How to run a B2B webinar that generates leads

A B2B webinar generates leads when you plan it about five weeks ahead, promote it for three, and follow up within days of going live. Most webinars that disappoint fail at the last step, not the first. This guide walks through each phase, from picking a topic to the follow-up emails that turn attendees into sales conversations.

• Are B2B webinars still worth it?
• What makes a webinar generate leads, not just views?
• How far in advance should you plan a B2B webinar?
• How do you promote a B2B webinar?
• What should happen on the day?
• What should you do after a webinar?
• How do we run webinars in HubSpot?
• Download playbook
• Frequently asked questions

Are B2B webinars still worth it?

Yes, if you treat the live session as the middle of the campaign rather than the whole of it. A webinar gives your buyers an hour with your experts, which builds more trust than a blog post or an ad can.

Webinars are also drawing bigger audiences. In Goldcast's 2026 benchmark of 26,190 B2B webinars, the average event had 251 registrants, and 40% of registrants attended live. That means most registrants never see it live, so the replay matters as much as the live hour.

The reach also lasts beyond the live hour:

• Live: streamed to a LinkedIn event and YouTube, so people watch where they already are.
• Replay: the recording keeps working on your website, in emails and in a follow-up blog post.
• Leads: every registration is a contact who raised their hand for your topic.

What makes a webinar generate leads, not just views?

A lead magnet. That is a free, useful resource offered in exchange for contact details, such as a calculator, template or checklist (like our SEO and AEO Checklist). In one of our recent webinars, it was an ROI calculator.

A lead magnet does three jobs:

1. It turns viewers into leads. People who want the resource share their details, so you know who is interested beyond the live audience.
2. It gives you a reason to follow up. Your thank-you email delivers something useful instead of just saying thanks.
3. It keeps working after the webinar. The replay, the blog post and your website keep collecting leads long after the live session ends.

Decide on the lead magnet early. It shapes the topic, the closing offer and every follow-up email.

How far in advance should you plan a B2B webinar?

Start at least five weeks before the live date. That leaves three full weeks for promotion once the basics are in place.

• 5+ weeks before: agree the topic, the target audience and a short event description. Confirm the date and share a brief with your marketing team.
• 4 weeks before: set up the LinkedIn event and its cover image, connect your live stream, and create a registrant list in your CRM.
• 3 weeks before: set up your recording studio (we use Riverside), invite the speakers, and finish the lead magnet and its form.
• 1–2 weeks before: speakers prepare the presentation, then run a full rehearsal that tests the stream, audio, screen sharing and slides.

Don't skip the rehearsal. It is where you find the broken screen share, not in front of a live audience.

How do you promote a B2B webinar?

Promote for three weeks across email, social and your website, with reminders that get more frequent as the date gets closer.

• 3 weeks before: announce it in the forums and communities your buyers use.
• 2 weeks before: send the first invite email, invite your speakers' and team's LinkedIn contacts to the event, and schedule social posts. Put a pop-up banner on your website.
• 1 week before: send a second invite email.
• Final days: send a last-chance invite to contacts who haven't registered, a reminder to registrants the day before, and another on the morning itself.

Ask your speakers to share the event with their own networks too. Promotion shouldn't rest on the company page alone.

What should happen on the day?

Open the studio early, have someone watch the chat, and end with a clear offer.

• Send the morning-of reminder.
• Open your recording studio early and get the speakers connected well before the start.
• Check the stream is reaching the LinkedIn event.
• Have a producer watch the chat and collect questions, so speakers can stay on the content.
• Close with the offer: the lead magnet and a consultation.

What should you do after a webinar?

Follow up the next day, while the session is still fresh. This is where the leads come from, and where most teams lose momentum.

• Day after: import your LinkedIn registrants into HubSpot and add them to the webinar list. Send attendees a thank-you email with the lead magnet, and send everyone a replay email with an extra resource and a consultation offer.
• Same week: speakers follow up personally on LinkedIn. Publish a blog post with the replay embedded, add the replay to your webinars page, and start a follow-up email sequence.
• Two weeks after: report on registrations, attendance rate, email results, leads and consultations booked.

The report is what makes the next webinar better. Without it, you only know how the live hour felt.

How do we run webinars in HubSpot?

We keep the whole webinar in HubSpot, so every registrant ends up in one place and the follow-up runs from there.

• One list for registrants: created four weeks before, so every sign-up lands in the same place.
• LinkedIn registrants imported: the day after the live session, LinkedIn event sign-ups go into HubSpot and onto the webinar list.
• Emails from HubSpot: invites, reminders, the thank-you with the lead magnet, the replay and the follow-up sequence.
• Results in one report: registrations, attendance, email results, leads and consultations booked.

Our Webinar Playbook has the full week-by-week checklist we use for this, from the first brief to the performance report.

Frequently asked questions

Planning a webinar on HubSpot and want help with the setup, the emails or the follow-up? Our Demand Center team builds the campaign, landing pages, forms, emails and follow-up workflows in HubSpot for you.

Article updated in November 2026.