How to Use Webinar Promotion for Marketing Your Coaching Business (With Examples)

I’ve always been passionate about webinars. Like virtual workshops and virtual summits, you can use webinars to market your coaching business, gain a passive income stream, and give yourself content to use across your social media channels.

These are just a few of the reasons why webinars are so useful for coaches. But the number one reason I love them is that they give you authority and trustworthiness, which coaching clients will always be looking for.

Read on to find out why you should consider webinar promotion and how to get started planning and running the best webinar.

What are The Benefits of Using Webinars as a Coach

These are the main reasons why webinars are an excellent choice for coaches.

Showcasing your expertise

The first thing I want to say is that webinars are one of the best ways to showcase your expertise within your niche. It’s the perfect opportunity to pass on your wisdom to others, collating and curating all the tips and knowledge you’ve learned over the years.

Why is this important? Because it gives you brand authority. Clients will want to work with you if they trust that you know what you’re talking about. They want someone who can give them targeted, expert advice on whatever niche you happen to be in.

This is why I’m so passionate about webinars: the influence a well-made webinar can have on your authority is huge.

For example, HealthyGamerGG (otherwise known as Dr. Alok Kanojia, a Harvard psychiatrist) released a webinar on Healthy Gaming, now available for free, on YouTube. This series of talks within the original webinar show off Dr. Kanojia’s deep knowledge and authority, and it had the bonus of attracting new followers he wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Connecting with a wider audience

Of course, if you can advertise your webinar efficiently, you can grow your audience.

If you can use social posts strategically, or even make use of paid ads, your webinar will land in front of a wider audience, and that in turn will allow a bigger pool of people to get to know you.

Generating leads

Moving on from that, after the webinar, you’ll have a selection of potential clients who are engaged with your work. These are the people you’ll want to reach out to with a coaching offer.

Webinars are a brilliant way to generate leads as they allow people to get to know your personality, which is a big factor in why people choose a particular coach. The clients on your wavelength will be more likely to work with you after seeing you ‘in action’ on a webinar, and will be in a great position to join your sales funnel.

Creating content you can use on other platforms

A helpful bonus of webinars is that you can package and sell them after the event itself is over. This is a way of generating passive income when the work is already done, and will lead even more people to your coaching services.

Plus, you can use short sections from your webinar to share via free social media posts. Video content does well on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Why Webinars Are Ideal for Coaches

Webinars are perfect for coaches because they’re straightforward. All you need to do is think of a problem your clients often encounter and break down the solution into smaller chunks.

This is perfect for coaches, particularly because you have direct insight (from your current clients) into what issues are the most pressing for them. This is crucial because you can provide targeted, useful content in your webinar to help a wider range of people, and again, this will increase your authority.

Webinar vs. Virtual Workshop: What’s the Difference?

There are a few differences between webinars and virtual workshops.

Webinars are less interactive. The format will be you sharing your expertise and your audience watching along. Whereas workshops are more collaborative, with opportunities for viewers to join in, ask questions, and contribute to discussions.

For example, this is a webinar from Mindvalley on visions of success:

While viewers did have the ability to comment live, there wasn’t the same level of interactivity as a workshop.

Whereas this workshop from Pinkhot Jewelry allows you to follow along with the coach’s instructions, chat on camera, and share photographs as you all work on projects together:

Workshops are a lot more hands-on in terms of interacting with your viewers.

Webinar vs. Virtual Summit: What’s the Difference?

Webinars are also different from virtual summits.

Virtual summits are usually centered on a broader topic and tend to include other speakers and a mix of formats for the audience to enjoy. In contrast, webinars are more specific and focused on a particular topic within the broader niche.

For example, here’s a webinar by Salesforce:

This is narrowed down to two speakers, and the topic is incredibly specific.

