Running a “Fake” Live Webinar
A recent question came up in a forum I belong to about the possibility of recording a live Webinar one time then replaying the recording at a scheduled time again as if it is live. I have done this for a client, but I probably would not repeat it unless there is an easier way. So listen to my process below then let me know if you have a better idea. 
The Scenario
I had a client who was selling a social media product and had a group of Philipino telemarketers cold call businesses in order to fill a Webinar audience up every week After delivering and recording the Live Webinar several times, he chose the one recording that sold the most products and decided to try to run the recording every week as if it were live. He only wanted be available to answer questions as they came in to the chat and at the end of the Webinar.
How I Tried It
We attempted this in GotoWebinar. In theory it seems easier than it turned out to be and I found it more than a bit stressful. To do this you have to have the replay video ready on your computer. Then in GTW, you have to “Show your screen” at the exact time that you press Play on the video and the phone speaker has to be right up against your computer speakers so people can hear the audio coming out. Then you have to really monitor it closely because things like your screensaver coming on (from lack of mouse movement) or a popup, etc. can give it away that it is not live. Also you can’t allow anyone to ask questions verbally during the event because if it is supposed to be live someone should be addressing them. But the client can come on at the end to talk to the audience as long as there is no real “wrap up” at the end of the recorded call.
What Went Wrong
The first time I did it, for some reason, I got kicked out of GTW. Maybe because there was no actual screen activity for almost a hour- I don’t know. But next time I moved my mouse around every 15 minutes and didn’t get kicked out.The client used the cat to answer questions that came in so that was the only part that was live.
In Conclusion
So, in reality, it can be done but it definitely has to be very well planned if you want your audience to really think it is live. There was just so many steps to do all at the same time to kick it off that I had a real headache when I was finished.
I would love to know if there is a better way than the way I was doing it. If you know of any please comment.
BTW- I recently added the ability to audio and video comment so go brush your hair, smear on some lip gloss and fire up that webcam if you dare.
Thanks for reading,
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