Are you seeking new and effective ways to reach and engage with your audience and promote your brand without too much trouble?

If yes, then webinars are your best bet. 

More than 60% of marketers use webinars as a significant part of their content marketing strategy. 

You can also use them to promote your products and services and achieve your desired results.

This article is a beginner’s guide to webinars. It illustrates everything about how to host a webinar. And teaches you how to conduct webinars and reach customers anywhere in the world.

But first, what are webinars?

Webinar for beginners: What are webinars, and how do they work?

Since this is a guide on ‘webinar for dummies’, we’ll keep everything simple. In simple terms, a webinar is an online version of a seminar. It is a relatively new phenomenon in the sphere of marketing. And many brands are beginning to integrate webinars into their strategy.

With webinars, you can quickly build trust with your customers and establish your brand as the domain expert.

But before you start reaping the many signups and high attendance rates. It would be best if you put in the work.

Also read: Top Reasons Why You Should Choose WebRTC-based Video Meeting App 

And your webinar must be relevant, unique, and valuable to your customers.

So here are our top 5 webinars-for-beginners rules on how to host a successful webinar.

1. Choose the right topic for the right customer

Your webinar topic should align with your goals/values and your customers’ interests. This is a fundamental rule in the beginner’s guide to webinars.

Your topic must be practical so that attendees rush to apply the lessons learnt after the event. 

And it should be specific in order to manage your attendees’ expectations. 

Also, remember that no one likes a bore. So choose a fun webinar topic.  

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If you need help achieving all these, here are some suggestions:

• Use Google: See how companies similar to yours are titling their webinars. Get some ideas, and add some uniqueness to get your webinar topic(s).
• Use Keywords: Add keywords to your landing page title and other marketing content. This will help your website to rank for critical keywords on search engine pages.

2. Choose the best time and day to host your webinar

If your topic is globally relevant, your attendees will be from across the globe. 

Research your audience thoroughly and understand their locations and time zones. This helps you focus on the right audience.

What is the best time to hold a webinar? Well, it depends on what works best for a significant chunk of your audience.

Read: Best Video Conferencing App For Remote Work: An A-Z Guide

Although, GoToMeeting and ON24 recommend 11 am EST for US audiences. That translates to different times of the day in other parts of the world. 

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The best way to host a webinar is to listen to your audience.

Survey your audience to know their most preferred time slots. That’s the safest way to choose the best time of day for a webinar.

3. Create a landing page

Your attendees need to register for your webinar. How do they do that? You need to create a landing page specifically for your webinar. 

Redirect your digital ads and website call-to-actions (CTAs) to this landing page. The content on the page should highlight your webinar’s importance. Keep it straightforward and without the fluff.

Read: What is Web Conferencing? A Complete Guide to Everything You Need to Know

For your landing page to ‘land’ any attendees, it must be;

• Concise 
• Easy to navigate
• Contain relevant information about your webinar 

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Also, integrate the various calendar apps with your landing page. That way, your attendees can add your webinar to their calendars.

4. Promote the webinar as if it were the event of the century

Your team members should not be your only attendees. So promote your webinar as much as you can. Do it via other websites, via email and via ad campaigns. It’s a no-brainer. Utilise social media in promoting the event. Leverage the audience of your speaker or partner. 

Also read: Looking For The Best Video Conferencing App For Online Classes? Click Here

Have them promote your webinar on their social channels. This is bound to increase the headcount and spread the word.

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Use scarcity in your messaging to increase the value of your webinar. People are bound to sign up faster if “limited” seats exist.

And this leads us to the next point, the Email drip campaign.

5. Send out an email drip campaign

After registering, there’s a high chance that your audience will forget about your webinar. But you can prevent that by staying top of mind with an email drip campaign. 

The drip campaign timeline depends on when attendees signed up. 3 event reminders can work well: 14 days before, 5-7 days before, and 24 hours before the event. Avoid spamming your attendees.

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You can trigger the drip emails to start once potentials visit the landing page or register. Try out the following:

• A follow-up email for those who visited the landing page but did not register
• A ‘thank you for registering’ email containing full event details.
• A ‘thank you’ email for those who attended, with a link to a  feedback form.
• A follow-up email to all registered, with a link to the webinar recording. That’s if the tool allows it. You can also add the questions asked during the webinar.
• Announcement emails about other upcoming webinars.

6. Practice enough to be perfect-ish

If you do not run a test/practice before your webinar, prepare for a disaster. 

You and your guest speakers need to simulate the live webinar conditions. This will allow everyone to be familiar with the webinar tool or platform. And significantly reduce the risk of having technical difficulties during the final event.

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You don’t have to run through the entire presentation. Just practice the controls with everyone involved. 

And know when to switch presenters (if you plan to have multiple presenters). 

7. Have a ‘how to host a webinar’ checklist 

Before the actual webinar day arrives, go through your ‘how to host a webinar’ checklist. You can also call it a ‘webinars for beginners’ checklist’. 

This checklist ensures that you don’t miss out on anything and have a smooth-sailing webinar.

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Now, let’s show what your webinar checklist should entail.

Webinars for beginners checklist

Here are your webinars-for-beginners D-Day checklist for hosting a webinar:

• Technical support: You need someone to help with backend technical issues. Make sure that they know what they are doing. 
• Open the room early: Show up before your attendees, at least 15mins before the starting time. Share a screen that shows the webinar details. 
• Have a ‘chat monitor’: You need someone to help pick up questions and issues from the chat.
• 5+ mins for Q&A: Set aside time for the Q&A. Anything above 5 minutes is fair.
• Update your Devices: Check your devices for any updates. Also, ensure the apps you’ll be using are up to date.
• Battery and Internet: Recharge your devices’ batteries and internet subscriptions. Avoid getting disconnected because of a low battery or an expired data plan.
• Silent mode: Put your devices on silent mode to avoid interruptions during the webinar.
• Surrounding noise: Test your surrounding for noise and find the quietest place. Do this before the webinar day.
• Alternate power source: Prepare for power cuts. Find an alternate power source, so your attendees don’t suddenly see a black screen.
• Water/Fluid: Speaking for a long time may cause your throat to dry up. Have some fluid by your side to prevent this.
• Choose a platform: Some platforms could be more efficient. Pick a platform with minimal requirements, easy to use, and offers the most features. See this article on how to choose a webinar platform.

You have now learnt how to host a webinar that people will love. But how do you end a webinar

You should also read:

• 10 Best Video Conferencing Platforms That Allow Recording 
• 10 Best Video Meeting Apps To Use On Mobile
• 5 Best Zoom Alternatives, Free and Paid, From India
• Video Conferencing Apps vs. Audio Conferencing Apps: The Complete Truth

How to end a webinar as a host

How you end a webinar will leave a lasting impression in your attendees’ minds.

First, you can start by recapping the webinar, then thank them. Next, you can share your social media details for further questions or enquiries. And put your product links on the screen and in the chat.

Lastly, if you have another webinar coming up, inform them about it. And encourage attendees to stay in touch with you.

Ready to host a successful webinar with our webinars-for-beginners tips?

You have completed the ‘webinar for beginners’ guide. Webinars are powerful marketing tools. We hope these tips help you get started on a successful webinar run.

 But one more thing, you need a platform to host your webinar.

You need a browser-based platform that is as versatile as your potential attendees. Check out TelebuJoin.

With TelebuJoin, you can schedule the webinar and invite attendees seamlessly from your browser. No downloads will ever be necessary. 

To get started for free, sign up today or contact us for a free demo on customizing your branded video conferencing platform.