Writing Engaging Content for Webinars

“Drop your location in the chat” is not how you create engagement in your webinars. Asking where everyone’s dialling in from doesn’t build connection. It doesn’t help your audience get into the right headspace. And unless you’re running a travel meetup, it’s just not relevant to your webinars. What you ask in the first 30 seconds of a webinar sets the tone. So ask something that: - helps people focus. - helps you understand who’s in the room. - opens up the topic. Here are 12 options you can borrow instead. 1/ “One emoji to describe how your relationship with [topic] is going.” 2/ “Which best describes you: 1) Curious but new, 2) Been trying for a while, 3) Already crushing it?” 3/ “Finish this sentence: I’m here today because…” 4/ “What’s one thing you’ve tried already that didn’t work?” 5/ “Quick room check: Are you here to learn, get unstuck, or see how others approach this?” 6/ “On a scale of 1–5, how confident do you feel about [topic] right now?” 7/ “One word to describe how your week is going. I’ll go first… Your turn.” 8/ “Finish this sentence in the chat: I’d consider this session a win if…” 9/ “Pop a ✋ in the chat if this is your first training on this topic. 🙋 if you’ve been down this road before.” 10/ “Be honest… how many tabs do you have open right now?” 11/ “I’m curious… what’s one thing you’ve Googled / asked ChatGPT recently about this topic?” 12/ “Which one feels most true today: 1) I’m winging it. 2) I’m overthinking it. 3) I’m just here for moral support.” These will give you better energy, better chat replies, and better insight - a TIIIINNNNY fix that makes a big difference. Reshare ♻ to help others do better webinars. PS: I share daily webinars, marketing and AI tips at Jakub Michalski

𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝟵𝟲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 5 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗹𝘆. I’ve said every single one of these. And lost deals because of it. When I started as an AE, I thought demos were about 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 people. So I’d over-explain. Show too much. Talk way too fast. Now? I treat demos like conversations—not performances. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟱 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱: 𝟭. “𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼…” Why it’s bad: It’s not about 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. It’s about 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. Say this instead: “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 [𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯]—𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.” 𝟮. “𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹—𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁.” Why it’s bad: You don’t know that. Focus on value, not hype. Say this instead: “𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 [𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺] 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 [𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦]. 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘰?” 𝟯. “𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀!” Why it’s bad: Vague. Sounds like a pitch, not a solution. Say this instead: “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 6+ 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴/𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘸.” 𝟰. “𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?” Why it’s bad: It puts all the pressure on them. Often leads to silence. Say this instead: “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺?” 𝟱. “𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸.” Why it’s bad: Passive = no next step. Say this instead: “𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮?” 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁: — More engaged prospects — Clearer business value — Higher conversion to next step 𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲: Good demos don’t wow. They align, simplify, and move the deal forward. What’s one demo mistake you’ve stopped making—and what did you say instead? 𝗣𝗦. I share my demo prep in the comment below. #sdr #ae #coldcalling SDRs of Germany

Too many marketers treat webinars like one-off lead gen plays. Run the event, send the recording, plan the next one. But the teams getting the most out of webinars treat them like content engines, using multiple touchpoints to promote them and creating multiple assets from each one. Here’s how: 🔹 Before: plan & promote. Design the webinar around what you want the final content to generate. Think about how you can pre-plan the moments to clip later. Start outlining that blog recap now. And when it comes to promotion, don't stop at email invitations. Find ways to embed the registration link into existing content channels — a new or popular blog post on an adjacent topic, the bios of all your social channels, etc. (At SparkToro, I can consistently add 100-200 extra registrants by embedding the registration link in a new blog post.) 🔹 During: reward active engagement. Having live attendees is nice; having active chat participants is even better. Invite people to engage directly in the live chat. Ask open-ended but simple questions that are easy for people to respond to. Make sure you're also using that chat in real-time — drop notes, reactions, answer quick questions that don't need to be verbally addressed during the presentation. 🔹 After: remix & reassign. One recap email isn't enough. A single well-run webinar should become multiple LinkedIn posts, a blog post, YouTube clips, and sales talking points — assets that serve social media, content marketing, and sales. Give each content asset a new job. This mindset has mattered a lot for SparkToro Office Hours, which typically gets ~1,200 signups. It’s also very aligned with how Goldcast talks about online events too — not just hosting webinars, but turning video into clips, blogs, social posts, and more. Link below in the comments to learn more. #GoldcastPartner

