How to Promote a Webinar

A webinar only creates value if the right people show up. Many associations still treat promotion as an afterthought, relying on a few emails or a generic calendar post. The result is predictable: low attendance, disengaged members, and frustrated sponsors. Hence, mastering how to promote a webinar is not about volume. It's about reaching the segments of your membership and prospect base most likely to respond.

In this post, we’ll look at what effective promotion requires for associations, and how Glue Up’s webinar management platform and connected tools give you the speed and precision to do it consistently. To skip the read and see the platform in action, book a quick demo today.

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Key Takeaways

Webinars fail without promotion that reaches the right members and prospects.
Effective promotion drives member engagement, prospect conversion, and sponsor ROI.
Glue Up supports promotion with email campaigns, community announcements, event pages, surveys, and mobile notifications.
Integrated tools make targeting faster, more accurate, and easier to repeat.
Associations that treat promotion as a system, not an afterthought, consistently see higher attendance and stronger outcomes.

Why Webinar Promotion Matters for Associations

You know the frustration of investing in a webinar that does not deliver. The content is strong, the speakers are credible, but attendance lags and engagement stalls. In many cases, the issue is rarely the program itself. It’s promotion that fails to put the right people in the virtual room.

Member Engagement That Retains Dues

Industry data shows that only about 40 to 50% of registrants attend webinars. For associations, that translates into wasted potential if the wrong members receive the invites. When promotions target members by tenure, role, or committee involvement, attendance rises, and programs reinforce the value of membership. Strong promotion is not just about filling seats. It is about protecting renewals.

Prospect Conversion That Drives Growth

Webinars often serve as the entry point for prospects evaluating your association. Promotion reaching the right audience can move those prospects into the membership or event participation pipeline. And when executed correctly, webinars become a controlled environment for demonstrating authority and converting interest into revenue.

Sponsor ROI That Keeps Partnerships Strong

Sponsors expect measurable visibility. If your promotion doesn’t deliver an audience aligned with their goals, they see little reason to renew. Targeted campaigns highlighting industry decision-makers and active members provide the numbers that make sponsor conversations easier. Effective promotion is the difference between a one-time deal and a multi-year partnership.

Resource Allocation That Protects Your Bottom Line

Every webinar consumes staff hours and budget. When promotions fall short, the sunk cost is obvious. When they succeed, you achieve higher attendance, better feedback, and data that informs future programming. In short, efficient promotion ensures your investment produces outcomes that align with the board’s expectations.

Promoting a webinar isn’t just about sending a few emails or putting up a landing page. It’s about building a system where every touchpoint works together to reach the right members and prospects. That’s where Glue Up comes in.

How to Promote a Webinar with Glue Up’s Tools

Glue Up is an all-in-one association management platform. At the surface level, our webinar management software lets you create branded registration pages, manage reminders, and integrate with Zoom for a professional delivery. But the real power comes from how it connects to other modules. Your membership records, community discussions, surveys, and mobile app all feed into the same system, giving you the context and tools to promote webinars efficiently.

Here’s how the key modules support promotion when they work together:

Email Campaigns

Email remains the backbone of webinar promotion, but it works best when it’s targeted.

Targeted Invitations: Smart Lists segment audiences by tier, role, or activity. For example, an onboarding webinar only goes to new members instead of your entire database.
Automated Reminders: Schedule confirmations, 24-hour reminders, and a final one-hour alert to maximize attendance.
Follow-Up Messages: Send recordings, slides, or a call to action for those who couldn’t attend, so they stay connected.

Example: A policy-focused webinar promoted only to government affairs committees through Smart Lists gets higher attendance and better engagement.

Community Module

At Glue Up, we offer several add-ons that extend the value of your core platform. One of the most powerful is our community management software, which gives members a dedicated digital space to connect, share, and collaborate. Promoting webinars in this environment ensures visibility where engagement already feels natural.

Pinned Posts: Keep webinar announcements at the top of chapter or committee discussion boards.
Peer Sharing: Members can tag colleagues, spreading visibility in groups that matter.
Discussion Threads: Start early conversations around the webinar topic to build anticipation.

Example: Before a compliance webinar, create a thread asking members about challenges with new regulations to spark discussion.

Event Pages

Your event landing page is where interest becomes a registration. Glue Up’s event management software lets you create fully branded, mobile-ready event pages that serve as the central hub for your promotion. These pages are optimized for associations, so you don’t need extra design tools.

Branded Layouts: Customize with your logo, color scheme, and sponsor branding.
Clear CTAs: Prominent registration buttons reduce drop-offs.
Mobile-Friendly Design: More than half of registrations happen on phones, which makes it seamless.

Example: A leadership development webinar gets its own branded event page linked from newsletters and the association website.

