What you need to do before you hit record

A webinar is a live or recorded presentation you broadcast to a group of people online. Before you choose software or send invitations, you need to decide three things: whether you want the webinar live or pre-recorded, how many people you expect, and what you want them to do afterward (watch only, ask questions, download something, sign up for a service).

These decisions shape everything else. A live webinar with 50 people asking questions needs different software than a recorded presentation you send to 500 people by email. A webinar where you want attendees to buy something needs a registration page and a way to collect payment. A webinar where you just want to teach something needs only a way to record and share the link.

Write down your goal in one sentence. "I want to teach small business owners how to use Instagram" is a goal. "I want to do a webinar" is not. Your goal determines whether you need interactive features, how long the webinar should run, and what happens in the first five minutes.

Key Takeaways

  • Decide whether your webinar will be live or recorded, how many people will attend, and what you want them to do afterward before you pick software.
  • Most webinar software (Zoom, GoToWebinar, Hopin) handles registration, recording, and sending follow-up emails automatically once you set them up.
  • A live webinar needs a script or outline, a test run with someone else, and a backup plan if your internet drops or your slides fail.
  • Send invitations at least two weeks before a live webinar, with a reminder email three days before and another the morning of the event.
  • After the webinar ends, send attendees a recording link and any promised materials within 24 hours, and follow up with people who registered but did not attend.

Choosing software that fits what you are actually doing

Zoom is free for up to 100 people for 40 minutes, or paid plans for longer sessions and larger groups. It handles registration, recording, and screen sharing. Zoom works well if you want people to see your face and slides, ask questions in a chat, or raise their hands to speak. The free version is enough for most small webinars.

GoToWebinar is paid-only (starting around $100 per month) but includes registration pages, automated email reminders, and polls built in. Use it if you want a polished registration experience and do not want to set up a separate sign-up form. It is overkill for a one-time webinar with 20 people.

Hopin is designed for larger, interactive events. It includes networking features, breakout rooms, and a virtual booth area. Use it if you want attendees to move between sessions or interact with each other, not if you are just presenting slides.

YouTube Live is free and reaches people who already have YouTube accounts. You stream directly from your computer, and viewers can comment in real time. Use it if you want a huge potential audience and do not need registration tracking. You cannot see who watched or follow up with them afterward.

For most first webinars, Zoom is the right choice. It is free to start, familiar to most people, and does what you need without extra features you will not use.

Setting up registration and sending invitations

In your webinar software, create a registration page. This page asks for the attendee's name, email, and sometimes their company or role. Keep it short — three fields maximum. Every extra field you add loses people who start filling it out and then stop.

The software will send a confirmation email automatically when someone registers. That email should include the date, time, and a link to join. Include the time zone explicitly — "3 p.m. Eastern" not "3 p.m." — because people misread time zones constantly.

Send your first invitation email at least two weeks before the webinar. Include the topic, why someone should attend (what they will learn or be able to do), and the registration link. Make the registration link a button, not plain text, so people can click it without copying and pasting.

Send a reminder email three days before the webinar, and another the morning of the event. The morning reminder should include the join link again and the exact time in the attendee's time zone if your software can personalize it. Many people will not join unless they see that second reminder.

Planning what you will actually say and show

Write an outline, not a script. An outline is a list of the points you want to cover in order. A script is word-for-word what you will say, and reading from a script makes you sound robotic and distant. Your outline should have one sentence per point, plus any statistics or quotes you want to read exactly.

Start with a welcome and a statement of what people will learn or be able to do. "In the next 45 minutes, you will learn three ways to find customers on Instagram and see examples from real businesses." That takes 30 seconds and tells people whether they are in the right place.

Break the middle into three to five main points. Each point should take 8 to 12 minutes. If you have more than five points, your webinar is too long or your points are too small. Combine them.

End with a call to action. This is what you want people to do next: download a guide, sign up for a free trial, register for a paid course, or simply ask questions. Do not end with "Thank you for attending." End with what comes next.

