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How do I run a great webinar marketing campaign?

A webinar (short for "web seminar") is a live or recorded online presentation that educates your audience, showcases your expertise and generates leads. Unlike a blog post, a webinar lets attendees interact with you in real time through Q&A, polls and chat. It's one of the most effective ways to build trust with prospects and move them toward becoming clients.

About half of the people who register for a webinar typically attend live, and more watch the replay later. Recent industry benchmarks put live attendance at roughly 45–50% of registrants, depending on the audience, topic and timing.

Step 1: Plan your webinar

  • Set a goal. What do you want the webinar to achieve: new leads, nurturing existing prospects, educating clients, or launching a service?
  • Choose a topic your audience cares about. Focus on a specific problem or question, for example "5 Strategies to Manage Commodity Price Risk in 2027," rather than a general company overview.
  • Pick your speakers. One or two knowledgeable, engaging presenters work best. A guest expert or partner can boost credibility and help promote the event.
  • Choose a format:
    • A live presentation with Q&A is the most engaging.
    • A panel discussion offers multiple viewpoints.
    • An interview or fireside chat feels conversational.
    • An on-demand (pre-recorded) webinar lets people watch anytime.
  • Choose a platform such as Zoom Webinars, GoTo Webinar, Microsoft Teams webinars or Webex. If you use HubSpot, choose a platform that integrates with it so registrant and attendee data syncs automatically.
  • Pick a date and time. Mid-week, mid-morning or early afternoon typically works well for business audiences. Consider your audience's time zones.

Step 2: Set up registration

  1. Create a landing page with a clear title, a short description of what attendees will learn, speaker bios, and the date and time.
  2. Add a registration form. Keep it short (name, email, and company if needed) and add reCAPTCHA to block spam sign-ups.
  3. Send a confirmation email right away, with a calendar invite and the joining link.

Building the landing page and form in HubSpot turns every registrant into a contact you can follow up with. See How do I create and edit forms in HubSpot?

Step 3: Promote it

Start promoting 2–4 weeks before the event:

  • Email: send an invitation to your list, followed by one or two reminders.
  • Social media: post on LinkedIn and your other channels, and ask speakers and partners to share.
  • Your website: add a banner or pop-up CTA linking to the registration page.
  • Paid ads: LinkedIn ads work well for professional audiences. Financial firms should review ad targeting rules first.
  • Partners: co-hosting with a partner or association can greatly expand your reach.

Step 4: Reduce no-shows

Send reminders to registrants:

  • One day before.
  • One hour before.
  • At start time, with the joining link.

Let registrants know a replay will be available, so people who can't attend live still register.

Step 5: Run a great session

  • Rehearse. Do a practice run to test audio, video, slides and screen sharing.
  • Start on time and briefly cover what attendees will learn.
  • Keep it engaging. Use polls, invite questions throughout, and answer as many as you can.
  • Keep it focused. Aim for 30–45 minutes of content plus Q&A. Many attendees watch for less than half an hour, so put your most important points early.
  • Include a clear call to action, such as booking a consultation, downloading a resource or registering for the next event.
  • Record the session for the replay.

Step 6: Follow up

Follow up within 24 hours, while interest is high:

  • Attendees: thank them, and share the replay, slides and your call to action.
  • No-shows: send the replay with a "Sorry we missed you" message.
  • Hot leads: alert your sales team about attendees who asked questions, responded to polls or clicked your call to action.
  • Keep the content working. Post the replay on your website, and turn the webinar into blog posts, short video clips and social posts.

Step 7: Measure results

  • Registrations and registration page conversion rate.
  • Attendance rate: attendees divided by registrants.
  • Watch time and engagement: poll responses, questions and chat activity.
  • Replay views.
  • Leads, meetings and deals generated. Tracking these in HubSpot shows the webinar's real business impact.

For financial firms: webinar content, slides, recordings and promotional materials may need compliance review and recordkeeping. Build review time into your schedule, and have compliance approve the replay before posting it publicly.

Need help planning, promoting or running a webinar? Contact the Gate 39 team through the Customer portal.


References
[1] Livestorm – Webinar metrics (2026 Webinar Benchmark Report)
[2] Univid – Webinar Insights 2026
[3] AInora – Average Webinar Attendance Rate: Every Study (2026)