Regardless of how great your ideas are in your virtual sales pitch, webinar, or team meeting… People are most likely checking their email, browsing social media, or working on other things while you present. How can you prevent that and actually get your audience to pay attention? Here are 4 of the most powerful techniques we use for our own virtual training courses: 1. Win the first five seconds According to research from the University of Toronto, people need only five seconds to gauge your charisma and leadership as a speaker. In virtual environments, this first impression is even more critical. To establish instant rapport: - Keep your posture open and inviting (avoid fidgeting, crossed arms, and closed-off postures) - Use open gestures that welcome the audience into your space - Gesture with your palms showing at a 45-degree angle - Speak with clear articulation and energy from the very first word The quickest way to lose your audience? Starting with tentative body language that signals you’re unsure or unprepared. 2. Design your presentation for virtual viewing When designing slides, assume varied viewing conditions. Design for the smallest likely device and the slowest likely Internet speed. Make your slides accessible by: - Using larger fonts (24-32pt) - Applying higher contrast colors - Limiting each slide to ONE clear idea - Adding more space between lines when using smaller text - Stripping excess content (you can provide additional information in a separate document) 3. Vary your delivery Our research shows the optimal length for linear presentations is just 16-30 minutes, while interactive ones can maintain engagement for 30-45 minutes. People’s attention will go through peaks and valleys during that time, so try these techniques to keep their attention: - Vary your speaking pace (faster to convey urgency, slower to express gravity) - Use intentional pauses to let key points land - Adjust your vocal tone (lower pitch for authority, higher for approachability) - Shift between slides, stories, and data at regular intervals Each change helps reset your audience’s attention and signals importance. 4. Build in structured interaction Don’t make your audience wait until the end of your presentation to interact. According to our research, presentations that incorporate audience engagement through polls, chat responses, or breakout discussions maintain attention longer. For the highest engagement: - Use a variety of interaction types throughout your presentation - Incorporate breakout rooms for small-group discussions - Switch modalities regularly to keep it interesting Remember: In virtual environments, you need to recreate the natural engagement that happens in person. Your virtual presentation success isn’t measured by perfection…it’s measured by action. Master these techniques and your audience won’t just pay attention, they’ll respond. #VirtualPresentations #CorporateTraining #WorkplaceLearning

I told a #founder I mentor that he should think like Houdini. Why? Because today's #founders can learn several valuable lessons from Houdini's approach to captivating audiences and building their brand: Houdini exploited the power of the live demo to the max. He understood that seeing is believing. His spectacular escapes weren't just described - they were performed live in front of sceptical audiences. His live demos created three things: 👉 Undeniable proof of his capabilities 👉 Emotional impact that no description alone could come close to 👉 Memorable experiences that spread through word-of-mouth. We’d call it viral today. Here’s five key lessons for founders: 1. Show, Don't Just Tell Houdini never just claimed he could escape - he proved it repeatedly under increasingly difficult conditions. Founders – can you get beyond your pitchdecks and standard product literature to give tangible demonstrations that prove your solution works? 2. Embrace High-Stakes Moments Houdini performed death-defying stunts in public, often with added constraints (handcuffs, straightjackets, underwater). The heightened risk created drama and memorability. Founders – without any personal risk, can you create moments of genuine challenge that will build your product’s distinctiveness? 3. Customise for Your Audience Houdini tailored performances to specific locations and cultural contexts. Similarly, founders – can you customise product demos to address each prospect's specific pain points? 4. Build Anticipation Houdini was a master of building suspense before his performances. Founders - can create similar anticipation by teasing capabilities and results before the actual demo? Steve Jobs was a master at this. 5. Prepare Obsessively Houdini achieved seemingly impossible feats because of his meticulous preparation and practice. Founders - you should ensure demo prototypes and presentation software are thoroughly tested to avoid technical failures during critical moments. My founder friend said he liked the advice – but I’m waiting to see what he does with it. #AngelThink

