customers.

A research survey revealed that marketers are feeling more assured using content marketing to achieve
their goals. Regarding webinars, over 50% of those surveyed said they use webinars/webcasts as a content
marketing tactic, and 70% rated it effective to very effective as the #2 choice, only behind In-Person Events.
For a complete copy of the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and MarketingProfs study, visit this link.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT WHY ARE WEBINARS SO EFFECTIVE?
 Sounds Great – What’s the Catch?
1 You have to think like a content marketer and be willing to give away content. The idea that you are going to teach an audience
of perfect strangers something that took you years to learn may seem ludicrous! But the return on investment is well worth it
as we demonstrated with The Friedman Group.

2 With more webinar invitations landing on desktops, there’s more competition for eyeballs, making the challenge to deliver
value to your audience greater.

3 You need to attract the right audience – a targeted demographic who is going to care about what you have to say.

4 A webinar is about more than just the technology. There are a lot of moving parts that have to be managed. You need a
webinar producer with strong project management skills to keep track of all the production deadlines and to keep the team
performing as an ensemble.

5 Finally, if you don’t engage the audience they’ll “turn the channel.” The webinar event has to be polished, entertaining,
and stimulating. You’re creating a “One Act Play” that has theatrics involved, so your players have to be well-rehearsed,
relaxed, professional, and on message.

Think of a webinar as the beginning of a process to develop a virtual relationship with the people attending your event by sharing
your thought leadership. The end goal is to stimulate their curiosity enough to want further conversations with you so you have
an opportunity to convert them into customers.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT SOUNDS GREAT-WHAT’S THE CATCH?
 The Case for WebinarReady TM

Methodology, best practices, and metrics

A live performance is a pleasurable experience because the audience is WEBATTRACT CUSTOMER CASE IN POINT
an integral part of the production. A webinar is no different – it is a live Converting a Prospect to a Customer
performance, theatrical in nature, which engages and connects with an A webinar attendee, who was previously on the fence, was
audience. For a webinar to be successful, you need to have a plan that so impressed with the virtual contact center provider’s
guides you through managing all the moving parts of the production. case study (because it spoke to his pain point) that he
WebinarReady™ provides the methodology, best practices, and metrics
asked for a demonstration that resulted in a sale within
that allow you to measure and manage your success and deliver an
two weeks of the webinar.
engaging and polished webinar with predictable outcomes.

Business Drivers Logistics Human Factors Technology

You need to know up front: There are so many moving parts This is a live, deadline-driven GoToWebinar® is a powerful, stable,
• Your webinar objectives to a webinar, you need a project- production, so there are human and robust platform. In the unlikely
• Target audience oriented person to manage issues to consider: event you need real time support to
• Success factors – how will and update: • Who can lead and motivate troubleshoot a problem, their global
you know if it’s a success • The work plan the webinar ensemble? support help desk is there to help you
• Call to action – what do you • Schedules and calendars • How will you inspire the audience? 24/7, and they really know how to
want them to do next? • Analyzing key metrics • How do you bring out your help solve your technical issues.
• Your strategy for nurturing • Post webinar follow up speakers’ best qualities?
sales leads

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT THE CASE FOR WEBINARREADY TM
 Getting Started
This eBook describes the process of planning and executing a webinar, which is theatrical in nature. To reinforce the live performance
quality of webinars, we use theatrical metaphors to depict the project phases, steps, and team roles involved with delivering webinars.
The best way to manage the entire webinar project life cycle and ensure success is to follow a project management plan and treat
the webinar as a mini-event. Following the theatrical analogy, we divide the project phases into five acts. Like acts in a play, the
WebinarReadyTM plan is a script that unfolds a methodology and metrics, ensuring predictable results. Even though the webinar
production is an iterative process, and you will continually update your messaging and content throughout the planning process,
the best approach is to complete each milestone along a timeline of five key acts or phases. We recommend budgeting at least one
hour of pre-production planning time for each webinar minute you deliver. When you take the time up front to determine your business
objectives, understand your audience and the topics they would find engaging, develop relevant content, coach your speakers, and
create a plan for nurturing leads post-webinar, you will end up with optimal results.

Here are the project phases, or acts, that make up the WebinarReady™ methodology:
It’s all about creating a plan. Gather the ensemble (webinar team) at a kickoff meeting. Define business objectives,
ACT I
success factors, and your target audience. Schedule the webinar in GoToWebinar® and start working the plan.
Aligning the plan to support invitation development is critical. It may sound counter-intuitive to create the invitation
ACT II
before the slides exist, but it works. The invitation is the framework for creating powerful content (slides) and coaching
the speakers to shape their messages to engage the audience. Next, create the registration landing page. Source the right
audience and execute your invitation strategy to begin audience recruitment. Then track registration metrics daily.
Begin creating relevant webinar content that delivers what you promised in the invitation. Then, gather the ensemble
ACT III
and practice, practice, practice – and coach your speakers – with a Table Read and two Dress Rehearsals.
Today is the day of the webinar! Meet with your ensemble one hour prior to Go Live to perform a final sound check and
ACT IV
review the content and cues. Relax, have fun, and deliver a professional, natural, engaging webinar.
Your webinar was a success. Now it’s time to measure your success and monetize it with post-webinar follow-up.
ACT V
Segment your prospect leads into various buckets and begin the lead nurturing process.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT GETTING STARTED
 Setting the Stage for a Smooth Production:
Act I Project Kickoff and Scheduling

ᔢ Step 1: Define your objectives, target audience, desired outcomes, and success factors
All webinars should be framed within a set of business objectives that become your roadmap for all of
the best practices that follow.

ᔢ Step 2: Set up a webinar project timeline and gather the ensemble

It is all about planning. The more planning you do up front, the more successful your webinar will be.

ᔢ Step 3: Hold a kick-off meeting

Assemble a cross-functional production team including key internal and external stakeholders led by
a strong project manager who will be the webinar producer. There’s nothing like a kick-off meeting,
either in-person or better yet using GoToMeeting®, to get the team to meet one another, connect and
feel comfortable.

ᔢ Step 4: Schedule your webinar in GoToWebinar®

Once you have the date, time, speaker, title, and content description established, schedule your webinar
in GoToWebinar®.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1: SETTING THE STAGE FOR A SMOOTH PRODUCTION
 ᔢ Step 1: Define your objectives, target audience, desired outcomes, and success factors

Before you start planning an event, ask yourself the following questions about the most
important factor in a webinar – YOUR AUDIENCE.
What do you know about them? What’s in it for them to attend? We often say that until you
have established your thought leadership on how you can add value to a prospect, they’re not
yet open to hearing from you. Remember, all webinar attendees come to the webinar listening
to Station WIFM – What’s In It For Me?
Think about your audience – the
THE AUDIENCE – most important factor – and fill in this
WHO ARE THEY AND Audience Pro le Worksheet
AUDIENCE PROFILE WORKSHEET.
WHAT DO YOU KNOW Segment your audience into the Industries
ABOUT THEM? categories listed. Don’t worry if Function or Job Titles
you don’t have all the answers. Levels
These will get fleshed out after (c-level, mgr, etc.)
you meet with your team. Revenue/Income
• What industries are they from? Geographies
• What jobs do they perform?
Other Demographics
Are they executive level, (other key factors)
managers, staff, solopreneurs?
• How big are the attendees’ organizations?
How much revenue do they generate?
• Where is the majority of your audience located?

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1: SETTING THE STAGE FOR A SMOOTH PRODUCTION
 With that information in hand, you’re ready to establish your strategy by completing the WEBINAR OBJECTIVES WORKSHEET.
• Why are you doing a webinar? Sales leads?
Thought leadership? Raise brand awareness?
• What’s the Value Proposition of your webinar?
Webinar Objectives Worksheet
What value will the audience get out of investing
their time with you?
Webinar Objectives
• What topic will your audience find most engaging?
Is what you’re going to tell them a MUST HAVE
Who is Your Audience?
or a NICE TO HAVE?
• What are your Success Factors? Desired Outcomes
Number of registrants/attendees?
Number of sales leads? Success Factors
• What are your key messages?
• What call to action do you want your Working Title
audience to take after the webinar?
Request a 1:1 conversation. Content Description
Request a sales demonstration.
Download a white paper. Call to Action

Remember, you are creating a relationship, albeit virtual, with each person who registers BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER the
webinar. For a detailed explanation of the Six Key Webinar Metrics Before, During, and After, see Appendix A.

BEFORE EVENT DURING WEBINAR AFTER EVENT

Gather profile data about your audience Use online polls, Q&A, and surveys to engage and measure Offer on-demand recordings and valuable information
and learn what’s important to them their interests, challenges, questions and opinions to keep your company top of mind with meaningful content

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1: SETTING THE STAGE FOR A SMOOTH PRODUCTION
 ᔢ Step 2: Set up a webinar project timeline and gather the ensemble

From Let’s Go! to Go Live!, eight weeks of production is optimal. Too little time may limit your audience size and the overall
production quality. Too much time for planning could cause you to lose your momentum and water down the effectiveness of the
webinar results. You may not always have eight weeks in your schedule, and it’s certainly possible to do a webinar in less time as
long as you have experienced speakers, engaging content, and are extra vigilant in managing your work plan. This is a very iterative
process, and the more time you spend in the planning process the better your webinar gets.
This is a WEBINAR LIFECYCLE TIMELINE showing all the major milestones over an eight week period.

