Webinar marketing is a well-established method for businesses to generate leads and improve brand awareness. By providing free online seminars to a target audience, companies can develop their relationships with existing and prospective customers while simultaneously rewarding them with valuable content. However, with so many different webinars for online audiences to choose from, one of the biggest challenges of webinar marketing sometimes becomes marketing the webinar itself, which all starts with a webinar invitation. The invite needs to grab people’s attention and make them want to participate. This can be accomplished by incorporating a few tried-and-true promotional tactics into the body of the announcement.
Jump to:
- How to announce a webinar?
- Structure of a webinar invitation email
- Top webinar invitation examples
- Webinar invitation templates you can use
- Create a webinar invitation email sequence to invite more people
- Conclusion
How to announce a webinar
It’s never too early to announce your next scheduled webinar since it takes time to reach a large enough number of prospective audience members. A lot of your eventual participants will hear about the webinar through word-of-mouth, a powerful motivator, so allow plenty of time for the word to spread.
To get the information out effectively, you will want to utilize as many promotional resources as your timeline and budget allows. This typically takes the form of direct emails but could also include paid social media and targeted ads. For comprehensive information on planning and promoting a webinar, consult Kaltura’s Webinar Marketing Guide, but the promotional campaign always kicks off with that one carefully crafted webinar invitation.
The invite must convey to the reader what they stand to gain from attending the webinar. It also needs a compelling call-to-action button with some kind of urgency, so that they aren’t tempted to put off registering. Another requirement is to have a responsive design so that the invite looks good on whatever device the viewer may be using, be it a phone, tablet, or monitor. Finally, pay attention to the subject line of the invitation email since that is the first thing people will see. Make it something that people will want to open, for example, a captivating question, or an intriguing proposal.
Structure of a webinar invitation email
When it comes to how to structure a webinar invite, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Just make sure it is clear, and concise, and answers five critical questions–Who, what, when, where, and why (the ole “Five Ws”). Here is a breakdown of how to answer each one:
Who – Provide the name of the speaker (or speakers), but also list their credentials and explain why they are an authority on the topic. The goal is to suggest that it will be a worthwhile experience to hear their insights on the subject. Include a high-resolution, professional-looking photograph of each presenter.
What – This is the topic of the webinar and the breakdown of the material that will be covered. Again, this needs to come across as valuable information for the reader, something they would regret missing out on.
When – This one is fairly straightforward, it’s the day, date, and time of the webinar. But don’t forget that your invite could pop up anywhere in the world, so always include a time zone and also an end time so people know how long to block off in their schedule.
Where (also the “how”) – It’s a webinar, so it’s going to be online, but describe how the link will be shared with participants following registration. Give them a good idea of what to expect so that they are not left with lingering questions about how they will be able to connect.
Why – From a promotional standpoint, this is probably the most important question to answer when inviting readers to participate in a webinar. Basically, this is the answer to what they stand to gain from attending. Another way to frame it is to point out what they will miss out on if they do not attend.
All of the above info needs to appear in the initial invite, but not necessarily in that order. Some invites may want to lead with the “what”, or the title of the webinar. Others may want to showcase the speaker right off the bat, especially if it is a high-profile individual. Another approach is to hook the reader in with a provocative question. Give some thought to the way you would like to structure your specific webinar invite to best attract your target audience and convert them to registered participants for your event.
Webinar invitation templates you can use
Hopefully, you now have some ideas for how you would like to invite users to your next webinar. The following webinar invitation templates combine the best practices from an assortment of real-life webinars. Note how each makes use of The Five Ws while also creating urgency for the reader…
Pulling the reader in with a question
Do you know the Secret to Acing a Virtual Interview?
[Friendly photo of John Garcia]
Learn how virtual interviews are different from in-person interviews and the simple ways candidates can use them to their advantage.
John Garcia is a career coach and executive recruiter who has successfully placed thousands of clients in top roles at Fortune 500 companies. This will be John’s final Virtual Interview webinar of 2022.
Tue. 12/06/22
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Live from Boston
Send Me a Link
All registrants will receive a recording following the live event.
Well-known speaker
[Inspiring photo of Jane Smith]
An Evening with Jane Smith
Jane Smith, world-renowned author, professor, and adventurer will discuss her upcoming collection of short stories and the never-before-revealed real-life experiences that inspired some of her most famous works.
Thursday, January 26th – 5:00 – 6:00 PM (EST)
Register by December 31st for a chance to ask Ms. Smith a question during the live Q&A.
Click the link below for more details.
REGISTER NOW
Persuasive webinar title
Learn the Five Worst Cold Calling Mistakes and How to Avoid Making Them
February 10, 2022, @ 10 AM/1 PM (Pacific/Eastern)
CallCorp Sales Director, Jessie Jones, will present proven strategies for successful cold calling and share the five common mistakes to avoid at all costs.
RESERVE MY FREE SPOT
Space is limited, so register now to receive your personal link and learn the inside tips and secrets about:
– Cold Calling Scripts
– Gatekeepers
– Opening Lines
– Avoiding Hang Ups
Register for your free spot now
Create a webinar invitation email sequence to invite more people
Having an automated email sequence in place will allow you to focus your time and attention on other tasks while continuously communicating with your webinar audience. The sequence should provide your audience with pertinent information and keep them updated. It should also be designed to increase their interest in the webinar as it gets closer.
The first email is the webinar invite itself, sent to your contact lists of target audience members. Next, anybody who registers receives a confirmation email with all pertinent information including a calendar invite so they can add it to their personal calendars and a contact email in case of questions. Encourage your registered users to share the registration link with anybody they think could also benefit from the webinar.
Periodic reminder emails are essential and can be set to go out weekly leading up to the event, then increase in frequency, such as two days out, one day out, and then one final reminder with the link just as the webinar is about to begin.
After the webinar, two different follow-up emails should go out automatically. One to those who attended, thanking them for their time and asking them to fill out a survey about their experience. This email could include a link to a recording of the webinar if it is made available on-demand. It could also let them know about upcoming events your company is hosting. The other version goes to those who registered but did not attend. It could let them know that they were missed and also include the link to the recording.
At the time of writing, Kaltura Webinars is developing and optimizing this sort of email functionality on the platform, planned for release in early 2023.
Conclusion
With all the hard work that goes into putting together a quality webinar, it’s easy to overlook the importance of the announcement email. However, a well-crafted invitation, along with a good email sequence leading up to the event, will go a long way to increasing turnout, both for the live event and also later on-demand.
