# Webinar Formats

Pick the format that matches the goal and the audience's stage of awareness. The format dictates the structure, the promotion angle, and the live-to-close.

## Table of Contents
- [Format Selector](#format-selector)
- [Format Details](#format-details)
- [Structure Templates](#structure-templates)

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## Format Selector

| Goal | Best Format(s) | Why |
|------|----------------|-----|
| Net-new lead gen (cold) | Educational training, masterclass | Value-first builds trust with people who don't know you |
| Pipeline acceleration | Product demo, customer story | Shows the solution working for people already evaluating |
| Product adoption / retention | Live training, office hours | Helps existing users get more value |
| Authority / brand | Expert panel, fireside chat | Borrowed credibility, shareable, low-pitch |
| Demand at scale | Virtual summit (multi-session) | Many speakers = many promoters = reach |

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## Format Details

**Educational training / masterclass** — You teach a genuinely useful skill or framework. The offer is "do this faster/better with us." Highest trust, works for cold audiences. Risk: teaching so much there's no reason to buy — leave a clear "do-it-with-us" gap.

**Product demo** — Show the product solving a real problem, ideally with a realistic scenario rather than a feature tour. Best for warm pipeline. Risk: feature-dumping; anchor every feature to a pain.

**Customer story / case study** — A customer tells how they got a result. Extremely persuasive for evaluators because it's peer proof, not vendor claims. Risk: too much backstory, not enough transferable insight.

**Expert panel** — 3-4 voices on a timely topic. Great reach (panelists promote) and authority. Lower direct conversion; pair with a strong follow-up. Risk: meandering — a firm moderator is essential.

**Fireside chat** — One notable guest, conversational. Draws registrations on the guest's name. Low-pitch, brand-building. Risk: no clear next step — design the CTA deliberately.

**Office hours / AMA** — Recurring, live Q&A. Excellent for adoption and community. Low production cost. Risk: dead air if no questions — seed a few.

**Virtual summit** — Multi-session, multi-speaker event over hours or days. Maximum reach and list growth. High production effort. Risk: low per-session attendance — design for asynchronous/on-demand viewing.

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## Structure Templates

### Standard 45-minute educational webinar
1. **0-3 min — Hook:** the promise, who it's for, agenda, and a quick credibility marker.
2. **3-8 min — Frame the problem:** make them feel the cost of the status quo.
3. **8-30 min — Teach the core content:** 3 main points, an interaction every 5-10 min, at least one quick win they can use immediately.
4. **30-38 min — Live-to-close:** recap the transformation, transition to "how to go further," present one time-bound offer.
5. **38-45 min — Q&A:** answer live (handle objections in the open), restate the CTA at the end.

### Product demo (30 min)
1. 0-3 min — the problem and who has it.
2. 3-20 min — the product solving it in a realistic scenario; anchor each capability to a pain.
3. 20-25 min — proof (a customer result) + the offer/next step.
4. 25-30 min — Q&A + CTA.

### Panel (45-60 min)
1. 0-5 min — moderator frames the topic and introduces panelists.
2. 5-45 min — 4-6 prepared questions, audience questions woven in.
3. Final 10 min — each panelist's one takeaway + the host's single CTA.

Keep cold-audience webinars at or under ~60 minutes. Attention and drop-off get punishing beyond that.
