10 Easy Ways to Keep People on Webinars Longer

Are you struggling to keep your webinar attendees engaged with your content until the very end? 

If you’re like most people, I’m sure you have asked yourself… “How do you keep people on your webinars?” 

It’s a great question and one that I get asked a lot from my clients at Easy Webinar. To make sales, you need people to stay until the end of your webinar so they can hear the pitch. 

The most important thing is for people to see the offer that you are putting out there. If they don’t see the call to action, they won’t click on the buy now button or take the desired action on your CTA.

Watch this video to learn a few ways to keep people on webinars longer:  

How to Keep People on Webinars Longer

As I mentioned in the video, you need to create an expectation and anticipation about what’s coming up in the workshop. Audiences need to know what transformation they are going to receive during the webinar.

As the presenter, it is your job to position the expectation early on in the webinar. Within the first five minutes, you should clearly lay out the benefits of them sticking around. 

You should call out the benefits directly by saying something like: 

• “Stay around and I’m going to share XYZ.”
• “By the end of this workshop, you will be able to achieve XYZ.”
• “Make sure to stay until the end so you can learn XYZ result plus get a free (ebook, a strategy call, bonus offer, etc.) 

Here are some other strategies you can use to get people to stay longer on your webinars.

1. Send Them a Webinar Worksheet Before The Presentation

The first strategy to get people to stay on your webinars longer is to get them engaged before the webinar even begins. To do this, send them a worksheet beforehand to get your attendees excited and engaged for the event. 

An effective webinar worksheet will give them specific, actionable directions that they should take. It could be in a checklist format and include tasks such as blocking a time slot in their calendar for the webinar, turning off any distractions and printing out the worksheet. 

You can deliver this in a few different ways. The first strategy to deliver your worksheet is to include a downloadable link on your thank you page. Once the attendee registers and goes to your thank you page, there is a download link.

Another way you can send them the worksheet is to send it in the webinar confirmation email. Or, use both strategies. This will give you the best chances of downloading it before the workshop begins.

2. Incentivize Them To Stay Until the End

Like I mentioned in the intro, you should incentivize attendees to stick around. Webinars are a big time commitment for busy people but they are much more likely to stay if there is something in it for them. At the beginning of your webinar, tell them they will receive something like a free eBook, mini-course, strategy call, etc. if they stay until the end.

You want to make sure it has clear value for your audience too. The more of a reward it feels like for your audience, the more likely they will stick around to hear the pitch. 

3. Nail Your Intro

Your webinar intro is their first impression of you and it needs to accomplish a few things. The first thing it should do is remind them of the benefits of attending.

Before you get into your webinar slides, you want to remind them again of what they will learn. You want to create an expectation of what they can achieve if they stick around. Focus on reminding them what they will learn and how it will benefit them or their business directly.

Also, your webinar introduction should be short and sweet. Don’t take 20 minutes to introduce yourself as people don’t care (sorry but it’s true). You need the introduction to be long enough for them to connect with you and your story but short enough to get into the content that will benefit them.

Remember, the webinar is about the benefits for them, not how great you are. Finally, make sure to tease the schedule of your webinar, how long it should last, and any other relevant details before teaching. 

4. Acknowledge Your Audience Frequently 

Human beings love acknowledgment. No one wants to feel like they are alone on the other end of the computer. Instead, make them feel as though it’s a live seminar by regularly acknowledging them.

Think about the last time you attended an excellent webinar. I’m sure the presenter thanked you for showing up, gave you kudos during the webinar, and asked you to answer questions in the chatbox. 

This is exactly what you want to do when you run your webinars. Throughout the presentation, you want to thank your audience for being there and thank them for hitting the chat box. Encourage engagement so they feel like part of the group and are motivated to stick around. 

Another strategy is to call them out by name as well. Say something like, “We have an awesome question from Susan.” 

People will feel a connection and feel that you really care about them. When people feel this type of connection to you, they are much more likely to stick around until the end.

5. Use Psychology Tactics

There are a few expert psychology tricks you can use to keep people engaged with your webinar. The first is to use open loops. 

Open Loops in Webinars

As AutoGrow.co said, “An open loop is a concept that, in the telling of stories, means our brains naturally want to seek out some sort of conclusion. The open-loop eventually provides that conclusion.”

One way to create an open loop is by introducing some information at the beginning of your webinar and tell attendees you will cover it soon. By being slightly vague and opening the conversation, their brains naturally want to get a conclusion.

Another strategy is one you can get from the best movies and TV shows in the world. One thing they all do well is cliffhangers. They create excitement and make people stick around. You can also create a cliffhanger scenario so at the beginning of your webinar so they are more likely to stick around.

Use Pattern Interrupts

Another expert trick to use alongside open loops is known as a pattern interrupt. A pattern interrupt is a way to change a person’s state or strategy. 

During your webinar, you could use a funny image, meme or something totally off topic to get their attention. This will help break up the slides and grab their attention.

6. Keep Your Energy High

If you’re nervous during your webinar, use that energy for excitement. If you’re selling something, chances are you love the subject (or at least really like it). Acknowledge that and let your inner geek come out during the webinar as you share your knowledge.

Attendees will be super excited to know how passionate you are about the subject and will feel your energy as well. 

7. Teach Don’t Sell 

If you want to keep people engaged, don’t focus on selling, instead focus on providing tons of value. 

You want to teach, teach, teach during the webinar. This will position you as an expert that can clearly help them and not someone selling something on the internet. 

People don’t want to be sold but they want solutions to their problems. It’s your job to persuade them by teaching valuable information without hard-selling.  

8. Mix Up the Webinar Format

If you run webinars regularly, mix up the format to keep people engaged!  Try to think of other ways you can try out a new format and surprise your audience. 

You could do this by inviting current students to talk about their experience, do a Q&A webinar or interview an expert. Or, you could choose to go without slides and focus 100% on their questions. This works well if you have already done a traditional selling webinar and potential clients might still have a few lingering questions. 

9. Create an Engaging Presentation

If you do choose to use slides for your webinar, make sure they are engaging. The last thing you want is your webinar to feel like a boring PowerPoint presentation in school. 

Spend the extra time in advance creating an epic slide deck. Use GIFs, images, and memes to keep them engaged for the entire presentation. 

Don’t just use the same slide format on everyone either. Instead, have 3-5 different types of slides and mix it up during the presentation. 

10. Get Feedback From Attendees

The final way to keep people engaged is to ask your audience directly once it’s over. Ask attendees what they thought by sending them a brief survey. 

You can ask them questions like:

• What was your favorite part?
• Was the webinar too short? Too long? 
• How can I make this presentation better? 
• Did the webinar deliver on the XYZ promise? 

The only thing to remember when asking feedback is to keep it simple. If you give attendees a 20 question survey, chances are they won’t do it. Keep your surveys simple and ask the questions that will help create a better webinar moving forward.

Summary

Hopefully, your audience is more motivated to pay attention throughout your presentation and stay until the very end. Engagement is extremely important when you expect people to watch something for 60 minutes!

Remember, if people don’t stick around until the end of your webinar, they won’t see the buy now button. But you can’t expect them to sit through a boring presentation either. It’s up to you to create a compelling webinar that engages them throughout so they are more likely to hear the pitch at the end.

Lastly, at the beginning of your webinar, make sure to set that big expectation and anticipation for what they will achieve in the workshop. Don’t forget, it’s all about providing a transformation for your attendees. If you focus on that and use the tips above, I’m confident you will get attendees to stay longer, see your offer, and become your customer!