Self-service webinars and webcasts? You’ve got this!

If you regularly plan and run webinars or webcasts, there’s a good chance you’ve slipped into a comfortable routine:

• Schedule webinar


• Hire a management company to run said webinar


• Hold successful webinar


• Rinse and repeat

It’s perhaps a tried and true model that has served you well. The same is true too for thousands of marketers, corporate trainers and internal communications experts.

The preference for online events has skyrocketed

Unfortunately – or maybe fortunately – times have changed. The acceptance and preference for online events by customers, prospects and employees has skyrocketed. There’s been a massive increase in demand for more webcasting, both in quantity and frequency. As a result, you may now wish to reconsider the old model of outsourcing the management of every online event. After all, it puts undue pressure on budgets and deadlines required when attempting a more robust digital events program.

Self-service webinars and webcasts help you control costs and meet deadlines

Self-service webinars are the obvious solution. They offer high production values at a lower cost and scalability to your needs and schedule. However, there does seem to be some hesitancy to go the self-service route.

This ‘fear of self-service’ is driven by an underlying concern. Will the combination of the platform and the producer (you) really be good enough? What if self-service means selling yourself short? What if you can’t deliver an engaging and effective communication experience? This concern is understandable but, I believe, easy enough to overcome.

Overcome the fear and embrace self-service webinars and webcasts

So how do you get over your fear of self-service? Let me suggest these three easy steps:

Forget about perfection

The COVID experience has clearly taught us that a pet wandering into your video feed is not the end of the world. Most of us are working from a kitchen table and not a professional recording studio. Minor mistakes and glitches can and will happen…and that’s okay. As long as the message is clear and engaging, your audience will ignore or forgive the minor imperfections that come along with self-service webcasting.

Become the expert

If you can run a marketing campaign or teach objection handling to salespeople, you are more than capable of running a self-service webinar. You just need to take a bit of time to learn and master the platform. Luckily, providers of self-service webinars offer a wide range of assistance including training sessions, interactive documentation and even shadowing sessions. Take advantage of all of these to become a self-service expert.

Leverage the platform

Today webcast platforms are full of features that make your self-service digital events look like they were produced by a seasoned production team. Utilizing sophisticated elements such as interactive panels and widgets, flexible console designs, multiple presenter inputs, and studio grade scene creation capabilities helps you create a high-end experience for attendees. If you have an event vision, leverage the platform to bring it to life.

Choose your approach to match your need

Let’s be clear: some large online events – sales kick-offs, company events, annual conferences – may demand specialist digital event production support. With very complex events featuring multiple speakers and locations, you don’t want to be out of your comfort zone.

If, however, you have a growing list of regular webcasts and webinars that you wish to deliver, then running your own is well worth considering. It’s time to stop being afraid of self-service webcasting and embrace it. But do it quickly: your list of upcoming webinars is not getting any shorter.