Free webinars: how to use them to sell online in 7 steps

Today, that fortunately things are definitely better than in the toughest years of the pandemic and the Internet is no longer the only place to meet and have meetings, the online course industry is still super competitive.

If you know me, you already know: I offer a lot of them myself, because yes, I believe they are one of the best ways to monetize one's knowledge and skills, and at the same time help people achieve their goals.

With the tools and technology available to us, it is now really easy to create and sell digital lessons...

And if that is not the case for you, I suggest you read my latest book, titled "Those who can do, teach online!", in which I share with you everything I know about creating, managing, launching, and monetizing online courses, so that you can be led to create your own successful one.

That said, one of the most effective ways to sell your online course do you know what it is? That of offering your audience some free webinars, which give people a taste of what they will find within the classes and thus entice them to purchase the entire package.

That of webinars is a format that has caught on for quite some time now, but to get the most out of this opportunity, it is important that you first understand how they work: if you haven't done so yet, I therefore recommend that you go and read up on my article in which I explain what they are and what they are used for.

Well, now instead you just have to find out how you can take advantage of free webinars to sell online in 7 easy steps.

Happy reading!

Why use free webinars

First, before we delve into the steps to use free webinars to sell your online courses, you need to understand why they really work.

There is not much to argue about-and those who argue otherwise are evidently because they cannot get them right: webinars are a very effective digital tool.

They can serve various purposes, but in our specific case they are most useful for selling your online course for one simple reason (actually two): they capture attention and produce a good percentage of conversions.

What's more, they can create a sense of community and help you build relationships with your prospective students.

Here's why learning how to sell using free webinars can make your business thrive in ways you can only anticipate: they are an intimate, engaging, and proof-of-concept touch point for lead generation.

A quick review of any established marketer selling expensive online courses reveals that webinars play a key role in their sales channeling - Russell Brunson, Neil Patel, Frank Kern and Sam Ovens, just to name a few.

The truth is that eye and ear contact is what makes all the difference: being able to look you in the eye and hear you firsthand makes everything you say more valuable. Think about it: would you feel closer to a "pen pal" or someone you make video calls with every week?

It is normal to trust people more who we can see and hear-images, by the way, are extremely attractive to our brains.

This is why webinars work: they allow you to make an initial emotional connection with your prospects.

From there on, all you have to do is show them what you are made of and how you are an extremely useful resource that they absolutely cannot give up.

Free webinars: the preliminary strategy

As we said, free webinars are a great way to connect with your target audience and sell your online courses, if you take the right approach.

However, the foundation of your strategy needs to be solid: it is not enough to create a great digital course and leverage a catchy webinar to be successful with sales.

That's why I first recommend that you follow these 4 key steps, the basis in fact of any self-respecting strategy, which will then serve to help you capture customers' interest and convince them to interact with your content.

#1 Find your audience

Every successful sale is based on understanding your audience. Consequently, it is a good idea to understand who you are addressing before you decide to do anything else.

This is your chance to get inside the head of your ideal client, find out the difficulties he or she is facing, the needs he or she would like to meet, and the goals he or she intends to achieve.

Only then will you be able to propose the best solution to them and stimulate them to purchase.

#2 Define your positioning.

Regardless of what you offer, there are bound to be others offering courses similar to yours.

Try to understand who they are, what they offer and at what price-this will help you decide how to position yourself in your niche and differentiate yourself.

The key, in fact, is to make your audience perceive how your approach is unique, innovative and consequently more interesting than all the others.

Ps. Read my article on the value proposition canvas READ MORE.

#3 Lead generation and marketing funnel

As I told you, there are plenty of successful entrepreneurs who rely on webinars to sell their online courses. Most use a classic marketing funnel, which takes its leads from an opt-in page to a sales page, going right through a free webinar.

The latter, in itself, is in fact likely to serve you very little purpose if you do not include it in a proper sales channel.

This basically means two things: one, having an effective lead generation strategy that brings contacts to a landing page through various channels (organic site traffic or blog, email marketing, ads); two, at the end of the webinar, send people back to the final page where they can make the purchase.

#4 Create an effective sales page

Okay, so if the ultimate goal of your webinar is to get leads to your sales page, you also need to make sure that your efforts to lead them there are then as rewarded as possible.

In other words, you need to create a sales page that will get you conversions.

How? For example, through some FOMO and showing an overview of what your students will receive if they buy your course now - in this case it is very useful for you to take advantage of all the techniques copywriting you know. Remember also that the more expensive the course, the more bonuses you should provide and the more testimonials you should add.

Finally, I always recommend that you set up a retargeting campaign for people who attended the webinar but did not then make a purchase.

How to create effective free webinars in 7 steps

Very good: now that you've laid the groundwork, you can devote yourself entirely to creating free webinars that are interesting, engaging, and most importantly, know how to convert your audience and convince them to buy your online course.

Here is a list of 7 steps to follow to help you.

#1 Choose webinar topic.

