Posted on

When Should I Finish my Webinar?

When should I finish my webinar?

This important question reminds me of a Doctor’s surgery. I don’t know if it is just an Australian thing, but I loathe the loooooong waiting times that I sometimes encounter waiting to see a Doctor. I do the right thing and book an appointment. I arrive on time and then it starts. The waiting. Followed by more waiting. Of course, it only adds to the frustration of waiting that I really hate sitting around feeling miserable for myself when I am sick. Can’t I waste my time waiting to see a Doctor when I am at least feeling healthy? Instead, I have to wait when I am feeling at my worst and all I want to do is crawl into bed. Of course, this is even better when I am visiting the Doctor when my son is the one who is sick. I pity every parent who has waited for a Doctor with a sick child. That is the pits.

I accept that waiting for a delayed Doctor is probably less fun than waiting for a procrastinating presenter to finish their webinar that is running late. But the disrespect feels similar to me. When we ask people to give up their time to attend a webinar we should let them know when it will start and when it will finish. And we should honour that. As a general guide, webinars should start on time and finish on time.

I do fully appreciate however that if we have finished all of our content delivery by the finish time that it is OK for a webinar presenter to give their participants an option of staying online to ask additional questions they might have. That is probably fair in many circumstances. But otherwise, we should honour our participants’ time by getting out of Dodge by the appointed finish time.

More discussion about this topic is included in the below video.

When Should I Finish my Webinar? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BUTBRkzHdE

Do you have my Webinar Platforms Guide?

To learn more about webinars click here to grab my free Webinar Platforms Guide. It includes:

  • What are Webinars?
  • What are the 4 Types of Webinar Platforms?
  • What are the Pros and Cons of the Webinar Platforms?
  • Select the Best Platform for YOU
  • Where is the Software?

Click here to grab your copy.

When do you think a presenter should finish their webinar?

What do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Please click here to share your ideas in the YouTube video comments.

Posted on

Webinar Success Mindset: Your Free 1 Minute Self-Assessment

Economics, Law and Webinars

Webinar success mindset? Do you have one? Here’s my thoughts….

When I finished school I didn’t know what I wanted to do and ultimately I settled on two options.

  • ​Option 1: Do a Uni course in Economics. I L-O-V-E-D economics. Seriously. Yeah, I know. Go figure.
  • Option 2: I didn’t know what law was really about, but an advisor at a careers day told me lawyers made lots of money. I liked the idea of lots of money, so becoming a lawyer sounded good. ​

I then decided to do what horse-racing people call an each-way bet and I applied to do a combined economics-law double degree at the prestigious University of Queensland.

I got started. I still loved economics. I found law really boring. I forgot about the money and followed what I loved doing. I dropped law and crushed it in economics. That was a great life lesson for me and I am lucky to still be doing what I love today by teaching about webinars.

What I find fascinating is that sometimes people tell me they are worried about putting in the effort to become a webinar presenter because the technology has been around for several years now and they can’t be sure there will be good jobs for them.

However, I guarantee that if their son or daughter announced that they wanted to be a lawyer that this fear of scarcity of positions would not enter their mind. Lawyers have been around so long that no-one thinks those jobs are ever going to dry up. The bottom line is if you commit to becoming a really good lawyer and you embrace the challenge of learning and practising your new skills the chances are you will succeed. And it is no different for webinar presenters.

The world would like more webinar presenters. What we really need is more awesome webinar presenters. And I encourage you to commit to learning more and to practise developing improved webinar skills. If you do this then you will find people who will want to hire your special talents.

And if I can help you along the way then I will enjoy doing that even if you don’t pay me lawyer’s rates.

Do you have a webinar success mindset?

So, do you have a webinar success mindset? Here are 3 quick questions for you to do a speedy self-assessment? Don’t think too hard about this and just instinctively answer the questions as either “yes” or “no”.

  1. If I develop the technical skills and confidence to present webinars would I enjoy delivering them on a regular basis?
  2. Am I willing to put in the time and energy to learn how to present webinars like a pro?
  3. Would it be fun for me to develop webinar presentation slides and share my knowledge and experience with the world?

If you answer 2 or more of these questions with a “yes” then I am confident you have the webinar success mindset that will enable you to become a super webinar presenter if you decide to push forward towards that goal. If however, you score less than 2 then I hesitate to label your situation as “#massivefail”. Instead, let’s just say that for now you may be “Not Yet Competent” in terms of being ready to push forward towards becoming a webinar presenting superstar.

Do you want access to my webinar recording about webinar software?

On the same day as I posted this training article I presented a webinar which was:

Webinar Success

I am sorry you missed the webinar but I kept a recording for you. If you want some inside help to identify the webinar software that is right for you watch the recording.

