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Webinars are a popular sales vehicle for launches because they’re effective at building hype and creating trust between you and your audience. They’re a great way to give people a taste of your expertise and introduce your main offer. As a result, your audience can make an informed decision about whether the solution you’re providing is a good fit for them. But webinars (or any sales vehicle for that matter) aren’t nearly as effective if they exist in a vacuum!

To make the most of their lead-generating power, you have to follow up after the webinar to continue nurturing those prospects and guide them to the finish line. 

A strong webinar follow-up email sales sequence can be a game-changer in the success of your launch, so it’s a good idea to spend some time making sure yours is hitting the mark. But before we get into the details of how to make that happen, let’s go over what your full sales sequence should look like.

Note: While this article focuses on following up after a webinar, it’s worth noting that many of these ideas can be applied to whatever sales vehicle you choose for your launch.

The Structure of a Sales Sequence

White envelopes overlaid as hands hover over a laptop keyboard

A webinar follow-up email sales sequence is a carefully planned series of emails that’s meant to guide your audience from interested prospect to paying client. It uses the interest generated by the webinar to create excitement around the launch of your offer, and it continues to build on that enthusiasm with the goal of encouraging your audience to make a purchase.

A basic sales sequence can be broken down into five parts or phases that (hopefully) lead to the purchase of your offer:

Webinar Replay:

The first phase is to send an email to all webinar registrants with a link to the webinar recording. Sending a replay not only gives attendees the chance to run over the information they learned (which can build interest), but also increase the engagement of registrants who didn’t attend. The replay also acts as a great segue into announcing your offer to this smaller, more engaged segment.

Cart Open:

Next, you send an email officially introducing your offer to the rest of your list and announcing the beginning of the cart open period. Since it’s the first time they’re hearing about your offer, this email usually gives a detailed description of its benefits and features so your audience can learn more about it.

Sales Emails:

Once the cart is open, the next phase is to increase engagement as much as possible until the end of the sales window. This is usually done through a series of 5–10 emails that feature testimonials or case studies, a detailed dive into the features and benefits, personal anecdotes, stories, and additional bonuses related. Each email includes a CTA, with the goal being to guide them step-by-step to purchasing your offer.

Cart Close:

The fourth phase is to send 1–2 emails notifying your audience that the cart open period is about to close. The focus is on urging them to take action before it’s too late, so the emails should reiterate how your offer can help them.

Downsell/Survey:

The final phase is to make a final attempt at connecting with those who didn’t end up converting. This can either be by offering a downsell—something at a lower price point that can still benefit them—or by asking them to complete a short survey to find out more about why they didn’t opt in to your main offer. Both options keep your audience engaged and provide you with valuable information about where your prospects are at on their customer journey.
Webinar follow-up email sales sequences that stick to this structure are sure to generate some success. But to really amp up your impact, boost conversions, and hit (or surpass!) your goals, there are some additional aspects you should focus on.
A laptop sits on a wooden desk with a yellow screen and Webinar in white letters

5 Keys to Webinar Follow-Up Email Success

If you want to design a webinar follow-up email sales sequence that can take your launch to the next level, here are 5 key places where you should be investing your energy:

Key #1: Segment and Personalize

Without even putting pen to paper (or in this case, fingers to keyboard), you can maximize the impact of your sales sequence by personalizing it through segmentation. That way, you can communicate with each prospect in a way that makes sense for their place in the customer journey, increasing your likelihood of conversion success. To start, you can segment your webinar leads into:

  • Those who didn’t register
  • Those who registered but didn’t attend
  • Those who attended but didn’t stay
  • Those who attended and stayed until the end

For the warmest leads—those who attended your full webinar—you can jump them forward in your sales sequence, since they already see your offer as a potential solution and just need a little bit of reassurance that it’s the right choice for them. 

For the cooler leads, consider what they may need to make a decision. For example, those who attended your webinar but didn’t stay might benefit from a Q&A session that covers the important points they may have missed.

