Have you ever attended a webinar and wished you could do that yourself?
When you feel like this, you’re likely forgetting one crucial piece of the puzzle: your audience. You’re not planning a webinar for yourself; you’re planning it for the people who will be tuning in. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything you have to do to host a webinar, you’re likely forgetting one crucial piece of the puzzle: your audience. Keep in mind that you’re not planning a webinar for yourself, but for the people who will be tuning in.
You should start by finding the right webinar tech, deciding on a date, and getting people to show up.
If you’re unsure about how to proceed or lack the confidence to do so, we can help. We also have the knowledge and skills if you simply hate technology.
This post will provide all the information you need to plan a successful webinar.
So where should I start?
How to Start Your Webinar Planning
The majority of people believe that you start by choosing a webinar platform, but I don’t think that’s the case.
It can be difficult to find a Facebook group where someone isn’t asking for recommendations for webinar tools, as this idea has become very popular and widely-spread. However, few people realize that this is a quick way to become stuck.
It’s more important to imagine your ideal webinar first, rather than finding the right software to fit your needs. Try asking yourself a few questions to get started.
- Will I invite a co-host or host it solo?
- Will I interview several co-hosts or panelists?
- Will I allow attendees to unmute themselves and ask questions?
- What day works best for me?
- Which time works best for my community?
- What does my community want to learn?
- Am I selling something?
- Do I want to create a place for my community to congregate and ask questions?
The following questions will help you establish a solid foundation, become clear about your goals, and work out the details. It is essential that you understand this part first, especially your intention.
When planning a webinar, it is first important to determine why you are hosting the webinar. Once you have a clear understanding of the purpose, you can then begin to plan the technical aspects of the webinar.
1. Pick the right topic
There are many ways to do this wrong, but you can avoid them all by asking your community what they want to learn.
Choose one of the survey tools from the list at the end of the post. Give your subscribers a choice of 3-5 topics that relate to their main concerns, based on what you know about your audience. This will help to focus the responses that you receive.
The next step is to invite your audience to help you plan the webinar by sharing survey results and asking which topics they would be interested in. This will give you enough information to start creating your webinar registration page.
2. Use the right tools
To hold a successful webinar, you will need to use a webinar platform, a landing page tool, an email service, a payment processor, a slide deck, and a survey tool.
Now that you know the types of tools you’ll need for your first or next successful webinar, how do you find the best tool for your business? For that, you’ll want to ask yourself a few questions:
- What type(s) of tool do I need?
- Do I have a budget?
- Will I manage it directly or hire an assistant?
- Do I have the time to learn a new tool?
- What learning/training resources are available?
- What key features do I want for each tool?
3. Setting up your webinar
There are typically at least five phases to a webinar: Setup, Promotion, (Day of) prep, Live webinar, and Follow-up.
Setup
You should plan your webinar several weeks in advance and set up the technology you’ll need.
During this stage you’ll:
- Determine a date for the webinar
- Select a co-host (if applicable)
- Get clear on the tech
- Set up your registration page
- Add the confirmation email to your email service
- Create the event inside your webinar platform
At ConvertKit, we use a handy worksheet my teammate, Isa, created to keep track of each stage and help the team stay organized. The worksheet has columns for the different stages of a project, as well as space to write down who is responsible for each task. This way, we can easily see what needs to be done and who needs to do it.
The most common question during this phase is usually, “What day should I host my webinar?” The best way to answer this question is to talk to your community and test different days to see what works best. If all else fails, stick to the research, which shows that Tuesday-Thursday usually have the highest live attendance rates.
4. Select a date and time for your event.
It is important to think about when your audience is available when planning a webinar. If the webinar is for lead generation, it might be successful to schedule it for a slower day, like Friday, and during lunchtime.
Choose a time for the webinar that won’t interfere with when doctors or lawyers have to see patients or clients. This will make it more convenient for them.
When deciding when to host your webinar, take into account the time zones of your audience. It may not be possible for them to attend if the webinar is during a time that is inconvenient for them. As a general rule, webinars should be hosted between 11 am and 4 pm Eastern Standard Time.
5. Delegate tasks between the presenter, hosts, and webinar team.
Before you start your conference, it’s important to document every detail so that each team member knows who is responsible for each aspect of the event.
With a checklist, you can track what needs to be accomplished and share the responsibility with your team. Having due dates for each item ensures that everyone is on the same page and knows when things need to be completed.
Things to consider:
- Do you need approval from a jurisdiction or board?
- Do you need to build continuing education into the event?
- Will you be capturing the event for future viewings?
- Where will the webinar recording be hosted for on-demand viewing?
6. Determine a theme for your event.
You will want to pick a theme for your webinar that ties the whole event together. This will determine everything from how you design the presentation to how you market the event.
7. Determine if and how you will want to repurpose this event.
If you record your event, you can play it back at a later time and have the presenter join for a live Q&A session.
