By Lee Salz

Many of the articles I've written have numbers in the title like "Ten Ways to Hire More Effectively." And, many of the free webinars take the same approach and use numbers in the title or in the description of the event. The thinking is that numbers create tangible value which may or may not be true. It works in an article or with a free webinar because the expectation of value is limited. It's free!

However, when you use numbers in a title in a for-fee webinar, you can unknowingly turn off your registrant prospects. For example, if I told you that I was going to deliver a for-fee webinar titled "Ten Ways to Hire More Effectively," how much depth would you expect? In a sixty minute webinar, how deep could I possibly go into the subject matter? If all I discussed in the webinar was these ten, I would spend six minutes on each technique. It sure doesn't feel like you are going to be empowered from this event. It's more like an information buffet. You'll get a little of this... a little of that. While you will pay for a food buffet, you will probably not pay for an information one. Your registrant prospects are looking for education and training which means they expect narrow topics and deep knowledge transfer and actionable skills.

Another area where numbers are used haphazardly is in the bullet points of the webinar description. Often times, I read these descriptions and am reminded of Rodney Dangerfield in the Caddyshack scene where he's in the pro shop. "I'll take two of these, a half dozen of those, three of these. And, oh that hat..." Using numbers in your bullet points is very dangerous. If you sound like Rodney, you will be taken just as seriously. In one hour, there is only so much ground you can cover. Rather than try to overwhelm them with quantity, blow them away with quality. Tell them what you are going to tell them with an air of mystery and you'll fill the proverbial room.

This article first appeared on the For-Fee Webinar Blog.

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