Webinars & Events How-to

Your Zoom Webinars Best Practices Checklist

Webinar, demo, broadcast … whatever you call it, you’re running a virtual event. See how Zoom Webinars can help simplify the process!

3 min read

Updated on September 23, 2022

Published on June 15, 2017

Your Zoom Webinars Best Practices Checklist

In this blog

01 2+ Weeks Before - Jumplink to 2+ Weeks Before
02 1 Week Before - Jumplink to 1 Week Before
03 1 Hour Before - Jumplink to 1 Hour Before
04 30 Minutes Before - Jumplink to 30 Minutes Before
05 15 Minutes Before - Jumplink to 15 Minutes Before
06 5 Minutes Before - Jumplink to 5 Minutes Before
07 Webinar Start Time - Jumplink to Webinar Start Time
08 After Your Webinar - Jumplink to After Your Webinar
09 Next Steps - Jumplink to Next Steps

Joshua Jones

Webinar, demo, broadcast…whatever you call it, you’re running a virtual event and we’re here to help. If you’re hosting a Zoom Webinars, there are a variety of steps you should complete to make sure you’re creating the best experience for your panelists and attendees. Let’s take a look at your timeline of to-dos!

Confirm date, time, title, description, and panelists
Schedule the webinar
Invite your panelists
Begin promoting your webinar via email, advertisements, and social networks
Meet with panelists to confirm webinar structure and content

Review the webinar and account settings to confirm they’re to your liking
Confirm that all panelists have been invited to the webinar
Add poll questions as needed and consider some planted questions (in case you have a shy audience)
Check your registrations – if they’re looking low, double down on your promotions
Host a tech rehearsal if your panelists are first timers to review the features of Zoom Webinars
Finalize presentation with panelists

Contact panelists to confirm they are prepared and answer any questions
Download and review the registration report at https://zoom.us/account/my/report/webinar

Start the webinar at https://zoom.us/webinar/list or via your host calendar appointment
Enable Practice Session upon scheduling so that only the host and panelists can join; as your panelists join confirm their audio and video are running smoothly (ideally, they are using a wired connection)
Set up and manage webinar tools:
- Chat: Click the More menu at bottom to allow/disable attendee chat (can chat to panelists by default)
- Participants: Click the More menu at bottom to allow panelists to start video, mute on entry, and so forth
- Q&A: Click the Options menu at top to allow/disable anonymous questions (allowed by default)
Greet panelists and review roles and tools to be used such as Polling and Q/A

Run a final audio, webcam video, and content sharing test

Mute all panelists – panelists will remain muted until the presentation starts
Use the broadcast button to move from practice to start mode and allow attendees to join
Attendees will join muted and cannot share but will be able to see and hear panelists
Moderator periodically welcome the attendees and let them know you’ll be getting started soon

Start recording
Moderator unmutes and starts video
Moderator begins the presentation with welcome and housekeeping – sample housekeeping slides
Confirm other presenters are ready to be unmuted and video is on
Monitor Q&A for any technical concerns from attendees - send to https://support.zoom.us for 24/7 assistance

Send a follow up emails to registrants and attendees – be sure to include the webinar recording and a call to action (what you want them to do next)
Upload the webinar recording to YouTube, Vimeo, or your website

If you’d like to know more about Zoom Webinars(and see webinar best practices in action), join one of our regularly scheduled Go BIG With Zoom Webinars at zoom.us/events. This quick guide was put together by Zoom’s online events team. To learn more about Zoom Online Event Consulting services, visit our support article or contact team lead Joshua Jones to get started.