80% of a great Webinar happens before it goes life

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This is the one thing that most people get wrong about webinars. Most companies focus mainly on the ‘live’ elements like the stream, the slides, the audience. And I get it, because there are a lot of moving parts to a live stream, especially to a first webinar.  

The best webinars feel effortless when you watch them. This is because the people building these broadcasts front-loaded the effort. They were specifically designed to achieve a certain goal.

In reality the success of your webinar is decided before you ever go live. You put your intention, focus and most of the hard work in preperation.    

This article will unpack what this 80% really is, and how to make it part of your strategy.    

             
   

Misconceptions    

Let’s start with what people often miss. Most teams think the success of a webinar depends on what happens when the camera turns on.    

But this needs a change in perspective, try to look at it this way:    

What I do before the webinar goes live, results in what happens when the camera turns on.    

Of course things can go wrong because we are never fully in control of how a live broadcast goes, this is the reality of live events.    

But all seasoned broadcasters will tell you that, the real work, the kind that defines audience engagement, trust, and ROI, happens long before the session begins.    

Me and my team have supporting more than 10,000 webinars, and we see the same pattern every time. The teams who prepare intentionally get better results, even with smaller audiences.    

This is another misconception to not, people often think the bigger the audience, the more succes. But all you need is the right audience.    

This has nothing to do with numbers, but everything with alignment with your core group of people that need your solution, that benefit from what you bring to the table in your webinar.    

             
   

The 80% Rule    

I want to give you a brief insight here, into what I believe are the important factors to prepare for a webinar. Preparation however, isn’t so much about perfection, it’s about intention.    

Around 80% of the effort that makes a webinar successful happens before anyone joins the room.    

This is developing the strategy, the structure, audience targeting, the story, the speakers, the visuals, and the infinite amount of details to push it into something great.    

Preparation is the product here    

             
   

The 80% unpacked    

1. Story & Intent (20%) Every webinar needs a purpose beyond “sharing updates.”
What is the single idea you want people to remember?
 This red wire, your story, shapes everything that follows.    

And if you intend to create a series of Webinars, which is the majority of the companies, you should design a strategy how this should be played out through the series.    

You want to create a consistent series, with your coherent message. This is where you give body to your identity.    

Shape what people will remember you for and with what feeling they leave your broadcast. This emotion, this feeling is triggered with each interaction they have with you or you brand later on.    

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2. Design & Flow (20%)

Slides don’t hold attention it’s structure that does.
Plan transitions, rhythm, and breaks. A good webinar feels like a guided conversation, not a broadcast.    ‍

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3. Speaker Preparation (20%)

Great speakers get their confidence from prepared. The rehearse timing, framing, and align tone.    

The best presenters know where to pause, not just what to say. The energy speakers bring can carry a Webinar and be one of the factors for people to watch it to the end.    

When your speaker is well prepared, your audience will feel safe and engage.    

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4. Technology & Testing (10%)

The technical setup should disappear into the background.
Test once, test again, until you are confident with your tools and then run it like clockwork.    

Reliability builds calm, and calm builds confidence. Choose a platform that you can rely on.    

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5. Promotion & Expectation (10%)

The experience starts long before “Go Live.”
Set clear expectations with your audience, and they’ll arrive ready, not distracted.    

This requires a whole strategy, you want to build up momentum for people to come. Because they give you their most valuable asset, their time and attention.    

Don’t betray them in this trust, because if you do they most likely won’t come back.    

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6. Target Audience. ‍

Your target audience only comes when they trust you will create a great webinar. A lot of this comes down to consistency in your storytelling.    

People visit your Webinar when they know what they can expect, they know the message that you carry and they trust you will bring value.    

They trust you to help them with waht they need. That is why they are willing to sacrifice their time and attention.    

I wrote an article about trust if you are interested you can find it here    

             
   

Why This Matters    

A webinar isn’t a one-hour event. It’s the result of weeks of intention.    

The irony of it all? The better your preparation, the more natural your webinar feels. When people don’t notice all the work you did it means you are succeeding.    

             
   

Some last thoughts    

Remember that every moment of preparation also sends a message, you are saying to your audience: “We care about your time.” This is real intention and this is what builds trust!    

There are of course a lot more details that come into play when starting your webinar journey, but I will leave that for another article.    

But if you need help now with preparing your Webinars, just reach out to me!    

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Martijn Monster is the Founder of OnlineWebinar    

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