How did you go with the Webinar Success Mindset Self-Assessment?

I am interested to know how the self-assessment worked out for you? You may not want to share your results with the world, but I would be eager to hear your thoughts and offer any support or feedback that I can so I invite you to send me a message and I promise to reply.

Posted on

Why Isn’t Everyone Presenting Webinars?

The Elephant in the Room is the Chicken and the Egg

Experienced webinar presenters often tell me that the most difficult thing about presenting webinars is just getting started. I think it is sad that some of the world’s best webinar presenters never get started. There are thousands of people in the world who have amazing knowledge that is perfectly suited to sharing through webinars but they never get started.

So why does that happen? It could be that they:

  • Are unaware of the amazing potential of webinars and live streaming options
  • Underestimate their own ability to influence and help people
  • Don’t understand or are fearful about the technology
  • Don’t trust their online presentation skills

I setup my website to help you and others by being “Your Confidence Coach for Presenting Online”. And ultimately, I think confidence is the key to helping people get started presenting webinars. I am a huge fan of education and I know that if people take time to do the research and learn about webinar technology and online presentation skills that they can easily acquire the knowledge to become a competent webinar presenter. As X-Files taught us: “The truth is out there”.

Presenting webinars

The Chicken or the Egg? (Photo Credit: Pixabay)

However, the elephant in the room is the chicken and the egg. Seriously. Let me explain…

Knowing how to do webinars is not enough. To take the plunge and commit to doing our first webinar requires confidence. Confidence usually comes with experience. Experience usually comes with confidence. What comes first? Confidence or experience? The chicken or the egg?

And I could create hundreds of training articles and hundreds of podcast episodes, but unless I successfully help you and others secure enough confidence to take your next leap forward in developing webinars then I will not accomplish my mission. In our hearts, we both know that presenting webinars is a confidence game. People who sell programs to help you get started with webinars don’t always identify or address this key issue. It is the elephant in the room.

As I wrote earlier, the elephant in the room is the chicken and the egg. That is, the often unspoken issue for webinar presenters is how do we develop without experience?

So what is the answer? Are you ready for the magic pill?

I don’t have it. It’s not that easy for most people. But there are several strategies and techniques I know that can help people move forward with creating webinars. And I have one of those strategies for you to consider today. It is to find accomplished webinar presenters who let their guard down and are willing to share their journey to becoming a webinar presenter and the successes they have achieved. Each time you listened to another webinar presenter who has displayed the courage to get started and has then enjoyed success it will help you become ready for your next step forward. Consequently, I enthusiastically recommend that you either listen to the Webinar Skills Podcast, watch the Webinar Mastery Summit, or find other talented webinar presenters to watch so that you can learn from the best.

Do you want to learn from 17 webinar experts?

Webinar expert, Jon Schumacher, has interviewed 17 of the world’s best webinar experts. I am proud to be an affiliate for the Webinar Mastery Summit and the Webinar Mastery Academy and I am thrilled to promote the Summit as it provides so much valuable information for everyone who wants to learn about presenting live using webinars. To learn more about the Webinar Mastery Summit click here. Alternatively listen to my Webinar Skills Podcast interview with Jon about the Webinar Mastery Summit.

How can we help more people get started with presenting webinars?

What is your best idea? Please click here to share your ideas on my Facebook page.

Posted on

Should You Move into Online Marketing? Star Wars, Webinars and My Why

Have you asked yourself any of these questions about online marketing?

  • Should I start a blog?
  • Would I have fun creating a YouTube channel?
  • Is it a good idea for me to launch a podcast?
  • Can I become successful in online marketing?

If you are wondering about these issues in any way then I have written this post for you. (Spoiler Alert: I also have something special for you if you make it to the end of the article).

You see, I asked myself these same questions in late 2015 and decided yes, yes, yes and yes. After so many years being a satisfied employee and literally loving where I work I decided to go “all in” and commencing 1 January 2016 I tested the waters of the online world.

I studied marketing in my MBA but the online marketing world is a totally different beast. One of the lessons I quickly acquired was that I should always aim to give my followers more value than they expect. For example, for my LinkedIn articles I decided to do something the readers would not expect and include a bonus free webinar registration as a reward for reading through to the end of each article. (Spoiler alert!)

Two of the other key messages in online marketing are that you need to “niche until it hurts” and find and target your avatar. The latter has nothing to do with the big budget movie. Instead, the principle is you have to clarify your ideal customer/target that you want to serve with your content and then give them plenty of what they love. And by servicing your avatar within a specific niche you will develop a following. Do this well enough for long enough and you will have a tribe of followers larger than Justin Bieber at his prime.

