How to Increase Webinar Attendance - 6 Reasons I Maxed Out My Webinar Seats

This is episode 38 of Author Audience.

Welcome to the Author Audience show, the podcast that helps you reach more people with your message. Create a book, connect with your audience, change lives. Here's your host, Shelly Hitz.

Welcome to Author Audience, where I'm on a mission to help you reach more people with your message. I It's time to let your light shine.

Today I'm rolling out the red carpet and inviting you to join me as I share a behind the scenes look into one of my recent webinar promotions. I talked about it in the private Facebook group for authoraudienceacademy.com and one of my inner circle members asked me, how did you fill all your seats? How did you get so many people to register for your webinar? And I thought this would be a great topic for a podcast. So here we go. I'm going to give you the details and I'm going to tell you why I think I filled all my seats. Now I believe you have a God given message to share with the world. The question is, are you ready to shine?

Is it's time for this week's Center Stage Spotlight training. This is where I share training and strategies to help you grow your business or ministry through writing and publishing books, marketing online and creating products and services to sell on the back end. This episode's gonna be about marketing online and selling your products through webinars. Webinars are powerful and I'm gonna talk more about that in today's episode. Today's podcast is episode 38, titled how to Increase Webinar 6 Reasons I Maxed Out My webinar Seats. I know this is going to bring you one step closer to getting your message to more people. So be prepared to shine.

I believe in coaching. I not only have people that invest in coaching with me as an author coach, but I also invest in coaching myself. And I have a business coach right now that I'm working with and she told me, shelly, I think you still have a lot of people on your email list that would be interested in Author Audience Academy if you simply come at it from a different angle. So there's a lot that I teach in Author Audience Academy and what I've been doing is each month doing a new webinar topic for for my entire list and inviting them to join Author Audience Academy. My first one, my first webinar that I did implementing her suggestion was all about writing productivity and it really surprised me actually. I recently started using GoToWebinar again for webinars and my account currently gets maxed out at 250 registrations. And there can be a hundred people live on the call. Probably update it at some point, but that's just where I'm at right now. Well, I had more than 250 people wanting to register. People actually emailed me saying I can't register. It says maxed out. And then I had over 100 people trying to get on live. It really actually surprised me. But it was a really good reminder to me that there are a few things that can really be helpful to fill your webinars. I have six different things that I believe helped me in this particular promotion that I want to share with you. Because I went back and I kind of looked like, what did I do? What was it that really caused people to be interested? One of my inner circle members asked me like, what did you do? And so I went back and looked and I want to share these things with you Now. The first thing I did was I offered a bonus. Now, this bonus is not just for those who sign up for Author Audience Academy. It was a bonus that you got just for showing up live. And so that is a huge thing that I recommend if you're doing webinars on a regular basis, that you offer some form of bonus for those that are showing up live. Now, I've done this for a while. I have my webinar that I do on a regular basis, three proven book writing formulas. You can find it at shellyhits.com formulas and see when my next one will be. And I give a bonus at the end, you know, if you stay. And I've been. So I've been doing that for a while. But this time I did it a little bit different. I offered two bonuses. Yes, now it did take me time. I had to take time to create these bonuses. But I really, truly believe it was part of my success in this promotion. So it's worth it. And I can use these bonuses in many other ways later on. So I offered two bonuses, one kind of in the middle of the webinar and then one at the very end. You want to kind of save your juiciest, best bonus for the end.

