Most wealth management firms have seen significant growth from in-person events. But what if you could take the essence of those events and scale it 10x—all while spending less marketing budget?
Webinars have the potential to do exactly that; they may be the single most underrated growth channel for RIAs and WealthTechs. The only challenge is marketing your event correctly—and that’s what this article will help you do.
Content:
- 5 Ways Wealth Management Firms Benefit from Webinars
- Webinar Promotion: Best Practices for Wealth Management Firms
5 Ways Wealth Management Firms Benefit from Webinars
Our experience running over 100 webinars and working with leading RIAs and WealthTechs suggests that webinars offer five distinct benefits:
1. Authority and Trust Building
Wealth management relationships are built on trust and authority—but most digital content misses a vital ingredient that drives these emotions. Listening to an actual human voice; feeling a person’s social presence, being able to ask a question directly: these are all key factors at in-person events.
Webinars allow you to bring those factors into your digital marketing. After spending 60 minutes engaging with a human being—and hearing them speak articulately about a topic in which they have clear expertise—attendees are likely to feel closer and more connected than after reading a whitepaper or social post.
Note: This is not to say that thought leadership or organic social media don’t work; it’s simply to point out that webinars add an extra dimension that can accelerate relationship building within wealth management.
2. Audience Research
Webinars are not just about sharing knowledge; they’re also a great opportunity to learn about your attendees. From intentional research methods—such as Q&As or in-event polls—to the data you generate from attendees, a single webinar can provide powerful insight into your audience’s challenges and interests.
This is particularly true for WealthTech firms: your product-market fit is often difficult to establish, and many firms struggle to develop the right messaging. Webinars can be a powerful tool to learn about your audience and identify the pain points or benefits that “light them up” the most.
3. Scalability
Aside from a lack of time, scalability is the number one marketing challenge we hear about from both RIAs and WealthTechs. In-person events, referrals, and other "traditional" lead generation methods have clear geographical and physical restrictions that limit efficiency and impact.
Webinars have none of those issues and can potentially scale to several hundred people without additional marginal costs. Large RIAs can gain a lot from this scalability, especially if they have local advisors dispersed across the country. A single event could attract leads for organic or inorganic growth in multiple locations.
4. Faster Conversions
Webinars bring in highly qualified leads and, as discussed above, accelerate the trust-building process. As a result, the sales cycle is often significantly shorter and the overall cost-efficiency of the growth channel is very high.
Kitces’ latest marketing report finds that the average duration from webinar-to-client-acquisition is 2-3 months—significantly faster than most other marketing channels.
5. Content Generation
Given the time constraints most advisory firms report—with 30% of advisors saying they have less than one hour per week for marketing—webinars can actually be highly efficient.
A single event is likely to generate enough content for a prolonged period, as the actual presentation can usually be used to create multiple blogs, social posts, short-form video clips, and more.
The takeaway is clear: Webinars are an exceptional way for wealth management firms to generate, nurture, and convert leads. The challenge, however, is ensuring enough people sign up and attend your event.
Webinar Promotion: Best Practices for Wealth Management Firms
The following five steps determine at least 90% of the success of your webinar—and have helped us drive 400% higher registrations for our clients:
1. Choosing the Subject
Most wealth management audiences are time-poor; they will only attend a webinar if they feel it is essential to their personal or professional success. A strong topic is therefore non-negotiable—and smart firms invest a surprising amount of time and effort simply choosing what their webinar will be about.
Essential Steps to Select a Standout Webinar Topic |
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Action |
How to Do This |
Why it Matters |
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Research Current Pain Points |
Monitor LinkedIn discussions, industry forums, and client conversations to identify pressing concerns |
Topics that address timely challenges not only drive higher registration rates, but also ensure you’re attracting the right audience |
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Promise Clear Value |
Frame your title as a question or promise specific takeaways (e.g., "7 Estate Planning Mistakes Costing Clients Millions") |
Your audience must feel the webinar will deliver concrete value and be worthy of their time |
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Use Audience Language |
Include keywords and terminology your prospects actually use when searching for solutions |
Authentic language increases perceived relevance and trust—and signals that you understand your audience |
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Validate Topic Interest |
Poll your email list, analyze competitor webinars, or use Google Trends to gauge demand |
Webinars can be a large investment, but pre-validation helps to reduce risk |
2. Building Your Offer
Your topic is like an email subject line; it draws the audience in. But you must then build upon that interest with an offer that promises real value. Even if your audience is interested in tax strategies for high-net-worth individuals, they will only listen to people they instinctively believe actually know what they’re talking about.
Building an Attractive Webinar Offer |
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Action |
How to Do This |
Why it Matters |
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Secure Credible Speakers |
Recruit industry experts, CFP®s with specialized credentials, or respected thought leaders with strong personal brands |
There is a lot of snake oil in the online financial advice ecosystem, and attendees need clear signals that they can trust your speakers |
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Highlight Speaker Authority |
Showcase professional achievements, awards, publications, and relevant certifications in all promotional materials |
Authority signals help give your event extra gravitas and authority—driving more registrations |
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Offer Exclusive Resources |
Provide downloadable frameworks, worksheets, or access to proprietary research available only to attendees |
Exclusive content increases perceived value and gives prospects a concrete reason to register |
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Create Multi-Speaker Variety |
Assemble panels with diverse perspectives—combine portfolio managers, tax specialists, and estate attorneys |
Variety ensures broader appeal and demonstrates comprehensive expertise |
3. Multichannel Promotion
Wealth management firms are often used to traditional networking, where there are relatively limited communication channels. But wealth management audiences use a wide range of digital platforms and channels—which means you can dramatically boost your reach simply by leveraging more of them.