Your demo is the reason you're losing deals And it has nothing to do with your product. After sitting through 200+ sales demos last year, I've identified the pattern that separates winning presentations from forgettable ones. It's not about features. It's not about benefits. It's about sequence. Most demos follow this deadly structure: 1️⃣ Company overview 2️⃣ Product walkthrough 3️⃣ Feature deep-dive 4️⃣ Pricing discussion 5️⃣ Next steps This is exactly backwards. Your prospect doesn't care about your company story. They care about their problem. They don't want to see every feature. They want to see outcomes. Here's the demo structure that actually converts: ↳ Start with their outcome  "Based on our conversation, you mentioned needing to reduce customer churn by 15% this year. Let me show you exactly how this would work for your situation." ↳ Show their scenario Use their data, their use case, their terminology. Make it feel like they're already using your solution. ↳ Focus on 2-3 key capabilities The ones that directly impact their stated priorities. Skip everything else. ↳ Handle objections proactively Address the concerns they mentioned in discovery before they have to ask. ↳ End with clear next steps Not "Do you have any questions?" but "Based on what you've seen, what would need to happen for you to move forward?" The best demos don't feel like demos. They feel like problem-solving sessions where your product happens to be the solution. Subscribe to our Innovative Seller channel where we post bi-weekly videos on sales strategies like this 👇

Stop Boring Prospects with Feature Demos Want prospects tuning out during demos? Keep focusing on features vs. value. Here's how to excite them instead: 1. Ask about their pain points. Don't assume you know their goals. 2. Show how you solve those pains. Explain how step-by-step you address their issues. 3. Use real examples. "Company X increased sales by 15% in 6 months with our platform." 4. Demo only relevant parts. Don't distract with nice-to-haves. 5. Quantify the impact. "You'll reduce customer churn by 10% with this feature." Example: "Your sales team spends 5 hours/week manually entering data. Our integration with your CRM cuts that to 30 min - giving them more selling time and increasing productivity 20%." Want prospects to close? Make your demos about them, not you. What's your best tip for value-focused demos? Share below!

Engagement goes beyond information and design. It comes from keeping learners in a consistent learning GROOVE. Think of a great song - it doesn't work if it's all climax or all verse. A good producer knows when to build tension, when to drop it, when to keep you moving. Your course needs that same rhythm. Three things drive engagement: clear content, good design, and easy navigation. But there's a fourth thing most people miss. Groove. It's the pulse underneath everything. The pattern that keeps learners' brains alert and interested—without burning them out. Groove is rhythm. It's switching between different types of mental work. A learner's brain can't stay focused at full intensity for an hour straight. It needs to breathe. Too much relaxation and they zone out. Too much pressure and they crash. Three Rules for Building Groove 1. Switch Between Hard and Easy Hard → Easy → Hard → Easy. After a tough explanation, give a practical example. After the example, ask a question. After the question, a small exercise. After the exercise, time to reflect. This switching keeps the brain active. It doesn't get bored, but it also doesn't overload. 2. Use Repeating Patterns Quick check-ins. Questions to think about. "Pause and think" moments. Fast facts. Repetition isn't boring—it's comforting. The learner starts to expect the rhythm, and that predictability helps their brain stay relaxed but alert. The groove becomes familiar. The groove becomes trustworthy. 3. Use Contrast Don't let the format, speed, or amount of information become the same. Change things on purpose. Video, then text. Long form, then short. Dense, then simple. Lots of visuals, then clean space. Contrast isn't chaos. It's the difference between a groove that works and one that just sits there. A 15-Minute Groove (Example) A smooth 15-minute lesson can look like this: Entry Reflection (30 sec) Why It Matters — Expert Video (2 min) Lesson Goals (30 sec) Core Idea — Short Text (1 min) Concept Explainer — Video (2–3 min) Mini Article / Carousel (2–3 min) Application Cases (2 min) Quiz or Mini Simulation (2 min) Wrap Up (1 min) That's 15 minutes. Not boring. Not rushed. Groove. Build 10–12 lessons with this rhythm, and something shifts. Learners stop fighting the course. They move through it. The rhythm carries them. Ask yourself: Does your course have a pulse? Or does it just exist?

