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What is a webinar?

In short

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.

Also known as: web seminar, online seminar, online presentation, webcast, webinars.

A webinar is an online session in which you share knowledge with people who signed up in advance. For experts, it’s one of the fastest ways to be in conversation with dozens of potential clients in a single hour. Provided you know what you want from it.

Why a webinar matters

A webinar shows what you can do, instead of just telling people. Viewers hear you think, see your examples and can ask you questions straight away. That builds trust faster than ten LinkedIn posts. But trust isn’t a client yet.

How a webinar works

A webinar that delivers has four parts:

  1. An offer. What can someone buy or book afterwards? You decide that before the title.
  2. Sign-ups. A registration page and promotion through email, LinkedIn, outreach or ads.
  3. Attendance. Reminders by email and WhatsApp, because signing up is not the same as turning up.
  4. Follow-up. The offer in the webinar, and then an email or a call until it’s a yes or a no.

Where it goes wrong

In two places. The room stays empty: too few sign-ups, or registrants who don’t turn up. Or the room is full and nobody buys, because the whole hour was knowledge and a next step was never offered.

That second leak is harder to spot. Everyone says it was valuable. The chat fills up with thank-yous. And your diary stays empty.

The OMB view

A webinar isn’t a free course. It’s a counter. Knowledge proves your value; your offer cashes it in. Whoever is embarrassed to offer something at the end is short-changing their viewers: they came with a problem, and you’re sending them home without a solution. How to do it step by step: read how to organise a webinar.

Explained by Rubin Koot, Online Marketing Bakery. Updated 13 October 2026.

In the Sold-Out Recipe

Webinar belongs to Counter: selling and following up. This is how the recipe works. Together the four steps make up event marketing the way we do it: a full room that also buys.

Related terms

Further reading

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Questions

Questions about webinar.

Where does the word webinar come from?
Webinar is a blend of web and seminar: a seminar delivered over the web. Like a seminar, it's a session in which an expert shares knowledge, except the audience watches from behind a screen.
Is a webinar always online?
Yes. A webinar is online by definition: participants watch over the internet, live or later via a recording. If people also come to a venue in person, it's called a hybrid event.
Is a webinar always live?
No. A webinar can be live, or a recording you show at a fixed time or on demand. Live gives more interaction and urgency; a recording is easier to repeat.
What is the difference between a webinar and a masterclass?
A webinar is the format: an online session. A masterclass is the promise: in-depth knowledge from an expert. So a masterclass can be a webinar, but not every webinar is a masterclass.

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