Boost registration with 6 webinar promotion email strategies

There are many ways you can promote your upcoming webinar event.

You can leverage social media, paid advertisements (Facebook, Google, Bing ads and more), video marketing and so on. One of the biggest channels webinar marketers rely on are emails.

On any given day, you will probably receive as much as 50+ emails in a day. You are also probably sending out emails to stakeholders, clients, coworkers, etc on a daily basis. Curating emails isn’t something that’s new to you. Creating a promotional email to increase your event registration rate should be simple. But that’s usually not the case.

There may not be a one-size-fits-all solution, but here are 6 webinar promotion email strategies we have uncovered.

1. Use Video to Promote Your Webinar

We all are well aware that video marketing is on the rise. Promote your webinar with a video in your email. It can be a short snippet of what you are going to discuss. Or an introductory video for your speakers. 70% of B2B marketers are using video in their overall marketing efforts and seeing conversions. Also, your email recipients will be flogged by numerous emails, so be different. Utilizing a video in your webinar promotional email will also be engaging to the reader.

In the event that your email provider doesn’t support video, embed your video onto an image within the email (hosted by YouTube, Wistia, Vimeo, etc).

2. Show Off Your Speakers

Hosting a webinar with well-known speakers or experts in their respective fields? Let your email list know. All you need is a:

  • Professional headshot
  • Their name and title
  • A small bio describing who they are

And you are set. If your speakers are well-known, then their clout will carry them through your promotional efforts. On the other hand, if they are respected as a Thought Leader or an expert in their field, it will give your prospects a reason to trust you and make time to attend your webinar.

3. Do Not Wait For The Last Minute

Some people will need that last-second push (same-day email promotion) in order to register for your webinar event. Don’t wait until then.

Start scheduling out your emails at least 2 weeks in advance. You will benefit from securing early-bird registrants. Pro tip: with the help of email automations, you can automatically send email reminders leading up to your webinar event to ensure that your registrants turn into attendees.

4. Everybody Loves a Discount

If there is a cost associated with attending your webinar event, reward your early-bird registrants with a discount code.

Make sure you clearly state when the discount ends. Do not open it for too long. Instilling a sense of urgency can help increase your registration rates.

Not sure how long to leave your discount live for? Offer the discount to the first 40 people who register to your event (the number of discount codes is up to you). This instills a different sense of urgency as your prospective registrants don’t know when the code will no longer be in use.

5. Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery

Looking for inspiration? You probably are not the only company offering webinars.

Sign up on emailing lists for similar companies. Look at the type of webinar promotion emails they send out. How is yours different? Are they similar? What are they doing well, and what can they improve on?

By answering these questions, you’ll soon figure out how to set yourself apart from your competition.

6. ABS: Always Be Split-Testing

Most email automation platforms (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Pardot, Infusionsoft, etc) will give you the option to split-test with your emails. Split-testing with your subject lines can provide a wealth of information about your prospects. Keep testing subject lines, email copy, length, text vs HTML until you figure out what resonates the most with your audience.

Let’s Recap

We know that email marketing works – when done right. Here’s an overview of the 6 webinar promotion email strategies that we have seen work:

  1. Use video to promote your webinar: promote your video event with a video.
  2. Show off your speakers: let their clout and expertise instill a sense of trust between your prospect and yourself.
  3. Do not wait for the last minute: increase your webinar registration rate by promoting at least 2 weeks before your live event.
  4. Everybody loves a discount: reward early registrants with a discount if you have a webinar registration fee.
  5. Imitation is the highest form of flattery: look at what similar companies are doing and compare them to your emails.
  6. ABS (Always Be Split-Testing): Subject lines, email content, body length, text vs HTML – keep testing until you find the right type of messaging that resonates with your prospects.

My main takeaway for you is to always keep thing simple. You have one goal: boost registration. That should be your clear call-to-action (CTA). Utilize these strategies until you find your winning formula.

Matthew Ley

Matthew Ley

Matt Ley is the current President and co-founder of The Streaming Network. Starting his career in virtual events in 2007, Matt is an industry veteran that is passionate about helping customers stand out in their industry with compelling virtual events that people want to attend. The driving ambition for Matt is that virtual events are not a utility for information distribution but an opportunity for firms to create a competitive advantage. Matt is an accomplished speaker, moderator and a sought-after thought leader.

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