So that was my reason. Number one was I created bonuses. They're PDF bonuses. So it didn't cost me anything to send them to people. People. I gave them a link on the slide and I tried to create a bonus that would be somewhat related to the topic. Now, these bonuses do not have to be difficult to create. You can actually even use PLR materials to create those. You can Create checklists. You can create something that doesn't have to take you a ton of time or repurpose something you already have. It doesn't have to be difficult, but it is powerful when you have a bonus. The second thing that I did, and the second reason I think I maxed out my seats, is I created a 3D book cover image to go along with those bonuses. There's something powerful. We are motivated and we are impacted by images, by graphics, social media. That's one of the things that really makes an impact on social media are images. So I have to admit I was kind of like, oh, it's extra work. I didn't want to do it, but I really think it helped. So what I did is within authoraudienceacademy.com I provide all sorts of Ecover templates for you. Now, it's not always appropriate to use those templates for your book unless you change them and you really make them different. But for something like this bonus that you're offering on a webinar or a free opt in on your website, these templates are like gold. I opened one of the PowerPoint templates, actually I used two of the PowerPoint templates that I have in Author Audience Academy and I edited them in a few minutes. I mean, it really didn't take me that long to edit those templates with the titles and that sort of thing. I saved them and then I created 3D images. I use Ecover Authority and you can check it out@shellyhits.com ecoverauthority I use that to create my 3D images. Then I created a graphic that had both of those images in it. Ecover Authority actually has a packager feature that you can put both of them in it and save it. So I created these images and then I included the images in my emails. So powerful. I honestly believe this one step could have doubled my registrations. I don't know. I mean, I didn't do this particular promotion without these images, but it really makes a difference. And if you want to see everything that I did and all of the emails I sent, you can get them in the show notes today. And it shows you the actual images I created and everything. You can get those@authoraudience.com 38. So I recommend that you download the show notes for today so you get all of that and you see exactly what I did and how I did it. Now, I don't give you permission to use those emails, but you can see what I did and model after that and use These six key components for your next webinar. So the third thing that I did and the third reason I believe I maxed out my webinar seats, is I included social proof. This is actually the first time I did this in my email. And I think it really helps because it's like, oh, this isn't just her saying it. This is other people. And this was about productivity, writing productivity. And so I had many testimonials from my writing challenge, and so I included a few. And then I had one just general testimonial. So this is what I included. I said, look, this is what you need if you want to take your writing to the next level. And it's not just me saying so. Jennifer Bunderly says, a real game changer. Learning and practicing fill in the blank. So I left a little bit of curiosity in there, too. And in parentheses I said, the third strategy you'll learn in the webinar was probably the most profound me, because that timed focus has provided me with the exact structure that I so needed. Mel Edwards calls me the best publication coach she has found. And Jean Wise says, I have written more in one week than the entire month before. Powerful, right? Just listening to that, it's like, oh, wow, this is really cool. This actually works. This gets results. I'm interested. Do you see the difference than just saying, come and join me in my live webinar? This is what you're gonna learn. Like, when you add that social proof, it's really powerful. So the fourth thing that I added into my webinar emails is scarcity. And this was true scarcity. I am such a person that I want to do and do everything and operate my business ethically. I don't ever want to.

Like, lie. I mean, even like a gray lie. Like, I just, I cannot do it. So, you know, I knew that scarcity was powerful, but previously with the webinar software I was using, it just wasn't true. And so I just couldn't. I just couldn't do it. But because Now I'm using GoToWebinar, it's really, really true. I'm limited to 250 registrations and 100 seats at this time. Like I said, I'll probably update eventually, but that's truly, that's true scarcity when you're using GoToWebinar. And so I put that in there. I put the scarcity in both my first and my second email. Let me find what I had said in here. Oh, I said.

One word of warning. It seems very likely that this webinar will be overbooked. My advice, register now and show up 15 minutes early. You know, that was one form of scarcity I put in there. I think there was another part earlier on in the webinar. Let me see. Oh yeah. I said I only have 100 seats available and it's already looking like we're going to be over capacity with almost 9,000 people getting this invite. Now that's so true. That's all of that's true because that's about the size of my email list. 9,000. And I truly only have 100 seats. Seats on the live webinar. So that is powerful. Now I don't recommend you putting that in there if it's not true. You know.