I am 50 years old so competing with Bieber sounds tough. But I am in love with webinars and the idea of serving great content to educators and business professionals and helping them with their very real challenges of becoming confident online presenters lit a flame under my butt. So off I went….

I felt like a Jedi. Although I know I am still a Padawan I have enjoyed the ride of finding an audience and sharing with them everything I know and am learning about how to deliver compelling valuable webinars instead of the boredom feasts that some webinar presenters think is appropriate fodder for their online captives.

Online Marketing

Just like the Star Wars movies, sometimes I am winning. And other days I wonder why I am battling the Death Star. However, I refuse to let the dark side overwhelm me and every few days someone will do something amazing for me.

  • Sharon emailed me and thanked me for my “awesome videos”.
  • Edgar asked me to help him get a job as a webinar presenter.
  • Veronika purchased a product I recommended and I earned an affiliate fee.

Every little win like this reminds me of my why. I want to help people deliver better webinars. Every time someone reads one of my training articles or watches a YouTube video or listens to an episode of my podcast I make the world a little bit better. And that motivates me to keep learning and keep giving more to my fans. OK, Bieber isn’t looking over his shoulder at me but I am happy.

My “why” is critical to me taking the actions I need to have an impact with my online activities. Simon Sinek in his masterful TED Talk eloquently explained why we need to “Start With Why”. If I didn’t have a compelling why then I would sleep in, watch movies and go to more sports events.

Should you follow in my footsteps? Mmmmm. Maybe the footsteps of Darren Rowse, Amy Schmittauer, John Lee Dumas or Amy Porterfield might be a more inspiring aspiration. But I am happy to give my testimonial that going online can be a fun and very rewarding experience.

If and when you can confidently answer these 4 key questions you are more than ready to embark on your own online marketing adventure:

  1. Are you willing to give your followers more value than they expect?
  2. What is your niche?
  3. Who is your avatar?
  4. What is your compelling why?

Ultimately, make the decision that is right for you. If you decide to move forward into the online marketing then my key advice is don’t let fear hold you back. If you feel a bigger mission lies in front of you embrace the uncomfortable. And as I say at the end of each of my podcast episodes, become your best!

Webinar Bonus Offer

I am presenting a pitch-free money-free 30 minute webinar titled “7 Winning Webinar Engagement Strategies” on Thursday 19th January 2017 at 7:30pm AEST. Click here for your local start time. Typically, people have to pay a webinar fee or purchase a course to attend one of my webbys so this is a legitimate win for you.

If you can’t make it live I’ve got you covered. Register anyway and a recording will be sent to you. However, I have a surprise bonus you will receive for turning up live so you will definitely want to participate if you can.

Are you ready to learn? Then join the party and register for my next free webinar.

Have you thought about getting started in online marketing?

If you have a question or comment I would love to hear it. Please click here to share your ideas at the LinkedIn page where I have re-published this article.

Posted on

What are Your Webinar Goals?

Here are 11 questions to help you

Webinar goals? What are they?

Thank you for your most excellent question. I am a big believer in setting goals as a precursor to achieving the things that we want. And yes, I adopt this philosophy for webinars too.

I am not recommending that you write a long list of webinar goals to achieve during the next few months or year ahead. However, if presenting webinars is important to you then I suggest you take 5 minutes to consider 11 questions I have developed to help you and I present better webinars. Reflect, review and revise. Consider these 11 questions to help you improve your future webinars and achieve the career or business goals that are important to you.

What are Your Webinar Goals? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpdJ3CLm3rw

To help you identify your webinar goals find a quiet place inside your mind for a few minutes and ask yourself the following questions.

1. How many webinars do you want to present?

This is a very simple starter question. Considering all the different types of webinar you do, how many do you want to during the next 12 months?

2. How can you improve your webinars?

I am not giving you any hints here. Stop and think. What is one thing you can do to make your webinars better?

3. What worked well during your webinars?

Was there something you did during your previous webinars that worked well? Perhaps you did something different during one of your webinars, either deliberately or by accident, that improved that webinar? Rinse and repeat. What have you done during your webinars that you should keep doing?

4. How can you improve the marketing or promotion of your webinars?

Even if you are not responsible for securing registrations for your webinars I expect you can identify one or two ideas that are worthy of sharing about how you can get more people contributing to your webinars?

5. Which other people can help you promote your webinars?

Who is the best person who could help promote your webinars for you? Is it time to reach out and ask for help in getting the word out about what you are doing?

6. How can you improve the strategy or execution of your webinar funnel?

If you are unfamiliar with the term webinar funnel then click this link. There will be at least one way that you can improve your funnel to better assist your participants either before or after your webinar. What is it?

