Webinar Checklist – Rundown List for Planning Your Webinar

May 20, 2023
By Erkki Muuga

Have you ever attended a webinar that made you want to pull your hair out?

Or worse, have you ever hosted a webinar that left you feeling like a complete mess?

We’ve all been there.

With the rise of remote work, webinars have grown in popularity.

Nevertheless, let’s be honest: conducting a successful webinar is no easy task.

That is why a detailed webinar checklist is critical for guaranteeing a smooth and successful event.

In this post, we’ll walk you through the ultimate webinar checklist of the most critical factors to consider when preparing a webinar.

We’ll cover everything from establishing your goals and audience to holding your webinar and following up with your participants.

8 Weeks Before the Webinar

It might be surprising to see that you should start planning for your online event already 8 weeks in advance. However, to prepare the relevant content, the webinar platform and schedule time for your co-hosts and your audience members, it’s just the right time.

Define Your Goals and Audience

The first step in planning a webinar is to determine your goals and target audience. This phase is critical since it assists you in selecting the best topic, format, and structure for your webinar.

When you know who your audience is and what you want to accomplish with your webinar, you can produce material that will resonate with them and provide genuine value. Furthermore, knowing your objectives and audience can assist you in tailoring your presentation style to keep your audience engaged and interested.

Thus, before you begin preparing your webinar, establish your goals and audience, and you’ll be well on your way to creating a successful and effective event!

Choose the Right Webinar Platform

Choosing the right platform for your webinar is important to its success. There are a lot of best webinar platforms to choose from, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

Some popular options include WebinarJam, Livestorm, and BigMarker.

There are a few factors to consider while choosing a platform. First, consider the size of your audience and if the platform can handle it. You should also evaluate the available capabilities, such as the ability to share your screen or record the webinar.

Next, consider the price and whether it is within your budget. Before making a selection, evaluate multiple platforms and assess the advantages and disadvantages of each.

By choosing the right platform, you’ll be able to deliver a seamless and engaging webinar experience for your audience.

Pick a Date and Time

When it comes to webinar planning, picking the right day and time is critical to its success. You should schedule your event at a time that is convenient for your audience and maximizes attendance.

When choosing a day and time, consider factors such as time zones and your audience’s availability. If your audience is spread out over various time zones, for example, you may want to select a time that works well for the majority of participants.

Consider your audience’s work schedules and other responsibilities when choosing a time. A good rule of thumb is to plan your webinar at least a few weeks ahead of time, and to avoid scheduling it during holidays or other important events.

By selecting a date and time that works well for your audience, you’ll be able to maximize attendance and ensure a successful webinar.

5 Weeks Before the Webinar

Create a Compelling Title and Description

A great title and description are essential for attracting attendees to your webinar. Your title should pique people’s interest and spark their curiosity in what you have to offer. Your description should be compelling and express clearly the value that guests will obtain by attending your webinar.

Consider your audience and what they are searching for when creating an effective title and description. What are their pain points, and how might your webinar assist them in overcoming these obstacles?

Employ clear, simple wording that appropriately portrays your webinar’s topic. Provide relevant keywords that will help people locate your webinar when they search for it online.

By creating a title and description that accurately reflects the content of your webinar and appeals to your audience’s needs, you’ll be able to attract more attendees and deliver a successful event.

Create a Webinar Landing Page

When preparing for your webinar, a crucial step in your webinar planning checklist is to create a registration landing page. Any webinar platform mentioned above has a built-in landing page creator, as well as webinar registration metrics tracking.

Some of the key components for a webinar landing page are:

The registration page is one of the most crucial elements of the registration process. This is where your potential attendees sign up for your virtual event. Here are some webinar landing page examples to get you inspired.

Develop an Outline for the Presentation

When it comes to hosting a successful webinar, it’s essential to develop an outline for your presentation. This outline will help you stay on track and give your audience a well-organized and coherent presentation.

It’s essential to develop this outline ahead of time so you have enough time to prepare your material and ensure that everything is in order. Start by brainstorming the key points you want to cover in your presentation, then organize them into a logical sequence that flows smoothly from one to the next.

Once you’ve created an outline, you can begin filling in the details and crafting your content to ensure your presentation is informative, engaging, and effective.

Determine the Visual Aids to Use

When planning your webinar, think about what visual aids you’ll use to supplement your presentation. Will you use slides, images, videos, or a mix of these?

Consider which visual aids will best support your content and assist your audience in comprehending what you are saying. You want your visual aids to be interesting, relevant, and simple to understand. Choose high-quality visuals that are consistent with your brand.

