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Lessons Learned: Hosting a Webinar



Lessons Learned: Hosting a Monthly Webinar | Spruce Rd. #webinar

Lessons Learned: Hosting a Monthly Webinar | Spruce Rd. #webinar

Happy Monday friends! Last week I hosted my second Lunch + Learn webinar. I had such a blast getting to know each of you that participated. A few of you have asked about my experience with Lunch + Learn — what I have learned from hosting a webinar, the logistics of it, and how it is going. Stay tuned for the end of this post, to gain access to my previous recorded Lunch + Learn webinars, as well as other exclusive resources!

Here are a few of my insights from hosting a monthly webinar:

The more interactive, the better

So far, I have tried two different platforms of hosting my Lunch + Learn webinars: Google hangouts on air and Crowdcast. While both webinars went well, and luckily no technical difficulties, I much prefer the Crowdcast platform. The reason for this is that not only does this platform look beautifully simplistic in its interface, it also had a nice chat box feature, which lent itself to better interaction throughout the webinar. When I used Google Hangouts, it felt a bit like I was talking to no one. I know people were there watching live and asking questions, but I really wanted to create more of a community than what felt like a lecture. Crowdcast provided an opportunity for people to interact throughout the webinar. People even showed up 30 minutes early, so we got to know each other a bit before it started.

I recently purchased LeadPages for my business, and discovered that they have a webinar feature as well, so I plan on hosting my next Lunch + Learn through their platform. It also has the capabilities for live chat, so I am excited to get to know you guys even better.

You don’t have to spend money

The main priority in hosting webinars should be on the content produced, and not about the platform. I know I often times get hung up on the minute details such as the logistics of hosting, but I learned that instead I should focus my energy on producing a quality webinar.

Though I purchased LeadPages now (for many uses, not just webinars), you can get by without spending money. When I first started researching webinar services, I was completely overwhelmed by how much most webinar platforms cost. If you are thinking about hosting a webinar, you can get by with using either Google Hangouts, or Crowdcast (which works with Google Hangouts). Crowdcast is great for a number of reasons, one of which is it allows you to export the e-mails from the attendees. I didn’t need this feature for my last webinar, since I already had the emails from my newsletter, but it is good to know. You also have the capability to send a reminder email for the upcoming webinar to the attendees as well.

Come prepared

This could probably go without saying, but I made sure I was prepared for each webinar. I created presentation slides that walked me through the process, so I made sure I stayed on track. I also had notes to ensure I hit every point I wanted to make. I don’t enjoy webinars/tutorials where it is evident the host is unprepared, so I make sure to keep the tutorial concise and as on topic as possible.

Listen to what people want to learn

Webinars are such a great way to teach a skill you already know, or to learn something from another webinar host. For my second Lunch + Learn, I came up with the topic in response to what people wanted to learn more about: utilizing Adobe Illustrator templates for your blog. Through teaching a topic that people are eager to learn about, they will be more invested. There is nothing worse than spending all that time preparing + teaching, only to find out that the attendees weren’t interested in that topic. I try to teach something that can provide insight for you.

With that said, if you have any ideas/suggestions for a future Lunch + Learn webinar, please share it below in this one-question survey. I would really appreciate your feedback!

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  1. Kelsey baldwin

    I looooved the Crowdcast platform this time around! It’s so sleek and user friendly. Can’t wait for the next one! I’d love to learn about creating seamless patterns in Illustrator, if you know how 🙂

  2. Sasha-Shae

    Loved both of the Lunch+Learn and can’t wait for the next one. I personally prefer the CrowdCast platform..I’ve attended many webinars with LeadPages platform and they frequently give tech issues and the live chat isn’t always up-to-date for the presenter. Many times we’ll write in something and it goes by without showing up for the presenter till way after. But let’s hope that those don’t happen when you try it. Just wanted to share my experience as a viewer/attendee to previous LP webinars lol. Either way, can’t wait to see what’s next! And also, when would your course be coming?

    1. Sasha-Shae

      You know also thinking about it, most of those LP things were via WebinarJam, so it could be that the webinarjam was acting up and not actually LeadPages.

      1. Jamie

        Oh good to know Sasha-Shae! I am planning on giving LeadPages a try for the webinar, but if it doesn’t fit I might just take it back to Crowdcast! Eek, so excited for my course! It is still in the works, but I am thinking it will be August/September. I will definitely keep everyone posted, and can’t wait to share what I have been secretly working on 🙂

  3. Monica Galvan

    I don’t know much about webinar platforms so it’s great to see the comparison! Would love to hear more after you’ve used the LeadPages platform.

    1. Jamie

      I didn’t know anything about it either, until I decided to host one of my own! I was thinking this post would have been helpful to me a few months ago :). I will definitely post about my experience with LeadPages once I have more results/experience with it! Loving it so far!

  4. carrie

    I’ve attended both of your webinars and you are doing a fantastic job! I can’t wait for the next one. xo

    1. Jamie

      Thanks so much Carrie! Looking forward to the next one as well 🙂

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