Webinar Life Cycle Weeks 1 – 8

Major Milestones
Work backwards from your Go Live! date and create a project plan
worksheet (either using Excel or project management software)
S TA G E D I R E C T I O N T I P
with each of the major milestones in the Webinar Life Cycle. Plan to budget at least one hour of pre-production time for
each live webinar minute to manage the business drivers,
logistics, human factors, and to master the technology.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1: SETTING THE STAGE FOR A SMOOTH PRODUCTION
Gather the webinar production ensemble
Demand generation webinars are typically managed as a marketing project, but it takes a village of cross-functional team members
to pull them off. It is important that the entire webinar team, including key stakeholders, have input when defining the webinar
goals and executing the strategy.
The WebinarReadyTM roadmap identifies the various job roles that are required to deliver a high-impact, high-performing webinar.
These can be handled by one person or several people, depending upon your organization. GoToWebinar® has their own nomenclature for the
webinar roles – this chart describes and aligns these job roles.

WEBINARREADY TM ROLE DESCRIPTION GOTOWEBINAR® ROLE

Webinar Logistics Producer/ Manages and executes the work plan, schedules and runs meetings, coordinates ensemble and deliverables, Organizer
Project Manager makes sure no balls are dropped. Sets up GoToWebinar® including 3rd party marketing and sales
automation platforms. Presents final set of performance analytics for lead nurturing and sales follow-up.
Webinar Content Producer Facilitates message shaping, coaching of speakers and development of content, manages GoToWebinar® Organizer
platform. May act as On-Air Moderator for event.
Webinar Creative Director Creates the invitations and branding for the registration landing page and PowerPoint slides. Organizer
Manages video editing.
Audience Recruitment Analyst Prepares audience recruitment, executes invitation strategy, collects daily tracking metrics to maximize Organizer
registration
Moderator Hosts the webinar, welcomes audience, introduces speaker(s), handles Q&A, knows what to do and can Organizer
“take the wheel” in case there’s a fire drill
Speaker Delivers engaging webinar content, answers questions, interacts with audience Panelist
Audience Attends the webinar Attendee

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1: SETTING THE STAGE FOR A SMOOTH PRODUCTION
 ᔢ Step 3: Hold an in-person or virtual kick-off meeting

What’s the purpose of the kick-off meeting?

Building trust. You want to take the time to meet and Kick-o Meeting Checklist
get everyone up to speed, get their buy-in, and more I have completed these tasks in preparation for the kick-o meeting…
importantly, establish yourself as a leader. The kick-off Identify ensemble and key stakeholders to attend meeting
meeting builds trust among the ensemble, gets them Set date, time, location for kicko meeting (in-person or GoToMeeting)
Prepare agenda for the meeting
motivated, and ensures they take ownership of their
Send out kicko meeting invitation
roles and responsibilities.
We will discuss the following agenda items at the kick-o meeting…
The Kick-off Meeting Checklist contains guidelines for meeting Identify the key players and the main contact who will have approval
preparation, meeting agenda, and post-meeting action items. responsibility
Identify business objectives and outcomes for Webinar event
Best webinar days of week: Tues., Wed., Thurs.
Discuss key messages, working title, and content ideas for event
Best start times: 10 – 11 am PST, 1 – 2 pm EST Discuss and select webinar format (case study, tutorial, etc.)
If you take care of all the smallest details ahead of time, Identify speaker(s), panelists, moderator, etc.
Arrange to get speaker bios, logos, head shots, etc.
you’ll keep last minute fire drills to a minimum:
Con rm dates for Table Read, Rehearsals, & Go Live Date
• Get everyone’s landline, email and mobile phone numbers Discuss the strategy and execution plan for nurturing sales leads after
(there may be an 11th hour fire drill) the webinar
Following the kick-o meeting, I have completed these tasks…
• Set up a virtual repository for sharing work plans, presentations,
Get commitment from speakers for speci c meeting dates/times
head shots, etc. Some tools include ShareFile® or Dropbox.
Email meeting notes to entire team
Update project plan with milestone dates
Set up GoToWebinar® platform page
Collect all the marketing artwork: logo, speaker photos and
brief bio for invitation and registration landing page

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1: SETTING THE STAGE FOR A SMOOTH PRODUCTION
 ᔢ Step 4: Schedule your webinar in GoToWebinar®
If you have completed your Worksheets earlier, you’ll have an easy time
setting up your event in GoToWebinar®. We recommend that before the
webinar is scheduled in GoToWebinar® that you have locked down the
title, description, date, time, organizer, sponsor and panelists.
1. Log into your GoToWebinar® account, and go to the My Webinars section.
2. Select Schedule a Webinar.
3. Enter the title of the webinar and a brief description. Get the information from
your worksheet.
4. Set the date and time. Make sure to select an appropriate time zone
5. Choose your audio. Here are some options to consider:
•GoToWebinar® offers built in conferencing using VoIP (Voice Over IP) allowing
panelists and attendees to use their microphone and speakers from their PC or Mac.
•Toll-free numbers is an option that allows you, as the Organizer, to pick up the cost
for attendees to dial in. Toll-based numbers are also available, and both toll-based
and toll-free numbers are available for international use.
•Use your own conference call service.
6. Enter your co-organizers and panelists.
Don’t worry, you do not have to know all this yet, you can add or remove organizers
and panelists anytime.
If you are not familiar with how to be an Organizer with GoToWebinar, please sign up
for an online or live webinar with GoToWebinar® to learn more. This powerful platform
contains many features you will want to know about before scheduling. You don’t want to inadvertently change a webinar profile,
or worse, delete it from the face of the earth, over-communicate with your registrants, etc. You can find additional information
on how to use these features in the form of free on-demand video trainings, getting started articles, as and in a downloadable
copy of the Attendee Quick Reference Guide at www.support.citrixonline.com.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1: SETTING THE STAGE FOR A SMOOTH PRODUCTION
 Getting the Right Audience to Register:
Act II Webinar Promotion and Tracking Daily Metrics

Now you are ready to develop the invitation, create the registration landing page to collect information about
your audience, execute your invitation strategy and track registration metrics. It may sound counter-intuitive
to create the invitation before the slides exists, but we have verified this approach after delivering hundreds
of webinars. The invitation is the framework for creating powerful content (slides) and coaching the speakers
to shape their messages to engage the audience.

ᔢ Step 1: Write a compelling invitation that attracts

To begin writing your invitation, gather information about the audience and what’s in it for them to attend,
the webinar objectives, key messaging and your call to action.

ᔢ Step 2: Create the Registration Landing Page

The single objective of the registration landing page is to get visitors to register for the webinar and learn about
your audience without being invasive.

ᔢ Step 3: Source the right audience

Identify the prospect list sources that match your audience profile. S TAG E D I R E C T I O N T I P
ᔢ Step 4: Execute your invitation strategy – If you really want to attract the right audience,
start audience recruitment the key messages outlined in the invitation
Start promoting your webinar 2.5 – 3 weeks before the event have to be MUST HAVES, not NICE TO HAVES,
with well-timed email invitation broadcasts. and directly speak to your audience’s interests
and pain points.
ᔢ Step 5: Track registration metrics daily
Benchmark your metrics daily, and adjust your strategy based on Click Thru Ratio (CTR)
and intelligence captured via landing page and direct feedback.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT II: GETTING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE TO REGISTER
 ᔢ Step 1: Write a compelling invitation that attracts the right audience
The purpose of the invitation is to attract the right audience to your event. It also becomes the framework for creating and delivering
an engaging webinar. Whatever you promise in your invitation, you need to deliver in the webinar.

What information goes into the invitation?

EMAIL SUBJECT LINE. Write something that will get someone to open and respond to your email. Choose words that pack a punch,
incite curiosity and urgency to open the email, but avoid using trigger words that attract SPAM filters.
WEBINAR TITLE. The title conveys in powerful, compelling language the critical information they
will learn. For example, “Gift a Shift! Harnessing Webinars to Turn Prospects into Customers.”
BRIEF DESCRIPTION. Write 1-2 short paragraphs that offer a preview of the webinar.
Write using your audience’s jargon – use language they will relate to. What challenges do
they face? What are you going to teach them that will improve their lives? Why is this
information a MUST HAVE? Invite and enthuse, but don’t sell.
FOUR BULLETED KEY MESSAGES. Summarize in 3-4 bulleted phrases what your audience
will learn and take away by attending the webinar.
CALL TO ACTION. Tell your audience to register now!
SPEAKERS. Leverage the credentials of your speaker(s) by including a professional photo, job title, and a
one-line bio. Some great sources for speakers are authors, industry analysts, and thought leaders. Make sure the speaker photos are
clear and formatted the same (portrait vs. landscape). Note: Include sponsors if applicable.
DATE AND TIME. Display the date and include all the pertinent time zones to make it easy for people to mark their calendars.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Describe your audience so the people you want to attract will see themselves in the description.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT II: GETTING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE TO REGISTER
 How do you format the webinar invitation?
Once you have your key messages for the invitation, it’s time to create the first draft. Writing the invitation is a collaborative,
iterative process – it will likely go through several rewrites. You can create the invitation in three easy steps using the
GoToWebinar invitation template, creating your own HTML or simple text, or using a 3rd party marketing or sales
automation platform, such as Eloqua, Marketo, Hubspot, SalesFUSION or Salesforce.com. Since the goal of the invitation
is to get the right demographic audience to register for your webinar event, you’ll need the invitation to communicate your
message clearly, and get through your audiences’ SPAM filters.