Perhaps this first point may seem trivial, but it can really make a difference: you need to find a specific topic to focus on during your webinar, one that is interesting enough to keep their attention, but without revealing too much about what they will be able to find in your online course.

It must offer value so that people feel they have invested their time well by deciding to participate.

Remember, too, that people are more likely to buy a course if they believe it will help them achieve their goals-that is why your webinar should focus on the benefits they will get from taking the classes, rather than on the features of the course itself.

#2 Plan form and content

The second step is to plan the "general" structure of your webinar.

After choosing the topic, you must in fact figure out what kind of presentation you intend to offer: just video with you speaking, power point slides, half-and-half--and so on.

Will it be live or recorded? It is obvious that the choice of one case or the other affects how it will be enjoyed by the audience and how the webinar will be created for you. If you're live, you'll need to have at least an idea of a reference set list to follow; if you record it, you can possibly do some editing to fix what you really don't like.

Also important is the choice of platform to use: as far as I am concerned, Kajabi Is still the best alternative!

Also define the duration: I recommend that you don't overdo it, considering the purpose of the webinar, so that it is more likely to entice people to take part and follow you throughout.

#3 Create your own webinar

Okay, at this point, remember well that your audience is trying to learn something from you-that means they are not just there to hear you speak; you need to make sure that every word and any slides are targeted and relevant.

Everyone may have their own style of presentation (and rightly so), but there is usually some sort of general framework that most follow in setting the structure.

To help you create a webinar that is both useful and engaging, here is what you can include in broad strokes:

you and your story: reveal your background of origin and how you came to do what you do, so as to legitimize your experience and make yourself recognizable;
your efforts: talk about how you discovered the secrets you will reveal during the course, the difficulties, failures and disappointments you encountered and overcame; this provides authenticity to your offering;
a taste of value: this is the topic we were talking about above; without being too technical or detailed, give useful content to the participants, which will then be expanded upon in the various lectures;
success testimonials: inspire your audience with case studies of people who have already completed the course and achieved their goals, so you can show them how they can do the same;
answers to doubts and questions: address topics that might prevent your audience from buying;
your convincing conclusion: finally, you sell the value of your course; this is the part where you also share all the bonuses they would get if they bought at that very moment.

Remember: your goal is to convince people that your course will help them achieve their goals. Before insisting on the quality and uniqueness of your offering, remember to make an emotional connection with them.

#4 Make the registration page effective and create a thank you page

Webinar registration does not necessarily equate to a sale, but you have to get people to attend if you want to achieve your ultimate goal.

The registration page should invite potential customers to join you, including all the necessary information that will allow them easy access.

Oh, and of course, even at this stage remember why they should participate, emphasizing the specific benefits they can expect to gain from the experience.

Thus, the elements to pay most attention to are:

An engaging title;
A summary of the webinar content;
Time and date;
Call to action;
Enrollment deadline timer.

After someone has signed up for your webinar, I recommend directing them to a thank-you page: this may seem trivial and simplistic, but it can instead serve you to start getting conversions.

You can in fact already mention your course, letting people know that it is possible to register even before the webinar, perhaps with a bonus or additional discount.

#5 Promote your webinar.

Well, the next step is to let as many people as possible know about your webinar: the higher the number of participants, the more likely you are to have more conversions.

The most effective method is definitely to take advantage of your mailing list And send the invitation to each contact.

Alternatively, you can also post announcements on your social profiles or place pop-ups on your website or blog - then inviting your followers to share the event in turn.

Finally, take advantage of any brand ambassador, affiliates o referral to spread the word about it; you can also enlist the help of business partners, who promote your webinar among their contacts in exchange for a commission on actual sales.

#6 Send reminders to participants.

Do you know how often it happens that people forget to then actually attend the free webinars they signed up for?

Obviously, we are talking about the case where you do a live broadcast (because if it were recorded, they could access it when they wish).

To help them remember, you can send a reminder email either a few days before, in which you suggest that your subscribers add the event to their online calendars, or on the day itself.

Oh, and don't forget the countdown timer here too 😉

#7 Follow-up after the webinar.

After following the webinar, participants can behave in two ways: purchase your course or set you aside.

What I advise you to do is to keep the relationship active in both cases: to those who have bought, you can send a thank-you email and other messages in which you show them other of your upselling products; to those who have missed out, you can offer special discounts or limited-time bonuses, or even other products that you think might be more within their reach or better meet their interests at that moment.

At this last stage, you can also take advantage of surveys to get feedback on your presentation and use it to improve future ones.

Conclusion

Free webinars are a great way to get in front of your target audience and show them what you have to offer.

In addition to being a great opportunity to generate leads, as you see they are also a great opportunity to sell your digital products-you just need a plan and a strategy to convert prospects into actual customers.

The most important thing is to provide the best possible content during the webinar. Make it fun, inspire confidence, and answer your audience's questions.

What about you, have you already used or do you routinely use free webinars to sell your online courses? What do you think?

Let me know in the comments!