How to create a webinar invitation

Businesses are always looking for ways to interact with their customers through channels accessible to all. With Covid hitting the global marketplace, companies had to look for new communication tools.

Webinars became the best way to run meetings free of cost and without geographical boundaries. Around 89% of marketers agree that webinars outperform other channels of creating qualified leads.

However, webinars were not limited to business interactions only; users could conduct other online events like workshops, product demonstrations, and Q&A sessions. In short, it enables companies, universities, students, and shoppers to interact and share knowledge in a new and attractive manner, only thanks to a device and an internet connection.

Unfortunately, many organizations think that webinars are not that easy to organize.

Challenges of many companies are:

• How do you reach a potential audience?

• How do you let them know about the webinar?

• Where do you generate new leads and registrations?

The traditional way of promotion is getting expensive, but an email invitation to a webinar is not that expensive.

In this article we will discuss the best practices required to create a perfect webinar invitation. So let's get started!

1. Target Audience

The first and foremost thing to do is to identify your target audience. If you know your audience, you are definitely in a great position to create a successful webinar.

You can state your content and frame a solution to their pain points by placing them accordingly.

Knowing your target group is the only way to stay relevant and appropriate with them. Thus, only rightly targeted readers will resonate and register with your webinar.

2. The Subject Line

Rule of thumb applies to the webinar's subject line just like any other email. The most catchy, precise, objective, and the well-versed subject line is the best you can choose. Keep in mind the following things concerning the subject line are:

• The Length: A study shows that the ideal subject line does not exceed 50 characters. The same research suggests that the subject line which produced the maximum attendance consisted of 41 characters.

  There are two main reasons behind it:

  • If the subject line is short, the recipient should read the entire subject line if it is concise rather than skimming it

  • The complete subject line is visible on the screen regardless of which device it displays on

• Leading Questions: Try to create suspense. A subject line is a question mode that should generate more attendees. For instance, how to make your skin glow? Similarly, try stating the practicability and the knowledge the participant will get from the webinar. For example, learn how to make pictures from scratch.

• Name the Speakers: Always introduce your speakers, especially if they are well known. It helps people follow your link based on their trust in celebrities.

• Emojis: Another way to attract potential clients is to add emojis to the subject line where necessary. Emojis tend to make the text stand out and eye-catching.

• Availability: Since most webinars are free these days, add mention that it is free. For example, we are excited to invite you to our free webinar.

3. Personalization

There are two main advantages of personalizing your webinar invitation. First, you will make people open your email as it contains their name, and second, they are more likely to sign up.

The easiest way to customize an invitation is to address the receiver by their name and this can be done by using email automation software.

It creates a sense of direct communication. Alternatively, send invitations only to those users who regularly check and read your invitations. You can do this by only sending the emails to subscribers that have already signed up for your newsletter.

The cons of non-personal invitations are that they flag them as spam. Another tip is to send invitations during peak times for the target audience.

4. Preview Text

The preview text follows the subject line. Preview text is a copy that appears in a box after the subject line. The text provides you with an opportunity to expand your subject line. It is a summary of what people should expect from your webinar. If you are sending the invitation through the email, preview text answers the question of why the receiver should open your email.

Ideally, the preview text ranges between 40 to 130 characters in length. So, stay precise and choosy with your words to disseminate maximum information with minimum words. Another good thing about preview text is that you test your preview before sending the invite. So, we recommend double-checking text and its content before triggering an invite.

5. Appealing Banner

The banner is the third most important factor after the subject line and preview text. Banners are used in branding terms and are a decisive piece whether the user signs up for your webinar or not. Hence choosing the right image is essential.

Banners are located at the top and give the very first impression. The purpose is to grab the attention and get maximum registrations. The layout depends on the nature of the webinar.

Few things to keep in mind, if you are planning a B2B event, the banner should appear more standardized and formal. If you have a celebrity as part of your event, put them straight onto your banner. Similarly, you can use animations, digital tools, and visual representations to convey a more complicated business model. The banners should chalk out the 3 Ws – What, Where, When, and a CTA. Furthermore, banners contain branding like the company name, logo, etc.

However, for B2C events, try creating an emotional appeal through more visual images. Try to demonstrate the benefits of the webinar. For instance, use an athlete for an exercise-related webinar or a model for fashion-related invitations. Or you can use an image that relates to the problem, offering its solution.

The email header should resonate with the webinar branding. You have an added advantage if you have an in-house graphic designer. But, do not need to worry even if you do not have a dedicated resource at your disposal, as you can quickly get the job done from a third party or with the help of free online tools.

In short, the banner should effortlessly deliver the plan and purpose of the webinar.