Whereas this is a summit by one of my clients, Sara Artemisia:

Sara’s audience can sign up for the summit to hear talks from experts in her field, and will gain access to 15 hours of instructional videos from a variety of speakers. The topic is on the healing wisdom of nature, which is obviously quite broad, with a variety of topics coming under that umbrella.

How to Plan Your First Webinar

If you’ve never planned a webinar before, it can feel overwhelming. But once you break it down into steps, it feels easier.

Set your webinar goals

Think about the goals you want to set for yourself and for your target audience.

Why are you going ahead with the webinar? Is it because you want to gain a greater following on your social media platforms? Gain new clients? Build your expertise? Or a mixture of all of them? Get specific about setting webinar goals. This will give you the motivation to keep going during some of the less fun parts of the process.

Identify what a successful webinar looks like

I’m a big believer in learning from others. Look at webinars within your niche and outside of it: why are they successful? What worked well for the audience, and what could be improved?

Metrics to look at include:

• Number of users. Think about a realistic, but solid number you could reach depending on the audience you currently have.
• Number of new clients gained. This is harder to track. You won’t be able to see how well other people’s webinars have performed in this regard, but as you make more webinars, you’ll learn how many new clients you can reach. It’s worth tracking how many you get the first time, so you can compare later.
• User reviews. Look at the reviews of other webinars. How many reviews did they get? Were they positive? What did they like about the webinar?

Identify your target audience

To plan your content, you need to first think about your target audience. Who are you trying to reach?

Ideally, you’ll be specific about this. You can think about:

• Demographics. Including age, gender, location, etc
• Job role. This is particularly relevant if you are a career coach
• Stage of life. Are they going through a transitional period?
• Values. What are the values of the people you’re trying to reach? What is important to them?
• Motivations. What makes them feel passionate? What are they aiming for?

Creating webinar content

Now the bulk of the work comes in. You can split this into three parts:

Writing

You can start the process by writing a list. What do you want to cover? These can be split up into sections to make it easier for your audience to follow. You can also follow a formula for each section, like:

• Introduction to the webinar topic
• The bulk of the content
• Any interactive elements you’d like to include
• Sales pitch if applicable
• Suggested next steps for attendees

If you’re bringing in guest speakers, for example, you can also use this time to write questions.

Scheduling and timing

You need to schedule the webinar at a time that works best for the target audience. Think about their time zone and when they are likely to be free to attend a webinar. According to research by Hubilo, the optimal time is in the hour before or after a lunch break on a weekday.

Promotion

Once you’re ready to go, you need to start promoting the webinar. This will draw on all areas of your social media marketing strategy, and you’ll need to allow yourself enough time to drum up hype for the online event.

Choosing the Right Webinar Platform

Picking the best webinar platform is key to making the whole thing run smoothly.

Key features to look for

There are a few key features I’d look out for:

• Session recording – this is crucial if you want to capture footage from online events to reuse later on
• Screen sharing – you’ll need this to share slides, images, documents, etc
• Chat capabilities – if you want to take questions or allow your audience to talk to each other, this is key
• Live polling – polls can help to liven things up a bit, and to get feedback from your audience
• Mobile access – some of your audience may be attending on their phones, so access from smartphones is a must
• Analytics – some webinar platforms give you analytics, so you can see key metrics like revenue, conversion rates, watch time, and so on

The most popular webinar platforms

Here are some platforms I would recommend.

Vimeo

Vimeo is a video-sharing platform, but you can also use it to run webinars using a particular price plan. Vimeo has in-depth editing and post-production features, which means you can easily edit your videos after the webinar is over.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Good editing features
• Excellent analytics

Cons

• To get to the webinar features, you have to have a higher price plan

eWebinar

eWebinar is a dedicated platform just for running webinars. It has a lot of interesting automation tools, but it doesn’t support live webinars, so if you choose them, you’ll have to pre-record your content.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Lots of templates to choose from
• Automations to make the process of creation easier