If you're using Google Hangouts like I was previously, where you can have an unlimited amount of people, then don't say that, don't say scarcity, just to say scarcity. But if you truly have a limit on your number of registrations or seats, use it because it's powerful. So I also used scarcity in the second email. It was the email that went out the day of the webinar and the subject was just workbook for today's webinar. And I added the scarcity back in to that second email. I said, warning, we already have more people registered for this class than the 100 seat capacity allowed by our technology. And it was true. I already had over 100 people registered. So I wouldn't put that in my email if it wasn't true. But it was true. And I said, so if I were you, I would show up at least 15 minutes early to make sure I could get into the virtual classroom. And so there again, there's that scarcity. And I just want to be very, very, very clear with you. I don't say these things unless they're really true. So I don't recommend that you do it either unless it's true. But if it is true for you, use it because it is powerful. All right, so number five, I included in the second email a link to a workbook and I included actually a 3D image of the workbook title page. Again, images, they're powerful, right? And so I put in there, I promised you a world class workbook that would help you get the most out of this webinar. And here it is. Then I have the image and again I used Ecover authority and I created a little 3D graphic. And again you can see exactly the type of graphic I used. When you get the show notes@authoraudience.com 38 and then I included a link to the workbook. Now this is really powerful because people see what you're going to cover. I recommend including some fill in the blank, some things that they don't really know exactly what you're going to cover. And I included a ton of resources and in this workbook, writing affirmations and a writing calendar and a bunch of other things that it was just really, really useful. And so that's another powerful thing to get people to show up because they see, oh, they download the workbook, they see it's something they're interested in, but they can't fill in all the blanks until they're on your webinar. And finally, the sixth thing that I included in my second email that I think helped max out my webinar seats is an element of surprise. So in the PS of the second email I said, don't be surprised if I have an extra fast action bonus to give you during today's webinar for those who attend live. And don't be surprised if one of my most embarrassing and yet one of my favorite videos ever makes an appearance during the webinar. Just saying that is all true. I did offer an extra fast action bonus. Now that extra fast action bonus is for anyone who joined Author Audience Academy during the live webinar. And so I did have an extra fast action bonus. And I did have a video that was one of my most embarrassing yet one of my most embarrassing favorite videos. And unfortunately due to some technical difficulties I wasn't able to fully, fully show that video. But it was all true. And it added that that element of surprise, like what's going to happen? What is she going to share? What is it going to be? So let me do a quick recap. The six reasons I believe I maxed out my webinar seats for a recent webinar is Number one, I included two bonuses for just a coming live, no strings attached, no credit card required, just come and learn and get these bonuses. Reason number two I also created 3D book cover images for those bonuses. Even if your bonus is just one or two pages, you can still create a eye catching book cover image. And it doesn't have to be difficult. You can use a template, you can use canva.com, you can use something like that and then consider using Ecover authority to make it a 3D image. I love love love the 3D images. And you can check that out@shellyhits.com ecoverauthority and the third reason is social proof. I added in some testimonials and some feedback I've gotten and results from the training that I was going to share. Number four is scarcity. And it was true scarcity. I did have a limited number of seats on that webinar and so it was true scarcity. Number five is I included a workbook image that was 3D in my email the day of the webinar and I included number six. An element of surprise. Now, I also think that there was a component of it was just easy to sign up. I am also a LeadPages user. You can check them out@shellyhits.com LeadPages I love LeadPages. It's one of the best investments I ever made into my business. I use it for so much. But what LeadPages allows me to do is create a lead link. So all I have to do is go into my account and create a special link and it will automatically register people for the webinar and add them to a different list so I can follow up with them after the webinar in my email provider. This made it really super easy. So people were already on my list. Why should I make them opt in again for the webinar? It didn't make sense because then it's an extra step. They have to add in their name and their email again. And so I made it super, super easy and I just gave them the link, the lead link from LeadPages and it just, it automatically registered them. And what I did was I was very honest with them. You know, you don't want to trick people into registering and not knowing. And I just said click here to register and in parentheses, no opt in. You'll automatically be reg registered when you click this link. So I think that was just another bonus reason that I filled my webinar seats because I made it super easy for my current subscribers to sign up. Now, I also did a little bit of promotion on social media, but primarily I was trying to get my current subscribers to join me live and to be introduced to my signature program, authoraudienceacademy.com and it worked. And I was able to welcome three new members into Author Audience Academy. So exciting. And so I encourage you to go through these seven ways because I had an extra bonus way these seven ways that you could fill your next webinar. If you can do all of these, it's going to be even more powerful. Now, if you can't do all of them, that's fine. At least try to do as many as you can. And let me know what do you think helps you to fill your webinar seats. I'd love to hear. You can leave me a comment@authoraudience.com 38. Lights, camera, action. Are you ready for this week's Take Action tip? So this is for those of you who already are conducting webinars to promote your products and services. Choose at least one thing from this list of seven that I gave you because I gave you a bonus six plus the bonus tip. And you know, see if there's at least one thing you can implement for your next webinar. If there's more than one, you know, choose the things that you're able to do and do as many as you can because I really believe it will impact your results. Also, make sure to get all the show notes which I include the exact emails used and the exact images so you can see exactly what I did and how I did it@authoraudience.com 38. So go ahead and download the show notes and those emails and images@authoraudience.com 38.