Surveys

Surveys are another Glue Up feature that strengthen both pre-event and post-event promotion. They help you understand what topics members value and how they respond to your campaigns.

Pre-Event Surveys: Test interest in topics so you only promote what members value.
Post-Event Surveys: Collect feedback on content and promotion to refine your strategy.

Example: A pre-event survey before a leadership webinar could confirm whether members want negotiation skills, conflict resolution, or team management covered.

Mobile App

Glue Up’s MyGlue app is where members manage their interactions on the go. It extends webinar promotion beyond email and web pages by adding real-time, direct communication.

Push Notifications: Deliver timely alerts about upcoming webinars or last-minute updates.
In-App Promotion: Feature webinars in the events calendar members already browse regularly.
Seamless Registration: Allow members to register and receive reminders using the same app they use for community discussions and event updates.

Example: A push notification sent the morning of a webinar often drives double-digit increases in live attendance compared to email alone.

Other Ways to Promote Webinars Beyond the Platform

Glue Up gives associations a connected system to promote webinars through email, communities, surveys, event pages, and the mobile app. That said, promotion shouldn’t stop there. An all-in-one platform ensures your foundation is solid, but maximizing attendance often requires meeting members and prospects across multiple touchpoints. Here are additional channels to consider:

Social Media Promotion

While Glue Up doesn’t post directly to social media, your team should still use platforms where members and prospects are active.

LinkedIn: Create an event page that mirrors your Glue Up registration page. Ask board members, speakers, and sponsors to share the link in their networks. LinkedIn posts with speaker quotes or short video clips drive more engagement than plain text.
Facebook: Leverage your association’s page or closed member groups. Promote the webinar event and encourage members to tag colleagues who might benefit.
X: Use live countdowns, speaker threads, and dedicated hashtags to build visibility ahead of the session.

Example: An association promoting a “Future of Work” webinar might ask its keynote to post a 30-second video on LinkedIn previewing a key insight. That single post often generates more registrations than multiple generic updates.

In-Person Events and Meetings

Webinar promotion doesn’t have to stay digital. Use in-person touchpoints to capture attention.

Board and Committee Meetings: Ask leaders to mention upcoming webinars during sessions, reinforcing their importance.
Conferences or Chapter Events: Place QR codes on signage, programs, or slides that link directly to the registration page.
Networking Gatherings: Encourage staff and volunteers to bring up webinars in conversation, positioning them as valuable membership perks.

Example: At a regional conference, one association added a “Scan to Register” QR code to the coffee break signage for its next webinar. They gained 200 registrations in less than an hour.

Partnerships and Sponsors

Your sponsors and partners have audiences of their own. Inviting them to co-promote webinars expands your reach.

Sponsor Newsletters: Offer sponsors a paragraph and a link to share in their monthly outreach.
Industry Partners: Collaborate with allied associations or educational institutions to cross-promote webinars that serve shared interests.
Speaker Networks: Encourage speakers to promote their session through their professional channels.

Example: For a cybersecurity webinar, an association partnered with a sponsoring firm to include the registration link in the firm’s client newsletter. Nearly 30 percent of registrants came from that single email.

Traditional Marketing Channels

Digital isn’t the only way to drive registrations. Traditional tactics still work, especially with members who prefer personal outreach.

Phone Calls: Staff or volunteers can personally invite high-value members or prospects.
Direct Mail: A postcard with a QR code can cut through digital noise for members who ignore email.
Print Newsletters: For associations that still mail publications, include upcoming webinar dates with clear CTAs.

Example: A medical association mailed postcards announcing a continuing education webinar. The personal approach led to a 20% lift in registrations from older members compared to email alone.

Promotion Defines Webinar Success

The value of a webinar isn’t in the slides or the speakers. It’s about whether the right members and prospects actually show up. Knowing how to promote a webinar means building a system where every touchpoint works together.

Glue Up makes this possible. Our webinar management software integrates with membership, community, surveys, and the mobile app so you can promote with speed, precision, and confidence.

If you’re ready to move beyond generic invites and start running webinars that drive engagement, retention, and sponsorship value, book a demo today and see how our platform supports associations like yours.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the most effective channel to promote a webinar?

Email is still the most effective, but it works best when combined with community posts, mobile notifications, and branded event pages. You can also promote webinars on social media.

How early should associations start promotion?

Ideally, three weeks before the webinar, with invitations, reminders, and community engagement layered in.

How do surveys support webinar promotion?

Pre-event surveys help you confirm demand, while post-event surveys refine your targeting and messaging for future sessions.

Where to promote your webinar in 2025?

Ideally, you should promote your webinar wherever your target audience is: Facebook, LinkedIn, your private Glue Up Community, or email threads.

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