Create your slides in PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Keynote. Use one idea per slide. Do not read the slides word-for-word — your slides are there to show, not to be read aloud. Use images and short phrases, not paragraphs.

Running a test and preparing for things to go wrong

One week before the live webinar, do a full run-through with at least one other person. You present as if it is the real event. They join from a different computer and tell you what they see and hear. This catches problems: your microphone is too quiet, your slides are hard to read on a small screen, you talk too fast, or your internet connection drops.

Check these things during your test run: Can people hear you clearly? Can they see your slides? Does your screen share work? Can they see your face if you are using a camera? Does the chat work if you want people to ask questions? Does the recording start automatically or do you have to click a button?

Have a backup plan for the three things most likely to fail. If your internet drops, you can switch to a mobile hotspot and rejoin the webinar. If your slides crash, you can share your outline on screen and keep talking. If your microphone fails, you can use your laptop's built-in microphone or call in by phone. Test each backup before the webinar.

Start the webinar 10 minutes early and let people join while you are still setting up. This gives you time to troubleshoot if someone cannot hear you, and it gives attendees time to figure out their own audio and video settings.

What to do during the webinar itself

Speak slowly and pause between points. You will feel like you are speaking slowly. You are probably speaking at normal speed. Pause for three full seconds between major points so people can absorb what you just said.

Watch the chat or Q&A window if you want people to ask questions. Assign someone else to monitor it if you are presenting alone — they can tell you when questions come in and help you decide which ones to answer. If no one is monitoring the chat, people will ask questions and feel ignored when you do not respond.

If someone asks a question you cannot answer, say so. "That is a great question and I do not know the answer off the top of my head. I will look into it and send you an email." Then actually send them an email within 24 hours. This is more credible than making something up.

If the webinar is live and you have time at the end, answer questions from the chat or from people who raise their hand. If you do not have time, tell people you will answer questions by email and actually do it. Send answers within 24 hours.

Sending the recording and follow-up materials

Within 24 hours of the webinar ending, send an email to everyone who registered. Include a link to the recording, any slides or documents you promised, and a link to your call to action (the next step you want them to take).

Send this email to everyone who registered, including people who did not attend. Many people will watch the recording later. Include a note: "Could not make it live? Watch the recording here."

Send a second follow-up email three days later to people who registered but did not attend and did not watch the recording. Ask if they have questions or if there is anything you can clarify. This catches people who meant to attend but forgot, or who are interested but need a nudge.

If your webinar had a call to action (sign up for something, download something, buy something), send a third email one week later to people who watched but did not take that action. Keep it short: "You watched the webinar on [topic]. Here is the link to [next step] if you want to move forward."

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a webinar be?

45 to 60 minutes is standard. People can focus for that long. Anything longer than 90 minutes loses people unless they are extremely engaged. If you have more material than fits in 60 minutes, split it into two webinars or cut the material down.

Should I use a camera to show my face or just share my screen?

Use a camera if you want to build a personal connection or if you are the main draw (people came to see you). Use screen share only if you are teaching something visual like software or design. Most webinars work best with both — your face in a small window while you share slides or screen.

What if no one shows up to my live webinar?

Record it anyway and send the recording to everyone who registered. Many people will watch later. For your next webinar, send more reminder emails and start promoting it earlier. If you registered 20 people and only 3 showed up, your reminders were not strong enough.

Can I reuse a webinar recording for multiple audiences?

Yes. You can send the same recording to different groups of people, or post it on your website or YouTube. You do not need to run the same webinar live multiple times unless you want to answer live questions or interact with each audience.

What if I make a mistake during the live webinar?

Keep going. Most people will not notice, and the ones who do will forget about it by the time the webinar ends. Stopping to apologize or correct yourself breaks the flow and makes the mistake bigger than it was. If you said something factually wrong, correct it in the follow-up email.