I’m often asked how successful my webinars are… Usually the question is directed at finding out how many people attend my webinars. Whilst this is important it depends on your strategy as to whether this is the key measure of success. Here’s four ways to measure the success of your webinars…
1 The Invite
Being in touch with your audience is valuable in itself. Inviting them to a practical and informative webinar even better. When I ran the Ideas Lunch in Sydney and Melbourne, sending out the invite was a key touchpoint. Whilst it was great that people said they were coming, it was equally satisfying for people to reply: ‘Nope, can’t make it, presenting in Auckland…’ or something similar. Even if people don’t attend, they usually appreciate the invite and it’s a great relationship builder.
Measure : Count the number of replies you have from your invite.
2 The Event
Webinars are a useful way to share practical and informative ideas particularly to reach a widespread audience. Best of all, given they’re low cost to run, you can offer them for free or low-fee. If you run them regularly at a set time on a consistent theme, you can build a regular audience. It’s also a great relationship builder for you to be live in front of your audience.
Measure : Count how many people register and attend.
Note: Generally, between 20-50% of people who register will actually attend. This is considered normal.
3 Sales
Webinars can be used to generate direct sales (i.e. pay to attend) or as a means to promote something else. I haven’t offered a for-fee webinar. Perhaps I should… I have used them as a promotional tool for other events. My results have been modest. And, this probably says more about my sales intent than the webinar technology. I’ve heard of others making good sales.
Measure : Count the direct sales and the indirect sales. You might also count the number of leads generated.
4 The Recording
For me, the recording from the event is more important than the live event. Running webinars is an easy way for me to create content that can have lasting value. You can create audio and video, plus you can transcribe the webinar to create ebooks, blog posts and more… And, remember you can use the recordings as part of a paid product or membership offer. I could record this without an audience. However, having a publicly declared event forces me to produce quality content by a specific deadline.
Measure : Count the number of content pieces created from your recordings; the number of views/downloads of your recordings and any indirect sales from your webinar recordings.
