Marketers are often tasked with driving online event registrations against ambitious goals, which is something we do really well (there’s a reason you see Apple’s Worldwide Developer Day promotion across our Network every May). From our experience helping brands like Adobe, Auth0, and AWS, we know that timing is just as critical in driving signups as reaching the right people. Understanding when users register for webinars can make the difference between a good campaign and a great one.
At BuySellAds, we’ve analyzed industry data and performance patterns across hundreds of campaigns to uncover how far in advance people tend to register for events and how you can structure your media and messaging strategy to maximize signups.
Across multiple industry datapoints, one thing stands out: most webinar registrations happen late in the game.
While early promotion builds awareness and reach, the final week before the event is when audiences are most motivated to convert.
Plan early, spend smart
Launch campaigns early enough to test creative and channels, but plan to allocate roughly 50–70% of your total budget in the final week.
Test and learn early
Use the first week to test publishers, creative variations, and audiences then double down on top performers during the high-conversion window.
Planning in advance ensures you can secure placements, optimize early learnings, and maintain momentum when it matters most.
Set realistic minimums
To find the minimum budget needed for your campaign, identify the highest Cost per Signup acceptable and then multiply that by your target number of Signups.
These goals vary widely depending on brand, topic/content, cost, and more with some advertisers aiming for a <$100 Cost per Signup and others considering anything under $1k successful.
In short: awareness drives familiarity, but urgency drives registration.
Just as your campaign spend should evolve over time, so should your messaging. Here’s how to adjust your creative and landing pages through the six weeks leading up to your event:
|
Timing |
Goal |
Messaging & Landing Page Focus |
|
4-6 weeks out |
Awareness & Testing |
Introduce the event and topic. Lead with value: what attendees will learn, who’s speaking, and why it matters now. Keep the tone informative and test variations of headlines, visuals, and CTAs. Experiment with formats and audiences. Refine your landing page to focus on clarity and benefits. |
|
2-3 weeks out |
Dialed In |
Highlight the agenda, takeaways, or exclusive elements (e.g., live Q&A). Add social proof such as registrant count or recognizable logos. |
|
1 week out |
Urgency |
Capitalize on the content users have been most receptive to in the earlier weeks with the addition of countdowns, “don’t miss out” language, simple CTAs, and any promotions. Shorten your forms and focus on instant signups. |
|
Day of |
Last-minute attendees |
Studies show up to 15% of webinar attendees sign up the day of the event. Ensure you’re capturing these users by running up until your event starts - reaching users at their desk and on mobile with display ads and timely messaging like “starting in one hour!” |
The best-performing webinar campaigns mirror how users make decisions: they start curious and end decisive. By evolving your message through each phase, you’re guiding users through that journey.
Publishers in our Rolodex
We partner with a wide range of high-quality publishers to reach the right audiences and drive engaged, high-intent signups (not just volume). Because not all impressions are equal, we lean into premium tech / niche sites that deliver visitors who are already invested in developer or technical content. That way, we're driving qualified site traffic and users who are not only more likely to register but actually attend and participate.
Some of the publishers who continue to drive great results for b2b brands and tech-y webinars include:
By working across this publisher set and many more, we can build a media plan that balances reach, relevance, and quality, ensuring your webinar gets in front of the right people, not just as many people as possible.
Keep the sign-up process frictionless. Reduce form fields, enable autofill, and include a single clear CTA. Every second you save improves conversion rates.
Layer in reminders. Combine retargeting ads and email reminders to re-engage users who visited but didn’t register.
Use urgency strategically. Ads and headlines with “today,” “live soon,” or countdown timers consistently outperform generic reminders.
Track and learn. Utilize click and view-through tracking to capture as much of our influence as possible then share that registration data with BuySellAds. We’ll help review performance by publication along with your audience’s timing curve to refine our pacing strategy as we go.
Webinar success isn’t just about having a great topic or strong creative, it’s about reaching audiences when they’re ready to act. By launching early with BuySellAds to test messaging and publishers, sustaining visibility, and pushing hardest during the final week, marketers can unlock more efficient spend and stronger registration volume.
We look forward to promoting your event and hope it becomes one of our many annual campaigns. Book time to chat about your strategy now.
Interested in working with our team? Reach out today!