1. Plan everything. Create a webinar plan that includes schedules, potential speakers, a registration process, budget, promotion, success metrics and follow through.



2. Build your list. Your opt-in email list is your #1 source for future sales. Be creative in capturing the email address of every potential attendee to your webinar.

3. Promote it. If you build it, will they come? That depends. Do they know about it? Do they care? Study your key audience and develop a targeted marketing strategy. Know exactly what it is that your audience wants. Test different messages and ad sources. Be creative. See what works. Activate networks. Word-of-mouth is key, so include an "invite-a-colleague" link in all exchanges with potential attendees.

4. Timing is everything - Schedule your webinar when the greatest number of people can come. If your audience is national, run the webinar in the mid-afternoon. That way, people from all times zones can attend. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are typically the best. People are not just starting or ending their week.

5. Capture the attention of your audience. E-mail, the web, to do lists and the phone are just some of the many distractions that your speakers have to contend with. Make sure content is informative and your speakers are interesting. Get input from your sales team. Involve all of your marketing staff.

6. Webinars don't happen in a vacuum. Make sure your webinars are integrated into your overall marketing strategy and will help to reach your business goals..

7. Market research. Don't miss out on a chance to ask your audience their opinions. Use your webinar to learn more about your audience and what they care about.

8. Pre-plan for possible problems. Coach your speakers. Presenting at a webinar is very different from presenting in person. Don't forget: All speakers need to use conventional phone lines with headsets and have a hard copy of their presentation in front of them. Technology isn't foolproof. Prepare for all calamities. Schedule at least one run through that covers web conferencing technology, webinar presentation and timing and how to handle a loss of audio or web access.

9. Pick the best conferencing vendor. There are many web conferencing vendors out there. Can the one you choose handle your volume and support you when there's a problem?

10. Maximize the registration process. Every time someone registers for your event, you have a chance to learn more about their unique interests and needs. Include different touch points like demos and white paper downloads in all registration emails. Don't Forget to automate the registration process as much as possible and make sure your system captures what happens for further study.

11. Above all, Respect Your Audience. People take time out of their day because they are interested in solving a problem. Hard sell doesn't work. Soft sell provides the value that your audience is looking for. To ensure the success of your current webinar along with all future ones, design your presentations to provide superior value to the end-user: your customer.