Webinars are powerful tools for both deepening existing relationships and generating new fans for your non profit. You do need to have a few tools, a good quality video camera and preferably a quality mic. You can host it for free on youtube though it is a bit tricky to set up everything. Go to webinar also has a free trial if you want to test them out. There are other tools as well, but picking one of these can be good to start out on. After you have your tools in order, pick a time your audience will likely be able to make it (usually Tuesday/Wednesday are good days) and follow these three steps.
Decide on your audience and a topic that will captivate
Are you hosting a webinar for potential volunteers? Or potential partners or donors? Is it an internal webinar? Clearly define your audience persona and make it interesting to them personally. If you have a good enough presentation and an audience willing to pay for that particular topic, do not be afraid to bring in some revenue for your non profit.
Go out there and market it like crazy
If you truly believe in the power of your presentation (and you should), do not feel guilty about promoting it as much as possible to your current non-profit’s network. Webinars are high converters in almost any industry and are a great way to create deeper and more personal connections with your fans. Now that you have your audience defined, where are they hanging out online and how can you best reach them? What social media sites? Professional sites? What is your budget for approaching them? What internal platforms (email list, social media, website, etc.) can be used? There is a great ROI calculator specifically designed for webinars that can help you.
Create a killer follow up channel
What do you want people to do after the webinar and what is the most efficient way to get the most people to that point? Do you want them to donate? To volunteer? To come to your next webinar? To spread the info you just shared? Craft a follow-up email that guides them through your call to action and provides value perhaps by turning the presentation into other forms of content as well.
If you are looking for what a quality webinar looks like (and want to learn something as well), Pat Flynn hosted a great one on list building.