Remember that visuals can greatly enhance the effectiveness of your presentation, so plan and prepare them ahead of time.

3 Weeks Before the Webinar

This is the 2nd wave of your pre-webinar checklist that would help you prepare for your upcoming event. The key point here is to start preparing the content and promoting your virtual event.

Promote Your Webinar

Effective promotional plan is critical for a successful webinar. You want to contact as many prospective guests as possible and educate them on the benefits of your webinar.

Consider employing a range of marketing platforms to promote your webinar. Email marketing, social media platforms and paid advertising. If you want to invent a webinar hashtag for your virtual event, this is the right time to do it.

It might even be worth tapping into a cold email database and running an email outreach campaign. In this case, it’s recommended to use the best cold email outreach software.

While advertising your webinar, emphasize the benefits of attending and explain why your audience should participate. To capture people’s attention and urge them to join up, use eye-catching images and appealing text. Lastly, make sure to promote your webinar well in advance so that people have enough time to plan and prepare.

By effectively promoting your webinar, you’ll be able to reach a wider audience and deliver a successful event.

Prepare Your Content

Planning your content is essential to delivering a good webinar. You should ensure that your presentation is well-planned, structured, and engaging for your audience.

Making an outline of your presentation is one approach to achieve this. This will assist you in structuring your material and ensuring that you cover all of the essential points you want to convey. Consider the flow of your presentation and how you will keep your audience interested throughout while writing your outline.

You may also want to consider incorporating visual aids such as slides, videos, or infographics to improve your presentation and keep your audience engaged. Practice your presentation ahead of time to ensure that it goes well and that you feel comfortable delivering it.

By preparing your content in advance, you’ll be able to deliver a more effective and engaging webinar.

Rehearse the Presentation and Review the Content

Before conducting your webinar, it’s crucial to rehearse your presentation and review your content. This stage helps you to determine whether your content is appropriate for the event and identify areas that may need to be improved.

Take the time to practice your delivery and ensure that you’re comfortable with the material you’ll be presenting. It’s also an opportunity to put your visual aids through their paces and verify they complement your message. After you review your text, you can make any necessary adjustments, such as eliminating irrelevant portions or adding additional information to explain specific points.

Remember, your goal is to deliver a polished and engaging presentation, so take the time to rehearse and review your content thoroughly.

2 Weeks Before the Webinar

Send Reminder Emails

Two weeks before the webinar, it’s a good idea to send out a reminder email to all event attendees who have already registered for the event. In this email, you may include important details such as:

This is also an excellent moment to remind people of the benefits of attending the webinar and to ask them to spread the word about it to their colleagues or networks. You can also include a call-to-action for participants to submit any questions they may have in advance.

Be sure to keep the tone friendly and approachable to make participants feel excited about attending the webinar. By sending out a reminder email, you can ensure that participants have all the information they need to attend and get the most out of the webinar.

Prepare Your Webinar Script

Creating a script for your webinar is an important step in the planning process. The script will help you stay on track and guide you through your presentation.

After outlining your content, start drafting your script. Include an attention-grabbing introduction, a clear and ordered presentation of your content, and a conclusion that emphasizes your important points. There are webinar script templates available if you need a more specific guide when writing.

Don’t forget to read your script aloud to ensure that it flows naturally and fits within the time limit. Keep in mind that your script is a guide, not a strict set of rules. You can make changes as needed during the live event, but having a well-prepared script will give you the confidence to deliver a polished and engaging presentation.

Review and Finalize the Content of the Webinar

Reviewing and finalizing the content of your webinar is an important step in ensuring a successful presentation. Take some time to go through your presentation and make sure that it flows well and is engaging.

You can also make any necessary edits or changes to the content to ensure that it is accurate and up-to-date. Consider adding some visuals or examples to help illustrate your points and keep your audience engaged. It’s also a good idea to rehearse your presentation again to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

By taking the time to review and finalize your content, you can feel confident that you are providing your audience with valuable and engaging information.

1 Week Before the Webinar

Test Your Tech

It is critical to test your technology to ensure a smooth and effective webinar. You want to ensure that everything works well and that you’re prepared to deal with any technical difficulties that may occur.

Test your internet connection, microphone, camera, and any other equipment or software you’ll be utilizing before the event. You should also do a test run of your presentation to ensure that everything appears correctly and works smoothly.

During the webinar, it’s important to be prepared for any technical issues that may arise. Put a backup plan in place in case your internet connection fails or your microphone malfunctions. You might also want to keep a tech support person on standby to help fix any difficulties that arise.

