In short
- A follow-up email after your webinar or workshop has one job: the next step. Not just the recording, but the same counter as in the room.
- Send it fast, while the interest is fresh. And make a distinction: people who attended, people who didn't show and people who already had a call each get their own email.
- One email isn't follow-up. Follow up until there's a yes or a no, with a fixed rhythm and an unsubscribe link in every email.
In this article (6)
Your webinar went well. Good questions in the chat, people who stayed to the end. The next morning you send everyone the same email: “Thanks for coming! Here’s the recording.” And then? Then you wait.
And that’s exactly the problem. Your follow-up email thanked everyone and asked nobody anything. Your audience has now had a free training twice: live and as a recording.
In this article you’ll read how to write a follow-up email after your webinar, masterclass or workshop that does lead to conversations. When to send it, what goes in it, and three examples you can adapt as they are.
What is a follow-up email after a webinar?
A follow-up email is the message you send after your webinar or workshop to take the next step: from interest to a conversation or a purchase. It’s not a thank-you note and it’s not a newsletter. It’s your counter, but in someone’s inbox.
In our Sold-Out Recipe the follow-up belongs to step 04, the counter: making the offer, with follow-up that’s just as clear. Because a full room is the start, not the finish. What happens afterwards decides whether your event delivers something or just compliments.
When do you send the follow-up email?
The same day. Ideally within a few hours.
Right after your webinar, everyone still remembers what it was about, which question they asked and why they stayed. Tomorrow they’re back in their own work. A week from now your webinar is one of the many things they “should watch again sometime”. Interest is fresh bread. It doesn’t improve with waiting.
And don’t send everyone the same email. There are three groups on your list, and they’re at different points:
Who attended
Has seen your knowledge and your offer. Doesn't need convincing about the topic, does need help with the next step.
Who didn't show
Was interested, but never heard your offer. Not showing up isn't a no. It's a yes that cooled down on the way.
Who already had a call
Is still hesitating or said "let me think about it". Doesn't need a recording, does need a reason to decide.
What goes in a follow-up email?
Three things, and no more:
A short look back
The one insight it all came down to. Not your whole presentation summarised, just the line that stuck.
What you promised
The recording, the slides or the worksheet. If you promised it in the room, you deliver it.
One next step
The same offer as in the room. A call, a place in your programme or your next workshop. One link, one question.
Plus what belongs in every email: an unsubscribe link. Following up is helping someone make a decision, not cornering them.
Three examples of a follow-up email to adapt
Three templates, made up for this article. Replace what’s in brackets and write them in your own words. A follow-up email that sounds like a template gets treated like a newsletter: archived.
Example 1: for people who attended (within a few hours of the webinar)
Subject: That one point from tonight
Hi [first name],
Thanks for being there tonight. If you remember one thing: [the key insight in one sentence].
As promised, here’s the recording [link]. The part about [topic] starts at [minute].
At the end I talked about [your offer]. Want to see whether that fits you? Book a [duration] call here: [booking link]. Mostly I’ll ask you questions, and I’ll tell you honestly whether I think I can help.
[name]
Why this works: the insight shows you know what it came down to. The minute mark makes the recording usable. And the step is the same as in the room, with no new story.
Example 2: for people who signed up but didn’t show
Subject: You missed [title], this was the key part
Hi [first name],
You’d signed up for [title], but couldn’t make it. No problem, life happens.
The moment I’d want to show you starts at [minute]: [one sentence about what happens there]. Here’s the recording: [link].
Recognise yourself in that part? Then I’d be happy to tell you in a short call how [your offer] works: [booking link].
[name]
Why this works: no reproach, but a reason to watch anyway. And anyone who watches the recording gets the same counter as the room. Otherwise they’ve still had a free training.
Example 3: after a call, for people who are still hesitating
Subject: What we discussed about [their problem]
Hi [first name],
Thanks for our conversation. What stayed with me most: [their words about the problem].
You said you [the hesitation, e.g. wanted to talk it over with your business partner first]. Understood. We agreed I’d call you on [date]. If a question comes up before then, just reply to this email.
Here’s once more what it is and what it costs: [link to your offer].
[name]
Why this works: you use their words, not your pitch. And the date was already in the diary. That’s the difference between “I’ll let you know” and an appointment. How to agree that date during the call itself is in the sales call after your webinar.
Where follow-up emails go wrong
Factory bread
"Thanks for coming! Here's the recording."
A thank-you with no question. Everyone reads it, nobody does anything.
Fresh from the baker
The key insight, the recording, and one next step with a link.
The reader knows what they can do, and why now.
Factory bread
One email to the whole list, the same for everyone.
People who attended and people who didn't show are at different points. The same email fits nobody properly.
Fresh from the baker
A separate email for who attended, who didn't show and who already spoke to you.
Each group gets the step that fits it.
Factory bread
A week later, once more: "Did you see my previous email?"
That adds nothing. It feels like nagging, and that's how it gets read.
Fresh from the baker
A second email with a new reason: a question, an example, the answer to a question from the chat.
Every message gives something, instead of only asking.
My position: the follow-up email isn’t aftercare, it’s half of your event. Most experts put weeks into preparing their webinar or workshop, and five minutes into what comes after. Flip that ratio around and see what happens to your diary.
Follow up until it’s a yes or a no
One email isn’t follow-up. It’s an attempt.
Not yet isn’t no. Without follow-up you leave next month’s clients on the table. But “maybe I’ll email again sometime” isn’t a plan. The follow-up has to be as clear as the offer: a fixed rhythm, a reason of its own for every message, and an end. If someone says no or unsubscribes, you stop. Politely.
And measure it. How many people were there, how many conversations did your follow-up produce, and how many clients? What you don’t measure, you can’t improve. If you run workshops as a training provider, this is also where you move participants towards your next course or your programme. How to set up such a workshop from start to finish is in how to organise a workshop.
Where is your funnel leaking: before, during or after your event? Take the free leak test, thirteen questions and three minutes. Want it to happen every month, from event calendar to follow-up? That’s the House Recipe, from €3,500 per month, minimum six months, media budget excluded.
After your event, it’s only just begun. Put the counter in your inbox.
Terms in this article
- Follow-up email
- A follow-up email is an email you send after a point of contact, such as a webinar, workshop, proposal or sales call, to keep the conversation going and lead the recipient to a next step.
- Webinar
- A webinar is an online presentation, training session or conversation you deliver over the internet to an audience that has signed up in advance. Viewers see and hear you live or via a recording, and can usually respond through chat, questions or polls.
- No-show
- A no-show is someone who has signed up or made an appointment, but doesn't turn up and doesn't cancel either. At webinars, workshops and sales calls, it's one of the biggest leaks in your funnel.
- Sales call
- A sales call is a conversation between you and a potential client in which you work out together whether your offer solves their problem, and which ends in a yes, a no or a concrete follow-up appointment.
- Masterclass
- A masterclass is a session in which an expert shares in-depth knowledge on one topic with a group, live or online. Where a training course teaches skills, a masterclass mainly shows how a master thinks and works.
Rubin is the founder of Online Marketing Bakery in Roermond. You take the stage, we fill the room. And we make sure it buys.
[email protected] · More about the bakers
Further reading: The sales call after your webinar · Reminder email for your webinar or workshop · How to reduce webinar no-shows · How to organise a workshop · Take the free leak test · The House Recipe · Marketing for training providers
How we work: first the offer, then the room. Want to get going with a brief like this? We do that in the Sold-Out Session: your offer and your event structure in one half-day.