Before we end, I want to give you a backstage pass in this week's Godly Gains segment, which is all about keeping Christ at the center of all we do. Because I believe in the end it's not about us, but it's all about him. And today I talked about webinars and webinar promotion and sometimes that can just really bog you down, you know, thinking about doing all of these marketing things or trying to promote yourself. And sometimes it feels self promotional. But what I want you to think about is I want you to think about doing these things how helps you to reach more people with your message. I have a passion to help more people share the gospel through published books, through online platforms, through products, and so much more. And the more people that I can help through Author Audience Academy, the more that I can help them do what God has called them to do. And so it's actually a disservice if I don't do this, if I don't offer. And then you know what, I got a ton of emails after this webinar of people just simply thanking me for the webinar, thanking me for the information, thanking me for the training and that it made a huge impact for them. So, you know, even if they don't join, they get a ton of value and I'm able to serve my tribe, serve my audience. But it got me thinking that as a Christ follower, as a Christian, there's, you know, there's an opportunity to share our faith with other people. Just like I had an opportunity to share the message of writing productivity in a recent webinar. We have that opportunity to share the gospel. And what is it that's going to help us to have the best results? What is it that's going to help us to reach the most people?

Obviously it's going to be being filled with the Holy Spirit. You know, in John 15 it says that when we abide in Christ and he abides in us, we will bear much fruit. It's not we might, but we will. But I want to share with you as the Godly Gain segment verse for today from 1st Peter 3:15 to 16. And it says if someone asks you about the hope you have as a believer, always be ready to accept it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. If anyone asks you about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do it how? In a gentle and respectful way. So just as we can offer people to come to a webinar in a way that just really draws them in and it draws them to want to click and draws them to want to sign up and to be there live, we can do the same thing when we're sharing our faith. It's to be able to share it in a gentle and respectful way. And I see so much just.

Angry, angry posts on social media and people that are like fighting with each other and it's they're Christians and they're spreading the gospel in a way that is not gentle and it's not respectful. And yet we have such an amazing opportunity. So I encourage you to continue to share your faith, but in a gentle and respectful way, in the way that the Holy Spirit leads you.

It's my hope and my goal that these episodes are bringing you one step closer to being able to shine and reach more people with your message. I'd love for you to join me on my next live webinar. You can sign up@authoraudience.com webinar and I appreciate you. Thank you so much for joining me in this episode and I'll see you next time.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Author Audience Show. Connect with us online@authoraudience.com where you'll find the all all the resources mentioned in today's episode. While you're there, grab Shelly's free video training on how to write and publish your book using her Six Step Ascent method. Join us again next week to learn how to reach your audience with your message.