Do you want to make $2,500 for 3-hours of work? Well, that’s exactly what I did this week when I held a 2-hour webinar. And in just those couple of hours, I earned over $2,500!
In total, I spent 3 hours of work including the webinar set-up, scheduled posts, emails, and follow-up email with the video playback. My systems allow me to move quickly through set-up and follow-up.
I’ve made more money and I’ve made less, and this isn’t about boasting about dollars. I have noticed, however, that the majority of my followers want to earn more money. As a result, I am willing to share my methods with others.
Now, I’m not saying that this is going to be easy. You will need to put in some work upfront to create and promote your webinar. But once you have everything set up, it’s pretty much smooth sailing from there. So if you’re looking for another income stream that can potentially bring in some serious cash, then a webinar might be the perfect solution for you!
The Target Audience
Before I started selling webinars, I was teaching for free. As a real estate agent, I was often asked to share my SEO content strategies with my office. I was happy to do so, because I’m a teacher first, before all other things.
When I moved to Keller Williams Las Vegas in 2010, I began teaching there too. One day, my market center owner asked if I would do an event for recruiting purposes. And, I agreed.
She sent out a few email blasts, and on the day of the event, we were full. In fact, we were so full, people were standing all the way out into the lobby trying to hear, as there was no more space for people in the training room.
After a few months passed, she asked me to do it again, but this time suggested that I charged something. I was horrified at the thought of charging for my teaching.
I’m not sure why it felt so wrong, but it did.
After a considerable amount of cajoling, I reluctantly agreed. And we sold out.
People paid to hear me teach. I was floored.
Here’s the key: I had a solution for a problem that a specific audience had.
Real estate agents needed leads. I had a model they could follow to get them.
Find the Audience First
I believe that anyone can make money selling their expertise.
It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, whether you’re a stay-at-home mom, a real estate agent, or a software engineer. We all have something that we’re good at, and there are people out there who want to learn from us!
The best part is, you don’t even have to be an expert to get started. You just need to be passionate about your topic and be able to share your knowledge in an engaging way.
Seth Godin is one of my favorite authors. He often says, and I’ll paraphrase: ‘Find the audience first, and then the problem and solution, not the other way around’.
In 2016, I lost 50 pounds. I did it through the Keto Diet. My audience, real estate agents, watched the journey through Facebook posts, and Youtube videos.
They were always asking questions about how I did it, what recipes I used, and how I figured out my calories and macros.
As a teacher, I gave freely.
One day, one of the agents asked me if I would consider coaching them. And then more requests followed. I got a Keto coaching certification and launched a 6-week Keto coaching program.
It sold out at 100 people at $199 per person. The success was so instant, that I continued the program at a $99 per person fee and closed it at 100 people. This continued for about a year.
After a year, I decided that I didn’t enjoy teaching in a space that involved health, and while I could teach the program, I didn’t want to be responsible for medical advice. And anything to do with health brings those kinds of questions.
So, I slowly winded the program down.
But, it worked. And is another amazing example of having the audience first, finding their pain points, and providing a solution.
Youtube Builds an Audience
Eventually, I took to Youtube. In the beginning, my videos were ugly, dark, and overall pretty bad. Yet, they still helped me build an audience. Over time, I improved my processes, got better equipment, and set up a home studio.
While my Youtube channel doesn’t bring in a full-time income from ad revenue, it brings in 6-figures in affiliate income and course sales.
What’s surprising, is that my videos don’t get a large number of views. Yet, I can publish a video, get 200 views, and land $10,000 worth of sales from that new follower instantly, or over the next few years.
When I’m making a Youtube video, I don’t think about what’s in it for me. I don’t worry about how many views I’ll get, or what the monetary results might be. I focus on how much value I can give to the viewer.
I also trust that the money follows, because when you follow your passion, it always does.
While many people think Youtube is too competitive, there aren’t that many of us taking advantage of the platform. It’s underutilized by content creators, because most writers, and bloggers don’t want to get uncomfortable enough to get on camera.
If you can teach a specific software, like Canva, or share how to fix things around the house, or how to make money as a writer, for example, you can help solve problems.
Selling Webinars
My first webinars were free. I hosted free webinars for years and then sold my courses, consulting, or marketing services. And then, one day, I just decided to try the same strategy. I added a price tag to the webinar. While the sign-ups were fewer, the conversions were higher.
It seemed to me that people that had more “skin in the game” were likely to convert to other sales.
I’ve experimented with different prices and durations, but the $99 price for a ticket, whether 1 or two hours works best for me. Sometimes, I’ host a 2 day 8-hour event, or a 5-day 10 hour event, selling master classes for $199.
I offer a monthly VIP program for $75 that reduces the price of the event tickets, and always have a small number of people enrolled.
Selling webinars makes more money than selling evergreen courses, in my case. Although both have value.
After I host an event, I post the replay for sale. This morning, I sold a couple of playbacks from yesterdays live event, for example. Once I believe the content is outdated, or am ready to host a new one on the same topic, I’ll remove the playback option.
Note: With people being so “Zoom-ed” out from 2 -years of virtual trainings and meetings, I am surprised they still come back for a zoom that requires a financial investment, but they do.
Imposter Syndrome
Interestingly, I still struggle with feeling like an imposter. I’ve been doing this for 12 years, and yet, I sometimes feel like a fraud. It’s not because I don’t feel like I know my material, or can produce results. It’s a nature human instinct to feel unworthy. And some of us battle that more than others.
It’s something that most content creators experience at some point in their journey.
The key is to keep putting yourself out there, learning new things, and staying focused on your message.
The main takeaway here is that if you can provide value to others, the money will follow. Don’t be afraid to get on camera, and share your knowledge with the world. You never know who might be watching, and what opportunities might come your way as a result. Thanks for reading!
