I’m going to go on a rant.

Maybe it’s one too many of Sam Oven’s “webinars are dead” ads, but I need to say something about the theory of dead webinars.

It’s an easy thing to say (and believe). Especially when:

1. Notable Internet Marketers are claiming it
2. Show up rates for live webinars are at an all time low
3. Facebook is denying webinar ads more frequently
4. People can’t get their webinars to convert

The logical conclusion is…they don’t work anymore and it’s time to do something new.

Here’s why that’s a TERRIBLE conclusion.

It’s time to redefine a webinar, because we all are carrying ideas about what a webinar is (and isn’t).

There are a few things COMMON with webinars that absolutely should die…

• 30 minute origin stories
• 45 minutes of fluff before the meat
• Bait & switch headlines
• Unoriginal hacked secrets that are overused
• Fake live webinars that are clearly not happening in real time
• Staged testimonials
• High pressure sales
• Hype-y style personality transformations just to get in “state” to convince people to buy

That can all die and I would be just fine. And frankly, these are the reasons that Facebook is denying more webinar ads and people aren’t showing up. They are coming to EXPECT this sort of nonsense.

But really, if we redefine the word “webinar” as an online presentation, now it sounds awfully silly to say they are dead.

Why? Because…

1. Video is the fastest growing medium on the Internet. Look at YouTube. It’s still gaining traction at a crazy pace. Then there’s IGTV, Facebook Watch, etc. Video is not going anywhere. ????
2. The Internet is still the best and most lucrative place to advertise your business’ products and services. Anyone want to go back to billboards and direct mail? Yea, didn’t think so. ????
3. Presentations are still a valid way to communicate information. I guess you could also mime or do some interpretative dance to communicate your point. ????

Online presentations are a FANTASTIC way to teach, define, and sell. Online presentations along with written versions of that presentation are doubly powerful.

So why would anyone write off the single most powerful way to communicate to 1, 10, 100, or 1000 people? Why would you write off video, the Internet, and the logical sequencing of information because maybe yours happens to not be converting, or some Internet Marketer is trying to throw rocks for his own gain?

If I flip this script for a second, I’m going to say this….

The people who become MASTERS at the online presentation, the people who go deep in understanding the psychology of a presentation, the sequencing of information, the way to build rapport with an audience…those are the people that are going to make as much money as they want while the rest of the masses go off in search of a new shiny object.

Here are some of the ways learning how to create and craft a great webinar helps you in the long run…

It helps you write sales copy.

Yup. You can turn a webinar into sales copy in a hot minute. In fact, in a bunch of our current webinars, we are turning the online presentation into a readable version for people who prefer to read. If you don’t want to write sales copy, write a webinar and turn it into a sales letter.

It helps you figure out how to create mini-series with several steps, secrets, or methods that you roll out on social media.

Whether you’re rolling out a new series on IGTV, a new podcast, or even just a bunch of Facebook posts, have you ever broken a webinar down into sections and used it for content strategy? Stephen Larsen did this with his podcast launch and called it a Sideways Webinar (each podcast episode was a piece of the webinar so that over six or so episodes, you got the whole webinar).

The same goes with the Product Launch Formula from Jeff Walker. He advises you release three videos prior to opening the cart to your offer. Video one is part one of your webinar. Video two is part two. Video three is part three.

It helps you figure out how your offer fits in the market.

I guarantee if you sit down to write a webinar BEFORE you create your next product, your product will be better after working on the online presentation than before. The actual act of creating a presentation puts you in the unique position of looking at your sales message from both the angle of the seller and the buyer right? You’re trying to create a presentation your prospects will love. That dual angle of looking at things gives you a 360 view that allows you to see your blindspots.

In fact, I just wrote a webinar the other day – even while the offer was still foggy. By the time I was done with the webinar, EVERYTHING I had questions about became clear.

Webinars aren’t even close to dead, but you may need the following…

• It might be time to get creative with HOW you use tried and true formulas like The Perfect Webinar.
• It also might be time to see that the master presenters learn how to create powerful webinars in the context of a formula, but NOT STUCK TO IT.
• It might be time to learn new methodologies for drumming up buzz and anticipation, getting people to stay and watch, and ultimately, buy.
• It might be time to lean into your natural personality and brand, instead of trying to “become” like someone, thinking that is the key to selling (it isn’t).

If your webinar is not converting, it’s an easy out to decide that webinars are dead and it’s time to go hunt for the next shiny object. Which is cool if you want to create an interpretative dance and put it on a digitally rendered billboard, but I would gently suggest to reframe the webinar as an online presentation and decide…

Maybe it’s time to study new ways to create compelling content that moves people to buy!

xx Julie

P.S. Webinar Gorgeous is launching June 10th, and this blog post is a pre-cursor to the training that will be coming when Webinar Gorgeous launches. I’m tired of watching people stay stuck in formulas that don’t fit them, and if we all just make better presentations, then the old crappy webinar we’re all tired of…will in fact die. Without a funeral. Good riddance.