Cons

• Doesn’t allow for live webinars

Zoom

Zoom is a platform we’ve used since 2015 for all of our virtual events, and we also use it to run webinars as well as regular video meetings. It has video sharing, customizable presentation, and even allows you to take questions from listeners using a pop-up video window.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Templates make it easier to create webinar content
• Can run large-scale webinars with thousands of attendees
• Allows for live questions from the audience

Cons

• Analytics could be better

Livestorm

Livestorm is a dedicated webinar platform. It’s simple and easy to use, with dedicated pre-built email campaigns and scheduling tools. It also allows you to automate certain functions like video start and end times.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Email campaigns done for you
• Good scheduling tools

Cons

• Not as customizable as other platforms in terms of branding

How to Create Compelling Webinar Content

So the question is, how do you create the kind of content that gives helpful advice to your potential attendees? I know it can feel daunting, particularly if you’re a little nervous about public speaking, but I’ve found that preparation is key.

Designing the right structure

Think first of the goal: what do you want people to get from this webinar? That should underpin everything you create.

Then you can have a basic structure like this:

• Introduction
• Agenda
• Main content, broken down into sections with slides and any extra content like videos
• Interaction (if applicable), like Q&As or a discussion
• A summary of the material covered, and a CTA (for example, a link to your coaching services)

Grab a blank document or a notepad and write down the basic information you’d like to convey in each section, and then you can write the content from there.

It’s up to you whether you want to write a full script, or you’d rather write down bullet points so you can talk on the fly.

As a bonus tip, I’d say make sure to include personal stories. You want people to get to know you and to be able to relate to you.

Webinar presentation tips

Presentation is important. Some platforms have built-in templates, which will make your webinar look consistent and professional.

If you’re designing slides yourself, just try to keep the fonts/branding consistent throughout.

There are some basic things to keep in mind. You need to present information in a calm, quiet environment. You’ll also need a decent microphone – I’ve used the Blue Yeti USB microphone since my first online summit in 2015 and I love it.

You’ll also need to present the content in an engaging, enthusiastic, confident way. This comes with time and practice. But you can check out resources to help with this – I like TED Talks.

Webinar visuals and slides tips

Visual slides are important to keep your audience engaged and to help them absorb the ideas you’re sharing. They can cover the basic points you want to talk about, giving them something to look at as you speak, and something to take away to remember the content afterward.

You can share slides and even downloadable content for your viewers to enjoy. Just keep the color palette, branding, and fonts consistent, as this looks more professional.

Effective webinar CTAs

The end of a webinar is the prime spot for a CTA (or call to action).

CTAs could include:

• A link to a course, PDF, or eBook
• A link to register as a coaching client
• A link to a group or community, like a Facebook group
• A link to a landing page for the next webinar (if you’re running a webinar series)

The language used is important here. You should make it as easy as possible: use words like ‘join’ or ‘download now’ or ‘register here.’

I’d say, if you can back up your offer with stats, now is the time to do it. Perhaps you have a percentage of clients that gave you excellent feedback, for example, or a number of people in your Facebook community. You need to persuade people that the CTA is a no-brainer for them, as it will solve whatever issue they have: the CTA should feel like a natural next step.

How to Promote Your Webinar Effectively

There are several ways to market your webinar effectively, and I’ll give you a rundown of some of my favorites.

Building a dedicated landing page

A landing page should give your potential customers everything they need to know before they make a decision to sign up for the webinar. In fact, I’d say this is the first thing to start with in your webinar promotional plan.

A landing page should include:

• A tantalizing overview of what is contained in the webinar
• A countdown timer
• Some client or previous webinar attendees’ testimonies
• Your bio, with information on what makes you qualified to deliver the webinar
• Social media links
• A clear CTA and sign-up button with a simple registration form for webinar registration

You don’t need to be tech savvy to make this work, either. You can use a website like Carrd, which makes it much easier to create a single page.

