If you’re planning a webinar, having a webinar checklist is the most crucial step toward success. The journey to a successful webinar requires collaboration, innovation, and clever planning.
Every step is important and should be meticulously planned and executed, from engaging attendees and navigating technical challenges to nurturing post-webinar relationships.
To help you organize a successful webinar, we’ve broken down the process into a week-by-week webinar checklist with practical and actionable steps.
Let’s get into it.
A. Pre-webinar checklist
This is the initial phase where you work on and plan the webinar idea.
1. Eight weeks prior
During this time, you’ll set up the broad goals and objectives of the webinar:
i. Set your goals and choose a topic
The first and most important step is to define your goals and choose a topic that aligns with your objectives. Clearly defined goals will help you shape the content and structure of your webinar, along with planning your logistics.
For example, if your primary goal is to generate leads, create content to address the common pain points of your audience. Also, showcase how your product or service will provide the necessary solution.
ii. Determine your target audience
After defining your goals, determine your target audience. The most effective way to do this is by creating marketing personas that will help you identify the lifestyle and preferences of your potential audience. Once done, you can easily choose the channels for streaming and plan the overall communication.
iii. Select the date and time
Choosing the right date is crucial as it can maximize attendance and engagement. Before finalizing a date, make sure to consider your target audiences’:
- Schedules
- Time zones
- Peak engagement times
iv. Choose a reliable webinar platform
Based on your goals, you can look for an easy platform for you and your attendees. Test all crucial features like audio, video, screen sharing, and interactive features to determine the platform's strength.
v. Decide the format
From panel discussions and ‘ask me anything’ to expert debates, webinars can be of different forms. Review your goal once to decide the best format and see what aligns with your objectives.
The most effective way is to incorporate visuals, case studies, and interactive elements to keep the audience engaged. You can also include polls, Q&A sessions, and live demonstrations to encourage audience participation and interaction.
2. Five weeks prior
This phase initiates some action and more detailed planning:
i. Start with the registration
Once all the groundwork is done, build your registration on your preferred event management platform. Make the process as straightforward as possible and put out all important information. For a paid webinar, define your audience tiers and set the payment process correctly.
ii. Create a landing page
Creating a landing page is crucial as it's the primary point of contact between your target audience and your content. Ensure it’s responsive to mobile devices, as most people prefer to browse on mobile devices.
To create an attractive landing page:
- Select an eye-catching title
- Have proper spacing between lines
- Use simple language
- Have a clear CTA
- Ensure the messaging focuses on the key value proposition
iii. Decide the webinar flow
Decide the course of action after the webinar. This may include the number of follow-up emails you want to send or how your lead-scoring campaign looks. Based on the marketing goals, you can structure your webinar with a high or low future buying intent.
iv. Draft your emails and social media copies
Create invitations and reminder emails that communicate your webinar’s value proposition effectively. Craft compelling and captivating copies to catch the attention of the readers. You can also consider offering incentives for attending events, such as raffle draws during the event, special meetings with the speakers, and more.
iv. Promote on social media
Your landing page and emails should contain an option to share the event on social media. This will make it convenient for your registrants to promote your event among their network, who might be potential attendees.
Leverage marketing channels such as emails, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and your website to reach your target audience and generate buzz. You can also create social media graphics and teaser videos to entice your audience to register for the webinar.
v. Hype a social media trend
To spark discussions around your webinar, build a trend and associate it with your webinar hashtag. For example, if your webinar concerns digital marketing strategies, you can create a hashtag like #DigitaMaketingPro and encourage your network to share their best marketing ideas or success stories on social media.
You can then repost and share these user-generated posts on your social media accounts to promote your webinar on a large scale and encourage others to join in. Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are some of the best platforms for this.
3. Three Weeks Prior
This time is mostly about reminders and reviewing marketing performances:
i. Send out reminder emails
Sending one email is not enough; you have to follow up with emails to keep the buzz alive. Send two to three weekly reminder emails until the webinar drives maximum registrations from your email database. We recommend you send it in the day and earlier in the week, as this time frame has the highest conversion potential.
ii. Review social media performance and upgrade if required
Running social media programs on different platforms is not enough. You have to monitor their performance. Ensure all your campaigns are active and have a look at the performance. You can then make any adjustments to enhance the promotion quality.
iii. Continuously share the registration link
Continue to promote and share the registration link aggressively. Be sure to include the link in your social media promotion posts and emails. People generally register for webinars when the event date is fast approaching to ensure the links are easily accessible.
