The Ultimate Checklist for Hosting a Webinar & More

One of the best ways to stay organized when running a webinar, is to create a webinar checklist. The reason you need a webinar checklist is simple - the average human can only store 7 items (or tasks) in their short-term memory at a time. Running a webinars requires many more tasks than that, and often involves multiple people or teams to successfully plan, prep, and execute a single webinar event. 

Using a webinar checklist will improve your efficiency in the following ways: 

• Standardizes your webinar process making it easier to replicate
• Identifies interdependent tasks so that your process can eliminate bottlenecks or unnecessary delays
• Reduces the amount of communication needed because your team will have visibility on where you're at in your webinar process
• Reduces the chances of making a mistake or forgetting a step which will also save you time

WorkCast's Sample Webinar Checklist on Trello

Our webinar checklists details all of the most important steps that you need to take during the webinar planning process, webinar setup and content creation stage, and when prepping for and running your webinar. You can access our public Trello board via the link below. 

Whether you stay organized with simple checklists or complex project management software like Asana or Monday, the most important thing is that you list all of the critical steps involved in your process. This not only keeps you organized, but makes it easier for members of your team to jump in and help with tasks or understand where you are within the project process. Especially when working remotely, this will help you be more efficient. 

A few of the most critical steps to include in your webinar checklists or processes are: 

• Outlining your webinar goals and KPIs - having clear goals for your project helps you make smart and efficient decisions throughout your webinar process
•  Testing your internet connection - this is always an important step as you will want each of your presenters to have a strong WiFi connection to power their presentation (preferably hardline connections), but it is particularly important due to the changes and challenges we're facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Global internet speeds have slowed down, so you will want to test your presenters' connections early and often. 
• Test the pacing of your presentation with slides - doing a dry run of your presentation will help you identify whether your webinar presentation is interesting and engaging, or if you need to adjust the pacing or slide transitions or content to make it more interesting. 
• Schedule a rehearsal - whether your have chosen to run a live, simulive, or on-demand webinar, it is always a good idea to run a rehearsal. This will help your presenters gain confidence in the platform you use, as well as improve the delivery of their content. 

Just like with in-person events, webinars require a lot of planning and people in order to create exciting and engaging content. Keeping yourself organized throughout the entire webinar process will help ensure your webinar achieves your goals and is a success.