Crafting Powerful Webinar Messages

Want your words to actually sell? Here’s a simple roadmap I've found incredibly helpful: Think of crafting your message like taking someone on a mini-journey: 1. Hook them with curiosity: Your headline is the first "hello."  Make it intriguing enough to stop the scroll.  Instead of just saying "Email Marketing Tips," try something like "Want a 20% revenue jump in the next 60 days? (Here's the email secret)."  See the difference? Promise + Specificity = Attention. 2. Tell a story with a villain: This might sound dramatic, but hear me out.  What's the problem your audience is facing?  What's the frustration, the obstacle, the "enemy" they're battling?  For the email example, maybe it's "wasting hours on emails that no one opens."  Giving that problem a name creates an instant connection and a sense of purpose for your solution. 3. Handle the "yeah, but..." in their head: We all have those internal objections.  "I don't have time," "It costs too much," "Will it even work for me?"  Great copy anticipates these doubts and addresses them head-on within the message. 4. Show, don't just tell (Proof!): People are naturally skeptical.  Instead of just saying "it works," show them.  Even a simple "Join thousands of others who've seen real results" adds weight. Testimonials, even short ones, are gold. 5. Make it crystal clear what you want them to do (CTA):   Don't leave them guessing!  "Learn the exact steps in my latest guide" or "Grab your free checklist now" are direct and tell them exactly what to do and what they'll get.  Notice the benefit in the CTA example: "Get sculpted abs in just 4 weeks without dieting." And when you're thinking about where you're sharing this (LinkedIn post, email, etc.), there are different ways to structure your message. The P-A-S (Problem-Agitate-Solution) or A-I-D-A (Attention-Interest-Desire-Action) frameworks are classics for a reason. The core difference I've learned? Good copywriting isn't about shouting about your amazing product. It's about understanding them – their challenges, their desires – and positioning your solution as the answer in a way that feels like a conversation, not a sales pitch.

Regardless of how great your ideas are in your virtual sales pitch, webinar, or team meeting… People are most likely checking their email, browsing social media, or working on other things while you present. How can you prevent that and actually get your audience to pay attention? Here are 4 of the most powerful techniques we use for our own virtual training courses: 1. Win the first five seconds According to research from the University of Toronto, people need only five seconds to gauge your charisma and leadership as a speaker. In virtual environments, this first impression is even more critical. To establish instant rapport: - Keep your posture open and inviting (avoid fidgeting, crossed arms, and closed-off postures) - Use open gestures that welcome the audience into your space - Gesture with your palms showing at a 45-degree angle - Speak with clear articulation and energy from the very first word The quickest way to lose your audience? Starting with tentative body language that signals you’re unsure or unprepared. 2. Design your presentation for virtual viewing When designing slides, assume varied viewing conditions. Design for the smallest likely device and the slowest likely Internet speed. Make your slides accessible by: - Using larger fonts (24-32pt) - Applying higher contrast colors - Limiting each slide to ONE clear idea - Adding more space between lines when using smaller text - Stripping excess content (you can provide additional information in a separate document) 3. Vary your delivery Our research shows the optimal length for linear presentations is just 16-30 minutes, while interactive ones can maintain engagement for 30-45 minutes. People’s attention will go through peaks and valleys during that time, so try these techniques to keep their attention: - Vary your speaking pace (faster to convey urgency, slower to express gravity) - Use intentional pauses to let key points land - Adjust your vocal tone (lower pitch for authority, higher for approachability) - Shift between slides, stories, and data at regular intervals Each change helps reset your audience’s attention and signals importance. 4. Build in structured interaction Don’t make your audience wait until the end of your presentation to interact. According to our research, presentations that incorporate audience engagement through polls, chat responses, or breakout discussions maintain attention longer. For the highest engagement: - Use a variety of interaction types throughout your presentation - Incorporate breakout rooms for small-group discussions - Switch modalities regularly to keep it interesting Remember: In virtual environments, you need to recreate the natural engagement that happens in person. Your virtual presentation success isn’t measured by perfection…it’s measured by action. Master these techniques and your audience won’t just pay attention, they’ll respond. #VirtualPresentations #CorporateTraining #WorkplaceLearning

𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐈. It felt like I was getting generic, robotic responses no matter how hard I tried. Then I realized the problem wasn’t the AI—it was me. Getting truly great results is a skill, and it starts with avoiding the common mistakes I was making. I started calling them my "7 Traps of AI Prompts," and once I learned to dodge them, everything changed. Here’s the short guide to what I learned. 𝟏. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩: 𝐍𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 I used to say “Summarize this,” expecting it to read my mind. It couldn’t. Now, I set the scene and give it a role. Before: “Summarize this.” After: “You’re a content strategist. Summarize the attached podcast into a tweet thread for startup founders. Use a hook, 5 takeaways, and a closer.” 𝟐. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩: 𝐕𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 “Write something inspirational” sounds nice… until you read it. Now, I define success—length, tone, and audience. Before: “Write something inspirational.” After: “Write a 3-sentence LinkedIn post that inspires mid-career professionals to take creative risks. Keep it jargon-free and end with a rhetorical question.” 𝟑. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩: 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐞 I asked questions like I would in a search bar. That works for facts, not ideas. When I gave it a job, the results leveled up. Before: “What are some webinar ideas?” After: “Plan a 3-part webinar series for HR professionals at tech startups. Include titles, takeaways, and one guest speaker per session.” 𝟒. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩: 𝐁𝐢𝐠, 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 I’d dump everything into one prompt and hope for a masterpiece. Instead, I got a mess. Now, I break it into steps. Before: “Create a full brand strategy for our product launch.” After: “Step 1: Identify 3 audience segments.” “Step 2: Write a value prop for each.” “Step 3: Create 2 tagline options using a playful tone.” 𝟓. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩: 𝐎𝐧𝐞-𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬 I used to ask once and leave. But the gold is in the follow-ups. Now, I treat it like a collaborator—not a vending machine. Before: “Write the newsletter.” After: “Suggest 4 angles for a newsletter targeting indie creators.” “Angle #3 is strong—expand it into a rough outline.” “Turn that into a 200-word draft with a witty subject line.” 𝟔. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩: 𝐍𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 I’d get decent answers, but they didn’t sound like me. Now, I give it tone, format, and personality cues. Before: “Announce our new feature.” After: “Write a 5-sentence Instagram caption for our new AI tool. Use a cheeky tone. Start with a one-liner, end with an emoji CTA.” 𝟕. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩: 𝐍𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 Without examples, the AI guesses your taste. That’s a gamble. Now, I show it what “good” and “bad” look like. Before: “Write a cold email.” After: “Model this after [good example]. Keep it tight, punchy, under 70 words. Avoid sounding like this [bad example]. Start with a bold first line.”

People register, but never show up to your webinar. Here’s why (and how to fix it) Most webinars have a live attendance problem. Registrants sign up eagerly. Then life gets busy. Emails are missed, reminders ignored, and your attendance rate suffers. After hosting hundreds of webinars, here’s what I found genuinely works: 1/ Timing is everything Schedule webinars midweek (Tuesday to Thursday) if your audience works standard hours. Avoid Mondays and Friday afternoons; they’re notoriously poor for attendance. Then, automate your reminders: - 1 email one day before - 1 email four hours before - 1 email 10 minutes before Emails help, but SMS reminders drive attendance even higher. Set them up if you can. It’s worth it. 2/ Offer something exclusive Your audience needs a reason to attend live instead of watching the replay. Provide downloadable templates, checklists, or guides only for live attendees. Make these bonuses clearly time-sensitive. People will rearrange their schedules if they see real value in showing up live. Oh, and never mention there will be a recording available. 3/ Promote smarter 🟠 Tease your webinar with short clips of past sessions. Share quick insights or exciting moments that build curiosity. Share behind the scenes of you preparing for the webinar. 4/ Be specific about live benefits Tell your audience exactly what they’ll miss if they don’t join live: - “Live Q&A with industry experts” - “Real-time feedback on your challenges” - “Networking with peers” Repeat these points in every reminder. Repetition helps because people skim emails, and they don’t read them carefully. 5/ Showcase your expertise Your credibility sells the webinar. Briefly mention achievements relevant to the topic: - “This helped me grow revenue by 230% last year.” - “Sarah has trained 300 sales leaders in 2024 alone.” Real results build trust. 6/ Optimize for mobile Choose a webinar platform with strong mobile support. Don't forget to clearly instruct attendees to download the required apps ahead of time. Use these tips to get more attendees showing up live. They’ve worked consistently for my webinars. Reshare ♻ to help others do better webinars. PS: I share daily webinars, marketing and AI tips at Jakub Michalski

