• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, June 28, 2018

Webinar attendance is flat,  yet email conversion is up 31% year-over-year according to the 2018 Webinar Benchmarks Report, a study by BrightTalk. And it has risen by 35% on weekends.

Weekends? Yes. “The weekend uptick speaks to how we’re more connected these days and in turn more willing to sign up for something business-related like a webinar on a weekend,” the study states.  

BrightTalk analyzed data from 14,000 webinars and 300 million email, feed and social promotions.

Most people will register within two weeks of the live event — a consistent pattern over the past three years. So BrightTALK recommends sending three dedicated email promotions, including one on the day of the Webinar itself.

In the ideal promotional cycle, 20% of the attendees will register in 21 days or more. Within 14 to 20 days, 33% will have signed up.

By the last two weeks — seven to 13 days — 58% will be on board, and 92% in the last one to six days. By the day of the event, 100% will be registered. All they need is a reminder to show up.

Conversions are flat within the work week, and Tuesday performs the best with an 0.31% rate. Saturday pulls 0.27% and Sunday pulls 0.23%, but those numbers are up.

The best day to hold a webinar is Monday, which has a 38.19% live attendance rate, followed by Tuesday with 36.29%. Friday is the worst weekday to hold a webinar, with a 28.31% rate.

In North America, the best time of day to hold a webinar is between 8 a.m. and 9.m. PDT. Throughout the continent, 49% will attend at the 8 a.m. period. The results are similar for Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Average registrations are down 5% from last year, perhaps because the number of webinars is up 40%. However, average viewing time is up 27%, showing that “webinar content appears to be more compelling to our audience than last year,” BrightTALK writes.

Among the firms studied, 46% drive webinar registrations via their own promotions — i.e., email and social. Audience paid leads are next at 36%, and 17% via organic. BrightTALK provides the latter two services.

Another key finding is that many people will try to view a webinar after the live event. Of these, 48% will occur in the first ten days, and 25% will occur in the next ten days. Even after 30 days, brands achieve a 10% viewership.