Do Webinars Have To Be Live? What About Pre-Recorded?
You have quite a lot of flexibility when it comes to webinars, but do they always have to be live? Allow me to answer that question for you as well as diving into some similar topics.
Do Webinars Have To Be Live?
So do webinars have to be live? Absolutely not! However, depending on your experience, you might seriously want to start with running live webinars.
As you can also see from my screenshot of webinar software above, there are two separate options for webinars:
That’s another easier way of saying that webinars don’t have to be live, since there are also options for automating them as well. If you’re interested in either type of webinars, you can check out the links above for more information
Now I’m also glad that you happened to stumble upon this article because I have something important to mention when it comes to this specific topic and question.
First things first, this is a very common question when it usually comes to:
- Doing webinars.
- Doing your very first webinar.
- Or just when it comes to online marketing in general.
I believe that it’s most common when it comes to doing the first webinar. This is simply for the fact that it can be nerve-wracking to do.
After all, you are giving a live presentation, so the natural tendency is to automate it instead, allowing you to not have to stress about presenting for possibly hundreds of people.
I felt the exact same way. However, I also remember Russell Brunson saying something about webinars that stuck with me for a while.
Keep in mind, I don’t remember how he exactly phrased it, more so the main idea about what he was talking about.
Russell Brunson stated that you should always start with live webinars first.
Not only that, but you should also keep doing them numerous amounts of times until you really figure out your webinar.
While it might sound like a lot more work, which it certainly is, it allows you to really iron out the process and keep increasing the conversions of your webinar.
When you think about it, you will be a completely different person, and you will have a completely different webinar by the time that you’re done with your 100th live webinar.
Running your live webinar multiple times first allows you to:
- Significantly alter your pitch and offer.
- Get a better idea of what your audience is looking for.
- Answer questions (and smash objections) as you get more feedback.
This reminds me of the popular phrase you might have heard: nail it then scale it.
You can’t really scale something (automate it) until you nail it first, and the same goes with doing live webinars first.
So do webinars have to be live? Absolutely not. Just keep in mind that if you don’t have a lot of experience with webinars yet, I recommend that you start with live webinars first.
If you need help when it comes to converting your webinars, I highly recommend you pick up the Perfect Webinar template.
It was also created by Russell Brunson, who is an absolute webinar genius.
Can Webinars Be Pre-Recorded?
Yes, webinars can absolutely be pre-recorded. It’s a great benefit of webinars, as it allows you to free up your time while also being able to make sales.
When it comes to webinars being pre-recorded, you will need some type of software that can help you out with this.
The popular terms here are going to be automated (or even evergreen) webinars.
As I described earlier, I always recommend that you start with live webinars. This allows you to create a much higher-converting webinar that can then be automated.
So how do pre-recorded webinars work? It’s a simple process. You’re going to need some type of automated webinar software, which I recommend EverWebinar for that process.
As shown in the screenshot above, there is an option where you can use an external video file. This means that your webinar will play a pre-recorded file so that you don’t have to be live.
Speaking of the fact that you don’t have to be there live for the webinar, here is a quick list of some of the best benefits when it comes to running pre-recorded webinars:
- You don’t have to make a live presentation (just had to state that again).
- You can free up a ton of your time and work on other things.
- It allows you to generate leads hands-free.
- It allows you to make sales hands-free.
When it comes to the webinar process, just about everything can be automated. From the registration process, to watching the presentation, to purchasing, to customers accessing their product, as well as email marketing followups.
You will need to handle customer support when needed of course, but that’s something that can be outsourced separately.
Lastly, when you upload your pre-recorded webinar, you can also pick the specific registration times for your automated webinar. With EverWebinar specifically, there are quite a few options that you can choose from.
You can check out my complete EverWebinar review if you’d like to learn more about how they operate. You can also see the costs of EverWebinar here. Until then, I think you have a good idea about how you can utilize pre-recorded videos for your webinars.
Are Webinars Live Or Pre-Recorded? Closing Words
Webinars can either be live or pre-recorded, as it’s going to depend on how the webinar host wanted to set up the presentation for everyone.
There are going to be benefits of using a live or pre-recorded webinar. The benefits of using live webinars come with:
- Overall better interaction (more comments and questions answered).
- Live webinars allow you to better tweak the process.
- Usually much better conversions.
Then, on the other hand, you have pre-recorded webinars which are great for:
- Automating the process.
- Freeing up a ton of your time.
- And yes, you can generate leads and make sales around the clock.
Whether you choose to use live or pre-recorded webinars is going to be up to you and where you are with your online business.
Either way, I hope that this answered all of your important questions when it comes to live and pre-recorded webinars. I’ll leave you with two of my favorite options when it comes to live and automated software.
Thanks again for stopping by, and happy webinar marketing.