Webinars can be the most mind-numbing, drivel-inducing waste of time, making you want to throw your computer screen into the Hudson River while screaming "They're all corporate shills!" at the top of your lungs. Sometimes they're okay though. So after hosting 100+ webinars, some with over a thousand participants, I figured I'd share my favorite formula for a killer webinar. 🔴 First, a few guidelines: 1. Substance Over Showmanship: Like most thought leadership and content marketing, a lot of it comes down to 🥁🥁🥁... if you don't have anything to say, just keep your mouth shut. Celebrity guests are great but overindex on people who have smart things to say and know how to deliver a message. Good delivery + content > Brand Name. 2. Prep: Invest 20-25 minutes to sync with your speaker on topics that resonate with your audience and that, more importantly, they are passionate about. Bored speaker = bored guests. 3. Conversation Pillars: Based on that sync, identify two or three core topics and find data points or industry trends to build up into them. Then come up with crisp questions that encapsulate each. You're going to spend the webinar making your guest look smart; the questions you ask are where you get a chance to establish your personal and brand credibility. 4. Don't sell: You're going to build in two sections where you deliberately push your product or brand. Do everything humanly possible to only sell there. 🔴 Structure: 1. Quick introduction: Welcome people and give a quick overview of the topic. 2. Company intro: 30-45 seconds on your company, primarily presented as why you feel qualified or what pushed you to host this webinar. 3. Capture Attention: Lead with The Big Question and use it to intro your guest. 4. Guest intro: Let the guest present themselves. Briefly. They are going to impress people with their content, not their resume. 5. The meat: Present a data point or trend that you identified and use it to segue into your question to the guest. This is not a stand-alone question - it's a starting point for a back and forth conversation that should go 4-8 minutes. 6. Repeat: Use your suave convo skills to repeat that 2-3 times, depending on available time, your guest's chattiness and the earth's rotation. Remember, your guest is the hero, not you. Your job is to make them look smart. 7. Q&A: If you're an awesome multi-tasker, let people ask questions by chat during the webinar to steer the conversation. If not, throw in a dedicated session at the end. 8. Push: Explicitly mention that the next 45 seconds will be an ad, which subtly reinforces that anything else before was not (sneaky, right?), and then push your relevant product or service. It's okay if you don't too. 9. Mic drop: 🎤 Your turn. What are your tips for not-sucky webinars?

