How to Organize a Webinar That People Actually Attend – and Even More Than Just One Person!

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You have 5,000 contacts in your database and decided to put them to use. You organized a webinar, invited an expert (who wasn’t cheap), and made sure everything looked great. A fantastic landing page, advertising materials, a perfect email campaign, and even a budget for paid ads… Yet, only six people attended the event. Sounds familiar?

Are you wondering what went wrong? Maybe you're starting to think that everything written about webinars and marketing online is just a myth? Or that it only works for advertising agencies? Not necessarily. Interestingly, according to Livestorm, the industry with the lowest attendance rate for online events is actually advertising itself.

A successful webinar doesn’t have to be expensive. However, it does require careful planning of several key elements.

Let’s take a step back and start fresh.

What Results Are Good and What Should You Aim For?

A webinar's success isn’t just about the number of registrations but also actual participation. Here are some statistics to give you an idea of what results you can expect. Even if you don’t achieve the best numbers immediately, you can set your initial goal at half of the industry average.

Various sources provide different figures, but they tend to be within similar ranges:

• According to the State of Webinars report, online events attract an average of 284 registrations, with an attendance rate of 57.9%.
• According to LiveWebinar, the average attendance rate ranges from 40% to 60%, depending on the industry and region.

Attendance rates vary across industries:

• The highest participation rate is in pharmaceuticals, where it reaches 63%.
• The lowest participation rate is in advertising, at just 33%.
• The education, SaaS, and internet technology sectors also see high engagement, though specific attendance data is not always available.

Knowing these benchmarks gives you a realistic expectation of what to aim for and helps your marketing team set clear goals. Now, let’s explore what it takes to achieve (or even exceed) industry averages.

A Webinar’s Success Begins Long Before It Starts

Choosing the right webinar topic is crucial, as it directly impacts interest and attendance. So how do you find a subject that truly attracts your audience? Here are three proven strategies:

1. Research Popular Topics

Use trend analysis and search tools to discover what’s currently hot in your industry. This ensures your chosen topic aligns with your target audience's interests.

Tools that can help you:

• Google Trends – Tracks keyword popularity over time and provides regional insights.
• Google Analytics – Analyzes user behavior on your website, revealing interest patterns.

Other useful tools worth exploring:

• BuzzSumo – Tracks content popularity on social media.
• Brandwatch – A powerful social media monitoring and sentiment analysis tool.
• Exploding Topics – Identifies emerging trends across industries, helping you stay ahead of the competition.

2. Know Your Audience

Nothing beats direct interaction with your customers. If you already have an audience and good relationships with them, just ask! Conversations, surveys, and collecting feedback allow you to understand what truly interests your target group. These efforts not only provide insights but also strengthen relationships—two wins in one.

3. Leverage AI

AI-powered tools like ChatGPT can be a great resource for generating content ideas. You can ask AI for topic suggestions, content inspirations, or optimization of existing proposals. It’s a fast and effective way to gain new perspectives.

Which Method Is Best?

The ideal approach combines all three:

1. Start with AI to generate initial ideas.
2. Verify their popularity using Google Trends or other tools.
3. Discuss the final options with trusted clients or partners to ensure relevance.

By following this process, your webinar won’t just align with current trends - it will also provide real value to your audience.

Optimize the Registration Process

Your landing page should be simple, intuitive, and feature a clear call-to-action (CTA) like “Sign Up Now”. Minimize the number of steps required for registration and ensure the page is fast-loading and mobile-friendly—this is a must in today’s digital world.

If you have the time and resources, A/B test different versions of your landing page (headlines, colors, CTA text) to determine which one converts best. Also, remember that page speed significantly impacts registrations—a slow-loading page can drive potential attendees away.

When running paid advertising campaigns, ensure that your ad visuals and copy match the landing page. A consistent and professional look builds trust and improves conversion rates.

How to Effectively Use Your Contact Database

1. Segment Your Audience

Not everyone in your database is ready to attend a webinar. That’s why segmentation is crucial. Categorize contacts based on their interests, engagement levels, and past interactions (for B2B, consider the services they’ve used). Then, tailor your invitations and messages accordingly—personalized communication is far more effective than a generic approach.

Taking the time to customize your messaging will result in:

• Higher click-through rates
• More registrations
• Greater event participation

Attendees should feel that this webinar is truly relevant to them and that participating will bring them tangible benefits.

2. Build Engagement Before the Event

One invite isn’t enough. Build anticipation and keep in touch with potential attendees.

Make your expert the star:

• If you have a guest expert, use them! Ask them to record a short video teaser where they introduce themselves, preview the webinar, and share one valuable insight—a “sneak peek” that showcases the event’s value and encourages sign-ups.
• Have the expert mention that they’ll discuss these topics in more depth at the event. This adds an extra incentive for participation.

Send multiple reminders:

• Don’t just send one invitation.
• Send a series of reminder emails leading up to the event, increasing urgency as the date approaches.
• If you have phone numbers, send SMS reminders—a week before and again on the day of the event.
• This is especially important because people often forget about events in their busy schedules.

Email is the most effective tool for webinar promotion, generating 57% of webinar registrations (Source: GoToWebinar). But supplementing it with SMS or WhatsApp reminders is powerful—these messages go straight to people’s phones, which they check constantly.

Why send multiple reminders?

• 54% of people register at least 8 days before a webinar—this gives them time to plan and block time on their calendar.
• 33% register on the day of the webinar—so last-minute reminders can make a big impact. (Source: GoToWebinar).

?? Bonus Tip for Ambitious Marketers: Include an .ics file (calendar event) in your emails or instructions on how to add the event to a calendar. This is especially useful for B2B professionals who schedule everything in their work calendars.

Follow-Up & Analyze Your Results

A webinar is just the beginning. After the event, follow up with participants:

• Send a thank-you email
• Share the recording and additional materials
• Track who opened emails, clicked links, and attended
• Use this data to optimize future marketing efforts.

?? Post-Webinar Engagement Statistics:

• 10 days after the webinar, you can still get 47% of views if you share the recording.
• 20 days later, this drops to 24%.
• 30 days after the event, only 10% will watch the replay.
• After that, views stabilize between 2–6% (Source: Findstack).

This highlights the importance of quick follow-up actions, such as sending out the recording and additional educational materials, to maximize webinar ROI.

Final Thoughts

Your contact database is one of your most valuable assets, but its effectiveness depends on how you use it. Instead of working blindly, invest time in analysis and personalization.

Smart marketing starts with understanding your audience and their needs—and ends with actions that deliver measurable results.

Don't limit yourself to traditional methods—leverage AI and data-driven strategies to streamline your efforts and achieve even greater success.

You already have the database. Now it's time to use it wisely. Good luck!