One of the easiest ways to host a successful webinar, is to invite an expert to take part. Here are 5 great reasons for them to participate:
1. You don’t have to rely on your own expertise – your expert will be there to educate your audience.
2. You’ll achieve expert status by association. You may not be an expert in their field, but by interviewing them you’ll be seen as being in the know.
3. You can bring new expertise to your audience. Offering an added perspective to your audience raises your value in their eyes. You become a “connector,” someone who knows all the right people.
4. You can get in front of new prospects. Many experts have audiences or lists of their own, and their “tribe” will follow them to your sphere of influence. If they like what they see, they will stay a while – and maybe even buy something!
5. You can do soft-sells on affiliate products. If you are an affiliate, you can bring the expert in front of your audience for a Q&A session. Then, when they mention their product, you provide your affiliate link and get a commission for every product your audience buys.
There are some things though that you should consider before selecting an expert to join your webinar:
- Are they a good fit for your audience?
- Are they personable and good at public speaking? Have a screening phone call or listen to other interviews with your prospective guest before you issue an invitation.
- Do they have something valuable to say? Make sure you’re spending your time – and your audience’s time – wisely by offering something unique, interesting, educational, or entertaining.
- Do they have a large list? This isn’t a must-have, but it definitely helps if your speaker has a large audience of his or her own and is willing to promote your webinar.
- Do they have products or services to promote? If you are hoping to earn commissions by promoting their products or services, find out how their affiliate program works, and if their products or services are right for your audience.
Get in touch with an expert directly if you can (contact information is typically available on their website). Write a short, professional email saying who you are, why you think your market would be a good match for their area of expertise, when you’d like to speak with them, and how long it will take. Then tell them what’s in it for them, for example exposure to an enthusiastic new market or a share of the proceeds. It’s really not a complicated process. Don’t be discouraged by someone saying ‘no, keep asking others until you get a “yes.”
I’d love your feedback! Have you run a webinar using a guest speaker? Tell me about your experience. Here on this blog, you’ll get commentluv. This is a plug-in that allows you to leave a link back to your own site when you leave feedback.
Until next time,
Robin