I used to think webinars were about filling the top of the funnel. Big registration numbers, lots of names to pass to sales, and fingers crossed someone would bite. That was the wrong lens. Webinars actually work best when you treat them as a demand creation tool, a way to spark a real conversation buyers will continue after the session ends. Here is the framework I use now: 1. Co-create the story with sales If sales is not excited about the topic, they will not promote it. Ask them what objections they keep hearing or what problems buyers bring up again and again. Build your webinar narrative around those themes. 2. Anchor it in a real buyer problem Forget features. Imagine you had 45 minutes with your buyer at lunch. What would you talk about to get them thinking differently about their status quo? That is your angle. 3. Segment the audience A senior exec and a mid-level practitioner do not want the same content. Map out the personas you want to engage and make sure the format and story resonate with them. 4. Make the follow up smarter A registration is not buying intent. Track engagement during the webinar and build a follow up play that reflects reality. Example: • Someone watches 5 minutes → nurture them with lightweight content • Someone asks a live question → that is a signal for sales outreach • Someone downloads slides after → trigger an enablement sequence 5. Create a content hub A webinar is not just a one-off. Package the recording, slides, case studies, and related resources into one hub. This way, buyers can come back multiple times and you capture more intent data. The reason this works is simple. Webinars become part of the buying journey instead of a standalone event. You go from counting names to actually shaping conversations that move deals forward. The moment I started running webinars like this, sales stopped ignoring them and started asking when the next one was.

My client tried a webinar program I didn't approve of. The results? 40 attendees, 0 engagement. → no questions → people left halfway through → the pitch? it dragged on for 30 minutes Had to look away. Couldn't let it happen a 2nd time! After that flop, we had a serious conversation. I created a new strategy fit just for their brand. The result? → chat was buzzing → people were asking questions → stayed to the end and hung onto every word   → reached out to my client directly after the session Sometimes, it’s not about the numbers.  It’s about the connection you build. Here’s what changed: 1. Asked people to share where they're from. 2. Every 10 minutes, we answered some questions. 3. Used my client's story to resonate with the audience. 4. Gave freebies to download at start and end of webinar. 5. Made the pitch short & sharp - no dragging it out! The 1st program focused on pitching only. My program focused on engagement & relatability. Want a killer webinar? Focus on building trust with your audience. Selling can only happen when the audience trusts you enough. P.S. Do you join webinars often?

Ever felt your presentations didn't quite hit the mark? Well, the secret to rectifying that could lie in the Intention you set before you even put your presentation together. Before you begin creating your slides, it's incredibly valuable to define a clear purpose for your presentation. Setting a specific intention not only guides your content but also ensures your delivery aligns with your desired outcome. And when you’re considering this, you need to make your audience your top priority, & ensure you create key messages that are relevant & relatable to who’s going to be in the room. Avoid the tendency to simply put together a presentation that’s focused on information only. Think about how you can align it with your audience’s needs & concerns. This will give you more certainty & predictability that your message will resonate with them & achieves its goal. Actionable Steps: 1. ✅   Clarify Your Objective: 💡 Define Your Purpose: Determine what you want your audience to think, feel &/or do after your presentation. Are you aiming to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate or encourage their investment in your product or service? Clearly identifying your outcome provides a roadmap for your content. 💡 Put yourself in your audience’s shoes: Reflect on who your audience is & what matters to them. Tailoring your key messages to their interests & needs increases engagement & relevance. 2. ✅   Align Content with Your Intention: 💡Craft a Central Message: This becomes the anchor for your entire presentation. 💡Curate Supporting Points: Ensure each slide & talking points reinforce your central message. Eliminate content that doesn't serve your primary objective to maintain clarity and focus. 💡 And provide examples, metaphors, analogies, graphs, graphics & visual prompts that will bring the information to life & put it into context for your audience. 💡 If there’s a gap in their understanding – fill it. 3. ✅   Visualize Success to build your confidence: - this is often neglected, but it’s really powerful. 💡 It’s been proved that the mind can’t tell the difference between something that’s real & what’s vividly imagined.  💡Mental Rehearsal: Picture yourself delivering the presentation confidently & your audience responding positively. Visualization can enhance performance & reduce anxiety. 💡 Affirm Your Intention: Remind yourself of your purpose before presenting. This focus helps maintain alignment between your intention & delivery. Can you envisage, that by setting your intention before you present could change the way you approach your audience, it could change your tone of voice & even the words you use? To get further insights into constructing your key messaging you can find The Persuasive Presentation Template in my featured section. And I’d love to hear - how do you set your intentions before your presentations? I look forward to reading your thoughts. Kylie Hogan MONICA KADE Sami Ullah Khan @

