Hosting a webinar can be a great way of getting your message out about a particular product or service while simultaneously providing valuable information to interested parties. If you have ever hosted a webinar before, then it is likely that you understand just how much work goes into the task. If this is your first time, however, then you may have plenty of questions as to what should be done in order to assure a successful event. By using these five simple tips, you can help improve the chances that not only will people know about and attend your webinar, but they will tell others how great it was, too.

Define Your Goals

What exactly do you wish to achieve out of holding a webinar? Many people attempt to host such an event but fail to understand just what they wish to gain from the process; some believe that by simply holding a webinar or anything, they will gain publicity and respect for their projects and sites. Unfortunately, you cannot measure or calculate success without some ground goals in place. Consider how many people you would like to register for your webinar, as well as what percentage of those people will actually end up attending the event.

Provide Freebies

If you can sweeten the deal and offer something in addition to the material covered in the webinar, then you may find that attendance rates will be much better. By pinging a website‘s event to major social media networks, email lists and the web at-large, you can reach a much larger audience who will be more receptive of your offer when something of value is included. Perhaps you can offer consultation on web marketing or a coupon off specific services with companies relevant to the topic material in the webinar.

Choose A Good Day

Not all days are created equally. We know, for instance, that holding a webinar on a Tuesday at 10:00 AM is not a bright idea; most likely, many are busy with their day jobs and projects and simply do not have time to participate. Depending on the demographics of your target audience, you may be able to hold a webinar on the weekends or later in the afternoon – doing the appropriate market research will help you narrow down the optimal time window.

Send Out Confirmations

In order to demonstrate your attentiveness and remind individuals that they have signed up for the webinar, please consider sending out both a confirmation and reminder email to each subscribed person. Not only will this show them that you have received their request, but you can also remind them closer to the date in question of the webinar in case they have forgotten.

Marketing via Social Media

Webinars have found great reception among certain social media circles; if you are not already pinging a website’s webinar information to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others, then you are missing out on valuable, potential attendees. With so much overlap these days between email and social media, you may even gain the attention of a few whom you have already emailed and reminded to attend via the sign-up process or via your existing email list, which will make yet another impression upon them and increase the likelihood of them attending.