This invitation was formatted by scheduling a Webinar The Title and Description information is automatically
and using GoToWebinar’s Branding and Theme feature. loaded into the template after scheduling it. The resulting
Choose a theme, insert your company logo and custom invitation is simple and clean – and if you send it to the
image, and speaker photo. right demographic, it works!

S TA G E
DIRECTION
TIP
Writing the invitation is
a collaborative, iterative
process. It takes the entire
team’s input to come up
with the right message.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT II: GETTING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE TO REGISTER
 Secrets of a compelling and engaging invitation
An invitation created in HTML provides the opportunity to raise
brand awareness, stand out from the crowd, get people’s attention,
and drive home your value proposition. The invitation pictured to 1
the right performed very well – why? Because the message was
2
a NEED TO HAVE, straightforward, and spoke the language of
the audience. 3
Invitations must communicate “what’s in it for me?” 4
Spark the audience’s interest, provoke their intellectual curiosity
and convey a sense of excitement.

Tips for invitation writing 5

• Lead with compelling benefits, not just facts
• Be creative, have fun, relate to your audience
• Leave out the product pitch, focus on learning
• Give the reader enough detail so they know what to expect 6

WEBATTRACT CUSTOMER CASE IN POINT

Up Sell and Cross Sell to Existing Base 1. Webinar Title & Subtitle
2. Speaker Information
20% of the 700 webinar attendees, who were existing customers of a
3. Brief Description of Content
leading marketing services company, responded to a call to action at 4. Date and Time
the end of the webinar to have a 1:1 conversation with a sales rep. 5. Four Bulleted Key Messages “WIFM” (What’s In It For Me)
6. Call to Action

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT II: GETTING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE TO REGISTER
 ᔢ Step 2: Create the Registration Landing Page

After receiving the invitation, you want people to click on the Registration link. The purpose of the Landing Page is to get
prospects to register for the webinar and to gather information. These are the steps to set up your registration landing page.
1. In GoToWebinar® click on “My Webinars” and you’ll see the Title
of your webinar and just below it, click on the “Registration: Edit”
link to create the registration landing page.
2. In the Registration Form, start customizing your registration
page by selecting the various responses that you want your
registrants to complete.
3. We recommend capturing the following intelligence –
except for the default fields (First – Last – Email),
all fields may be set to Required or Optional:
•Phone Number – Organization – Job Title – Industry
•State – Province – Zip Code – Country
4. Include these two “Create Your Own” questions
•“How did you learn about this webinar?”
(helps you understand your marketing effectiveness)
•“What would you like to learn from this webinar?”
(provides insight into what your audience wants to hear)
S TA G E D I R E C T I O N T I P
5. Questions & Comments – always check this optional
field as it provides a way for people to ask for follow-up This is an ideal opportunity before the webinar to ask
before the webinar. your audience directly what they want to learn from
your webinar. This validates whether your invitation
Don’t forget to Save Your Changes. messaging is connecting, or not, and provides insights
to coach your speakers.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT II: GETTING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE TO REGISTER
 Tips for setting up your registration landing page
Insert branding and theme imagery by choosing the “Branding and Theme” option in
the “Change Session Settings” menu in My Webinars to give the landing page your
tips own look and feel. You can preview the landing page and make sure it is ready to go.
See our example below.
When you enable the registration page (in Step 4) you can track all registration activity daily
to ensure you are on track to maximize attendance.

Do
• Make it easy for them to register for the webinar
• Make it look appealing – insert your branding and imagery
• Make the landing page content a concise expression or summary of what’s in the invitation –
don’t repeat the entire invitation

Don’t
• Make it look overtly like a sales pitch with an oversized company logo
• Ask too many non-essential, or sales-like, questions such as, “When do you plan to make
a purchase?”
• Repeat all the same information as on the invitation
• Include extra offers or incentives that take them away from the registration page as you
run the risk they will forget to return and actually register!

WEBATTRACT CUSTOMER CASE IN POINT

Reach New Markets and Geographies
A “standards and compliance” company, short on resources, found it difficult using traditional means to
connect with customers and prospects spread throughout the world. They leveraged webinars to cut across
time zones and geographies and attract new sales leads from 25 countries which exceeded their expectations.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT II: GETTING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE TO REGISTER
 ᔢ Step 3: Source the right audience

As you write the invitation to your target audience and create the registration landing page, you’ll also want to begin
identifying the prospect list sources that have the right qualities.
Back in Act I we suggested you segment your demographic by industry, level, department, etc. This is where marketing
automation tools can come into play.

SOURCING YOUR INVITATION LISTS HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER

For the email broadcast consider: When making a decision for list sourcing:
• In-house list • Do you already have a purposeful in-house list that you have built or
• Rent a list (list brokers) acquired? Is it large enough to drive a sizeable audience to your event?
• Outsource audience recruitment Is it fatigued – have they heard all your stories?
• Media Partners • A profitable, segmented in-house list may provide higher response rates
• Sponsors than a fresh list of matching prospects.
Tap into these resources to share links, empower your network to share your content: • If you want to attract fresh new “eyeballs” you can look to the many
• Social Media – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, User Communities – companies that offer lists acquisitions and subscriptions, such as Hoover’s
if you’re a regular member it won’t be considered SPAM and Dun & Bradstreet, etc.
• Publish your webinar on your blog or website • If you are acquiring, renting or subscribing to a list, you need to consider
• Send a newsletter, press release how accurate, how re-usable and what methodology is used in maintaining
• Create Partnerships, Affiliates these lists.

WEBATTRACT CUSTOMER CASE IN POINT – INCREASE SALES PIPELINE

An engineering information provider who shifted their marketing mix to include webinars was able to
attract 686 pre-qualified people to register for one webinar, of which 353 attended, and in six weeks after
the webinar 431 additional on-demand viewings were reported, representing over 1,000 new sales leads.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT II: GETTING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE TO REGISTER
 ᔢ Step 4: Execute your invitation strategy – start audience recruitment

Audience recruitment consists of three main steps, beginning with

identifying the group you want to recruit to your event. The next step
is to create a series of impactful messages to drive registration, and lastly,
the development of an intelligent, adjustable “invitation strategy” to attain
the optimum number of attendees. Reminder
emails are
• Have your invitation approved and signed off four weeks before Go Live! automatically
• Start promoting 2.5 to 3 weeks prior to your webinar event. sent to your
• Send four well-timed email broadcasts (we call them touchpoints). Your first touchpoint registrants.
is ideally in an HTML format in order to include your branding. However, HTML is more
susceptible to SPAM filters. So you have to be open to switching to plain text emails
for subsequent broadcasts. How will you know whether to switch to text? If your Click
Thru Ratio (CTR) is lower than expected, that’s a sign that many of the emails are getting A nice feature of GoToWebinar® is
filtered into junk folders or not being opened. We’ll talk more about the importance of that it will automatically send email
CTR in the next section. reminders to your registrants.
• Once registration is open and invitations go out, you can track all registration activity
daily to ensure you are on track to maximize attendance.

INVITATION STRATEGY BEST PRACTICES

INVITATION TOUCHPOINT BROADCAST PRIOR TO GO LIVE! FORMAT INVITATION MESSAGING
Touchpoint #1 2.5 – 3 weeks HTML Using HTML optimizes thematic branding and imagery
Touchpoint #2 2 weeks HTML or Text If CTR is low consider switching from HTML to Text
Touchpoint #3 1 week Text Use text-based invitation. Promote urgency to register, e.g.
“In 1 week, Maximize Foot Traffic and Drive Sales with Facebook”
Touchpoint #4 2 days Text Restate a sense of urgency in email subject line,
“In 2 days, How Facebook Can Make Your Business Soar”

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT II: GETTING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE TO REGISTER
 ᔢ Step 5: Track daily registration metrics

Metrics measurement is the third leg of the WebinarReady™ roadmap, along with methodology and best practices, used to attract,
engage and begin conversations with prospects so they’ll become your customers. We’ve identified six key metrics and ratios that
measure your progress across the webinar life cycle. Being able to understand the impact of each set of metrics allows you to measure
whether you’re on track to deliver predictable outcomes so you can make adjustments early in the life cycle to meet your business goals.

Metrics help you navigate to reach your target audience

After sending out your first touchpoint (about 2.5 – 3 weeks prior to the live event) start checking daily registration stats in
GoToWebinar® Registration Reports to make sure you’re attracting the audience that is matched to your selected demographic.
The information is extremely helpful in readjusting your messaging strategy. It’s not unusual to make changes to your second or third
e-broadcast invitations based on registration metrics or answers to the registration page questions. Using some of the advanced features
of Microsoft Excel, such as a pivot table, you can slice and dice the information, and you’ll be amazed at the insights you’ll gain about
your audience before, during and after the webinar.
Some of this reporting is also available from third party marketing and sales automation platforms. GoToWebinar integrates with
Eloqua, Marketo, Hubspot and Pardot, which means your webinar data transfers from GoToWebinar into your marketing automation
platform automatically to save you time and eliminate errors.

Generating GoToWebinar® Registration Reports

STEP 1 – Go to My Webinars, click on the yellow box with a plus sign to the left of
the date and time. This view provides you with registration metrics from the last seven days.
STEP 2 – To generate an Excel spreadsheet that you can manipulate, click on the Excel
button in the Registration Report section.