6. Follow-up Header

The purpose of the follow-up head is to elaborate the header further. It outlines the benefits of the event and extends why you should attend the event. You can use extra lines or expand the header lines in more detail.

However, never overload your header. If you feel that the title is enough and serves the essential purpose, you can skip the follow-up header. Make sure that the top of the invitation is not hefty with graphics and text.

7. The Main Text

At times, the text becomes optional. Yes, you read that right. If your banner and header are complete, you can cancel out the text part and let them play their role. The purpose is not to duplicate the text and information.

However, if it is otherwise, and your subject and banner need further explanation, you can add text in the body. In this case, the text becomes more critical. Usually, significant events with multiple speakers require text and further explanation.

Your text may include below:

• Write down the learning outcomes of the webinar. Detail the objectives of the webinar in more facets.

• If registration is free, do mention it. However, outline the prices, modes of payments, and beneficiaries for paid webinars.

• Provide an introduction to the speakers. Mention their CV and achievements.

• Mention topic, location, time, estimated duration, and related information.

• Give a detailed description of the location, provide map location, hall number, building, street, and other related information to make the attendees easy to reach the site.

• Write the presentation order of the speakers if there is more than one speaker.

• You can mention details of the partners if any.

• Provide information about your target audience. Who can apply and who cannot.

• Also, write down the necessary gadgets required to attend the event.

8. Agenda

The plan covers the discussion points in more detail. It provides details about the issues coming into the conversation. Usually, all webinars have an event schedule, which shortlists the main takeaway of the event.

The plan depends on the size of the event and the number of presenters. The program specifies the event's purpose and sounds more relevant, thus helping to create more leads. You can give more information on the topics of the event.

The schedule for webinar servers is just like the agenda for a meeting that presents the webinar's purpose.

9. Call-to-Action (CTA)

CTA is the landing pad for your target audience; it takes them to the registration page of your webinar. Try adding a button to make your CTA cooler instead of writing just plain text.

Your CTA must remain clear, concise, and to the point. Some of the best CTA lines are: Sign Up, Register Now, Save Your Seat, and other similar calls ups, and no need to reinvent the wheel.

The main goal is to have a clear point of CTA, so limit your CTA just to one. Never include multiple CTAs. The event invitation has just one purpose – offer registration, so interested attendees will always look straight for such a button.

If you want to entice your potential attendees, give them a bonus for signing up. For example, on your webinar landing page explain that just for signing up you’ll give them access to a free online course you’ve built.

Providing this value up-front for something as simple as signing up for the webinar can provide immense value and help develop trust before the webinar begins.

However, if you still want to try something new, here are a few options to adopt:

• RSVP

• I'm In

• Join the Webinar

• I want to participate

• Sign me up

• Save my Spot

To summarize, CTA should have a clear and concise appearance and be available in a visible place to the viewers.

10. Design

Do not bore out your invitation. So, be creative and check out the final layout of the invitation. Add themes and color combinations best suited to attract your target audience.

Make sure to have an attractive banner, bullet the text, use bold or italics, and make the whole content perfectly consistent. The purpose is not to overshadow the primary objective with gifs and flashy graphics but to ensure that everything is in place and aligned with each other.

A simple and sleek design will catch more eyes and increase sign-ups.

11. Clear Navigation

Be very clear and consistent with the content. Make your customer's life easy and place the information where it is easily accessible. Just give everything readily available and on a plate.

Time, speakers, cost, venue, and a sign-up button should have a clear presence in the invitation. These little details, including the introduction, other critical information, additional information, and graphics, must bear proper space.

The purpose is to let your customers effortlessly know everything in an instant.

12. Follow-ups

Last but not least – reminders. You can send reminders through multiple channels, including emails, text messages, phone calls, etc., which usually increases the number of attendees. People who have already signed up for the event should remain updated about the event as it approaches near.

These reminders keep them informed and highlight the importance of the webinar. So do not forget to send friendly reminders in your campaign.

13. Sign-off

Once done with the above steps, you are formally ready to sign off the invitation. It is done either by yourself or your team member on your behalf. Add the name and address of the sender.

The example includes: See you there! I can't wait to meet you!

14. Proofread and Send

Before sending your webinar invitation, do not forget to proof the text, as it is one of the most critical steps.

Make sure to check the below points:

• Check for possible grammatical mistakes and remove unnecessary words.

• Check that all the links are properly placed and are unbroken.

• Send an in-house test email and view how it looks on the recipient's device.

You are good to proceed with your invitation.

Wrap Up

And there you go, you have come to the end of the step-by-step guide on creating a perfect webinar invitation. It is just a guide, and we have limited our research to webinar invitations only.

We hope you are now ideally placed to send your webinar invitation.

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