If you’re looking for ways to make your event more accessible to attendees, consider putting the recording in an OnDemand environment. That way, people can watch the event at their convenience. If you’re delivering a continuing education event, make sure to ask your vendor if they offer CE testing for people who view the event OnDemand.
8. Determine the length of the program.
To create an engaging presentation, compile the information you want to deliver and create an outline of your content. You’ll need enough exciting content to keep your audience engaged for the entire presentation.
When planning an online event, it is important to consider ways to engage the audience, such as through polls and surveys, and to leave time for Q&A at the end. If the event is extensive, such as a multi-day conference, it is also important to factor in break time to avoid audience fatigue.
9. Determine how you want your attendees to register for the event.
Although you could create a registration page with the help of a third party, it is often simpler to have your webinar provider develop and manage the page for you.
It is important to make sure the attendees receive the correct confirmation and reminder emails so their login information integrates with the webinar platform. This allows you to track them easily and engage with them. It also makes it easier for you to make marketing decisions that boost registration rates.
10. Create a webinar promotional plan.
The most important part of planning a webinar is making sure that people are aware of it and will want to attend.
It is important to create a content marketing calendar when planning an event. This should include a schedule for emails, press releases, social posts, and blog posts. Be sure to also include a plan for sending email invitations and any other marketing tactics you use to promote your event.
This checklist will ensure that you are promoting your webinar effectively and building excitement for your virtual event.
11. Prepare a marketing promo kit for the sponsors, presenters, and hosts.
Make sure your marketing promo kit includes materials for social media, like graphics, suggested posts with shortened URLs, and hashtags. You can improve your reach by sending the kit to influencers on platforms like LinkedIn.
The best way to track where your registrants are coming from is to clone your registration landing page.
1 Week Before Your Event
GET FAMILIAR WITH THE WEBINAR PLATFORM
It is important that your presenters are familiar with your webinar platform. A tech/dry run of the technology should be scheduled, your slide deck should be uploaded to check that your visual aids look good and different audio methods should be tested.
If you want to include polls in your webinar, add your questions to the web room in advance.
PREPARE YOUR POST-EVENT EVALUATIONS
It’s just as important to analyze your event after it happens as it is to prepare for it. Create a list of questions for your attendees to answer and formulate a brief survey to help you gather their feedback.
One way to get ideas for future events is to ask attendees for feedback after the event. Questions about what they thought of the presenter or the overall event can give you an idea of what to do differently next time. You can also ask if they would be interested in learning more about your company or if they have any suggestions for future events.
WRITE AN INTRODUCTION SCRIPT FOR YOUR PRESENTER
Anyone who is introducing the presenter at your event should be fully briefed on what you want the attendees to know. This is essential in order to ensure that your event runs smoothly.
It’s a good idea to review some public speaking tips for webinar presentations if you want to do a great job. Make sure your script is well-written and geared towards delivering effective content.
PREPARE YOUR FOLLOW-UP MESSAGING
It is beneficial to create an email summarizing what was presented during the webinar and providing attendees with a link to view the event OnDemand. This allows for the event to have a longer life and creates value long after the event has ended.
Make sure people show up!
There’s nothing more troublesome than hosting a webinar only to have no one show up. Talk about a shot to your ego. Thankfully, you can avoid empty seats at your live webinar by following these steps.
Although it may seem obvious, it’s easy to get caught up in the details (or be surprised by life) and forget to tell your friends, family, colleagues, and social media followers about an upcoming event.
When you’re promoting your webinar, think of the theory of six degrees of separation. This theory posits that “all living things and everything else in the world are six or fewer steps away from each other.” In other words, your webinar should not be your best-kept secret.
If you want your social media posts to be more interesting, try mixing up the types of content you share. You don’t need to be a professional graphic designer to create images that are shareable. Just don’t overthink it.
You can create shareable images using a tool like Canva. Find a template that is the right size for the platform you plan to share it on, then start sharing.
It’s not enough to just tell everyone about your webinar or share it across social media, you have to be strategic about it. Think about your ideal customer/client and where they would be hanging out.
The question you need to answer is where your target audience hangs out online. Once you have answered that question, go to those places and promote your webinar.
Your video ads and posts are more likely to generate clicks and traffic to your blog posts, landing pages, or webinar registration page. So try using video to promote your webinars to get more people to see your landing page.
Webinar what? What’s that?
Webinar directories are online forums where you can post and share your webinar with different audiences. Some directories, like Eventbrite, will also promote your event. My personal favorite webinar directories are Webinara, All Conferences, Eventbrite, and TellOnline.
The increase in inbox overload is causing creators and entrepreneurs to be concerned about sending too many emails.
Don’t let this get you down.
If people are going to unsubscribe, they will unsubscribe whether you email them too much or not. Instead, try sending more than one email inviting your community to your webinar. Three tends to be the magic number, with the third one being sent out to your list on the day of the webinar.
Tease your audience about a special bonus they can only get if they attend your webinar live. Send at least three reminder emails leading up to the event to ensure that people don’t forget.
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