A favorite sales manager of mine used to say, “You’re not lost if you don’t
care where you’re going” which was code for “why is your sales forecast
underperforming.” As in sales, webinar metrics allow you to measure
whether you’re on track to produce optimal outcomes.
– Mike Agron
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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT II: GETTING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE TO REGISTER
 What is the Click Thru Ratio (CTR)?
This is an important metric that measures the percentage of people
who clicked on a link to arrive at your registration landing page. METRIC SIGNIFICANCE
GoToWebinar® provides metrics that track the number of people 50,000 Size of targeted demographic audience
who clicked on the registration link, and the number who registered 750 1.5% will reach your landing page
for the webinar. 250 A Click Thru Ration of 33% will yield 250 registrants
• Why is this important? 100 40% or more registrants will actually attend
• How do you know if you’re hitting your target audience?
• What percentage CTR should you expect?
Our benchmarks (your stats may vary) show, if you start with a matched demographic of 50,000 names that are aligned to your target
audience, you want to try to get 1.5 percent of that group – 750 people – to your landing page. Of those who come to your landing page,
the ratio of those who register for your webinar, or the CTR, is the most important metric to predict outcomes. If you get 33 percent
(or 250 people) of your landing page visitors to register it’s a good indication you’re connecting with your audience. Usually about 40
percent of registrants actually attend the live event. Here is a chart that summarizes these metrics. This does not account for the addi-
tional on-demand recording audience that could drive the number of people who saw your webinar up from 10 percent to 100 percent!

CTR RANGE WHAT IT INDICATES AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO INCREASE CTR
30% – 50% Very good! Indicates you’re connecting with your audience. You can modify the verbiage and branding slightly in remaining touchpoints,
but keep the messaging consistent with TP#1. Switch to plain text email in TP#4.
25% – 30% Pretty good CTR. Check the following: 1) Is your invitation specific enough about what people will learn, 2) Based on registration stats,
are you attracting the right audience, 3) Is your registration form easy to complete?
Under 25% You should be concerned. Something is not connecting; you’re targeting the wrong demographic, or prospects feel they’re not getting
enough value to register. Check the following: 1) Is your topic a “MUST HAVE” or”NICE TO HAVE”, 2) Based on the landing page question,
“What would you like to learn?” responses, what can you adjust in your invitation messaging, 3) Is your invitation not getting read or getting
caught in SPAM filters, 4) are you using SPAM trigger words in your email subject line, such as FREE or “!”? Consider switching to plain text.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT II: GETTING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE TO REGISTER
 Act III Breathing Life into your Production:
Table Reads, Sound Checks, and Dress Rehearsals
There are all kinds of notions about what a webinar is – we advise people to think of it as a Radio Show with
Pictures. What do you love most about radio? Radio has the power to engage us in a way no other media can –
Engaging voices that reach out and connect, thought-provoking conversation and storytelling, and great sound.
Webinars share the same characteristics – they’re a way to connect with people and inspire them so they want
to have a conversation with you.

ᔢ Step 1: Begin creating relevant content. For each slide, ask yourself, is this a
MUST HAVE or a NICE TO HAVE?
Create a slide template and start to develop content based on key messages in your invitation
and stay focused on the most relevant information that helps people solve real problems.

ᔢ Step 2: Gather team for a Table Read

The purpose of the Table Read is to brainstorm the slide content, identify gaps, create a flow
and breathe life into the messaging. Do your first sound check now.

ᔢ Step 3: Gather speakers and moderator for First Dress Rehearsal

Do a sound check, bring in moderator, coordinate cues, review slides, adjust content based
on relevance according to registration feedback, create online polls.

ᔢ Step 4: Gather team for Final Dress Rehearsal

Do another sound check, perform the webinar as if live, do final editing, spell checking
and polishing of content, make sure the flow is conversational and engaging.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT III: BREATHING LIFE INTO YOUR PRODUCTION
 ᔢ Step 1: Begin creating relevant content. For each slide, ask yourself W H E R E T O F I N D G R E AT
“Is this a MUST HAVE or a NICE TO HAVE? CONTENT FOR A WEBINAR
You need to deliver what you promise, so make sure the webinar content People are eager to hear about best practices,
matches your invitation. You want to give yourself at least four weeks to create lessons learned, tips and techniques, new processes
and shape the content, as well as practice with your ensemble several times to help them solve real world challenges. Look to
until everyone feels confident and relaxed. your industry analysts, authors, subject matter
experts, tutorials (for example, teach people a way
A webinar is not about selling to improve a business process or reduce costs),
There are two types of webinars: Informational (educational) and Sales Pitch and case studies (a case study with the following
(product features and benefits). What’s the difference? A high-impact – high- talking points: what was the business or technology
performing webinar is not about selling. It’s about stimulating someone’s problem, how did you solve it, what were the results,
intellectual curiosity, teaching them something, and inspiring them to want the return on investment, and finally, what were the
to have a conversation. Then, you can determine how you can help them, lessons learned). Tell the story as if you were sitting
and convert them from a prospect into a customer. around a campfire, recounting an experience that
The test for high impact – high performing informational webinars: changed your life forever….
• Does it deliver relevant, timely, and MUST HAVE business or personal value? Authors – Industry Analysts –
• Does it tell a story, present an authentic case study, tutorial, or a new way Subject Matter Experts – Case Studies –
of thinking? Market Research – White Papers
• Does it focus on solutions, rather than specific products, features and benefits?
• Will this information stimulate the intellectual curiosity of your audience to
want to learn more from you after the webinar?
S TAG E D I R E C T I O N T I P
Use the invitation as your framework to make
sure your content and flow aligns with what
you promised to deliver.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT III: BREATHING LIFE INTO YOUR PRODUCTION
 Story telling / message shaping
Once you have done a complete analysis of what a “MUST HAVE” webinar would be, it’s time to create your content.
With online delivery, the focal points will be:
a) your voice and
b) your slides.
Make them both the best they can be by striking a balance between what audiences will hear and what they will see.
And watch out for the sensory overload!

TIPS FOR WEBINAR STORY TELLING

Use theatrical story As in any theatrical production, every story has a beginning, middle, and end. First you set the stage,
telling principles and then you develop the story, personalizing it with suspense and drama, and finally, conclude
the story with a strong ending and a call to action.
Use interesting real life examples Develop the impact and drama of your story and key messages using real world examples.
to focus your key points People learn by hearing about real-life experiences, and applying the same solutions to their lives.
Use brevity and clarity to Resist the urge to tell people everything you know about the subject – this is often the hardest
create real impact thing to do! Try to reduce it down to the most critical nuggets of information. A best practice is
to continually check whether you are delivering what you promised to cover in the invitation.
Remember, it’s not all about Your audience wants to be engaged and involved, so include them in the storytelling. Get them
you – why will they care? involved. Ask them questions. Get their reactions through audience polls and the Q&A panel.
Be authentic, natural, and Smile while you’re telling your story even though no one can actually see you. And use the same
speak in a conversational tone body language and gestures you would use if you were talking to someone in-person. It really helps
elevate your voice and introduce interesting inflections that ensure you connect with your audience.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT III: BREATHING LIFE INTO YOUR PRODUCTION
 Tips for creating stellar slide content: Before
You don’t want your slides to be so complicated that

tips your audience isn’t paying attention to the speaker.

The example illustrations to the right show how we
transformed an existing slide (Before) from a client’s
sales presentation to make it webinar-friendly by eliminating text,
simplifying the data, and highlighting the key points in a simple
graphic (After). The speaker was able to talk to the simple graphic
and drive home the key messages.
Here are some guidelines for stellar slide creation:
• Create a PowerPoint slide template that conveys your brand.
• One topic per slide.
• 3-4 bullets maximum per slide.
After
• Use graphics to illustrate your point. Don’t include too much detail.
Have a clear purpose for graphics.
• Reduce clutter by eliminating company logo on all slides but the
first and last.
• People generally remember your FIRST and LAST points, so make
them count.
• Create information that is relevant to your audience.
• Don’t spend more than 1–2 minutes talking per slide.
• Have a clear call to action at the end of your presentation.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT III: BREATHING LIFE INTO YOUR PRODUCTION
 ᔢ Step 2: Gather ensemble for a Table Read

The Webinar Content Producer (Organizer) leads the Table Read.

