The Secret Sauce Behind Our Collab365 Weekly Live Digests
If you've ever attended one of our weekly webinars at Collab365 Academy , you know the immense value they deliver.
Packed with practical tips and actionable takeaways, our webinars arm members with knowledge to excel in their roles and get the most from Microsoft 365.
But what you don't see are the blood, sweat, and tears that go into crafting each 45-60 minute webinar.
Between ideating relevant topics, meticulous planning, smooth delivery, and repurposing content for maximum impact, it takes real work to make it look easy.
After producing webinars weekly for over a year now, we've honed a streamlined formula for creating binge-worthy webinars at scale.
In this exclusive inside look, I'll pull back the curtain and share the proven systems we rely on to efficiently brainstorm, plan, and deliver our weekly webinars.
You'll discover replicable tactics to:
Whether you're looking to step up your webinar game or gain insights on producing content efficiently, you'll find a stash of actionable advice you can apply right away.
Let's get started!
The Anatomy of Our Webinars
First, let's do a quick rundown of what our typical webinar looks like.
Our webinars are live 45-60 minute sessions delivered through Microsoft Teams to our members around the globe.
We record the sessions and upload the replays on YouTube as well.
Each webinar is hosted by at least one of our coaches, typically Jon M. or Connor Deasey . They present live demos and share their screens as they walk through tips.
It's an interactive format - we encourage members to ask questions live through chat.
The goal is for each webinar to provide immediately useful takeaways while supporting our larger training programs and events.
Now that you have an idea of what we're producing each week, let's get into the details behind the scenes.
Cultivating Webinar Topic Ideas
Coming up with irresistible webinar topics week after week is an art and science.
The first step is aligning topics to our yearly themes and areas of focus. For example, this quarter our core theme is to help people with SharePoint intranets.
With a high-level theme decided, we brainstorm specific webinar topics that:
We also examine topics that are hot on Google and social media to find overlaps with audience needs.
Here are some of the tactics we use to generate a continual stream of webinar ideas:
This helps create a steady queue of webinar ideas we can pull from anytime.
Streamlining Planning with Loop
With a topic decided, now comes the planning.
This is where our secret weapon comes into play: Microsoft Loop.
Loop is an online workspace that lets you organize projects and collaborate in real-time.
I like to think of Loop as a "Collaborative, Portable, Real-time OneNote"
We create a Loop for every webinar. It contains sections to outline the webinar flow, brainstorm demos, assign tasks, and more.
The game changing part? We all update the Loop simultaneously from anywhere.
This means whoever is hosting the webinar can be drafting demo ideas in the Loop while we refine the promotional copy in the same doc.
We can bounce ideas back and forth and finalize every aspect of the webinar in one centralized place, at the same time.
This makes planning ultra efficient. We finalize the webinar prep in a fraction of the time.
Loop is one of our secret weapons that makes coordinating webinars synchronicity, not chaos.
Mapping Out a Solid Structure
With our tools locked down, now we focus on mapping out the webinar flow itself.
Our tried-and-true formula looks like this:
We have this basic framework saved as a template in Loop. Whenever we kick off a new webinar, we simply duplicate the template.
This provides a running start with the presentation structure already laid out. We simply plug in the specifics for that week's topic.
Having the agenda ahead of time also makes it easy to assign roles. We determine who will host, who will handle live chat, and who will demo.
With roles set and the structure solid, we're primed for dry runs.
Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse
Like any good show, our weekly webinars don't go on stage untested.
A week before the webinar, we conduct a full dry run. This is a private rehearsal where the hosting coach walks through the presentation.
They share their screen and deliver the demos as if live. We provide feedback on pacing, flow, and areas to refine.
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This helps work out the kinks so that come showtime, things run smoothly for members.
The hosting coach also spends time practicing independently. They refine demo flows, create any necessary assets or sample files, and internalize the talking points.
These combined dry runs ensure our coaches can deliver dynamic, polished webinars.
And thanks to Loop, we can easily repeat this successful formula for each webinar.
Promoting the Heck Out of It
Of course, an amazing webinar is pointless if no one shows up. So promotion is key.
We announce new webinars across multiple channels:
This blanket approach ensures maximum exposure across our member and follower base.
For copy, we emphasize useful takeaways, highlight the host coach, and provide just enough intrigue about the topic.
The goal is crafting irresistible value propositions tuned to our audiences across channels.
Thanks to our polished Loop process, it takes little extra effort to plug webinar promos wherever eyeballs are.
Delivering a Polished Live Webinar
After weeks of planning, the big day is here - it's time for the live webinar!
Before going live, we check off our pre-flight checklist:
With the green light for launch, it's showtime!
Our host coach welcomes members, outlines the agenda, and builds energy with an interactive icebreaker like a poll or chat activity.
Next, they transition to the meat of the webinar - the demo and dialogue.
We intersperse demos with open discussion and Q&A to keep things lively and conversational for members.
In the closing minutes, we recap the key takeaways, field final questions, issue a call to action, and wrap up the stream.
After members depart, we debrief and identify what worked well and areas to improve for next time.
The feedback loop is integral to continually improving our webinar productions.
Squeezing Every Ounce of Value from Webinars
The work doesn't stop once the live webinar ends. This is where we double down and extract every ounce of value from the content.
Our post-webinar ritual looks like this:
This squeezes exponential impact from one webinar.
Repurposing the webinar across formats and platforms helps reach new audiences well after the live event.
The more repurposing we do, the more our reach compounds week after week.
Continuous Improvement
Of course, over a year later we're still finding ways to refine our process.
We learn from every webinar and continue to level up.
Recent improvements include:
By regularly incorporating lessons learned, our webinars continue to evolve.
The Compound Effect of Working Smarter, Not Harder
There you have it - an inside look at how we create consistent, high-quality webinars!
It's not magic - just the result of proven systems, smart tools, and repurposing content across channels.
While it takes work, we don't reinvent the wheel each time thanks to streamlined processes.
And the compound effect is real. As the library of repurposed content grows, our reach expands exponentially.
The time saved lets us dedicate more energy to enhancing quality and promotion.
So don't just work hard on your webinars and videos - work smart.
Leverage technology, create repeatable systems, and ...
repurpose content across formats and platforms.
This approach can transform how you produce webinars to deliver more value in less time.
We hope these behind-the-scenes insights help spark ideas you can apply to your own webinar productions and content creation processes.
As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback. What resonated most? What areas would you like us to go more in-depth on?
Let us know! We aim to create content that truly benefits you and your organization.