Over the last two months, I’ve delivered several 90 minute webinars for colleagues of mine that were designed for their specific followers. Ranging from Crowdfunding for Your Book Project to Creating a $1,000,000 Speech Using Your Book, the hosts remarked–“I’ve never had anyone hand on until we all said our good-byes.”
Hmmm … my webinars had Klout with the audiences, what was different from mine that the gazillions of webinars that are floating around today?
As I noodled their comments, I asked myself:
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What made my presentations different?
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Was it the content?
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Was it the slides I created?
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Was it the flow?
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Was it my presentation style?
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What was it?
Clearly, the content attracted the large audience. I had worked hard to create a consistent flow as in a logical progressive presentation and I knew my material–material that I had presented multiple times within the AuthorU.org community; material that I had developed over years of working with authors and speakers as well as presented to conferences. Here’s what was added that made it a bit different:
- I never presented on something that I didn’t know inside out.
- I added stories of really life situations and scenarios that my listeners/viewers connected with.
- My format was not one of just “tell them” … it was more of a “show them” how this works so that they would get it.
- I shared both what worked, and didn’t work for me as the webinars progressed through the 90 minutes.
- I was authentic–both an overused word and underused word … yet a critical word. For what I was sharing, I could easily “talk the walk” because I had “walked the talk”.
- All presentations were content rich.
- I provided plenty of specific “how-to” steps that they could immediately take away and implement.
- My slides had color, not a lot of bells and whistles, yet were easily read as I focused on each point.
- I wasn’t afraid to be my Snappy, Sassy, Salty self.
With key areas identified, it’s back to you. My 30 plus years from speaking on the international stage, I learned how to connect with audiences with my mouth and slides–from the old days of using reels of slides to slipping into PowerPoint. I still use PowerPoint. It’s fairly easy and can be modified with not much effort for various groups I speak with and for. Whether you connect via cyberland or in person, the nine points above will allow you to stand out.
Is it an overnight success? Most likely not–your success will come with continual practice. If you keep those nine points at the top of your list as your craft your presentation and webinar, you will begin way ahead of your competitors in your filed. Start with your expertise, then let it flow. Let yourself flow through–what worked, and didn’t, as you learned whatever you are teaching/sharing along the way.
AND … Continue to look for ways to position yourself as the expert. Speaking on your book can created significant cash flow. Doing Webinars on your topic can do the same … and get your words, ideas and expertise out via the Internet without leaving your home. Some are free; most charge for them—and why not?!
Webinars are a great tool to add to your speaking, marketing and branding mix. Most of them are done poorly. You still need a plan; slides that work; presentation skills. If you need some help, coaches are out there–one or two sessions with one can make a huge difference. The result is that you will sell more books, bring in more business and gain Klout! Nice.
Judith Briles is known as The Book Shepherd a book publishing expert and coach. She is the Founder of Author U, a membership organization created for the serious author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. Judith is the author of 31 books including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms, Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers and a speaker at publishing conferences.
Become part of her inner circle by joining the Author’s Ark and exclusive monthly webinar and coaching event. Her audio and workbook series, Creating Your Book and Author Platform is now available. Join Judith live on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST for Author U – Your Guide to Book Publishing on the Toginet Network at http://tinyurl.com/AuthorURadio . Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and TheBookShepherd on Facebook. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact Judith at Judith@Briles.com.