Budget 60-90 minutes for the meeting. The value of the Table
Table Read Checklist
Complete the following tasks:
Read and Dress Rehearsal is to hear how well your ensemble
sounds – this is the only way to really know how well the content Create meeting Agenda
flows, hits key messages, and where you may have dead air, or too much content. Launch GoToMeeting® or GoToWebinar®
Introduce the ensemble team to each other
The Table Read is the first time your ensemble is reviewing the content online,
Housekeeping
so it is a good time to get everyone introduced and comfortable with the content,
Daily registration CTR statistics
flow, and timing. This is the moment you breathe life into the messaging.
Review goals and objectives for webinar
Tips for Table Read Con rm webinar date
So now you’re sitting around the virtual table, brainstorming Audio sound check for each speaker

tips with your ensemble on GoToMeeting®. The Table Read is the

opportunity to start shaping your messages and make decisions
Con rm delivery style and content focus
Determine time for each speaker and maximum number of slides
about the delivery method. Is the format going to be Moderator/ for time allotted
Speaker, Panel Discussion, or Interview Style? Review speaker’s content
If you are doing a webinar solo, consider having either a moderator or Cluster ideas by subject, then prioritize
another speaker, as audiences prefer multiple voices, a dialogue over Identify a beginning, middle, ending
a monologue. One moderator and one speaker works, two speakers are Insert call to action and contact information
better, but going beyond three speakers can be challenging. Table Read Deliverables
When you factor in the Welcome, audience polls, and 15 minutes of Q&A Speakers should leave knowing their key messages, what visuals
they’re using, have an idea of allotted time, and the delivery format
at the end, you have about 30-35 minutes to divide among your speakers.
Speakers will update their slide content in preparation for 1st
Remind the speakers that they are part of an ensemble, and encourage Dress Rehearsal
them to become familiar with each other’s style, how they position their
content, and how to create a seamless, effortless flow between the speakers.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT III: BREATHING LIFE INTO YOUR PRODUCTION
 More Table Read Tips
We use GoToMeeting® for the Table Read meeting, but you can
tips also use the GoToWebinar® practice feature.
Here are some things to accomplish:
Dress Rehearsal Checklist
Complete the following tasks:
• Review the agenda (prepare a slide). Create an agenda
Launch GoToMeeting® or GoToWebinar®
• Have the ensemble introduce themselves.
Update ensemble
• Cover housekeeping issues such as how the registration is tracking,
Daily registration CTR statistics
review the webinar objectives and desired outcomes, confirm where
Review goals and objectives for webinar
the speakers will be on webinar day, have them do a sound check,
Audio sound check for each speaker
and revisit the invitation.
Speakers go through a trial reading
• If slides are available, review the slides from each presenter, reorganize
Coach speakers to sound relaxed, inspiring, professional
slides as you go along, make changes, get speaker input.
The content supports the invitation messaging
• Guide the speakers to include some “real zingers” in their content – The ow is interesting, relevant, and engaging
so the audience says “Wow, I didn’t know that!” and they have an Eliminate excess content – less is better!
“Ah-hah” moment. Discuss possible questions for online polls
Determine exit survey questions
ᔢ Step 3: Gather speakers and moderator for First Dress Rehearsal Next Steps:
Speakers polish up their slides for a timed read at Final Dress Rehearsal
You are about two weeks away from Go Live – and you Enter up to three online polls into GoToWebinar®
are on your way – do not worry, it will all come together. Enter the exit survey questions into GoToWebinar®
The First Dress Rehearsal is an opportunity to review the
Compose Thank You for Attending emails for attendees and no-shows
content and flow, look for visual appeal, and for the speakers into GoToWebinar®
to hear how they sound alone, as an ensemble, and get into Plan for a 10-minute post-webinar debrief meeting
the right groove. The goal is to create a story. Does it sound interesting?
Is it natural and in control? Can the speakers connect with the audience?
Are we delivering what we promised? Is there a strong call to action?

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT III: BREATHING LIFE INTO YOUR PRODUCTION
 Details about sound
Remember, the voice is the instrument to connect with the audience. Poor use of sound devices from open microphones
and speakers on a PC can bring a webinar to a halt. Speakerphones are not recommended, nor are wireless or battery
operated devices. Echoes from under-performing audio devices, slow networks, dogs barking in the background, or
application sounds going off on your computer detract from the webinar.
Using a good quality headset for either VoIP or landline audio connection is essential. No matter how you connect, a good quality
USB microphone is a best practice. Use the best audio equipment you can afford; the size of the diaphragm and quality of electronics
is what creates crisp, broadcast quality sound.
Remember, this is a radio show with pictures!
The Table Read and Dress Rehearsals help the speakers sound natural and conversational, which in turn, eliminates dead air and
awkward silences.” For more in-depth audio best practices, go to the WebAttract Learning Center, and view an on-demand webinar,
“How to Deliver Quality Audio for Your Webinar”.
If you were a broadcaster, you would not transmit in a room where there is outside noise, such as traffic, barking dogs, people talking.
By controlling the speaker’s environment, you can prevent unwanted sounds from interfering with the webinar.
If you can hear it so can the microphone!

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOUND CHECK

• Poor audio is the Achilles heel for all webinars – it can make or break the webinar!
• Sound is the single most important way you connect with the audience during a webinar
• The sound check ensures your speaker’s voice is optimized and verifies they’re using the right audio equipment
• During the sound check you can coach your speakers to produce broadcast quality
• During the sound check, ask your speakers where they’re physically going to be on Go Live! day, because their location may have an effect on
the sound quality

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT III: BREATHING LIFE INTO YOUR PRODUCTION
 Webinar Production Script
Just as a director and the actors follow a script, you’ll want to create a script for the webinar that identifies each
segment, duration, the speaker, and includes “stage directions.” This helps each presenter practice their entrances and
exits gracefully, and eliminates dead air. The webinar should be fast-paced, engaging, and natural. The audience should
experience smooth hand-offs and energetic, confident speakers.
During the First Rehearsal the Webinar Producer reviews the Webinar Production Script, and the team discusses where
they want to insert polls, case study examples, call to action, Q&A, and final wrap up. When you factor in the Welcome, Poll Taking,
and 15 minutes of Q&A at the end, you have about 30 minutes to divide among your speakers.

WEBINAR PRODUCTION SCRIPT

TIME EST SEGMENT DURATION PRESENTER NOTES
2:00 PM Welcome, Housekeeping, Introduce Speakers 3 mins Moderator Sets audience expectations, warms up audience, introduces speakers
2:03 PM Poll #1 Sample: a week “How many 2 mins Moderator A Poll maybe inserted here, or at another point. These Polls can
days do you feel stressed out?” either be “Raise Your Hands”, Multiple Choice, or “Choose One”
Introduce first speaker 2 mins Moderator
2:06 PM Most Common Stressors 5 Speaker #1 Speaker comments on Poll #1, then talks about stress, what causes stress
Case Study: “How Company X was Able to 5 Speaker #2 Who is featured in the Case Study?
Reduce Stress and Eliminate 50% Sick Days Case Study Flow: Introduce Challenges, Solutions, Results, Lessons
Learned
2:37 PM Poll #2 2 mins Moderator A Poll maybe inserted here.
2:39 PM Call To Action 1 mins Moderator/Sponsor Present to the audience how they can get additional information
2:40 PM Ask the Experts Panel Q&A 18 mins Moderator or resources, etc.
2:58 PM Wrap up and final thank you 1 min Moderator Remind the audience to take the survey, and they will receive an
2:59 PM Exit survey 1 min email with a link to get more information and be able to watch
Go to black Debrief with ensemble the on-demand

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT III: BREATHING LIFE INTO YOUR PRODUCTION
 ᔢ Step 4: Gather ensemble for Final Dress Rehearsal
You are less than one week away from Go Live! The Final Dress Rehearsal is the time to take everything you have learned so far about
your audience and the goals of the webinar and polish it. You will want to have a complete slide deck, go through a timed performance,
do final editing and spell checking, and ensure the flow is conversational, and your speakers are relaxed and confident.

Audience polls
Audience polls are an excellent way to establish a two-way conversation with your audience and keep them engaged.

tips They also give you an idea of what is important to your audience and what they think about the topic. Asking a poll
question at the beginning of the webinar is a great icebreaker. Another poll at the end of the webinar is a way to see
how well the webinar communicated value to the audience.
Here are some tips about polls questions:
• Polls take about two minutes total – introduction, launch, results.
• Good questions are single answer, multiple choice, such as “Which of the following is your preferred way to contact prospects?”
The most popular response could lead the speaker to focus on that.
• 2 – 3 poll questions in a 60-minute webinar are ideal.

TIPS FOR FINAL DRESS REHEARSAL

Rehearse webinar Using your Webinar Production Script, run through a “live” webinar using the GoToWebinar® Practice function. Rehearse cues, timing and
for timing and flow transitions, and eliminate dead air. Remove any slides that don’t work – remember, less is better. Do final spell check and grammatical edits
on slide content. Make sure speakers are comfortable with the technology. Do another sound check. The Webinar Producer reviews the
procedure for Go Live! with the speakers. Note to Producer: Send an email to the speakers with instructions (we’ll cover this fully in Act IV)
to log in one hour prior to the live webinar.
Incorporate your Many webinars reserve the last 15 minutes for live Question & Answer segment from the audience. GoToWebinar makes this easy as there’s a
“Seed Questions” built-in Q&A panel for the audience to submit as many questions as they want. Keeping with the metaphor of a radio show, to keep the crisp
for Q&A pace going throughout Q&A, it’s a good idea to have the speakers submit 2 – 3 seed questions that fill the space and stimulate the audience to
submit their own questions. It’s ideal to include a few “Zingers” that the audience will think “Wow, I didn’t know that!”
Create a plan for One way to handle live questions is to give the responsibility to the Logistics Producer who will prioritize the questions for the Moderator
handling live questions to pose to the speakers at the appropriate time.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT III: BREATHING LIFE INTO YOUR PRODUCTION
 Coaching the Speaker(s)
A speaker’s ability to inspire and motivate an audience varies. It’s one of the human factors in demand generation
webinars. So, coaching speakers to feel and sound excited about their topic and be part of the overall ensemble of
presenters is critical.
When you coach a speaker, the key is to find your speaker’s passion. They want to do well and they’re excited to
get their message out so help them express that excitement by encouraging them to use voice inflections in tone and delivery.
Your speaker should be the center of the broadcast, not the slides.
This can be accomplished through the table read and dress rehearsals. Make sure the speakers are clear on how to translate the
invitation deliverables into a compelling webinar message, as your audience expects to hear what you promised them.
As you listen to your speakers practice their delivery, coach them to make the flow interesting, relevant and engaging. Offer simple
suggestions like reminding your speaker to smile – it really makes a difference!
Practice cues and transitions between slides to eliminate “dead air” and awkward silences. Be open and honest if what they are
saying sounds like a sales pitch instead of being informational – they’ll appreciate it.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN YOUR SPEAKER’S VOICE DELIVERY

