How to increase webinar attendance with a reminder ladder

To increase webinar attendance, send a confirmation the moment someone registers, then a ladder of short reminders by email and text: 24 hours before, 1 hour before, 15 minutes before and a few minutes after you go live. Text does most of the work in the final hour, so ask for a phone number with consent on the registration form. For the people who still miss it, publish a replay with a deadline.

The rest of this guide covers why people miss sessions, the timing of each reminder, what each one should say, and templates you can adapt.

Why people register and then do not show up

Registering takes ten seconds. Showing up takes an hour on a specific day, and a lot happens between the two. The usual reasons people miss a session:

• They forgot. They registered on Saturday and the session is on Thursday.
• They could not find the link when it was time.
• They were unsure of the time in their own time zone.
• Something else was on their calendar, because the session never made it onto it.
• They had only mild interest, and nothing gave them a reason to make room.

Each rung of the reminder ladder answers one of these. The confirmation and the add to calendar button deal with the calendar. The 24 hour reminder deals with forgetting. The last hour deals with the link and the moment.

The reminder ladder

At sign up: the confirmation

Send it immediately, by email and text. It confirms the date, the time in their time zone and the join link, and it asks them to put it on their calendar. This one message should never wait, because a confirmation that arrives an hour later is no longer a confirmation.

Optional: a countdown for sessions days away

If people often register several days ahead, add one short message a day in between. Keep these useful: a question to think about before the session, a story from a client, or what they will be able to do afterwards. Do not just repeat the date.

24 hours before

The 24 hour reminder brings the session back to mind while there is still time to clear the calendar. Restate the one outcome of the session and the time.

1 hour before

The one hour reminder catches people at the point they decide what to do with the next part of their day. Include the join link.

15 minutes before

This is the one that gets people into the room. Send it by text, keep it to one line and put the link in it.

A few minutes after the start: "we are live"

Some people meant to come and lost track of time. A message a few minutes after you start, saying you are live and they can still join, brings a share of them in.

About 45 minutes in

A message during the session reaches people who are still out. Tell them what they have missed and what is coming next, such as the Q&A, so joining late still feels worth it.

Email plus text: what each channel does

Email carries the detail: the agenda, the add to calendar link, the host's note. Text carries the urgency and the link. Use both on every rung, and lean on text in the last hour.

Two rules for texting:

• Consent first. Only text people who gave a number and ticked a box agreeing to texts. A spreadsheet of numbers is not consent.
• Respect the clock. Marketing texts should not go out late at night in the person's own time zone. A reminder that the session starts in 15 minutes is time critical in a way a promotional message at 11pm is not.

Reminder templates

Replace the parts in braces. Keep the join link the same in every message.

Confirmation email. Subject: You're in for {session title} on {day}

Hi {first name}, you're registered. {Session title} is on {day} at {time} your time. Here is your link to join: {join link}. Add it to your calendar now so it does not get lost: {calendar link}. Bring one question you want answered and I will do my best to get to it.

Confirmation text. You're registered for {session title}, {day} at {time}. Join here: {join link}. Reply STOP to opt out.

24 hours before, email. Subject: Tomorrow at {time}: {one outcome}

Hi {first name}, a reminder that {session title} is tomorrow at {time}. In one hour you will see {one outcome}. Your link: {join link}.

24 hours before, text. Hi {first name}, {session title} is tomorrow at {time}. Your link: {join link}

1 hour before, text. Starting in one hour, {first name}. Grab a coffee and join here: {join link}

15 minutes before, text. We start in 15 minutes: {join link}

We are live, text. We're live now and just getting into it. Jump in: {join link}

About 45 minutes in, email. Subject: Still time to catch the Q&A

We are partway through {session title} and the Q&A is coming up. If you have a question about {topic}, join now and ask it: {join link}

Timing details that make a difference

• Late sign ups. If someone registers 40 minutes before the start, do not send the confirmation and the one hour reminder on top of each other. Hold the reminder for a little while so the two do not land together.
• Time zones. Always show the time in the registrant's own time zone. "1pm Central" asks people to do arithmetic, and some will get it wrong.
• Reschedules. If you move a session, tell everyone registered and send the 24 hour reminder again before the new time.
• One link. Use the same join link in every message. A new link per reminder confuses people and breaks calendar entries.

Changes beyond reminders that lift attendance

• Shorten the wait. A weekly session means nobody registers more than a week ahead.
• Pick a slot your audience can make. Coaches selling to working professionals often do better at lunch or early evening than mid morning. Try a different slot for a few weeks and compare.
• Use the thank you page. Add an add to calendar button and a short video from you on why the session is worth attending live.
• Give a reason to be live. Live Q&A, a worksheet you share during the session, or hot seat reviews of attendees' work. If you offer something only to live attendees, keep the promise.
• Start on time. People who show up on time and wait five minutes learn to show up late next time.

Attendance checklist

1. The registration form asks for a phone number with a text consent checkbox.
2. The confirmation goes out instantly by email and text, with an add to calendar link.
3. Reminders are set for 24 hours, 1 hour and 15 minutes before.
4. A "we are live" message goes out a few minutes after the start.
5. A message during the session points to what is still coming.
6. Every message carries the same join link.
7. Late sign ups do not get two messages at once.
8. Marketing texts are held overnight in the person's time zone.
9. A replay with a deadline goes to everyone who missed it.

How Niche sends the reminder ladder

Niche Engine webinars send this ladder for you. A confirmation goes out by email and text the moment someone registers. Reminders follow 24 hours, 1 hour and 15 minutes before the start, a "we are live" message goes out a few minutes after the start, and another goes out about 45 minutes in. If a 24 hour or 1 hour reminder would fall within 30 minutes of someone signing up, it waits so it does not land on top of the confirmation. You can add your own steps for everyone or for a group such as first time registrants, or add a daily countdown in one go.

Texts go only to people who agreed to receive them. Marketing texts, including any follow up steps you add more than 90 minutes from the start, never go out between 9pm and 8am in the person's own time zone, while the time critical 15 minute, live and mid session texts still go out. The Registrations page shows, for each person, which of the five reminders reached them by email, by text or both, so you can see where a no show fell through.