20 lessons from running 20 webinars
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
Last week I hosted my 20th webinar with TrekkSoft. Over the course of 20 webinars, I’ve covered topics ranging from marketing to industry-specific panel discussions to product tutorials. I’ve hosted, presented, co-presented, and moderated these sessions, each time learning something new and interesting about the industry, the audience I’m speaking to, the pain points of businesses and the many ways I can improve as a speaker, marketer and communicator.
Here’s a list of lessons I’ve learned from each session, a reminder to myself that practice makes perfect and repetition is good for the soul.
Content that converts - I actually know a heck lot about writing and content marketing, and I should not undersell myself. However, I need to slow down when I speak.
2018 Travel Trends - Co-hosting a webinar is a dream when you’re working with a close friend and colleague.
What’s new at TrekkSoft - Not every feature release requires a huge announcement or campaign. Oftentimes, gently reminding users of new features is good enough. My job is to decide which feature deserves the former, and which deserves the latter.
SEO in 2018 - People in the travel industry really like webinars on SEO. I need to get better at spotting opportunities, keeping content evergreen and maximising its ability to generate high quality leads.
API Connectivity with a distribution partner - Technical tutorials don’t have to be boring. It just requires a little thinking outside the box.
Increasing booking conversion rates - Using marketing jargon in webinar titles is a surefire way to turn people off. Keep it simple, Nic!
Are you GDPR compliant? - Being honest about what you know for sure and what you don’t know is not a bad thing. If, during the session, you promise to keep your audience updated, you should keep that promise.
How to diversify your distribution with Musement - Collaborating with other brands on webinars can be a great initiative, especially if both your goals are well-aligned.
How to work with incoming tour operators - Finding time to schedule a practice run with four different speakers can be a bit of a nightmare. Based on the feedback I got, the audience appreciated the extra effort I put into the session.
How to get listed on Airbnb Experiences - Collaborating with other brands on webinars can be tricky if your goals are only somewhat aligned.
How to recruit and train guides with a guest speaker- When possible, I should always get an expert to talk about the topic at hand. Blagging only wastes everyone’s time.
A rerun of “SEO in 2018” - To pull off a good rerun, I don’t need fancy tools, I simply need to be present and active in the chat box.
Focus group with a distribution partner - Users and customers appreciate face time with global brands. Always go the extra mile to make it a unique learning experience for everyone who shows up.
7 steps to attract more customers with a guest speakers - For a webinar to work for your audience, extra work is sometimes required to refine the lessons you want to deliver.
A rerun of “How to increase website bookings” - Reruns sometimes do better with snappier titles. Throw in a live Q&A a few days afterwards if you have too many questions to go through.
How to build global brand awareness - Nothing beats an in-house team of speakers where we combine our superpowers, expertise and experiences to deliver some kickass content.
The same technical webinar with the same distribution partner - Running the same technical webinar for the 3rd time might get a little bit boring. Thank goodness we were speaking to a new audience.
2018 in review with my CEO and CTO - This is a great great great way to build rapport with users. Customers appreciate facetime and honest opinions from the people building the tools their businesses rely on. The trick is to schedule a date for the webinar 3 months in advance.
The future of consumer travel trends - Trends and statistics don’t mean anything unless speakers are able to turn them into useful insights for the audience. I’d like to think we do this pretty well.
How to increase tour bookings in 2019 - I’ll always get nervous when speaking in front of an audience. I think it’s because I respect every single person who takes the time to join the session in hopes of learning something useful. Oh, and I still need to slow down when speaking.