7. How can you improve your session planning?

If you fail to plan you plan to fail. How can you improve your planning for your webinars? What creative addition should you include in your future webinars? Is there a “flat spot”during your webinar that should be revised? Is there a long period within your webinar that does not stimulate interaction with your participants? Make it better.

8. What can you do to improve your online presentation skills?

My focus is on helping you improve your online presentation skills. How can you improve the engagement of your participants? What is one thing you can improve as a webinar presenter to become your best?

9. Should you change your webinar software or adopt an alternative live streaming format?

Is it time for you to review your choice of webinar software? Alternatively, should you be using a live streaming platform to promote your upcoming webinars? Is it time to be bold and experiment with Facebook Live?

10. What can you do to improve your webinar engagement?

What is one way you can improve your webinar engagement, perhaps by being more deliberate in how you use chat, polls, or other engagement tools?

11. How can you help people better?

The most effective webinars are those that give where you are helping people to maximum effectiveness. How can you help people better?

Do you have my Webinar Platforms Guide?

To learn more about webinars click here to grab my free Webinar Platforms Guide. It includes:

  • What are Webinars?
  • What are the 4 Types of Webinar Platforms?
  • What are the Pros and Cons of the Webinar Platforms?
  • Select the Best Platform for YOU
  • Where is the Software?

Click here to grab your copy.

Have you thought about setting webinar goals?

Is there a question or a different approach to setting webinar goals that you consider? Please click here to share your ideas in the YouTube video comments.

Posted on

3 Essentials You Must Do to Present Successful Webinars

I obsess a little about creating successful webinars, but this week I was distracted for a while by enjoying a milestone birthday. Number 50. Half a century. It has caused me to become very reflective this week and I have been thinking a lot about my priorities and my plan moving forward. This is in itself really interesting to me because I have totally changed the way I plan my life during the past 12 months and although the results haven’t been world breaking, I hate to think what might have happened if I hadn’t planned out my priorities and goals.

On a more tangible level, I have also been reflecting on what creates successful webinars and I have narrowed it down to 3. First however, let’s look at what is not on the list:

  • Your choice of webinar software
  • Your type of microphone
  • Your brand of webcam
  • Your makeup color palette
  • Your ability to speak the Queen’s English
  • Your educational background
  • Your industry
  • Your hairstyle

Put simply, all of the above items are white noise to the big picture issues described below. Don’t be distracted by these above items as being the ones that will make or break your success as a webinar presenter because that simply isn’t true. The following video tells you what you need to know.

3 Essentials You Must Do to Present Successful Webinars – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXuFg6Qlo7Q

1. Have the Right Mindset

Successful webinars inevitably have a focus upon the participants not the presenter. I have made the same observation of face-to-face presenters too. If the presenter cares about their audience and wants to achieve results that are genuinely in the best interests of their participants then success is almost assured. The alignment between a webinar presenter’s motivations and their participants’ needs is critical. I can’t explain all the science, but if a presenter is not committed to serving their audience then the participants will work this out by themselves, either consciously and/or subconsciously. It is so important that the presenter is committed to delivering what they promise and that the promise aligns with the participants’ expectations. If it doesn’t then the webinar will flop.

2. Write Down and Implement your Plan

I have two quotes that I live or die by when it comes to planning face-to-face or online presentations. They are:

  • Perfect preparation prevents poor performance (The 5 P’s).
  • If you fail to plan you plan to fail.

If you want to be super successful in life have a life plan. Yes, I have one, and if you want a reference for creating one read this book by the master of teaching successful people how to become more successful, Michael Hyatt.

If you want to achieve some tangible successes during the foreseeable future write down your goals.

If you want to present a webinar that soars, sit down and plan it. Yes, find some quiet time, be creative and write down a detailed plan. This should not be a script, but an outline (as described by John Lee Dumas).

3. Have Fun and Engage

People learn better when they are having fun (If you don’t know this then review this article and video). And experienced webinar presenters consistently describe how webinar engagement is their main ingredient to mastering the recipe for creating a successful webinar. To create improved webinar engagement a good starting point are the following articles on webinar engagement.

Do you have my Webinar Platforms Guide?

To learn more about webinars click here to grab my free Webinar Platforms Guide. It includes:

  • What are Webinars?
  • What are the 4 Types of Webinar Platforms?
  • What are the Pros and Cons of the Webinar Platforms?
  • Select the Best Platform for YOU
  • Where is the Software?

Click here to grab your copy.

What do YOU do to create successful webinars?

Now it is your turn. Do you agree or disagree with my 3 essentials? Am I missing or undervaluing something? What do YOU do to create successful webinars? Please click here to share your ideas in the YouTube video comments.