To successfully engage your target audience requires crafting copy that not only dives into your audience’s core paint points and areas of interest; your copy also must be approachable. These principles apply to your webinar abstract and any other email copy (if different from the abstract) you develop to promote your webinar(s). The guidance detailed below spotlights our cornerstone copywriting best practices for webinar content to ensure you garner engagement across the BrightTALK and wider TechTarget networks.
What compelling copy comes down to is this: write a concise message that focuses on your audience’s pain points and clearly explains how this specific webinar session or series will aid a viewer in resolving said pain points or challenges. Remember, IT and business professionals are generally risk-adverse, under-appreciated and put upon, concerned about budgets and negative visibility, and have a lot on their plates. In short, they get inundated with offers and don’t have time to waste, but they do appreciate and respond to content that speaks to important, urgent challenges they’re facing. So, play up these dynamics in copy and balance any vendor-centric solution spotlights included in the session with audience-centric pain point discussions.
Here are a few specific, quick-hitting checklist items to complement our above recommendations and assist you with this process:
- Abstract copy formatting & readability:
- Paragraph breaks: Rather than having lengthier paragraphs, we recommend breaking up abstract text into multiple paragraphs to avoid having one big block of text and thus improve readability for users. Keep paragraphs down to 3 lines or less, and further break up text with bullet points, italics, and bolding where appropriate.
- Bullet points: Optional but beneficial, utilize concise and easy-to-read bullet points that spotlight key webinar takeaways to give viewers a snapshot of session discussion points and/or topics.
- Length: Keep your abstract under 900 characters (or less) to ensure your core messaging isn’t lost. IT and business pros are busy people with a lot of tasks to balance on their plates. The more concise and actionable the message, especially when paired with these formatting tips, the better.
- Call to Action (CTA): Always include a CTA in webinar copy to prompt next steps from viewers and ensure the desired action is front and center. CTA examples include:
- “Tune into this session”
- “Watch this on-demand webinar”
- “Join the discussion”
- “Register now for this upcoming webcast”
- Speakers: Mention webinar speakers and associated titles to add authority to the discussion by highlighting their experience and expertise—especially if speakers or presenters are from 3rd party/analyst organizations like TechTarget, ESG, BrightTALK, IDC, Gartner, Forrester, etc.
- Tuning into multimedia-based or video content requires a larger commitment on the reader’s behalf, so playing up the value of the speaker(s) themselves justifies the lengthier time investment.
- Spotlight data, statistics, & analyst expertise:
- Keep applicable data, research trends, and statistics front-and-center. These elements are eye-catching for potential viewers.
- Spotlight 3rd party/analyst statistics and research in promotional copy, especially if the webinar session centers on analyzing survey and/or research results from said 3rd party organization.
- As with the tactic above, highlight any/all 3rd party speakers in abstract copy to lend additional credence and authority to the webinar session. Our viewers often latch onto 3rd party content for its vendor-neutrality and objectivity, so referencing 3rd party speakers capitalizes on this engagement aspect.
- Upcoming webinar promotions:
- Emphasize any interactive webinar elements you anticipate the session covering, if applicable (such as Q&A. in-session quizzes, etc.).
- Frontload the associated date/time/time zone to ensure attendees are properly informed of exact webinar timing and can plan attendance accordingly.