Those who didn’t attend at all may need content that helps them become more aware of the long-term impacts of the problem you’re helping fix. In addition to segmenting by registrant type, keep track of who clicks on the sales page links in any of your emails but doesn’t purchase. This is a good indicator that they’re the most interested of all your prospects.

Personalizing your communication with your audience may take a bit more effort, but it can go a long way in boosting the conversion rate of your webinar follow-up email sales sequence. As a side note, any good email platform will allow you to segment and personalize, but we recommend ActiveCampaign.

Key #2: Nail Your Subject Lines

To have any chance at building a connection with your audience and turning them into customers, they have to actually open your emails. If your webinar follow-up email subject lines don’t pique their interest, they won’t get far enough to even hear what you have to say. That makes your subject lines a crucial part of your success.

At minimum, your subject lines should be simple, catchy, and conversational. But they should also be variable enough to prevent your audience from losing interest. You can approach your audience in a variety of ways using unique subject line angles, such as:

  • Sparking their curiosity (e.g., “The ONE thing your copy is missing”)
  • Starting a dialogue (e.g., “Don’t you hate it when this happens?”) 
  • Emphasizing urgency (e.g., “Only a few spots left!”)

The subject line is the first thing your audience sees when your email hit their inbox, so it’s worth your time to make sure each one is the best it can be.

A yellow gift with blue and gold ribbon on a blue background to represent an exclusive offer

Key #3: Include an Exclusive Offer

Giving an exclusive offer to your webinar attendees is a surefire way to boost the conversions of your webinar follow-up email sales sequence. Why? Well, there are a few different reasons:

It demonstrates gratitude. First and foremost, offering an exclusive price to the people who came to your webinar is a great way to show them that you’re grateful they showed up. Genuine appreciation can go a long way in building trust!
It could be the last push they need. The people who attended your webinar are your most qualified leads, which means they’re very close to making a decision. Giving them an exclusive offer could just be the last piece of reassurance they need to take that last step.
It increases urgency. Knowing you have the best price available can be a pretty powerful motivator. No one wants to miss a good opportunity! Just make sure that creating pressure isn’t the primary intention behind your exclusive offer—selling with integrity is always the best option.

Key #4: Emphasize the Benefits

You created your offer to help people solve a problem—so, what better way to promote it than to emphasize all the benefits it can bring to your audience? Painting a picture of what the future could look like if they enroll in your course or join your membership highlights why they could use your solution, which helps them make a decision.

There are many more ways to emphasize the benefits of your offer within your webinar follow-up email sales sequence than just listing them out in an email. Every testimonial, story, and even the ‘why’ behind the creation of your offer can be leveraged to demonstrate what your audience has to gain from purchasing your offer. 

In addition, aim to go beyond the surface level benefit. What is the big picture outcome that your offer can create? Is the benefit that your course teaches school leaders how to delegate, or is it that they’ll have more time to spend at home with their family thanks to reducing their task load? Dig deep and think about the impact your offer could have on your audience’s life.

Key #5: Add Value

Building trust is a big part of turning contacts into customers. People won’t purchase something they don’t believe in, and they’re more likely to have confidence in your offer if they have confidence in you. 

One of the best ways to increase trust between you and your audience in your webinar follow-up email sales sequence is to provide them with additional value related to your offer. Not only does this further demonstrate your expertise, but it also shows them you have a genuine interest in helping them!

Have a blog post that busts common myths about the topic of your course? Created a checklist that walks them through a complicated process? Whatever resources you think may help, add them to your sequence! It’s a small gesture that can make a big impact.

Create a Strategic Email Plan for Your Next Launch

Looking for even more resources to boost the conversion power of your webinar follow-up email sales sequence and make your next launch the most successful yet?

Check out our free Optimize Your Sales Emails Workbook. It will help you create a strategic plan for your sales emails through reflection questions and activities designed to make you think about your launch goals, email cadence, and messaging.


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