Webinar Impresarios: Driving Attendance With Email

• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, May 23, 2019

Email remains the best method for generating webinar and video sign-ups, according to 2019 BrightTALK Benchmarks, a study by BrightTALK. And the channel saw an uptick last year, with email webinar conversions rising by 31%. 

Tuesday was the leading email day, performing 34% better than Sunday, the weakest day. Still, weekend conversions rose by 35% in 2018.

The study recommends sending three email promotions, with the last one on the day of the Webinar. Here’s why: 20% will register for a webinar three weeks in advance, 38% in eight to 21 days, 42% in the final week and 10% on the last day.

How often do professionals engage with webinars and videos? Often enough. Of those polled, 48.50% tune in weekly, while 31.30% tune in monthly, 9.40% every few months and 6% daily. And 77% spend two or more hours a week on this activity. 

But they don’t all view the webinars during the event itself.

Webinars received an average of 144 live views in 2018 — and 299 on-demand views. The lesson is that brands must provide 24/7 on-demand access — for an extended period. 

On average, 48% of on-demand viewings occur in 10 days, but the majority take place 20 days after the live webinar, with 26% happening at the 20-day mark, 10% within 30 days, 7% in 40, 4% in 50, 3% in 60 and 2% in 70. And people are still watching — 1%, anyway — in 90 days. 

What do business professionals expect from webinars? They want: 

• Tips, tricks and best practices — 70%
• Industry trends & predictions — 62%
• How-to/101 explanations — 61%
• Expert interviews — 60%
• Solution case studies — 59%
• Data insights & original research — 55% 
• Discussions/debate — 48% 
• Product demonstrations —30%
• Product training — 36%
• Product reviews — 35% 
• Opinion pieces — 28% 

And what topics to they want to hear about? That is changing. There has been a 4,085% increase in negotiation-related webinars, 3,000% in cost-cutting content and a 2,108% hike in Brexit programs.

On the downside, there has been a 67% drop in Bitcoin-related content, 61% in Fintech, 44% in data privacy and 14% in GDPR.

People like webinars — they are cited as a content format by 91%. Second on the list are short videos, chosen by 68%, followed by industry-related articles (60%).

In contrast, only 46% prefer conferences. E-books are liked by 36%, and old-fashioned print books by 33%. 

Contrary to the old myth that webinars should take place at 2 p.m., the best time is 8 a.m. in Europe and North America. Afternoon is also popular in the APAC region. The best days are Monday and Tuesday in Europe, Tuesday and Thursday in North America and Friday in APAC.

Finally, wondering what to put into your email? In order of importance, prospects are snared by Abstract/description. Webinar title, sources of content (company, etc.), upcoming or on-demand, presenter, average user rating and title-slide imagery.