As an example, Daily UI is a website using Carrd, and it contains everything I have listed above in a clear, easy-to-navigate way:

Creating a webinar email campaign

If you have a good email list going, now is the time to start advertising your webinar campaign.

Your email campaign should include:

• Prelaunch – this is your ‘announcement’ email, teasing the content and the benefits of signing up (you can send these to your current customers, too)
• Sign-up – this should include a sign-up link, as well as a reminder of all the benefits
• Autoresponder for post-sign-up – when someone signs up, they should automatically receive an email confirming their registration (your chosen platform should do this for you)
• Reminder – you should send out a reminder email a few days before the event itself
• A follow-up email with recording and resources – after the webinar, you can send a follow-up email with a recording of the webinar, any extra resources, and another CTA

You can use software like MailChimp to help you with this. For example, if you are a fitness coach running a webinar on healthy eating, you might include some content and tips, so people will know what to expect and be excited to sign up. You can also use the follow-up email to throw in a bonus resource, like recipes on a PDF.

Writing a blog post

A blog is an excellent place to advertise your webinar, especially if you already have a dedicated audience. For example, one of my clients, Jennifer Regular, has a blog focused on the niche she works in. This is the perfect platform for her to advertise a webinar, especially if her webinar answers a problem that her readers commonly face.

You can also offer to write guest posts for other blogs; as long as they are relevant, they can link to your webinar landing page.

Creating a video teaser

A video teaser is an excellent way for potential attendees to get to know you and to know what to expect from your webinar.

I’d recommend filming a short, snappy webinar teaser as a sneak peek and then sharing it on any promotional channel. TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are excellent places for this, and you can also share on your LinkedIn.

For example, if you’re a business coach and you want to make a webinar about pivoting in your career, creating a promotional video to share on LinkedIn is the best way to quickly reach people who may be on the cusp of a career change. Just remember to use the relevant hashtags for your niche.

As a bonus tip: think about working with an industry influencer. They may be able to create their own video, which you can both share, and this will give you a wider reach as well as some social proof in the form of approval from a popular figure.

Paid Ads

You can also try paid ads to spread the word about your current webinar. Google Ads and Meta Ads are a good place to start. Meta Ads, for example, allow you to get very specific, targeting your specific demographic.

Although you may not see immediate returns from your paid ads, it’s still worth a try if you have the budget for it. Paid ads will attract more eyeballs to your video teaser, for example, and you may be able to reach a wider audience this way.

Any niche can make the most of paid ads. Most social channels offer paid advertising in some way, so it’s worth investigating every option.

Trade shows/Industry events

Networking at trade shows and industry events is also a useful promotional strategy. This is where old-fashioned business cards come into play: You can order business cards with a QR code attached or a registration link.

Meeting people face-to-face at industry events is a great way to build connections, potentially find more clients, and discuss your upcoming webinar. The good thing about face-to-face conversations is that your passion can really come across in person.

For example, if you’re giving a webinar about digital marketing for authors, attending a literary festival is a good way to find people in your niche who may need help.

YouTube

Filming and editing for YouTube is another task that requires some effort but if you can understand the algorithm, it can draw people to your webinars.

YouTube videos can be as long as you want, which means you can discuss your background, why you’ve created the webinar, and what you want to give to attendees in detail.

The downside of YouTube is that in order to get subscribers, you do need to make content that is useful to people without selling them anything; this builds trust with your audience and makes your content shareable. So you need to be prepared to invest some time in this platform and keep your audience in mind if you want it to work.