“When you coach a
Is the speaker’s voice too loud or too soft?
speaker, finding your
Is the speaker’s voice full of authentic energy, or does it sound strained or stiff? speaker’s passion is your
Is the speaker breathing heavily into the microphone (the Darth Vadar effect)? first task. Aligning their excite-
Is the speaker obviously reading her/his notes or do they sound like they’re having a conversation with you? ment and energy with their
voice will ensure their message
Is the speaker using too much technical jargon? connects with the audience. Your
What would make the speaker sound more engaging and natural? speaker, not the slides, should
Is the speaker providing a summary of key points and leaving the audience with some actionable next steps? be the center of the broadcast.”
– Mike Agron

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT III: BREATHING LIFE INTO YOUR PRODUCTION
 Act IV Sound Check and Go Live! Deliver an Engaging
Performance, Begin Post-Webinar Sales Lead Follow Up
Today is the webinar. As the Webinar Producer, all your hard work is about to pay off. Your invitations have gone
out, registrations have been maximized, speakers are well rehearsed, and the slide deck is loaded. The stage is set.
Everyone’s adrenaline is flowing, and that’s a good thing, as it promotes high energy. If you’ve got butterflies,
all we have to do is get them to fly in formation and we’re all set!

ᔢ Step 1: Go through “Final Call” checklist on your own 30 minutes prior to the final sound check
Have the Organizer(s), Moderator, and Speakers independently, at their location, go through “Final Call Checklist”
including running the GoToMeeting Wizard to optimize audio and video connections within your network.

ᔢ Step 2: Launch GoToWebinar® and meet with speakers one hour prior to Go Live!
for final sound check
This is a good time to meet and run through the slides one more time, answer questions, review Plan B,
and keep your speakers energized. Also, it’s a good time to take a 5 or 10 minute break to relax. Be sure
to grab a glass of water or hot tea –speaking can parch even the most experienced speaker’s mouth.

ᔢ Step 3: Go Live! and Debrief Ensemble

It’s showtime! Remember, the audience is keen to hear what you have to say, and really wants to learn from you.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1V: SOUND CHECK AND GO LIVE!
 ᔢ Step 1: Go through “Final Call” checklist on your own 30 minutes prior to the final sound check

Instruct the ensemble to perform the Final Call Checklist (below) 30 minutes before the final sound check and Go Live! This will
prepare their computers for optimal performance. Have everyone’s phone numbers handy in case you need to call them.
If you need technical assistance for any reason, the GoToWebinar® Technical Support team is available, knowledgeable, and quick to
resolve problems. It’s better to know you have a problem one hour prior to the webinar than have something go wrong during the event!

Citrix Global Support (Service Status) 1–888–259–8414

Final call checklist
We recommend Organizers, Panelists, and Moderator run through the checklist
to ensure they are optimized for the best audio and video on the live webinar. Final Call Checklist
1. Hang a sign on your door Live Webinar in Session – On the Air –
Plan B Please Do Not Disturb
You should be prepared with a Plan B in case a technical problem occurs 2. Run the GoToMeeting Wizard 30 Minutes Prior to our Sound Check/Go Live!
The GoToMeeting Connection Wizard tests and determines the ideal connection
during the live event. settings GoToMeeting can make within your network. The Connection Wizard
1. Make sure you and the speakers have a hard copy of your slides in notes stores optimal connection settings on your computer and keeps these settings
for future attempts to join or host a meeting from your computer. Citrix does
page view with your talking points, along with slide transitions. That way, not currently o er Mac support for the GoToMeeting Connection Wizard.
if a computer suddenly crashes and you can’t see the screen you can continue • Go to http://www.gotomeeting.com/wizard
speaking to your notes. The show can go on. • Click the Download GoToMeeting Connection Wizard link
• Run or Open g2mwizard.exe
2. As an Organizer or Panelist, have your GoToWebinar® credentials with the • Run Wizard
dial-in phone number and access code written down. If you suddenly lose • Follow the prompts
• If good connection settings were found, exit Wizard
your Internet or landline connection you’ll be able to quickly dial-in via • If not, call Citrix Global Support
another device to reconnect with the audience. 3. Reboot your computer. When it reboots, only open your Browser and the
3. Have a mobile phone number to reach the Logistics Producer if you PowerPoint application.
encounter difficulties. 4. Keep all other applications closed, such as email, and especially apps that
have pop-ups, make sounds, etc.
4. Have the Citrix Global Support number written down in case you need
5. Turn o your mobile phone, landline phone.
technical support.
6. Have a glass of water handy.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1V: SOUND CHECK AND GO LIVE!
 ᔢ Step 2: Launch GoToWebinar® and meet with speakers one hour prior to Go Live! for final sound check

One hour prior to the live webinar, the Webinar Content Producer meets with the ensemble including the Moderator, Speakers, other
Organizers in the GoToWebinar® “Studio,” to do a final sound check and run through last minute instructions. It’s really important
to communicate and prepare for a Plan B, should an unlikely technical failure occur. And while one hour might sound like a lot of
time, experience has shown that it provides everyone an opportunity to get prepared, get comfortable and ready to Go Live!

Agenda for the pre-webinar meeting

Pre-Webinar Meeting Agenda Checklist

Moderator welcomes the ensemble, warms them up, and helps the speakers feel comfortable and supported
Give everyone a registration update: # attendees expected, summarize any new information about the attendees
Have everyone perform a nal sound check
If using a landline, make sure they enter their audio code (identi es the speaker to the audience, and also allows Moderator to mute the speaker if there is
background noise)
Con rm that no one is using the following: speakerphones, wireless, battery operated microphones, mobile phones or the open microphone and speakers
from their computer
Make sure mobile phone ringers are turned o and away from your computers and microphones
Run through slides, practice transitions and hando between moderator and panelists
Review polls, survey and seed questions – NOTE: You can review and edit the polls during the pre-webinar practice meeting, but if you plan to transition
immediately from the practice session to going live, don’t launch the polls as they will appear “closed” and you won’t be able to display them during the webinar
Review the procedure for handling Q&A
Set the chat window to “Organizers and Panelists only” for internal communications during the webinar
Start the webinar 20 minutes prior to Go Live! This displays a splash screen so attendees know the broadcast will start on time. Attendees will wait on hold
until you start the broadcast. NOTE: In the unlikely event the webinar doesn’t start properly, calmly have Panelists and Organizers exit and return, and once
they return, do a nal sound check. All Panelists and Organizers will remain in private sub-conference and can speak freely amongst themselves while Attendees
will be On Hold until the Organizer or Moderator pushes the Start Broadcast button on the GoToWebinar control panel.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1V: SOUND CHECK AND GO LIVE!
 ᔢ Step 3: Go Live! and debrief ensemble

It’s show time! Remind the speakers that the audience wants to hear someone authentic, warm and natural. It’s about connection, not
perfection. If you make a mistake, they will forgive you. If you leave something out, don’t worry, you can always cover it later by telling
the audience, “I was so excited a few slides ago, but I meant to tell you…” and even if you leave it out, they won’t know the difference!

Tips to Go Live!

Go Live! Checklist
One minute prior to Go Live! make sure all non-speaker Panelists and Organizers are muted.
Tell the ensemble “Quiet on the Set!”
Don’t forget to START RECORDING.
Start the event ON TIME by pushing the “Start Broadcast button” which brings all attendees OFF HOLD. They’ll hear the “Webinar Lady” greet them by saying,
“The broadcast is about to begin, all attendees are in listen-only mode.”
The Moderator o cially welcomes the audience and begins the show.
Follow your “script.” Try to stay on schedule. Keep the conversation crisp, fast-paced and natural.
Relax. Have a good time. Maintain a sense of humor. Remember it’s about connection not perfection.
Acknowledge incoming questions and pass them to speakers or panelists appropriately.
Use attendees’ names when possible.
Three minutes before the end of the webinar, ask the speakers for any nal comments, tell the audience that an email will be sent with a link to the
on-demand recording of the webinar, and ask the audience to respond to a quick survey in their browser window when they exit the webinar.
End the webinar ON TIME, and thank the speakers, sponsors, and the audience for attending.
Use a separate GoToMeeting® session to host a 5 – 10 minute debrief with all Panelists and Organizers to thank them and get their feedback and share any
performance metrics on total registration, attendance, retention, number of questions asked, as well as the post webinar logistics about how unanswered
questions will be assigned, etc. The ensemble will appreciate you taking an extra few minutes to debrief them and explain the next steps, as they gave a lot of
time along with their knowledge to make the webinar a success!

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT 1V: SOUND CHECK AND GO LIVE!
 Act V Put Your Sales and Marketing Hat On:
Maximize the Opportunity with Post Webinar Follow-up

ᔢ Step 1: Archive a copy of the recorded webinar

Archive a copy of the recorded webinar to keep the momentum going after the webinar.

