This guide is about webinars specifically: the sequence, the people who register late, and the problems only online sessions have. For the general schedule for any event, in person or online, see event reminder emails.
Why webinars need their own sequence
A webinar is easier to sign up for than an in-person event, and easier to forget. Nobody books travel or clears an evening. Registering takes ten seconds, and so does deciding not to join. That changes what reminders have to do:
- Get it into the calendar. The calendar event is the reminder people actually see. Everything else backs it up.
- Put the join link where a busy person can find it. At one minute to the hour, people search their inbox for the link. The subject line and the first line decide whether they find it.
- Interrupt at the right moment. An hour before, and at the start, are the moments that turn intent into a click.
- Make the replay a promise, not an excuse. Telling people there'll be a recording is honest and gets more registrations, but put it later in the sequence, not in the hour-before email.
The sequence
| When | Who gets it | |
|---|---|---|
| At registration | Confirmation, with the calendar file and join link | Everyone |
| 7 days before | What we'll cover, and a question for them | Only people who registered more than 10 days before |
| 1 day before | The agenda and the speaker's opening question | People who registered more than a day before |
| 1 hour before | The join link, first line | Everyone |
| At the start | We're live, here's the link | Everyone not yet in the room, if your tools can tell |
| After | The recording, split by who came and who didn't | Everyone (see the follow-up guide) |
The key column is the last one. Someone who registered an hour ago doesn't need the day-before reminder, and getting two emails within an hour of signing up reads as spam. Key each reminder to when the person registered, and drop any whose moment has passed for them.
What's different about each webinar email
The confirmation
Its main job is the calendar. Attach the calendar file and give an add-to-calendar link, with the join link inside the calendar event itself, so the event in their calendar is enough to join from. Tell them what they'll need: a browser, or the app, and whether they'll be seen or only heard.
The day before
Say something new. The best new thing is what other registrants have asked, because it tells the reader the session is real and that people like them are coming. If you asked a question at registration, use the answers: "Most of you asked about pricing, so we'll start there."
The hour before
The join link in the first line, the time in the subject, and almost nothing else. If joining needs a passcode, put it next to the link. If the platform asks people to install something, say so here, so they're not installing it at two minutes past.
Starting now
A short email at the start brings in people who meant to come and lost track of time. Keep it to the link and one line. Send it only once, and only if you can leave out people who have already joined, or at least keep it so short that they won't mind.
Six templates
Confirmation, straight after registering
Subject: You're registered: [webinar title], [day] at [time]
Hi [first name], You're in for [webinar title]. When: [day, date, time in their zone] ([length] minutes) Join here: [join link] Add it to your calendar: [calendar link] You'll need [a browser / the Zoom app]. [Cameras stay off / You'll be able to ask questions in the chat.] What's the one thing you'd like answered? Reply and tell me. [your name]
A week before, for people who registered early
Subject: Next [day]: [webinar title]
Hi [first name], [Webinar title] is a week away, [day] at [time]. Here's what we'll cover: - [one] - [two] - [three] Still useful to you? If not, reply "cancel" and I'll take you off the list. [your name]
The day before
Subject: Tomorrow at [time]: [webinar title]
Hi [first name], We're on tomorrow at [time]. You and [number] others sent in questions. The most common was [question], so [speaker] will start with that. Join here: [join link] [your name]
One hour before
Subject: In an hour: [webinar title] (your link)
[join link] We start at [time]. Passcode, if asked: [passcode] Bring a question: there's time for them at the end.
Starting now
Subject: We're live: [webinar title]
We've just started. Join here: [join link]
Registered at the last minute
Subject: You're in: [webinar title] starts at [time]
Hi [first name], Good timing: we start at [time] today. Join here: [join link] Add it to your calendar: [calendar link] See you shortly.
Don't let two systems send the same reminder
Many webinar platforms send their own confirmation and reminders, and so might your registration tool and your marketing tool. Three systems each sending "starting in an hour" is common, and it's the fastest way to train people to ignore all of them. Pick one system to own the sequence and switch the others off, or reduce them to the one email only they can send, such as the platform's own join link.
Time zones and recurring webinars
Write the time in each reader's own zone when your tool can, and both zones when it can't ("1pm London / 8am New York"). For a recurring series, send each session's reminders separately, with that session's date in the subject. Someone who registered for the series should never have to work out which Tuesday you mean. A time zone converter helps when you write the invitation.
Doing this in Programmable Talk
Your webinar stays on Zoom, Luma or wherever it runs. The confirmation goes at once, with a calendar file and the person's own page. Two reminders follow: the first a day before by default (or two days, a week, or off), the second an hour before (or 15 minutes, two hours, or off), each with your own note added if you write one, in the thread the person started, with their personal join link. For a starting-now email, add a note to the event's campaign at the start time: it emails everyone registered, and waits for your OK unless you let it go by itself. After the event, the follow-up goes separately to those who came and those who didn't.