Webinars are powerful communication and promotional tools—perhaps the most effective method for effectively promoting a message to a target audience. No other method is more engaging, further-reaching, or as cost effective to set up.

Regular webinars are essential to modern competitive business growth strategies.

That said... webinars can only ever be as good as their invitations. If people don't show up, does it even matter that there was a webinar?

So, how do you write the most effective email invitations for your business's webinars?

Optimal Structure of Webinar Invitations

Webinar invitations should answer the questions of what, where, who, and why, usually in that order.

1. What

"This is an invitation to [your company]'s webinar about [X]."

Immediately, the invitation should identify itself, usually in the title of the email invitation. It's the main filter. If the invites are going out to the right people, then there will be people interested enough in the topic to at least open the email. More important, people who are not interested in the topic of the webinar won't open the email.

From that point on, it's safe to assume that the person who opens the email is a good lead. That's why it is important to write this part as plainly as possible and not trick people into opening the email with a catchy headline.

2. Where?

"It's going to be at [this link], at [this time]."

Immediately following the title, provide where and when to attend, because most of the people who opened the email to begin with are already interested and may just need the details of when and where to be, without needing any other information.

3. Who?

"This is for our industry partners, current customers, and third-party developers."

If people are interested enough to open the email invite but they are ambivalent about whether they should attend or not, here is where you help them decide. The best way is to name whom you are targeting with your webinar invitation. If you name something that readers identify with, then there is a good chance they will be convinced they should attend.

4. Why?

"Learn about the upcoming product releases from renowned guest speakers, receive promotional offers, and get a chance to meet and greet."

This last portion is where the benefits that attendees should expect to receive should be listed. Perhaps there is a guest speaker or a coupon code, or it's a good opportunity for attendees to network.

People make decisions emotionally and then justify those decisions with rational reasoning. The "why" section helps them provide that reasoning to themselves. The earlier sections set up the emotional conditions for invitees to attend, and this last section cements their decision and increases the strength of their commitment to attend.

When reminders come up and it's time for invitees to tune in and attend the webinar, attendees will most likely remember only that they decided to attend and that there were reasons they made that commitment. They will forget what those reasons specifically were.

Three Types of B2B Webinars

B2B webinars come in three major varieties.

1. Sales

You are hosting a webinar to earn conversions from the attendees. It's important to recognize the word "conversions" here, because webinars shine when you focus on convincing the audience to think a certain way. Selling a product or service happens as a result of the webinar, at the closing point in your marketing funnel.

Don't get it mixed up and try to sell prematurely during your webinar. Nobody likes to be sold to, but plenty of people are buying, and those people need help and guidance. Webinars are excellent tools for helping your audience members decide whether they are trying to buy and what channels they can access to get help with the buying process.

Let's look at an example:

Title: You are invited to [Company]'s exclusive product launch webinar.

First statement: Thursday, 6 PM GMT —> [registration link]

Second statement: For our corporate clients and select industry figures, we will be offering early access to our upcoming product launch.

Third statement:

• Be the first to see our new product demonstrated.
• Ask your questions directly of our developers, live.
• Get granted exclusive early access tokens.

Final statement: Any questions before registration? Reach out to our contact team.

This template for an invitation to a product launch or sales webinar immediately filters for its target audience from the invite list. Only the relevant, truly interested people will even open the email. It then guides readers through the process of considering why they should attend the webinar, without even mentioning any details about the product or announcement. Finally, it provides a channel for invitees to get in touch.

Notice that this template focuses only on the strengths that webinars have—mainly using the invite itself to filter the audience for the best attendees, and then setting up a framework to build enthusiasm and earn conversions during the webinar.

Invites to webinars and the webinars themselves are downstream from lead generation but upstream from the point of sale in most marketing funnels.

2. Market Research

Modern webinars are feature-rich, highly interactive channels of communication between the hosts and the live audience. That makes them the most powerful market research tools available today.

Market research webinars are similar to sales webinars, but they are much more reliant on close interaction between the host and the audience.