I was halfway into a demo with a couple of Directors. Their eyes shifted and posture slouched. I'd lost them. But kept going—walking them through one feature after another. Realized they weren't engaged because I hadn’t earned their attention. I was dumping features without connecting them to the problem they were trying to solve. That’s one example, but it's how my demos used to go 👆 Deals stalled. Win rates dropped. ................................................................. That's until I switched to a simple 5-step framework for presenting features on demos, which changed everything. The key difference, leading with the problem: 1. Frame the problem “Linda, you said it’s a pretty tedious process for your team to keep track of all your marketing campaigns for the month. The data is spread across a dozen spreadsheets, google docs, and emails.” • call out the problem • no product jargon • no buzzwords 2. Talk through the use case “So, when the business comes to you for a new product launch, you need to quickly start planning the campaigns. Which can be difficult given everything is scattered. You have to call sporadic team meetings to get updates, leading to product delays and potential lost revenue.” • you've uncover the use case via discovery • talk through how they’re getting the job done today 3. Show the feature “Let me show you how you can see all of this in one place and how you can cut your current process from 10 steps down to 3.” • walk through the feature • be crystal clear about what they’re seeing • it's your prospect’s 1st time seeing it, but your 100th 4. Articulate the outcome “This will help you launch your marketing campaigns 2.5x faster, meeting the business’ product launch dates.” • execs care about business outcomes • clearly state what it could look like with this capability 5. Ask a question “How do you see your team using this capability to solve for [X problem]?” • keep your prospect engaged throughout • lock in those micro-closes ……………………………………....... Have intention and purpose in your demos. Don’t be a feature dumper.

Over the last month, I joined 47 live webinars run by B2B SaaS companies with $100M+ in revenue. Here's the breakdown of what the best teams are doing—and what most are missing. 🎯 The Format 68% are still running PowerPoint-heavy, yawny formats. Top 10% use interviews, live demos, and hot takes. because it’s a conversation, not a lecture. 🎤 Who’s Talking? 54% had internal speakers only. But webinars with external guests or customers saw 2.3x higher engagement. 📅 When They Happen 82% of webinars are on Wednesdays or Thursdays at 10-11 AM EST. ⏱️ Length Sweet Spot Under 30 min? Too rushed. Over 60? Audience drops off after minute 42. 🔥 Best Practice: 28–38 minutes + 10 min Q&A = chef’s kiss. 💌 Reminder Sequence Only 31% send more than 1 reminder. But high-performing webinars send: 1️⃣ Day before 2️⃣ 1 hour before 3️⃣ 5 minutes before (And it’s worth it—27% higher live attendance.) 📈 CTA Strategy 72% pitch the product at the end. But the webinars that crushed it? They didn’t “pitch”—they planted. Here’s what they did instead: Dropped real wins from actual customers. Shared frameworks that subtly link back to their product. Used phrases like: “Here’s how [Company X] solved this—without 500 meetings.” “Want to see how we set this up in 3 clicks?” "Here's how [Company X] improved [Metric X] by 38%" 🧲 It wasn’t a pitch. It was curiosity bait. 💡 Lesson: Don’t pitch. Prime. Prove. Plant the seed. Then let your product be the obvious next step. 🚨 Hot Take: “Webinar” is a dirty word. Top brands don’t even call them webinars anymore. They say: “Live AMA” “Customer Roundtable” “Product Masterclass” “Industry Deep Dive” 🧠 It’s all about the perception shift. People want experiences, not broadcasts. If you're running webinars in B2B SaaS and wondering why your attendance or replay views are meh... these are your clues. The full breakdown + playbook is coming 🔜 Want early access before it goes public? Drop a 🔥 and I’ll hook you up first. #webinar #live #interview #event #marketing