To give an example, one of my clients, Sara Artemisia, creates valuable content within her niche on her excellent channel:

This means that she has a ready-built audience to advertise her services, including her Plant Spirit Wisdom Academy. Her audience will keep coming back for more relevant content, and may click on the event link if they feel the event details suit them.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

There are a few pitfalls I’ve encountered over the years:

• Not planning enough – you need to make sure you plan every detail, including questions people may ask in the Q&A sessions
• Poor audio quality – poor audio quality can really turn people off, so check your microphone settings and test it before you start the webinar
• Not making the most of the CTA – the CTA is a prime opportunity, so make the most of it and advertise your services clearly
• Too much text – too much text on a slide is hard to follow, so make it as simple as possible
• Not engaging with the audience – make sure you say hello to your audience and talk to them as you go through the webinar

Best Practices for Following Up After a Webinar

Once the webinar is done, you need to follow up with an email. This is another way of reaching out and advertising your coaching services, but it also provides a way of collecting feedback, which can be invaluable.

You can use a form-building service like Jotform to create a feedback form. This will enable you to refine your webinars for the future.

Don’t feel that you have to stop there, either. You can send future emails to announce new webinars or courses; just make sure that you don’t bombard your contact list, otherwise they might switch them off.

Measuring the Success of Your Webinars

Analytics give you valuable insights about the success of your webinar.

Key metrics

The key metrics you need to know about include:

• Number of registrations – this shows your registration rates. You may notice some spikes in registrations – you may be able to link these to your email marketing, your promotional content, or your banner ads
• Attendance rate – this is a percentage to show webinar attendance
• Attendee engagement – this can include the number of people who engaged with Q&As, the percentage of users who answered poll questions, and so on. This shows you how many people were really plugged into your webinar
• Average Duration – This shows the average amount of time people spent on your webinar before clicking away
• Revenue generated – this shows the total revenue generated by your webinar
• Leads generated – this may take some time to collect, but this will show the number of leads your webinar generated through your call to action button or follow-up email strategy
• Email clicks and open rates – this shows how many people opened your emails about your webinar and how many people clicked through to your webinar landing page

Your webinar platform may not provide all of these analytics, so when you’re choosing a platform, it’s good to keep this in mind.

Analyzing feedback

Once you’ve obtained your feedback and analytics, you can start analyzing them and making sense of these valuable insights.

For example, if a few people left at the same time, you may be able to look at that section of the webinar and ask why your users weren’t engaged enough to stay. You may need to shorten the section, or add more visuals, or make it more interactive to keep people engaged.

You may also need to add more calls to action, or offer a discount code to entice potential attendees, if your landing page didn’t perform as well as you thought it would.

You can also collect feedback in a document. But make sure that you take in the praise as well as any criticisms – it’s easy to focus on the negative, but you should also take in what people enjoyed about the webinar.

Turning this feedback and data into actionable insights

After the webinar is over, I’d recommend sitting down and reflecting on how you will move forward. You could make a list of actionable steps for next time. For example, you may notice that one section of your webinar was very popular, with a lot of engagement: can you expand on that particular topic? Could you offer more services in that area? Could you bring in industry experts and create a new webinar?

One area to focus on is leads generated and clickthrough rates to your services. How can you convert more of your audience to become clients? How can you make your services sound more appealing to them at the end of the webinar and in the follow-up emails?

Keep this list of improvements in mind for your next webinar. That way, you’ll be able to make an even more popular and useful webinar to gain more clients, and make an even more effective webinar promotion strategy.

Automating webinars to get more leads and sales

At EHQ, we automate some functions within our webinars to save time, including following up with leads, setting appointments, and going through with sales.

Your webinar platform may have similar automations you can use; it’s worth looking into these, as it takes the legwork out of following up with your most engaged audience members, giving you more time with your clients.

For example, Livestorm allows you to automate a few time-consuming processes, including:

• Scheduling emails
• Launching videos automatically
• Setting up recurring events
• Automatically syncing with other platforms, like CRM platforms

These sound like small tasks, but when you add them all up, they do take a lot of time you could spend making your webinar even more exciting for your audience.

Key Takeaways

I really believe in the power of webinars when it comes to marketing your coaching business since it’s an excellent way to get new clients and to create content you can use in the future, as well as offering an opportunity for a passive income stream.

While you’re here, check out our free training on how to get coaching clients for more ideas.