Improving the Attendance Rate for Your Webinars

Whenever you run a free webinar, you'll find that some people won't turn up on the day. That's not surprising - they haven't made a commitment to it, so what have they got to lose? But you might be surprised at how many people don't turn up! Some webinar presenters say they get as low as 25% attendance of the people who registered.

Somebody recently asked this question on a LinkedIn group about webinars:

"I heard that 50% of the people who register for a live webinar attend, and then an additional 30% watch the recorded webinar. Does anyone know where those numbers come from?"

This is a very broad question, and a single figure isn't useful. But here's my experience...

I run 10-12 webinars a month, of which 2 (maybe 3) on average are free. The attendance percentage at the free webinars varies greatly, depending on the topic and the format (e.g. workshop vs facilitated discussion). I rarely get below 50%, even for the free webinars.
But I also know (because they tell me) that some people are registering KNOWING they won't be attending but will watch the recording - that makes the figures look worse.

On the other hand, I also know some people DON'T register, knowing they can access the recording on my blog - that makes the figures look better.

Interestingly, I think the numbers I get for paid webinars are about the same. Sometimes they ARE as low as 50%, but that doesn't mean attendees are throwing their money away. They might watch the recording (which of course is private, because it's a paid webinar), they might just want the e-book that's bundled with the webinar, they might just want the recorded PowerPoint presentation that gives them an overview, etc.

All of this just goes to show that the attendance rate by itself isn't a useful indicator of anything.

So, what does this mean?

First, expect the numbers to be lower than you'd like.

Second, consider how you can serve the people who don't turn up. For example, if it's a promotional webinar, the people who don't turn up miss out on your sales pitch. But you can still send them a follow-up e-mail later, repeating your offer and perhaps offering them a link to the recording.

Third, if you're really concerned about attendance rates, think of ways to improve this rate - for example:

Send reminder e-mails to attendees before the webinar - for example, a week before, a day before, and an hour before.Give them some preparation to do in advance.Remind them of the value they will get from the webinar.

The key is to focus on their outcomes, not yours!

Gihan Perera is the author of "Webinar Smarts", the smart way for professional speakers, trainers, thought leaders and business owners to deliver engaging and profitable webinars. If you want to know how to reach the world with mic, screen and mouse, visit http://webinarsmarts.com/ for your copy.

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Improving Your Experience With Video Conferencing

Video conferencing will give you the chance to improve your long distance communications for your business. While there was a time the only choice you would have for communicating with others in your organization was over the phone, people are now finding that they are able to connect with video conference equipment and this allows them to have successful meetings that do have a lasting impact on the business that they do.

However, even with how effective these systems can be, it is important to understand that no two systems are the same. That means you need to take the time to consider the different choices you are going to have when it comes to video conference equipment and ensure that it can handle the basics for you. Some choices will purely display a video feed, while others will have an additional display for visual content that will be part of your presentation. This can help to make a greater impact on what you are presenting and in some cases you might find that it does help to build your business.

In fact, there have been studies that show that in terms of business, most people would prefer to see who they are talking to, rather than relying on a voice alone. By having the equipment in place, you are going to have a chance to display a streaming video image of yourself during a presentation and that is going to help people to connect to what it is you are presenting as well.

More importantly, most companies find that video conference software also allows them to reduce the amount that they spend on travel expenses as well. In fact, what you are going to find is that over time, this reduction in cost can potentially save you more than the initial price of the equipment that you need to buy. This is because there is less money going into airline tickets and books hotel rooms. So be sure that you do keep that in mind. Of course, there might need to still be some travel for certain projects; the majority of unnecessary trips can be reduced significantly.

Above all, it will be important that you realize that this is the future of communications in business as well. What you are going to find is that more companies are turning to this form of communication in their departments and it will become a standard approach. It is important that you keep that in mind when you are determining if this is going to be the right choice for your company.

Once you have everything in place, you can then proceed to begin to explore all the different choices you have for this process. With everything from simple equipment to state of the art video conference solutions, there is certain to be something on hand that will work wonders for your company.

To get video conference equipment and LCD projector, visit ESCO Audio Visual now.

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The content is our own opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of ESCO Audio Visual.

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