Why run a webinar during your raise?
When raising a community round, hosting a webinar can be an effective way to build relationships with current investors and connect with potential ones.
A typical webinar lasts 30-60 minutes, with the founder presenting their pitch to the audience, followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A section. Including key guests, such as the lead investor, can make the webinar even more valuable. Here is a quick playbook to help you plan and execute a successful webinar:
Step 1: Set a date & time
Consider the availability of your audience when setting a day and time. Mid-weeks, such as Wednesday and Thursday, are the best days for a webinar, with the best times being between 10am–12pm PST.
Set a duration (typically no longer than 45 minutes) for the webinar and stick to it.
Step 2: Choose a platform
There are various platforms to host your webinar, including free platforms like Google Meet and Zoom for smaller groups, and Zoho, Stream Yard, or Sequel for larger, more formal events.
Choose the platform that best suits your needs based on the number of participants, features, and compatibility with your budget. We highly recommend lu.ma to collect signups.
Stream Yard ($79 for 1000 viewers) offers better branding and controls for presentation. However, it may not be suitable for use cases that require breakout rooms.
Sequel ($150 for 250 users) is best for hosting presentations on the company's website. It allows companies to drive all the traffic to a landing page they control on the site, which helps with retargeting and relationship building.
Step 3: Create an agenda
Outline what you want to cover during the webinar, including an introduction to your company, product overview, financials, and a Q&A session. Share the agenda with your attendees beforehand so they can come prepared with questions.
Outline what you want to cover during the webinar, including an introduction to your company, product overview, financials, and a Q&A session. Share the agenda with your attendees beforehand so they can come prepared with questions.
There are two successful webinar styles we’ve seen on Wefunder: Pitch + Q&A and Lead Investor Perspective.
- In a Pitch + Q&A, pitch your business and leave 10-15 minutes at the end to answer investor questions.
- In a Lead Investor Perspective, pitch your business, answer investor questions, but allow 10-15 minutes for your lead investor to give a personal account of why they invested in your company.
Step 4: Promote your webinar
Promote your webinar on your social media platforms and email lists.
If you use lu.ma to collect signups, they’ll auto send out reminder emails and follow ups too.
Use eye-catching graphics and clear language to communicate the value of attending your webinar. Most importantly, post an update on your Wefunder page with a brief summary of the info in your webinar with a registration link. Send reminder emails leading up to the webinar.
Here are two excellent examples of eye-catching promotion graphics:
Step 5: Conduct the webinar
On the day of the webinar, test your equipment and start on time. Stick to your agenda and engage with your attendees. Be personable, enthusiastic, and confident in your presentation. We recommend having a facilitator whose sole job is to keep tabs on the chat and the waiting room—make sure to have at least 2-3 resources to put in the chat to keep the audience engaged like links, images, and polls.
Step 6: Follow up with attendees
After the webinar, follow up with your attendees, thank them for attending, and provide any additional resources or materials discussed during the webinar.
We recommend posting an update on your Wefunder page with a recorded copy of your webinar, a big thank you, and a recap.
Use this opportunity to strengthen your relationships with your investors and answer any additional questions they may have.
For examples, see how Sensate, Upshift, and Qnetic followed up with attendees to thank them for attending.
A good follow up template could look like this:
Dear {Attendee Name},
Thanks for joining our recent webinar, {Webinar Title}. We hope you found it insightful. We have some additional resources available, including {Insert brief description of the resources}. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at {Email/Phone Number/Social Media}.
You can access a recorded copy of the webinar here: {Link to recording}
We'd be grateful if you could take a moment to share it with your network.
Thank you again for your time and attention, we appreciate your amazing support and hope you'll consider investing.
Best regards,
{Your Company}