You’ll be able to provide a more professional and seamless webinar experience for your audience if you test your equipment ahead of time and plan for any complications.

Practice Your Delivery

Practicing your delivery is essential to delivering a smooth and engaging webinar. Even if you’re a professional presenter, it’s critical to rehearse your delivery so that everything runs smoothly and you feel confident delivering your presentation.

Rehearsing your subject multiple times, recording yourself to evaluate your performance, and performing in front of friends or coworkers to gain feedback are some methods for practicing your presentation.

While conducting your webinar, it’s critical to speak clearly and fluently, as well as to engage your audience throughout the presentation. Allow for questions and promote audience participation. If you’re utilizing visual aids, make sure to direct your audience’s attention to certain portions of the slide or picture.

By practicing your delivery and delivering your webinar smoothly and confidently, you’ll be able to keep your audience engaged and deliver a successful webinar.

Another Wave of Webinar Promotion

Promoting your webinar is an important step in ensuring its success.

Start by creating an email marketing campaign, utilizing your email list to invite people to attend. Try generating social media posts on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to reach a bigger audience.

Use relevant hashtags and incorporate a call to action in your posts. On these platforms, you can also create paid advertising campaigns to target your desired audience.

Contact relevant industry influencers and ask them to help promote your webinar to their respective audiences. Consider collaborating with industry publications or other businesses in your niche to promote your event.

By utilizing multiple marketing channels, you can reach a wider audience and increase the chances of a successful webinar.

Send Out Reminders Emails to Registered Attendees

To guarantee that the registered participants attend the webinar, you need to keep them interested and informed. Send out another reminder email a week before the webinar with the event details, including the time, date, and instructions on how to join the webinar.

You may also give them a preview of what they can anticipate from the event, such as the topics you will be addressing or the speakers that will be presenting. It’s also critical to notify them if there are any changes to the webinar’s schedule or content.

This will give them time to adjust their schedule if needed and avoid any confusion on the day of the event. By keeping your participants informed and engaged, you can maximize attendance and ensure the success of your webinar.

1 Day Before the Webinar

Set Up Your Workspace

As the webinar is just a day away, it’s time to set up your workspace to ensure a smooth delivery of your presentation. Choose a quiet, well-lit room with a reliable internet connection.

Check that your webcam, microphone, and speakers are all working properly. Keep all the necessary materials like a notepad, pen, glass of water, and any props you might need, within reach. Organize your workspace properly and remove any distracting elements from the background.

Next, attempt to limit any potential noise interruptions from family, pets, or other sources. You may give a professional and polished webinar that makes a lasting impression on your audience by creating a suitable environment.

Prepare Your Presentation Materials

When preparing for a webinar, it’s important to have all of your presentation materials ready to go. This includes any slides or visual aids you want to utilize, as well as any handouts or worksheets you wish to distribute with participants.

Take the time to go through your resources and make sure they are organized correctly for your presentation. Consider giving out copies of your content ahead of time so that participants can follow along during the webinar.

You can guarantee that your webinar works well and that you successfully communicate your message to your audience by preparing your presentation materials ahead of time.

Conduct a Final Test of the Equipment and Software

It’s critical to run a final test of the equipment and software you’ll be utilizing before your webinar. Verify that your internet connection, microphone, and camera are all working correctly.

Conduct a test webinar to confirm that the presentation is operating smoothly and all the visual aids are working appropriately. Use the same equipment and software that you will on the day of the webinar.

You don’t want your audience to have a bad experience because of technological troubles during your presentation.

By conducting a final test of your equipment and software, you can confirm that everything is operating as it should and be assured that your presentation will go well.

Send Reminders to Participants

One day before your webinar, it’s time to send another reminder email to your registered participants. This email should include all the important details about the event, such as the date, time, and link to access the webinar.

You can also use this opportunity to remind your participants of any important information they need to know, such as whether they need to download any software or prepare any materials in advance.

Finally, make sure to thank them for their interest in attending and let them know that you’re looking forward to seeing them at the event. With this reminder email, you can help ensure that your participants are ready and excited to join your webinar.

On the Webinar Day

This is it. The day you’ve been preparing for. If you’ve checked all the boxes before, you have nothing to worry about. You’re prepared, you know your stuff.

Send Reminder Email 1 Hour Before the Webinar

One hour before your webinar starts, it’s a good idea to add final reminders via email to all event attendees. This final reminder email should include:

You may also wish to include a short message to help develop excitement and anticipation for the webinar. This email should be brief and to the point so that attendees may access the webinar quickly and without feeling overwhelmed.

