There are many common webinar mistakes that can prevent an otherwise excellent presentation from getting the praise and attention it deserves. Here we share some tips and tricks to help you avoid these pitfalls and pull off a successful webinar.

1. Common
Webinar
Mistakes
to Avoid7

2. Mistakes can be made in both the
planning and execution stages of
a webinar. Even in a nearly perfect
presentation, if one thing goes wrong,
that one thing is what people remember.
Help ensure success and avoid pitfalls by
following these tips.

3. Mistake
Thinking a Single
Promotion is a
Good Idea
Limiting yourself to a single
promotion means a smaller
window of opportunity to
reach receptive people,
resulting in fewer participants.
1

4. • Use a two-week promotion
strategy, allowing multiple
opportunities for engagement.
• Deliver a variety of e-mails with
different messaging.
Solution
1

5. 2
Mistake
Failing to Have an Optimized
Registration and
Confirmation Page
Fewer than half the people
who begin registration for
your webinar will complete
the form, often due to issues
with the form itself.

6. • Avoid lengthy registration forms
because busy consumers will give up.
• Use consistent design elements to assure
prospects they’re on the right page.
• Embed helpful tools, like a calendar invite
to make adding the webinar to an existing
calendar easier.
• Include a confirmation page telling them
they’ve successfully registered.
Solution
2

7. 3
Mistake
Leaving the
Audience Out
of the Conversation
Audience members will
logoff if they feel bored
or if they’re staring at a
talking head for too long.

8. • Have a live QA so that the
audience can participate.
• Poll your audience so you can see how
they’re engaging with your content.
• Include group chat features so
audience members can communicate
with one another.
Solution
3

9. 4
Mistake
Boring Text and Too
Many Bullet Points
After a few PowerPoint
slides crammed with too
much text and too many
bullet points, your audience
will start to tune out.

10. • Limit the amount of words on screen
so the host becomes
the storyteller.
• Compel the audience with imagery.
• Consider including bullet points only to
summarize sections.
Solution
4

11. 5
Mistake
Selling to Your
Audience Instead
of Helping Them
No one wants to sit and
watch a snake-oil salesman
do his thing, especially
when they registered for
your webinar expecting to
be helped.

12. • Be direct and helpful.
• Offer participants new ways
to think about their toughest
business problems.
• You can address your product/
service if it’s from a perspective
that helps solve their problem.
Solution
5

13. 6
Mistake
Not Valuing Your
Audience’s Time
Your audience won’t
appreciate you starting or
ending late and will also
recognize when you don’t
have enough information
to fill the timeslot.

14. • Don’t exceed the advertised length! Do
dry runs to be sure you’ve got the
timing down.
• Don’t start more than about 2 minutes
late (allowing late comers just enough
time to join).
• It’s okay to end a few minutes early if
no more questions are coming in.
Solution
6

15. 7
Mistake
Treating All
Leads Equally
All leads are not created
equal. Some prospects will
be more clearly suited for
your message than others.

16. • Use intelligent lead scoring to
evaluate and score leads.
• Utilize registration data to help gauge
which participants to
further target.
• Track attendee activity and
engagement to help qualify leads.
7
Solution

17. Following these tips can help
you increase attendance and
ensure the audience focuses
on your content.
Learn more with
Webinars For Dummies
by John Carucci and Sharat Sharon
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