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Webinars, workshops, and master classes seem to be popping up daily, and for good reason. Consumers can now turn to the web to learn expert advice for anything from cooking to digital marketing.
The truth is, all these online tools can effectively help you grow your business, but they are not the same.
Too often, people may interchangeably use these terms. In reality, each one is slightly different and can be used to achieve a different goal.
Today, we’ll dive into the key differences between webinars, workshops, and master classes.
Webinars are digital presentations that can happen live or via a recording. Attendees can register for these online seminars by entering some basic information, including an email address. On the date of the event, the host sends out (or opens access to) the webinar link. During the webinar, the presenter may share slides, photos, videos, and more.
The webinars I’ve presented have been around 60 minutes long. About 45 minutes presenting, 5 minutes sharing my offer or what’s next, and the last 10 minutes for Q&A.
They’re great for a wide array of businesses, however, they work best for attracting new clients who may not know much about the topic. Webinars often combine and organize information that you have available elsewhere (your blog, social media, videos, etc.) and are therefore more entry-level.
Imagine you are a life coach. Goal setting is something that you coach your clients on. You may host a webinar about the importance of goal setting, where you talk about what goal setting is and why it matters. You may share some case studies or examples. But you aren’t really diving into how it’s done. You are mostly sharing what.
Workshops are educational programs held in small groups. They address the skill or “how to” of a given topic. For example, a life coach may hold a workshop on goal setting. In the workshop, he/she would oversee the participants and guide them through the process of setting their next goal. They give a more intimate feel than a webinar and dive a bit deeper into a certain process.
Workshops can range from half-day to 3-day events. I like presenting half-day workshop events and have also held 90 minutes per day event over a 3-day period (which comes out to about the same as a half-day workshop, maybe a little longer). I find 4 hours total, on average, does not overwhelm the audience and gives them enough information to take action on that will give them results.
With workshops, materials are often provided. But since the duration of workshops is longer than webinars, usually some fun exercises are part of the material to keep the interaction fun and light.
Experts teach master classes about their area of expertise. They cover more material at a deeper length than a workshop or webinar. In fact, a master class may involve several webinars and workshops over the course of the class.
A master class on goal setting would involve some about goal setting and its effects. It would also dive into how to set goals and walk participants through the process. But it would also go further. Maybe the next class after setting goals would be about assessing the quality of the goals. Down the line, another class in the master class series could be about evaluating progress on goals, and so forth.
Several marketers are using Challenges to help users put into action what they are being taught throughout the series. Some challenge events are free and run over a period of time, yet some cost. Marketers often capitalize on the free events to build connections to then present a higher ticket offer once the audience has seen the benefit they can gain from the brand.
The last stage is to focus on traffic. Relevant traffic is more likely to convert, whereas cold traffic will not. The traffic stage includes traffic from promotional plans, organic traffic, and paid traffic.
Here’s a breakdown of the key differences between the three types of online classes you can run:
Webinars, workshops, and master classes can all help you move your target audience through the sales process. The best part is that these three tools can work together simultaneously, to target different parts of your user marketing journey.
The webinar often comes first. It’s more of an introductory overview of a topic. It works well to reel in potential customers. Webinars work great to generate leads since you will get the contact information from everyone who signs up.
Workshops may be used to nurture leads who are not yet ready to commit to your bigger offer. The workshop continues to help you build your credibility.
Master classes can be your final offer (or at least one of them). As a fitness coach, your goal may be to get clients to sign up for a 12-week program that includes fitness, nutrition, and mindset guidance. However, you could also create a master class on prepping convenient and nutritious meals. The master class on its own is an offer, but it still is different from your main service.
Far too many business owners look at the information about webinars, workshops, and master classes and think “there’s no way I have time for all of this!” The great thing is that you don’t need to do everything yourself. Delegating and outsourcing aspects of these online training methods will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed. Some of the top portions to consider outsourcing include:
Webinars, workshops, and/or master classes can make a huge difference for your business, but there’s certainly a lot that goes into each one. Furthermore, you must be able to present your offer correctly throughout each one to see results for your campaign. That’s where we come in!
Engage 2 Engage is here to help you with various aspect of your marketing presentation creation. By outsourcing the many activities, we can help you plan the most effective strategies. Check out our programs today!
while marketing your brand and message…
when you don’t have the time, energy, or expertise!