How to Choose the Best Day and Time for Your Webinar

When you're planning a webinar, your main goal is to get as many people as possible to attend. While having great content and a solid promotion plan are key, choosing the right date and time is also important. The timing can have a big impact on attendance, so it’s worth getting it right.

In this guide, we'll share tips backed by research from thousands of data points on how to pick the best day and time for your webinar. This information will help you maximize your attendance and reach more people.

Is There a Best Day and Time To Host a Webinar?

The short answer: yes.

But this doesn't mean that all your webinars have to be the same day of the week, at the same time. This would actually have a negative effect if everyone were to do this.

When deciding on the day and time to host your webinar, it's important to consider more than just research findings. Your audience might be in different time zones, have different schedules, or other commitments. What works for one group may not work for another.

The key is to understand your audience. If you know their habits, preferences, and availability, you’ll be in a better position to pick the right timing. And don’t forget to test! Trying different times and days will give you real insights into what works best for your specific audience.

Why Selecting the Best Time to Host a Webinar is Important

The time you decide to host your webinar will impact 3 main metrics:

1. Attendance Rate

Timing is the most direct lever on live attendance. A session scheduled during typical working hours for your audience will always outperform one that competes with commutes, school pickups, or sleep.

2. Engagement Level

If you schedule your webinar at the end of the workday, participants might be tired and less likely to engage actively. Choosing a time when your audience is alert, like mid-morning or early afternoon, increases their chances of interaction.

3. Conversion Rate

A higher attendance rate and more engaged participants increase your chances of converting them into customers or subscribers. If your audience is actively listening and interacting with your message, they're more likely to take action.

What's the Best Day to Host a Webinar?

Tuesday is the best day to host a live webinar, with the highest average live attendance rate (50%) of any day of the week. Wednesday and Thursday are strong alternatives.

Monday and Friday show a higher attendance rate (52%), but this is misleading as webinars on these days are less common, usually representing niche events with highly engaged audiences.

For most people, Tuesday through Thursday is still the safest bet.

What's the Best Time to Host a Webinar?

2PM and 11AM are the best times of day to host a webinar, delivering live attendance rates of 55% and 50% respectively. 10 AM is also a strong option, with a 49% attendance rate.

These timing suggestions focus on typical work hours. For B2C webinars, evenings or weekends may be more effective.

What's the Best Time to Host a Global Webinar?

Consider the time zones of your audience. A 2PM CET session is manageable for North American audiences starting their day. Alternatively, an 11AM EST session is perfect for European attendees at the end of their workday. It’s essential to remember that it will always be "the wrong time of day" for someone in your audience.

How to Maximize your Webinar Views

There’s no perfect time and day to host your webinar for everyone. Here are strategies to reach a larger audience:

Pre-recorded Webinars

Pre-recorded webinars allow viewers to watch at their convenience, increasing engagement regardless of their schedule.

On-demand Webinars

With 42% of views happening on-demand, optimizing the replay experience is vital for your webinar strategy. Automated emails and a modern content hub can drive more on-demand views.

Repurposing Webinars

Once your live webinar is done, you can:

• Create a blog article from the transcript.
• Turn chat questions into content.
• Publish short clips as social media content.
• Extract audio to turn into a podcast.

These methods extend the lifespan of your content and drive more views.

3 Bonus Tips to Maximize Webinar Attendance

Promote Early and Often

Start promoting your webinar 6 weeks in advance using various channels to increase sign-ups.

Incentives

Offer exclusive content, discounts, or giveaways to encourage sign-ups.

Email Sequences

Send at least 3 reminders: one 1 week before, another 1 day before, and one more 5 minutes before the event starts.

Conclusion

Ultimately, balance research-backed insights with what you know about your specific audience when choosing the best time and day for your webinar. Offering a high-quality on-demand experience ensures that even if someone can't attend live, they can still engage with your content. The tools you choose will also affect how easily attendees can register and access replays, impacting attendance numbers.