How to Set Up a Zoom Webinar — Registration to Attendance Report
A Zoom Webinar is not a large meeting. Attendees cannot unmute or share, you get a registration page and reminder emails, and afterwards you get an attendance report you can hand to sales. That last part is why most Indian businesses buy webinars at all — it is a lead-capture channel with a video attached. Here is the full setup, including the steps people skip and regret.
Steps
Confirm you have a Webinar licence: Webinars are a separate add-on licensed by attendee capacity — 500, 1000 and upward — and sit on top of a paid Zoom plan. If you only see "Meetings" in your left navigation, you do not have one yet. Buying the right capacity tier matters because you pay for the ceiling, not for who turns up.
Schedule the webinar and turn on registration: Registration is what converts a webinar into a lead source. With it on, attendees fill a form and receive a unique join link. Keep the form short — name, work email, company and one qualifying question. Every extra field costs you registrations, and you can enrich the rest later from your CRM.
Add panellists and set their permissions: Panellists can speak, share and turn on video; attendees cannot. Add them by email so they receive a distinct panellist link — this is a common failure, where a speaker joins on the attendee link and cannot be promoted quickly. Send panellist links separately and confirm each one has tested theirs.
Use the practice session: Practice session lets hosts and panellists join early and rehearse while attendees wait on a holding screen. Use it every time. It is where you find the panellist whose microphone is not working, five minutes before you would have found out live.
Configure Q&A and polls before the day: Decide whether Q&A is answered live, in text, or both, and whether questions are visible to all attendees. Build polls in advance — you cannot write a good poll while presenting. Polls are also the most reliable engagement signal you get, so use two or three rather than one.
Set up reminder emails: Zoom sends confirmation on registration and reminders before the session. Enable the one-day and one-hour reminders. For Indian audiences the one-hour reminder does most of the work on attendance; without it, registration-to-attendance rates fall sharply.
Run it, then pull the reports: After the session download the registration and attendance reports. They tell you who registered but did not attend, how long each attendee stayed, and their poll answers. That data is the actual product of the webinar — push it into your CRM the same day, while intent is still fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a Zoom webinar and a meeting?
In a meeting anyone can speak, share and turn on video. In a webinar only hosts and panellists can; attendees interact through Q&A, chat and polls. Webinars add registration pages, reminder emails and attendance reporting. They are licensed separately, by attendee capacity.
How much does Zoom Webinars cost in India?
It is priced by attendee capacity tier on top of a paid Zoom plan, so the cost depends on the ceiling you buy rather than how many people attend. Bought through an India partner it is billed in INR with a GST invoice. We can quote the right capacity tier for your typical audience.
Can I livestream a Zoom webinar to YouTube or Facebook?
Yes. Zoom supports streaming to YouTube Live, Facebook and custom RTMP destinations. This is a common way to reach an audience larger than your licensed capacity — the webinar handles registered attendees and interaction, while the stream handles passive viewers.
Do attendees need a Zoom account to join a webinar?
No. Registered attendees receive a unique join link that works without an account. Keep it that way for public webinars — forcing account creation loses attendees.
Can I see who attended and for how long?
Yes. The attendance report lists each attendee, join and leave times, total duration and their poll responses. Combined with the registration report you can see who signed up but did not attend, which is usually your best follow-up list.
We supply Zoom Webinar licences in INR with GST invoice and will set up your first session — registration page, panellists, polls and CRM handoff.