Multichannel Promotion Checklist |
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Channel |
Tractics |
Implementation Tips |
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Speaker Networks |
Provide speakers with ready-made social posts, email copy, and graphics to share with their audiences |
Get buy-in from guest speakers and partners early to avoid confusion or delays; they should be promoting from the moment your event is announced |
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LinkedIn (Organic & Paid) |
Create organic posts from company page, leadership profiles, and speaker profiles; run targeted ads to job titles, company sizes, and industries |
Build a LinkedIn Event page to make it easier to register directly within the platform |
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Warm Email Sequences |
Send 3-4 emails: initial invitation, reminder to non-openers, final "last chance" message |
Create a messaging framework at the beginning of your planning process to make high-volume communication easier to scale |
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Website Integration |
Add homepage banners, blog CTAs, exit-intent popups, and a dedicated events page |
Foreground speaker credentials to create immediate trust signals |
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Partner Collaboration |
Ask referral partners, custodians, and professional networks to promote to their audiences |
Don’t just ask for help; make clear how a more successful event will benefit all parties |
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Retargeting Ads |
Run Google Display and LinkedIn retargeting campaigns to people who visited your site or landing page |
Reinforces your message across platforms and creates a "buzz" effect |
4. Conversion Optimization
Most webinar attendees are not sufficiently “bought in” to spend 20 minutes figuring out how to register; this is particularly true of wealth management audiences, where the audience’s time is likely highly valuable. Optimized landing pages make the process smooth and ensure more people who click your registration link actually share their details.
Landing Page Optimization Essentials |
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Element |
Best Practice |
Why It Works |
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Minimal Form Fields |
Request only essential information: name, email, company, and perhaps job title |
Each additional form field reduces conversion; for wealth management, 4-5 fields is optimal |
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Social Proof |
Display past attendee testimonials, registration counts ("Join 300+ advisors"), or client logos |
Social proof builds trust and creates FOMO, especially important for a skeptical HNW audience |
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Visual Speaker Credibility |
Include high-quality speaker headshots, short bios, and credential badges prominently above the fold |
People register to hear from experts; make the speaker's authority immediately visible |
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Mobile Optimization |
Ensure flawless mobile experience—over 50% of traffic comes from mobile devices |
Broken mobile experiences silently kill conversions without you realizing |
5. Attendance Maximization
Registrations are not your key metric; the number of actual attendees is. But many people sign up for a webinar weeks before the event and forget about it. Your promotion strategy should therefore include steps to keep registrants engaged and keep building momentum until the actual event.
Attendance Maximization Strategy |
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Tactic |
Timing |
Key Elements |
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Confirmation Email |
Immediately after registration |
Include calendar invite (ICS file), clear joining instructions, and a preview of key takeaways |
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Reminder Email |
1 day before the event |
Emphasize exclusivity and what they'll miss; include join link and calendar reminder option |
Post-Event Conversion: Turning Attendees into Clients
Running a successful webinar is one thing; turning it into real revenue or AUM growth is another. But many wealth management firms go dark after their event—essentially ghosting your audience just as they’ve gotten invested in your business.
The solution is to build a strong post-webinar plan to nurture and convert attendees and non-attendees. We advise our clients to follow three simple steps:
1. Plan for Speed Before the Event
Fast follow-up isn't something you figure out after your webinar wraps; it requires preparation. Build your post-event workflow during the planning phase:
- Assign clear ownership: Who's responsible for sending emails? Who handles personal outreach to VIP attendees?
- Draft emails in advance: Write your follow-up sequence before the event so you can launch immediately
- Create a scoring system: Decide how you'll prioritize leads based on engagement (stayed the full hour, asked questions, etc.)
The goal is launching your follow-up within hours, not days. Speed matters because your competitors are courting these same prospects.
2. Deploy Smart Email Sequences
Your post-event emails need to continue the conversation, not just say "thanks for attending."
Start with segmentation. Someone who stayed for the full hour and asked three questions deserves different treatment than someone who dropped off after 15 minutes. Your sequence should include:
- Immediate thank-you (2-4 hours after) – Include the recording, slides, and promised resources
- Value-add follow-up (2-3 days later) – Share additional insights related to Q&A questions that came up
- Direct invitation (5-7 days later) – Clear call-to-action to schedule a consultation or access deeper resources
Each email should feel like a natural continuation of your webinar, not a generic sales pitch. Reference specific moments from the presentation and address questions that emerged; this shows you were actually listening.
3. Keep Engagement Alive with Valuable Content
Don't abandon attendees who don't immediately convert. They've already demonstrated serious interest by spending an hour with you.
Some firms create exclusive content hubs where registrants can access recordings and additional resources. Others send relevant follow-up content when news breaks related to the webinar topic. A few build private groups where attendees can continue asking questions.
Whatever you choose, remember that wealth management sales cycles are long. A prospect who attends your webinar in March might not switch advisors until September. Consistent, valuable touchpoints keep you front-of-mind when they finally decide.
Run Webinars that Actually Drive Revenue
ProperExpression is a leading wealth management agency with proven expertise across webinar planning, promotion, and execution. Our team can take the load off your back and manage the entire end-to-end process—helping you generate real revenue from successful webinars.
Book 15 minutes with a webinar expert—and learn how your webinars could actually drive revenue.
