What is a Webinar and How Does it Work

Author: Arynetta Northcutt, Solopreneur, content creator, EasyWebinar contributor.

My first time creating a webinar was one of my most nerve-wracking, stress-inducing experiences of 2016. I used Google Hangouts, streamed through YouTube, and Keynote to create my very basic slides. The video quality was meh-to-decent, while the tech skills needed felt like professional-to-expert. Buffering was to be expected. All in all, the webinars of yesteryear could be a glitchy experience.

When you include the, by today’s standards, absolutely archaic advertising options––TikTok was still a sparkle in its founders eye, and, though Facebook Ads were “a thing” they were not widely used by solopreneurs like me––the entire experience left me, at best, a bit shaken, at worst, perhaps even a bit traumatized. It would be awhile until I returned to the world of webinars.

But, six years later, it did happen. I’d completed a children’s online mindfulness course and realized I needed to market it. Nervously, I decided to give webinars another try.

Oh, had times changed.

Gone were the glitchy, low-fi ordeals that felt like you needed a degree in computer programming to get up and running.

Now, companies like EasyWebinar were providing pixel-perfect, high-definition experiences through easy-to-use software, fed by funnels efficiently originating with paid advertisements, organic SEO traffic, and with affiliates.

These experiences could be repeated again and again, then automated to provide a consistent flow of customers into a company’s ecosystem. These aren’t your grandmother’s webinars. Actually, I take that back. With a little bit of practice, they’d be able to run them just fine.

Today, utilizing webinars can be the most effective form of your marketing. Read on to learn why.

First, let’s start with the basics.

What is a webinar, anyway?

At its nuts and bolts, a webinar is a live, or automated, online presentation used to educate an audience on a particular subject. You may have also heard them called a masterclass, online training, or online seminar. Participants may ask questions, make comments, and respond to polls, with the teacher engaging with their participants in real time. This robust form of real-time engagement, where both participant and presenter share and receive information, is one of the many reasons live webinars are so effective.

But webinars don’t only exist in the live form. Another powerful way to tap into a consistent form of passive income is to automate your webinar, providing 24/7 lead generation and sales conversion.

More on automated webinars in a bit. First…

Who are webinars for?

A common misconception is that webinars are just for the thought leader––those with huge communities and massive followings. The truth is, size doesn’t matter. Webinars are powerful tools for all business owners, and small business owners and solopreneurs are entering the webinar game and having amazing results.

The reason? Beyond the scalability, which we will get more into below, with webinars you can demonstrate your expertise and build brand authority as you build your business and influence.

In addition, you can use webinars as a lead generation tool and to build your list, to sell online courses, qualify customers in your consulting business, sell physical products and books, sell affiliate products and programs, sell physical conferences, and to run virtual summits.

Webinars can be used as bonus content to deliver additional value to physical products and books.

They can be used as a dynamic component to a membership like Substack and Patreon by running free weekly, or monthly, classes.

They can be used by freelancers to demonstrate their expertise with case study walk-throughs and demonstrations of their particular methods.

And these are just a few examples. The truth is, every business can find a way to utilize webinars to connect with their customer, add value to their service, and bring consistent, high-quality leads and sales into their business.

So, why are webinars so powerful?

One, they allow you to scale quickly. You go from talking 1:1 in real life, to talking 1:many virtually, and then, you can automate that conversation. (More on automation later. Don’t worry, we’re getting there.) And you’re not starting the conversation ice cold. Those who raise their hand for your presentation are expressing an interest in the information.

The strength of the webinar is its ability to connect on a more intimate level to those who raised their hand. With a good webinar, your attendee will get to know, like, and trust you.

That “know, like, and trust” factor is key, and it is the second reason that webinars are so powerful.

See, webinars allow people to connect with you as a real person. They’re privy to your style. Your audience is no longer in a disengaged state of passive tech-scrolling, they are having a real conversation and feeling like they know you. You’re not a stranger hawking your wares. You’re a new friend authentically engaging with them about a product and service that can enhance their life.

It is your unique, authentic way of telling your story and presenting your message that customers connect with. And today, this authenticity and connection are the building blocks of influence.

And once you’ve tapped into all of this goodness, you can automate it.

Making passive income using
automated webinars

Finally, we’re here.

Because it’s in automating your webinars that you put lead generation and sales conversion on autopilot.

Automated webinars let you scale your system without trading time for money, because your presence isn’t necessary. They are pre-created webinar funnels working automatically to generate leads and customers 24-hours a day, seven days a week, 365-days a year.

EasyWebinar customers use automated webinars to create evergreen courses, run automated sales funnels, onboard customers and so much more.

Dave and Amy McCready used EasyWebinar to automate their webinar and scale a $200 product to making millions in revenue, while serving over 90,000 students, with leads entering their webinar funnel at a rate of 1-2,000 a day.

And now it’s your turn.

I’ve explained how big and small businesses, solopreneurs, and freelancers can utilize webinars to build their business and increase their influence. But you can’t cash in from the sidelines. Take your turn and begin to experience the benefits that webinars provide by starting EasyWebinar for free today.