Welcome! Promoting your webinar: Using free publicity to attract more targeted participants Shannon Cherry, APR, MA The Power Publicist

A little about me and how I got here History of company/company vision Who’s who Company policies Benefits Performance reviews Other resources Required paperwork Summary

The basics of promotion Promoting a teleseminar or webinar is like promoting any other event. An event isn’t an event until the people arrive – and getting them there isn’t easy. That’s why… YOU NEED A PLAN!

It takes time. The biggest mistake most people make when promoting their webinars and teleseminars is waiting to the last minute. People get bombarded with more than 20,000 marketing messages each day It takes at least 7 times for people to recognize you and/or the event So the key is to take a longer, more strategic approach – usually no less than 8 weeks out! (I prefer 12 weeks!)

3 simple steps to promoting your webinar Step 1: Find your voice Step 2: Tell your story Step 3: Be heard

Step 1: Find your voice Who is your webinar for? For the B to C market, ask yourself: –What are the common demographics of my customers? –What income level are they at? –Do they rent or do they own their own homes? –Are they young and single, middle aged with children, or older and retired? –Are they male or female?

Step 1: Find your voice Who is your webinar for? For the B to B market: –What are the commonalities that my best business-to-business clients share? –Are they e-commerce companies? –How many employees do they have? –Are they largely profit or not-for-profit? –Who’s the decision maker?

Step 1: Find your voice Develop key messages, including features and benefits, that resonate with your target market. For example: for this specific webinar, my list included: –Attract more prospects –Get more attendees –Make more money –Become the expert in your field

Step 2: Tell Your Story Depending on your target market, you’ve got a LOT to choose from, including: Press releases campaigns Joint venture opps Article marketing Blogging Social media

Step 2: Tell Your Story Press releases: –Create three separate releases for the maximum impact Announce the webinar/teleseminar Tips-style release on topic Bonus offered at webinar attendence –Post on the several release distribution sites

Step 2: Tell Your Story Release distribution sites: PRBuzz.com PRCompass.com PRUrgent.com Press-Base.com PressAbout.com PressMethod.com.PressMethod.com PRLeap.com PRLog.org TheOpenPress.com 24-7PressRelease.com 1888PressRelease.com ClickPress.com1888PressRelease.com ClickPress.com EcommWire.com Express-Press-Release.com Free-Press-Release.com Free-Press-Release-Center.info I-Newswire.com NewswireToday.comI-Newswire.com NewswireToday.com PR.com PR9.net PR-Inside.com

Step 2: Tell Your Story Campaigns: Ezine or e-newsletter (or regular newsletter) Event listings (3 times at least) Feature write up Articles on topic that link to registration Solo mailings At least three: –Announce event –Benefits of event –Last call!

Step 2: Tell Your Story Joint Venture Opportunities: Find others who have similar target market & ask them to promote to their list –If webinar has a fee, give them an affiliate commission –If not, offer to promote their stuff to your list in return

Step 2: Tell Your Story Article Marketing –Write 3 articles on topic webinar covers Suggested sites:

Step 2: Tell Your Story Blogging Using previously written promo copy & articles, tweak content so it’s a bit more original. Optimally you’ll want 6 pieces of content (or posts).

Step 2: Tell Your Story Social Media: Every time you post on your blog, send a brief, chatty promo to your social media/networking. (I use ping.fm to do it all at the same time!) Here’s some examples: –Having problems getting people to sign up to your teleclass? You’re not alone –What’s the biggest mistake most people make in promoting webinars? Find out

Step 3: Be Heard Implement it according the following schedule: Press releases: Time the releases to go out to key media (the ones that your target market uses) every 2.5 – 3 weeks, starting about 10 weeks out. campaigns: Time the s to start going out about 9 weeks prior to event. Joint Ventures: Contact possible JVs weeks in advance. Write suggested promo copy for them and deliver it to them at least 3 weeks in advance. They should use it around the 1 week prior mark.

Step 3: Be Heard Implement it according the following schedule: Articles: Distribute articles online every 2 -3 weeks starting 8 weeks out. Blogging: Start posting content 6 weeks out, one per week. Social Media/Networking sites: Start posting content 6 weeks out, one per week in conjunction with blog posts. BONUS: FREE CHECKLIST/TIMELINE be visiting

Thank you! Any questions? Shannon Cherry, APR, MA The Power Publicist for free checklist/timeline