While we can all agree that webinars are perfect for closing more business, lead generation and creating powerful content, it’s also fair to say that they are a lot of work. To try and make it a little easier, we see a lot of people searching for ‘ultimate webinar checklist template’ and other similar solutions in the hopes of saving time or maybe just brain power.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple; there’s no guaranteed solution for creating the world’s best webinar, and unlike within the world of free novelty t-shirts, one size does not fit all. However, you can make things a bit easier by implementing industry best practices, taking advice from seasoned industry experts (that’s us) and putting the hard work in.
While there’s no pre-webinar checklist to promising the generation of leads, sales or success, there are certainly things you can do to increase the likelihood of closing more business, hosting a better webinar, and just generally being more awesome. Keep reading and you’ll find them out - this is our very own take on the webinar checklist.
A Checklist for Before Your Webinar
Choose a topic
We’ve spoken a lot about this before, but we’ll say it again because it’s so important: you need to choose a relevant topic that has real worth. You need to start by identifying exactly why you want to host a webinar, what it’s going to aim to cover - for example, does it tackle an industry pain point? - and then set clear goals for what you hope to gain from it.
Consult and liaise with other departments. Say your webinar is coinciding with a new sales pitch, or you’re demonstrating a full product launch, then your sales department would be the perfect team to work with in deciding not only on your goals, but your plan of action.
Once you know why you’re hosting your webinar, consider who you’re hosting it for. Is your target audience at the top or bottom of the sales funnel? Are you targeting new leads or communicating with previous clients? These will help with the initial planning process.
Pick a format
What kind of webinar works the best with not only your chosen subject, but your goals?
Once you’ve identified - for example, whether you’re holding a Q&A or thought leadership webinar - you can shape the first outline of your plan around it. You can also consider whether to bring in co-hosts or other tools and begin to make bigger decisions.
Pick a platform
This decision will be influenced by the requirements of your webinar; for example, video, audio, and visual tools. Will you require your attendees to have access to resources? Will you need to implement polls or other additional content?
If so, you need to make sure your provider can facilitate this. A lot of webcasting platforms promise a whole lot of versatility and then never deliver. It’s one of the key reasons we always say to ask for a free trial before subscribing to any webinar software - then you can see for yourself what you have access to.
Our FastCast system is one of the most versatile on the market if you’re looking to use additional resources that’ll make your webinar more interactive and engaging. Plus, we offer free trials and one-off solutions instead of subscription-only services. Just sayin’.
Begin planning and writing
Once you’ve got the bones of your webinar, you can begin the proper planning process. This is where things get quite exciting - you’ll be able to start researching your topic thoroughly and making those big decisions.
It’s also the time you can begin the writing process. And we don’t just mean the webinar script here; it’s an important time to start ensuring all of your website and social content is up to date, as well as being well-written and relevant to your potential leads. If your webinar manages to hook some new clients and get them to the top of the sales funnel, you don’t want to lose them by offering out of date or low quality content later.
That said, a script is important - us humans aren’t built for thinking on our feet and only some are blessed with the skills to pull it off. Most of us just go off on tangents, look a bit silly, and your audience won’t thank you for it. After the planning stage is complete, and you know what you want to say - and have a clear CTA to accompany your content - it’s about finding the best and most compelling way to say it concisely.
Remember, ensure that your topic is fully and thoroughly researched. Know what you’re talking about so that you can offer new, fresh ideas and content. That’s how you’ll sell your ideas, your product, or even yourself to potential B2B clients.
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