ᔢ Step 2: Send follow-up thank you emails and include valuable information
Follow up with registrants and attendees within 1-2 days following the event using the built-in
Thank You email feature of GoToWebinar®

ᔢ Step 3: Do final analytics on GoToWebinar registration, attendance, and performance

reports
After the webinar, now is the time to gather all of the intelligence collected Before, During, and After
the event.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT V: PUT YOUR SALES AND MARKETING HAT ON
 Post-webinar follow-up
Your webinar was a success. Now how do you measure your success, and how do you monetize it?
Throughout this eBook, we have talked about providing you with what you need to be successful, BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the
webinar. So far, we have covered the BEFORE and DURING. Now it’s time to understand what needs to be done AFTER the webinar
to begin harvesting your hard work so you can achieve your desired outcomes of converting prospects into customers.
First, you will do some housekeeping to archive the webinar recording, and send out thank you emails to all attendees and no-shows.
To keep the momentum going and capitalize on the interest from attendees, this should all be done within the next 24-48 hours, so make
sure you’ve got these tasks planned in your project schedule. You should be prepared to call each registrant a minimum of 4 times over
the next few weeks before you leave a voicemail.
Then you will gather and analyze all of the intelligence collected before, during and after the event. This is a great time for you, or the
Audience Recruitment Analyst, to do the final analytics to measure your actual registration, attendance, poll and survey results. By using
all the metrics you collected, you will be able to benchmark the overall webinar performance and begin to measure the actual outcomes
against your original plan.

ᔢ Step 1: Archive a copy of the recorded webinar

GoToWebinar provides two formats in which to save recorded webinars, and we recommend you choose Convert to Windows Media Player
file. This will require additional processing time after the webinar but allows anyone to view the recording using a Windows Media Player.
Archive a copy of the edited recording in GoToWebinar® and include a link in your thank you emails, as well as on your
website and social media channels, as on-demand viewings can yield additional sales leads. Your recorded webinar keeps
the momentum going after the webinar, and, when posted where people can find and view it easily, it will continue to
identify leads. Follow up with the people who watched the recording in the same manner as you follow up with a live
attendee. After all, they are interested enough in your value proposition to take the time to listen to the recording.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT V: PUT YOUR SALES AND MARKETING HAT ON
 If you want to do some special editing of content that is not relevant to your on-demand audience, such as instructions

tip for housekeeping or details on how to vote in a poll, as well as any audio imperfections, now is the time to do it.
For more refined editing, you can use third party tools such as Camtasia Studio™ .

ᔢ Step 2: Send follow-up thank you emails and include valuable information
Follow up with registrants within 1-2 days following
the event using the built-in Thank You email feature
of GoToWebinar®. Include an offer for additional
valuable information, such as a white paper, video,
industry report, best practices, tips and tricks, metrics, explanations
of ROI, an interview with a subject matter expert, etc.
Dear [No-Show FirstName]
Your recorded webinar is the “gift that keeps on giving” as it keeps We are sorry you were unable to join us for the Webinar, “How Fat is Your
Goose? – High Impact Lead Nurturing Tactics to Get More Golden Eggs
the momentum going after the webinar, and often attracts a sizable from Your Prospect Database.”

audience who fit your demographic. Treat this audience the same as For more information please contact Honey McMurtry at 800-773-3939 or
email [email protected]
you would a live attendee – they’re interested enough in your value Best regards,
proposition to take the time to listen to the recording. WebAttract & Direct Marketing Partners
You are welcome to view the recorded Webinar at any time. You will need
Windows Media Player 9 or higher to view the presentation.

Don’t forget to send a thank you note to your

speakers and moderator! Remember, they
have a day job. They’ll appreciate it!

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT V: PUT YOUR SALES AND MARKETING HAT ON
 ᔢ Step 3: Do final analytics on registration, attendance,
and performance GoToWebinar® reports Webinar Metrics Review Checklist
Convert prospects to customers by extending the dialogue after Collect Metrics Data and prepare to answer the following questions:
the event. Was the attendance what you expected?

After the webinar, you’ll gather all of the intelligence collected Did you get the number of registrants from the targeted
industries and job titles you projected?
before, during and after the event. This is a great time to do the
Who actually attended the webinar and who was a no-show?
final analytics using GoToWebinar® reports to measure your actual registration,
Was your call to action clear and how many followed it?
attendance, poll and survey results, as well as performance against your original
What trends did you observe from their responses to the
demand generation goals. registration question “What Would You Like to Learn?”
Remember that GoToWebinar integrates with Eloqua, Marketo, Hubspot, How many, and what types of questions did they ask during
and after the webinar?
and Pardot, so if you use these marketing automation systems, your GoToWebinar
data can automatically be sent to these accounts once both accounts are linked. How long did they stay online?

See Appendix A – “Six Key Webinar Metrics that Impact the Webinar Life Cycle How did they evaluate the overall webinar – what percentage
of the attendees told you it met or exceeded their expectations?
“Before, During, and After.”
These next steps are where the rubber meets the road, as you are now ready to start fulfilling your demand generation objectives.
Reviewing the Webinar Objectives Worksheet you completed in Act I, ask yourself whether you met your business objectives and
whether you attracted the audience you expected.
This information can be invaluable in helping you understand your audience at both a macro and micro level, and it’s a great way
to learn more about them before you reach out to them.

Did you meet your Webinar objectives, outcomes, and success factors?
Once the final sets of analytics are completed you’ll be prepared to identify and segment the sales-ready leads from the ones requiring
more long term nurturing.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT V: PUT YOUR SALES AND MARKETING HAT ON
 Segmenting your webinar leads
The next step is to determine which prospects are sales ready leads who are ripe to become customers, and which
will require additional nurturing. We recommend dividing the leads into three buckets.

Bucket #1 – Sales Ready Leads

Sales Ready Leads are hot leads that are primed and ready for immediate follow up. How do you know they’re hot leads?
These are people who have expressed an interest in talking to someone, or they’ve asked for a demo or more information via
the Registration Landing Page or other communication. Give these leads directly to Sales.

According to Ruth P. Stevens www.ruthstevens.com, lead generation expert and author of Maximizing Lead
Generation-The Complete Guide for B2B Marketers, a sales ready lead is someone who has expressed an interest
in your product, service, category or company and would be open to having a 1:1 conversation to see how your
solution or product can be of value to them.

Bucket #2 – Non-Qualifying Leads

Non-Qualifying Leads are attendees who won’t be a prospect for you. For example, these could include students, industries, and
markets that don’t fit your target demographic profile. Remove these leads.
Bucket #3 – Nurturing Leads
For the rest of the webinar registrants who aren’t yet “sales ready” some additional follow up may be in order with your lead
nurturing team prior to handing them off to Sales. There are several ways to nurture these leads: 1) You may have an in-house
lead nurturing process in place, 2) You may be working with a marketing or sales automation provider such as Eloqua, Marketo,
Hubspot, SalesFUSION or Salesforce.com, and you’ll align to their best practices and methodology, or 3) You may be working
with an outside lead nurturing provider such as Direct Marketing Partners www.directmarketingpartners.com who can help you
leverage your outcomes.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT V: PUT YOUR SALES AND MARKETING HAT ON
 Put your sales and marketing hat on
Don’t get discouraged if many of your webinar registrants and attendees
aren’t quite “sales ready.” Industry studies show that it takes an average
WEBATTRACT TIP
of 12 touches to convert a cold prospect into a viable, sales-ready lead. Our approach is that 24-48 hours after the
Yet most sales reps, under pressure to make quota, focus on immediate webinar, we contact everyone to find out
leads only, neglecting your company’s most valuable asset – your prospect how their experience was, and ask if they’d
database. We find that 80% of salespeople bail out of trying to follow up like more information.
with a prospect by the third or fourth call, and then they are off to chase Why?
warmer leads, when in fact: Because these people have opted to be
Having all the prospect information handy allows you to make a more part of the webinar experience.
informed decision about how you’ll contact prospects, and if/when you do People who registered for your webinar,
call them, your credibility will be enhanced by having this knowledge about whether they attended or not, have opted in
the prospect rather than simply asking if they are ready to buy something. to be part of the experience, so we think it’s
worth following up with them. We actually
had a webinar attendee tell us she decided to
retain our services after she received a follow
WEBATTRACT CUSTOMER CASE IN POINT
up call from us because she was so impressed
Puts You on the Map as a Viable Competitor that we took the time to check in. From a
An emerging software company was able to establish itself in the legal basic follow up best practice, we find that
industry resulting in an acceleration of downloads of trials that resulted no-shows as well as attendees are equally
in a 29% increase in sales within two months. worth taking the time to follow up.

Eighty percent of new business

actually happens after the
fifth or sixth call.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT V: PUT YOUR SALES AND MARKETING HAT ON
 Measuring webinar effectiveness
Measuring the value, or Return on Investment (ROI), of a webinar is not simply about Cost Per Lead. ROI varies and is dependent upon
results such as how many new deals were closed, the number of new prospects added to the pipeline, the number of sales appointments and
demos scheduled. Some clients measure the impact of a webinar by how well it raised brand awareness or demonstrated thought leadership
that resulted in opening doors to new business. The ROI for your webinar will be measured by your business objectives. These are the kinds
of results beyond promoting your brand and thought leadership that can be attained from High Performing – High Impact™ Webinars:
Getting people to your webinars takes work. Today, to get above all the email and social media noise, your message has to be targeted to
an audience that will find it both substantive and timely keeping in mind that the time to sell is after the webinar.

