You want many people to show up on your live online training session or webinar. But similar to any presentation, class in school or phone training, getting those people to turn up is not the same as getting them to participate. I want to tell you some simple ways to ensure that more people participate in your live webinars. This includes calling out certain individuals, using a random drawing, having a Q&A session and also being exciting.
You can use a simple technique of getting people to participate in your live webinars by offering them some bonus. I don't really recommend giving each and every person that turns up for your live webinar a gift, because that will distract them from the main objective of your live webinar. Instead you can give your audience an address before the webinar begins where they are able to subscribe using their name and email. And inform them that you are going to look at the subscriber's emails and randomly pick one and give them a gift that is closely related to the offer you are giving at the closing of your live webinar. You are not going to give away the entire offer but some kind of thing they can use. If for instance you are running a live webinar that demonstrates to your audience how they can easily record audio files, you can give a free USB headset to one lucky person.
Next, if you notice repeat customers or attendees on your live webinar or even if they ask questions that are specific, call out their names and answer their questions or use them to explain a point. Most probably at one point in your life, you have been among an audience in front of a speaker who has mentioned your name, whether it is a large group or small group, and you really feel like you are part of the discussion. You can use the same reasoning as a presenter. People love to have their name mentioned because they love recognition.
Have a question and answer session or Q&A session. If you receive plenty of repeat questions, address them. If you are running a training session on call that is free, have a segment where you can address all the questions. The most important thing is to ensure that you don't drift from your main goal. This means that if you are not ending your webinar, it is okay to answer questions. However, if you are ending, then make your offer, have your participants take a break of 5 minutes and then return back and address the questions. But with each and every question you address, close again and make the offer.
My last point is to be interesting and exciting. You can make a presentation of a very exciting subject, but if you do not do it in an interesting way no one will care. Make some jokes and be authentic. Don't run your live webinar from a script, speak from your heart.
That is how you can effectively increase participation of your webinar.
Learn how to run a live online webinar session: www.webinarcrusher.com
