Event Scheduling & Promotion
- Best Workdays To Schedule Your Event? Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday
- Best Workdays To E-Mail Invites? Tuesday to Thursday
- Best Start Time: 12 noon – 2 pm (remember other time zones, too)
- Rinse & Repeat: Send 2-3 event invites over at least three weeks — 50% will sign-up in the last week
- Confirm It: Send confirmation e-mails with URL, time, instructions and calendaring link
- Remind Them: Remind confirmed attendees of date and time 1 day before
- Get Social: Use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. to build up pre-event excitement
- Recruit Others: Cross-promote through partners, alliances or speaker lists
- Easy Does It: Make registration simple — name, organization, title and e-mail address. Avoid detailed surveys or sales qualification questions, but ask for speaker questions during registration process — allowing speakers to shape webinar content
Venue Setup
- Room Choice: Not too big, not too small for number of speakers and attendees (if any), plus technical equipment setup
- Presenter Placement: Podium? Opposing lecterns (debate-style)? Roaming speaker? Seated panel? Decide early on since each has technical implications
- What’s Behind Speakers? Avoid plants or lamps growing from heads, room clutter, bright windows, distracting pictures and ugly backgrounds, but consider adding subtle branding
- Be Tech Savvy: Confirm availability of room’s high-speed Internet connection, access to power, good ambient lighting and isolation from external noises
- Listen-in Option: Make a telephone line available for attendees having technical issues or in case of an emergency affecting the broadcast
Program Content
- Draw In Your Audience: Choose a short, engaging and benefit-orientated title (How to…, 10 Steps to…, Quick Guide to…, etc.)
- Identify Outcomes: Highlight anticipated learnings or benefits in promotional copy (You will learn…)
- Runtime: Educational webinars run 30, 60 or (rarely) 90 minutes at most (average is 60 minutes or less)
- Interactivity Level: Consider options for audience input — Q&A input box, free form or moderated chat, polls, telephone call-in, Skype callers, etc.
- Downloadable Content: Consider making PDF handouts available at show time, such as background info, speaker bios, case studies or slide presentation
- CPD/CLE: Allow time to apply for education credits to attract additional viewers
Presenter Prep
- Run-Through: Consider asking speakers to rehearse before event day, select a chair or moderator, work out speaking order and time the duration of their comments
- Edit Ruthlessly: Follow all the rules for good writing and presentation slide design, such as editing out clutter, keeping text on slides to a minimum, using tasteful and clear graphics, and choosing easy-to-read large sans serif fonts
- Simple Slides: Elaborate slide animations and transitions are sometimes distractions for speakers if they misfire