IMPACT ON THE BOTTOM LINE ACTUAL CUSTOMER RESULTS

Net new deals closed A sales consulting firm attracted a big box retailer from a webinar that resulted in closing a $1 Million engagement.
Converting a prospect A webinar attendee, who was previously on the fence, was so impressed with the virtual contact center provider’s
to a customer case study (because it spoke to his pain point) that he asked for a demo which resulted in a sale within two
weeks of the webinar.
Up sell and cross sell 20% of the 700 webinar attendees, who were existing customers of a leading marketing services company,
to existing base responded to a call to action at the end of the webinar to have a 1:1 conversation with a sales rep.
Increase sales pipeline An engineering information provider who shifted their marketing mix to include webinars was able to attract
686 pre-qualified people to register for one webinar, of which 353 attended, and in six weeks after the webinar
431 additional on-demand viewings were reported, representing over 1,000 new sales leads.
Puts you on the map An emerging software company was able to establish itself in the legal industry resulting in an acceleration of
as a viable competitor downloads of trials that resulted in a 29% increase in sales within two months.
Reach new markets Using existing sales resources a “standards and compliance” organization leveraged a webinar to attract an
and geographies audience from 37 countries.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ACT V: PUT YOUR SALES AND MARKETING HAT ON
 Epilogue
The webinar starts the process of learning about the people attending your event and continues to build a relationship with them,
albeit virtually. It’s your chance to provide your thought leadership, and hopefully stimulate their curiosity to have a conversation.
If you do this, you create a High Performing – High Impact webinar that meets your business goals, and meets or exceeds your
audience’s expectations. High Performing – High Impact webinars are the pillars of a successful demand generation event and a
powerful tool in today’s arsenal for targeting, attracting and engaging an audience BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the webinar.
However, establishing optimum outcomes won’t happen without work, and you need time to properly plan and execute a successful
webinar. As with any high stakes creative project that is deadline driven, it requires teamwork that is dependent on balancing
business drivers, logistics, human factors and technology. Having a production ensemble to manage all of the moving parts of
a webinar is critical to attaining your goals. It won’t happen unless these four factors are
managed and executed upon and you are clear about your goals and measure your progress FINAL CURTAIN CALL
across the entire webinar life cycle.
To learn more about
® ®
The WebinarReady ™ methodology, along with GoToWebinar , will help you determine the right informational webinars, visit
messaging, target your demographic, develop and deliver engaging content, and apply metrics us at www.webattract.com
across the life cycle so you can meet and exceed your webinar demand generation objectives. and check out our training,
best practice videos, case
We hope this eBook has helped you gain a better understanding of demand generation webinars
studies, and on-demand
and we wish you all the best in your future marketing endeavors. Please feel free to contact us
recordings of recent webinars.
at WebAttract or give us a call at +1.916.804.4703. We would love to hear how this information
has helped you deliver high-performing, high-impact webinar events. Good selling! We invite you to join the
– Mike Agron, Executive Webinar Producer and Co-Founder of WebAttract WebAttract Thought Leadership
Webinars and Webcasts Group
WebAttract is a professional services provider for webinar producers, including GoToWebinar
on LinkedIn, or call us at
users, providing strategic consulting to help you deliver a well executed demand generation
+1.916.804.4703. We would
webinar strategy based on proven methodologies, best practices and metrics that contribute
to real revenue growth. love to hear from you.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT EPILOGUE
 Appendix A
Six key webinar metrics that impact the webinar life cycle “Before, During and After”
The following six webinar metrics are the key deliverables that get passed along to Sales and/or Marketing to harvest conversations
from attendees and registrants to begin the 1:1 discussions for converting your prospects to customers.

# METRIC WHAT DOES IT LIFE CYCLE WHERE DO

MEASURE? STAGE WHAT DOES IT IMPACT? YOU FIND IT?
1 Click Thru The % of people Before • Achievement of registrations goals Upper left corner of
Ratio (CTR) who come to • A good predictor on the type of attendance you’ll have Registration Report.
your registration • The higher the CTR, the higher the interest will be for folks to register and attend
landing page and
actually register.
2 Online Polls Measures During Online polls provide you with real time information that can be both quantitative Provided in real time
responses from and qualitative to Organizer after
the audience. Quantitative information: Polls have been
• Tangible responses from the audiences to questions you pose during the webinar launched and closed.
• Insights about audience interests and individual attendee interests
Qualitative information: Also captured as a
• Measures level of engagement based on poll participation part of GoToWebinar®
• Polls that have between 65% – 85% response, indicate an audience that is Attendee Details Report.
engaged enough to participate and provide their feedback
3 Attendance Measures the ratio During Not everyone who registers for an informational or free webinar is going to be able The calculation is
Ratio (AR) of attendees to to attend. Chances are, if you had a low CTR, you can expect a lower attendance provided after the
registrants. ratio. Our benchmark for AR is a minimum of 40%, we’ve seen hot topics result in webinar on the
67% AR, with the industry average at 30%. Divide the number of peak attendees GoToWebinar®
by the total number of registrants to calculate your Attendance Ratio. Performance Report.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT APPENDIX A
 # METRIC WHAT DOES IT LIFE CYCLE WHERE DO
MEASURE? STAGE WHAT DOES IT IMPACT? YOU FIND IT?
4 Exit Survey Measures how After The exit survey measures the audience’s satisfaction after the webinar – did the GoToWebinar® Attendee
well the webinar webinar meet or exceed your expectations? The results could directly impact your Details Report
met attendee brand and thought leadership if they are extremely high or extremely low. When
expectations and you connect with the audience, you should expect a minimum of 80% of the
provides specific responses to be “Met or Exceeded Expectations.” The number of respondents should
feedback about be between 25% - 45% of the peak audience that attended. Naturally, the higher the
webinar content response with favorable ratings tells you they liked what they heard.
and suggestions
for future topics. Tip: Have the survey automatically launch when the attendee exits the webinar.
It will appear in their browser.
5 Audience Tells you how well During If the webinar isn’t delivering what you promised, or it’s just plain boring, your GoToWebinar®
Retention you were able to and After audience will bail or start multitasking on their computer. GoToWebinar® captures Performance Report
keep your audience attendance and attention levels during the webinar. What time did they join?
engaged and how When did they leave? Did they participate in polls and Q&A? Were they multitasking?
well you retained Our benchmark is to retain 80%-85% of the peak audience through the first few
them throughout minutes of Q&A, which is usually the last 15-20 minutes. After that there will usually
the webinar. be an additional drop off of 25% as attendees leave or start multitasking.
6 On Demand After the webinar, After You can discover the success of your post-webinar marketing efforts by checking GoToWebinar®
Viewings the number of the number of recorded viewings. Recorded Viewings Report
people who view People view the On Demand Recording for many reasons:
the webinar • They registered but couldn’t attend the live webinar
recording. • They attended the live webinar, and wanted to listen again
• They discover the recording on your website or other social media venue and
become a fresh, new sales lead!
An interesting statistic is revealed when you compare the GoToWebinar Recorded
Viewings Report, Registration Report and Attendee Details Report. You may discover
fresh new sales leads that resulted from people that neither registered nor attended.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT APPENDIX A
 About WebAttract
WebAttract is a professional services organization providing an ABOUT THE AUTHOR
end2end solution for webinar demand creation including consulting,
Mike Agron, Executive Webinar Producer
coaching and training services. We help marketing and sales
and Co-Founder of WebAttract, is a
professionals excel by providing a proven methodology, best
results-oriented sales and business
practices and metrics across the entire webinar life cycle.
development executive with a 25-year
As your brand guardian, we’ll help you capture fresh sales leads history at top technology firms such
and raise your brand awareness by promoting your thought leadership. as Apple, Oracle, and MapInfo.
Our team of experienced B2B webinar experts is passionate about
As an Executive Webinar Producer he’s
delivering positive outcomes to our clients and partners, from leading
produced and moderated informational webinars for global industry
global brands to emerging organizations.
brands such as Citrix Online, Dex One, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft,
To learn more about informational webinars, visit us at Oracle, and Underwriters Laboratories as well as many emerging B2B
www.webattract.com and check out our training, best practice and SMB firms. His goal is to deliver what he calls “High Performing –
videos, case studies, and on-demand recordings of recent webinars. High Impact” webinars with predictable outcomes. He is a sought-
We invite you to join the WebAttract Thought Leadership Webinars after speaker, and has been featured, on numerous webinars and
and Webcasts Group on LinkedIn, or call us at +1.916.804.4703. industry events discussing Webinar Demand Generation best practices.
We would love to hear from you. When he’s not producing webinars Mike is an avid road cyclist.
Follow Mike on Twitter at @WebinarReady.

I would like to thank my co-founders, Bret Smith and Sandy Bruce, our partners and clients, and of course, our
production team of Carolyn Alley, Lori Dearman, Jessica Kleppang, Peter Rieks, and Patty Van Hooser for their great
insights and passionate support in writing this eBook. Special thanks to my collaborator, Linda Waldon, for her terrific
writing and editing skills.
Mike Agron, Executive Webinar Producer and Co-Founder of WebAttract

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ABOUT WEBATTRACT
 About GoToWebinar ®

Webinars made easy

Citrix GoToWebinar is the easy-to-use do-it-yourself webinar tool that projects your message to up to 1,000 online attendees.
With GoToWebinar, you can reduce travel costs, generate more qualified leads at a lower cost and enhance communication
with customers, prospects and employees.
All You Can Reach® – for one low monthly flat fee.
For more information, go to www.gotomeeting.com/fec/webinar or contact Sales at 1-866-962-6492.

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COPYRIGHT 2012 WEBATTRACT ABOUT GOTOWEBINAR