You can guarantee that attendees are still interested and ready to join your webinar by sending this reminder email, and it demonstrates that you take your responsibility as a presenter seriously.

Host the Webinar and Engage with Attendees

When it comes to hosting your webinar, there are a few key things to keep in mind to ensure its success. First and foremost, keep your audience engaged throughout the presentation. Encourage them to ask questions, answer polls or quizzes, and provide comments.

Engaging your audience will result in a more interactive and dynamic experience that will keep them engaged and interested in what you have to offer.

Sharing interactive visuals like your webinar slide deck, videos, or infographics is a good approach to keep your audience interested. Be certain that your visuals are clear, brief, and simple to interpret. Utilize them to illustrate your main ideas, and attempt to use a variety of visual aids to make your presentation interesting.

Finally, make sure to deliver your webinar confidently and at a comfortable pace. Speak clearly and make eye contact with your audience through the camera. By following these tips and keeping your audience engaged, you’ll be able to conduct a successful webinar.

At the end of the webinar, leave time to answer questions that the attendees might have.

Follow Up with a Thank-You Email That Includes the Webinar Recording

A few hours after the webinar is over, it’s important to follow up with your attendees. This helps to reinforce your message and keep your brand in the forefront of your customers’ minds. Sending a thank-you email to your attendees is a great approach to follow up.

Thank them for participating and offer a brief overview of the key points you discussed throughout the webinar. You may also use this time to solicit comments or address any unanswered questions.

Also, if you promised to give additional resources or materials during the webinar, make sure you keep your word. This might involve sending out a webinar recording, giving further articles or resources on the subject, or even organizing a follow-up call or meeting with interested attendees.

If the goal of your webinar is lead generation, then, then this is the best time for call-to-action. Strike while the iron is hot.

One of the best ways to generate leads from a webinar is to invite your event attendees to sign up for a free trial of your product or invite them to a brief call with you or your sales team.

By following up with your participants and providing additional value, you’ll be able to build stronger relationships and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.

1 Week After the Webinar

Following up with your virtual events, even a week after the initial virtual event happened, is a good idea to keep yourself on top of their mind. If your audience is into attending events hosted by you, then it’s the ideal time to send them some post-webinar catch-up.

Follow Up with Improvement Feedback

After conducting a successful webinar, it’s essential to follow up with the attendees to get feedback and insights. You can use the best webinar follow-up email templates for inspiration.

One week after the event, send a follow-up email to all the participants thanking them for attending the webinar. In your post-webinar email, include:

You can also include a short survey to gather data on what worked well and what needs improvement. This feedback can be used to improve future webinars and to assess the effectiveness of the current one.

As you’ve gathered qualitative feedback from the survey, it’s also important to analyze your webinar key performance indicators. These can be:

Tracking these metrics helps you measure success and improve on your future webinars.

Promote Future Webinars

Once your webinar is done, it’s time to think about the next one. Use the momentum of your recent success to promote your next webinar. You can start promoting the next one right away by including it in your follow-up email.

Mention the topic and tentative date so that participants can mark their calendars. Also, utilize your social media channels, email list, and website to promote your upcoming webinars. Share a brief description of the topic and the date when it will be held. You can also ask your audience to share the information with their network.

Make sure that you create a sense of excitement and anticipation for the next event. Remember, the more people you can get interested in your webinars, the higher your attendance will be, and the more successful your future webinars will become.

Summary of a Webinar Checklist to Prepare for a Successful Webinar

In summary, a successful webinar requires many key phases, each of which must be properly prepared and performed.

Defining your goals and audience, selecting the right platform, selecting a convenient date and time, creating a compelling title and description, promoting your webinar, preparing your content, testing your technology, practicing your delivery, conducting the webinar itself, and following up with your participants are all steps in this process.

You can organize a successful and engaging webinar that effectively interacts with your audience and meets your goals by following these steps and using the tips and best practices given in each section.

A detailed webinar checklist that contains all of the crucial aspects required to ensure a successful event is vital. To minimize last-minute surprises or technical concerns, this checklist should be properly reviewed and checked off at each stage of the planning and execution process.

Finally, conducting a successful webinar involves careful planning, attention to detail, and a dedication to successfully engage with your audience. You may conduct a webinar that provides value to your attendees, enhances your authority as an expert, and helps you reach your business goals by following the procedures suggested in this article.

To achieve the best results with webinars, we recommend using a professional webinar platform

23 best webinar platforms rated and compared

Erkki Muuga

Erkki has over 10 years of experience as a software product manager and a proven track record in building and growing SaaS products. He has a keen eye for key differentiating factors and spotting truly valuable software features that enable business use cases.