Me: “Turn the webinar into a problem.” LinkedIn: “Interesting. Me💞” HubSpot: “Okay, but does it actually work?” Also HubSpot (yesterday): “Yeah, it does.” Most webinar promos are painfully predictable. “Join us for this exclusive live event!” “Can’t-miss insights!” “Reserve your spot now!” Cool. I’ll definitely forget about that immediately. So we flipped the script. Instead of announcing a webinar, we made the topic the hook: 👉 "8 out of 10 prospects don’t trust your marketing." No dates. No sign-ups. No “limited seats available” nonsense. Just a real problem that made people stop scrolling. And LinkedIn? It noticed. 351 impressions 198 members reached 82 video views 140 minutes total watch time Then HubSpot came knocking: “Alright, show us how you did that.” And yesterday, they covered it on their site. Here’s the formula they featured: 1️⃣ Make the topic bigger than the webinar. → Nobody wants to attend your event. They do want answers to their problems. Start there. 2️⃣ Build curiosity before the pitch. → Instead of dropping a registration link and praying, we shared teaser clips, ran polls, and asked people what they wanted answered. 3️⃣ Don’t let the webinar die. → Most webinars get abandoned once the live session ends. We turned ours into a resource—repurposing the key moments into posts, clips, and templates people actually used. The result? More engagement, more sign-ups, and a feature in HubSpot. So yeah—stop announcing and start starting conversations. What’s your best move for getting people to actually show up? Let’s swap ideas. 🤺 I’m Peter Murphy Lewis—fractional CMO, content strategist, and the guy who helps businesses turn marketing into revenue (not just noise). Some of my experiments flop. Others get featured in HubSpot. Either way, I’ll always share what works. #MarketingStrategy #WebinarGrowth #LinkedInMarketing

I’m prepping for our webinar to 467 people tomorrow: here’s how, so you communicate with clarity in your next presentation… 1. Stop preparing your presentations in PowerPoint (and presenting with it tbh too!). It stops you thinking about your message, your audience, and using visuals too. Death by PowerPoint is a scientifically proven thing! 2. Instead, get planning on paper. Helps map your ideas, develop a story that resonates, and consider visuals too. 3. How? Start by thinking about who you are talking to: what do THEY need from your presentation? How do you serve THEM? This will give you the compass as to what to include in your presentation. Remember, it’s not about you. 4. Frame your messaging through story. Use story structures to organise your key points engagingly according to what your audience need. Not sure which one to use? Check this out: https://lnkd.in/egh4GqUT 5. DRAW IT OUT. This helps you see where the gaps are or where it doesn’t make sense to your audience. I use a small square per side, limit myself to one point and no more than ten words per square, and each point has to have an anchor visual. Need help with the visual bit? Go here: https://lnkd.in/eXdyf7Hx 6. Sprinkle in sticky stories to make key points memorable or tough stuff easier to understand. Remember, stories are always about a person, in a place, with a problem, and how they overcome it. They usually have to battle a villain, with a magical helper along the way. 7. Plan your audience interaction points Put these in wherever you need them to understand, apply, or experience what they’ve heard. This could be a question, a poll, a task, group work, contributing to a shared whiteboard. 8. Build your deck off paper now. I use Procreate on the iPad, pre draw 75% of my visuals, so I can draw the rest live on the day. This creates regular state change in the audience - or something new for them to process every 3-5mins. This is what drives engagement. 9. Prep for the webinar tech - test it, break it, do everything you need to do to feel better on the day! 10. Have existential crisis that all 467 people will hate it and that you have no idea what you are doing 🤪. Oh, and then run the webinar 👍! What other tips would you add to perfect presentation prep 👇? Btw, there’s still time to sign up for Research to Reach: How to turn your research into toolkits and training to drive impact. Join nearly 500 of us here: https://lnkd.in/eVFuaBSi