• I don’t believe there is really a wrong audience. There is a lot of studies regarding this.

  • This is a great post, Melanie. I’m so selective about “free” webinars I attend now – I think I’ve only attended two in the last two months. And both were worth it. A Derek Halpern and Electric Empire webinar, FWIW.

    When I launched I had a slight webinar addiction. So I’ve seen good ones and horrific accidents that I guess you could call webinars on a good day.

    I’ve learned to get out quick if they suck or become one big sales pitch. The worse if when you see a GREAT webinar, purchase the produt, and then realize the only thing of value was shared for free during the webinar.

    And I’m horrible, but I usually give a throwaway email address when I enroll because I hate getting on someone’s list…til death do us part. (MailDrop.cc is the one I use for this purpose. Check it out!)

    I promise – if your webinar is awesome, I’ll find you and sign up for the list with my legit email address. But you’re gonna have to prove it first…

    If I ever give a webinar, I’m using your tip about pitching in the middle with a warning upfront. Great tips and loved the article, Melanie.

    • I’m with you these days, Lisa, on the “free” virtual events. My [webinar] B.S. meter is finely tuned and dialed in with absolute precision. I want to see some “proof” first before I plunk down my sacred email address in the sign-up window. I need to know I won’t be wasting my precious time.

      Glad to know you like the idea of sharing offers with attendees midway through your webcasts. I’m a little biased, of course, but I believe it’s the best approach.

      Thanks a heap for joining the conversation! I’m tickled to see you here. 🙂

      I read the most wonderful post from you last evening (http://slostartup.com/2014/04/be-productive-when-youre-overwhelmed-by-too-many-choices/) and I want to invite and encourage my readers to check it out. Love the “permission” slips! 😉

  • Right on, Melanie! And to add insult to injury, how about the webinar that ended with a pitch to their $10,000 online course? Yep – $10,000. Seriously?

    • Thanks for catching this one, Cathy — always great to see you here!

      Wow. A $10,000 course is definitely considered a “high-end” offering. Sounds like you were pretty shocked when you heard that pitch at the end of the webinar. I wonder how many sign-ups they secured. Who knows? IF they promoted the webinar to the RIGHT AUDIENCE, they may have been very successful in getting attendees to buy their course. That’s always the key, isn’t it? Targeting your “right people”. 🙂

      Got a feeling you’ve sat in on a few poorly-presented and/or poorly-designed webinars. It’s always a big disappointment to come away from a presentation feeling like it was nothing but a waste of time.

      • Obviously, they had the wrong audience in me. 😉

    • I would have been their “wrong audience”, as well, Cathy. In my world, their offering is definitely not budget-friendly. 😉

  • *thunderous applause* Hear, hear! This is a fabulous post, Melanie. I wish there were a way to send it anonymously to all those folks who’ve delivered crazy webinars. I’ll just have to settle for sharing liberally on social media. 🙂

    • Share away as I smile away, Tea! A big bouquet of thanks. 🙂

      Your May biz blog challenge is one I just couldn’t pass up. I don’t know if I’ve been more unlucky than most … or what … but I’ve sat in on a slew of, let’s say, less than stellar webinars. So this is a topic that pushes all kinds of buttons for me.

      Excited to participate!