{"id":2511,"date":"2017-02-06T07:56:24","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T15:56:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genesisdigital.co\/blog\/?p=2511"},"modified":"2019-05-09T11:31:46","modified_gmt":"2019-05-09T18:31:46","slug":"not-create-another-freemium-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genesisdigital.co\/blog\/learn\/webinars\/the-5-laws-of-a-successful-webinar-genndi\/law-1-registration\/not-create-another-freemium-read\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Not Create Another Freemium Until You Read This"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s the difference between a cliffhanger that has the audience chewing on the furniture in anguish because they have to wait months to see what happens next, and a cliffhanger that has the audience rolling their eyes wondering why they even bothered?<\/span><\/p>\n

Why did millions tune <\/span>in<\/span><\/i> to find out who Negan butchered, while millions tuned <\/span>out<\/span><\/i> when they realized they no longer cared about the fate of Oceanic flight 815?<\/span><\/p>\n

*I know a lot of people loved (and still love) \u201cLost<\/strong>\u201d. But the fact remains that it shed a full third of its audience between seasons 3 and 6 (I read it on Wikipedia, so it must be true). <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to investigate what makes a successful cliffhanger in this article. You may or may not approve of my conclusions, but I\u2019m sure we can all agree that creating a successful \u201cto be continued\u201d is more complicated than simply fading to black with an unresolved story.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ToFor webinar hosts this is an important discussion because the marketing and promotion of your webinar is a <\/span>teaser<\/span><\/i>. It\u2019s about opening a loop that your audience can only close by <\/span>attending your webinar<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s giving your audience an itch that they loooong to scratch.<\/span><\/p>\n

And your primary weapon in this battle\u2026?<\/span><\/p>\n

Read on to find out (Mwahahahaaaa).<\/span><\/p>\n

From Free to Premium<\/b><\/p>\n

Do you remember \u201cshareware\u201d? If so, you must be REALLY old. At least 35.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shareware predates the Internet as we know it and was a method by which software producers spread their product to as wide an audience as possible. While mainstream software distributors were coming up with increasingly labored means to prevent piracy, shareware creators actively encouraged users to copy and share their product with anyone they liked.<\/span><\/p>\n

The catch was that the shareware version was usually limited in some way. To get the full version of the software or to obtain advanced features, you would have to pay full price. <\/span><\/p>\n

*If you ever played Commander Keen or the original Doom, you\u2019ve played a game originally distributed using shareware.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The modern-day version of this business model is the \u201cfreemium\u201d. Combining the words \u201cfree\u201d and \u201cpremium,\u201d a freemium is a strategy where you give away a premium piece of content for free with the intention of encouraging recipients to <\/span>want<\/b> to pay for the full version of the product.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this instance, however, you\u2019re going to use a freemium in a slightly different way. Instead of giving something away and asking for money to access the full product, you\u2019re going to give it away and ask people to ATTEND YOUR WEBINAR to access the full product.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not a subtle difference<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

You might not think that asking someone to attend your webinar is akin to asking for money, but consider that you\u2019re asking people to give up time and clear space in their schedule to be at your event. In many ways, this requires an even bigger commitment from your registrants than merely asking for payment.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is why you should be thinking \u201cfreemium\u201d rather than \u201clead magnet\u201d. When you offer a freemium to visitors to your page in exchange for registering for your webinar, your gift needs to accomplish more than just capturing an email address. Your freemium needs to create a <\/span>cliffhanger<\/span><\/i> that will <\/span>COMPEL<\/b> people to attend your event.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the Brink of Success<\/b><\/h3>\n

Your freemium must give your registrants something <\/span>valuable<\/b>. It can\u2019t just be marketing <\/span>hype<\/span><\/i>. But, at the same time, it does need to act as a marketing <\/span>asset<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Your<\/p>\n

Thinking of it as a cliffhanger is a good frame of reference.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, your webinar offers training in\u2026 XYZ. Therefore, your freemium will do the same, but in such a way that it is incomplete without the webinar content.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a sense, your freemium is Part One and your webinar is Part Two.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it\u2019s not as simple as just taking a chunk of your content and transforming it into a giveaway. Remember, not every cliffhanger is effective. <\/span><\/p>\n

Get it right, and your customers will be clawing for more. <\/span><\/p>\n

Get it wrong and people move immediately on to hunt for Keto recipes on Pinterest.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve spent some time thinking about cliffhangers, especially as they relate to a television series, and I believe there are two key elements that have to be successfully managed\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

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