Webinar Planning Guide

• Select webinar topic
• Select moderator and speakers(s)
• Confirm Time and Date of session(s)
• Choose technical vendor
• Delegate technical tasks

6 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE EVENT: DESIGN THE EVENT

• Determine the entertainment value of the event
• Determine need for professional moderator
• Determine the content and outline for the presentation
• Decide if session attendance should be limited
• Decide whether the session should be billable and then decide amount
• Determine methods to invite participants
• Develop registration procedures
• Develop invitation creative content
• Determine how materials will be made available to participants and others
• Select evaluation method and tools

Determine the type of interaction desired with the audience

• Application sharing
• PowerPoint slides
• Annotations
• Chat functionality
• Polling used for follow-up, to guide the direction of the presentation, or simply to engage the attendees

Prepare the event introduction

• Decide who will deliver the technical introduction
• Decide who will deliver the content introduction
• Prepare the presenter introductions including pictures and biographies

Prepare Question Management Strategy

• Decide whether questions will be operator assisted (recommended in most situations) or an open forum with lines open (this can be dangerous and awkward)
• Decide whether or not to save questions for the end or address questions throughout
• Write canned questions in case live questions are not asked

Determine the audio requirements

• Define technical assistance needed during webinar set-up
• Select audio method – audiocast or teleconference
• Write canned questions in case live questions are not asked

4 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE EVENT: MARKET THE EVENT

• Concentrate on Event Marketing
• Find target audience
• Assemble lists – targeted opt-in and in-house
• Determine which channels will most likely generate ideal webinar participants. Think about partners, industry newsletters, lists, print and online publications, etc.

Develop and Prepare Communication Plan

• Write customer contact content and schedule (email, newsletters, journals, newspapers, magazines, direct mail, press releases, telemarketing, etc.)
• Decide which registration content information to collect (name, and email address required)
• Write registration confirmation notice content
• Create reminders – send out multiple reminders, including an email 1 hour before the event
• Create registrant and attendee follow-up materials

Develop Landing Registration Pages

• Complete title, subtitle and brief description of session
• Include:
  • Logo
  • Time and Date
• Complete and test landing page and registration sign up process, edit as needed
• Assign unique URLs for marketing tracking

Create and Send Email Invitations

• Test both HTML and Text versions
• Create link to registration page
• Send invitations

ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE EVENT: PREPARE THE EVENT

• Complete a prep session and dry run of the event with the presenters
• Schedule speaker training times
• Upload presentations and position polling slides and supporting materials
• Choose delivery strategy—practice transitions and handoffs
• Practice virtual body language with annotation tools, polling questions and voice fluctuation

Send out additional email and login reminders

• One week before
• A day before
• An hour before the event

DAY OF THE EVENT: HOST THE EVENT

• Distribute joining instructions to appropriate support staff
• Presenters dial in to teleconference 15 minutes prior to call
• Presenters log into web conference 15 minutes prior to presentation
• Conduct pre-conference review
  • Manage speaker rights
  • Test Q&A chats
  • Test audio for clarity and volume
  • Review script and call flow
  • Discuss order of presentations with multiple speakers
  • Discuss how Q&A will be conducted (chat w/ audio or chat only)
• Watch the roster as people sign in – start when ready – if late make announcement
• Manage Helpdesk for attendees with last minute questions
• Make sure attendees are muted and presenters are not—do not rely on attendees to mute their own phones
• Introduce event and basic housekeeping issues including FAQs, asking questions, handling technical difficulties, etc…
• Conduct Event Intro, including presenter biographies and pictures
• Begin presentation
• Conduct Q&A
• Post survey, questionnaire or polls at end of conference—ask attendees what could be done better, possible topics for future webinars
• Close the call

ONE HOUR TO ONE WEEK AFTER THE EVENT: FOLLOWING-UP ON THE EVENT

• Perform post event analysis
• Review event polls and questions
• Review attendance and compare to registrants
• Review reports – assign follow-up responsibility
• Email follow up to attendees
• Email follow up to non-attendees
• Post and distribute recordings of the event (consider fees per viewing) – send participants access to the recording and presentation and market the Archives Library to generate more interest and further revenue from the viewings.

WEBINAR PLANNING TIPS

Concentrate on Event Marketing

• Base marketing decisions on the relationship with audience members and the quality of campaign lists.
• Generally, expect between 1/4% to 2% register, meaning 1 to 8 people will register for every 400 contacted.
• Of the registrants, approximately 75% of registrants show for fee-based events and 40-50% for free events, so plan for that with follow-up contact with attendees and non-attendees.

Registration Process

Keep registration concise and simple. Save the giveaways for attendees to the webinar rather than offering whitepapers or giveaways ahead of time.

Send out additional email campaigns and login reminders

We recommend calling participants of events with paying attendees to ensure they are prepared.

Determine the audio requirements

Be aware of entry and exit tones and name announcements – shut them off by contacting the service provider.

Determine type of interaction desired with audience

Always avoid silence, read questions and answers, discuss polling results and move on in less than 20 seconds.

Presentation Preparation

• Determine if you would like a rotating slide set – 3-7 slides that rotate every 10-12 seconds prior to the start of the conference
• Slides can incorporate an overview of the company, client list, agenda, meeting objectives, bios and/or headshot of presenters
• Stay away from scripts
• Have a moderator and 1-2 speakers
• Consider ice breakers or light hearted material to supplement the content
• Much of this is determined by the demographics and the nature of the event

Prepare the event introduction

Keep the bios short—just a few bullets.

Prepare Question Management Strategy

Have a few prepared to jumpstart the audience.

Complete a prep session and dry run of the event with the presenters

Always remember that your temperament determines your audience’s mood. Remember this if something goes wrong. Keep a smile on your face until you hang up.

Determine if you would like the event to be recorded

Do not start the recording until just before the conference begins.

Day of the Event

Use headsets and avoid speaker phones.