4. One week prior
It’s almost time. You should gear up:
i. Create and distribute a webinar script for the speaker(s) and moderator
Creating scripts is essential to give direction and content to the webinar. This will also act as a guide and help in reducing stress. Having a script will also make your event look professional with great opening and closing lines. Timely sharing of scripts will minimize a lot of uncertainty for your moderator and speakers
ii. Create a poll
Build a poll in your webinar platform. Ensure that it aligns with your presentation and the context of the webinar. This is a great way to make the session interactive and engaging and gather first-hand information from your attendees.
iii. Schedule a post-webinar review meeting
A post-webinar review meeting is necessary to evaluate team performance. This will help determine how far you have met your business objectives and registration goals. Scheduling the meeting earlier is important because it allows everyone to adjust their schedules to attend the meeting.
iv. Schedule a practice session
Hold practice sessions with the speakers and moderators. This will ensure that the final event runs smoothly without errors and interruptions.
v. Identify your webinar room
Find a special room at your office to hold your webinar with good internet, light, and comfortable seats. Book your room in advance and get confirmation. You could also practice here and have a brief recap after the event is over.
5. On the day
There are not many changes you can make now. Set up and test your equipment and remind people:
i. Send a final reminder email
Send a final follow-up email to people who still need to register for the webinar. Include all the necessary information, hashtags, time, date, and log-in information.
Send another reminder to those who’ve already registered for your webinar. This can help ensure a high attendance rate. The speaker or the webinar host should send both emails.
ii. Announce on social media
Post about it on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to remind potential attendees on social media. You can also schedule a countdown on Instagram stories so people don’t forget about it. If you can, have influencers promote and share your event on their stories.
iv. Test technology and prepare a backup plan
Technical glitches can significantly affect the flow of your webinar, so it’s essential to test your webinar platform and equipment. Test all aspects like audio, video, screen sharing, and other interactive features to check if they function correctly. The best way to do this is to run a test webinar with a small group of people to stimulate the live event and identify technical glitches.
Additionally, prepare a backup plan for potential contingencies such as internet issues or software malfunctions. Keep alternative communication channels or a backup webinar platform ready to switch.
B. During the webinar checklist
It’s showtime, finally! Stay calm and follow these steps:
1. Record the webinar
As soon as you go live, hit the recording button. You can share it with the participants after the session. Recording a session will also help you in your review sessions, where you can look back and evaluate your performance.
2. Handle all technical issues with professionalism
Technical issues may arise during the webinar despite thorough preparation. As previously mentioned, have a backup ready and handle these issues promptly to minimize disruption for the attendees. You can also designate a support team member to assist attendees with technical issues and provide clear instructions on troubleshooting common issues.
3. Share relevant content on social media
As the webinar progresses, you can tweet about it or share relevant content on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram.
4. Engage and answer questions
Encourage participants to engage and ask questions using the chat feature. You can also use your webinar hashtag to answer questions from Twitter, LinkedIn, and the webinar platform.
5. Thank your audience
End with a thank-you note and give a shoutout to all your webinar participants. You can also use social media platforms to tag and thank the attendees.
C. Post-webinar checklist
Well done, you have pulled up a great webinar. Here is what you should do next:
1. Send follow-up emails
Post-webinar, one of the first things you should do is send thank-you emails, recorded sessions, and feedback surveys to improve future events. You can also embed a link to the email for the receivers to explore additional resources or schedule a consultation. As a token of appreciation, you can consider offering exclusive discounts or bonuses to attendees.
2. Process webinar recording
Once the session is over, download the webinar recording and review it. Edit if required and share the link via email, social media channels, or on your YouTube channel.
3. Conduct a post-webinar survey
You can conduct a post-webinar survey to know if the audience enjoyed and liked your webinar. This will help you understand the level of attendee satisfaction and content effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. Remember to ask close-ended questions to drive maximum engagement. You can keep a space for general comments at the end of the survey so that people can leave detailed feedback.
4. Review your performance
You have sent out emails, recordings, and surveys. Now, it is time to reflect on all the feedback collected to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses. Using the information from the survey, you can evaluate your webinar performance against our initial goals and objectives and assess the overall success of your webinar.
D. Elevate your webinars with Ticket Generator
Following the above webinar checklist will elevate your experiences with compelling content and engaging interactions. Every step is designed to empower an impactful host to deliver powerful performances.
However, to work it all together successfully, you need the help and support of an event management tool like Ticket Generator. It will help you handle your registration and sales needs, streamlining the process.
Sign up now to know more!
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