Plenty of buying decisions are made a few days after a webinar, not during it. A good webinar follow-up email helps people clear up their questions and decide at their own pace. That is also exactly where the legal line runs: as soon as a message promotes your offer, in the EU you will usually need the recipient’s prior consent. This guide shows how to follow up after a session without crossing that line.
The ground rule in two sentences
Messages that belong to the registration are fine to send: the confirmation, the access link and reminders about the booked session. Marketing emails, meaning offers, discounts or a newsletter, generally require prior consent under the EU’s ePrivacy rules, and some countries, Germany among them, apply that to business recipients too.
Legal bases, double opt-in and the narrow exception for existing customers are covered in our webinar GDPR basics. This article is about what happens afterwards in practice: where each follow-up message belongs, what consent wording holds up and what a useful follow-up sequence looks like.
Messages in the grey zone
A webinar produces several messages that are hard to classify at first glance. The deciding question is whether a message only delivers what the attendee asked for, or whether it is meant to sell. Regulators and courts interpret “marketing” broadly.
| Message after the session | Usual classification | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Slides or worksheet promised in the invitation | Part of the registration | Don’t add offers or discounts to the same email |
| A new session time for registrants who missed it | Closely tied to the registration, but not clear-cut | Keep it factual, mention only the new time, send it once |
| Thanks for attending, with a link to the offer | Marketing | Consent only |
| A request for a review or feedback | Often treated as marketing | Ask during the webinar or on the thank-you page instead |
| “The offer is open until Friday” | Marketing | Consent only, and the deadline has to be real |
| An email asking for permission to send marketing | Can count as marketing itself | Collect consent on the page beforehand |
Two of these deserve a second look. A feedback request feels harmless, yet German courts have classed customer satisfaction surveys sent by email as advertising because they serve customer retention. And asking for consent by email is no way out either: the UK regulator has fined companies for sending emails that asked people to opt in to marketing.
If an attendee explicitly asks in the chat whether you can send them the details of your offer, you can fulfil exactly that request. It does not give you permission to send further marketing.
Consent that holds up
Consent is only as good as its wording. It has to be freely given, specific and informed. A pre-ticked box doesn’t count.
Weak: “Keep me informed.” Informed by whom, about what and how?
Better: “Yes, email me tips and offers about weekly planning from [your business name] after the webinar. I can unsubscribe at any time with one click.”
A few details make the difference:
- Name the sender. People need to know who will write to them. If you run several brands, name the specific one.
- Narrow down the content. “Offers related to this webinar’s topic” is more specific than “marketing”.
- Name the channel. Email does not automatically cover text messages or messengers.
- Mention unsubscribing. Half a sentence is enough, and it builds trust.
- Use its own unticked box. Joining the webinar shouldn’t depend on it.
- Confirm by double opt-in. That way you can later show the address really belongs to the person who agreed.
Collecting consent later
Not everyone ticks the box at sign-up. Some people are only convinced once the webinar is over. Give them the chance there: a short form at the end of the session or on the offer page, for example “Would you like the answers to the most common questions by email?”, again with clear wording and a confirmation click. For the reasons above, avoid emailing people afterwards to ask.
A follow-up sequence for people who opted in
People who have agreed to hear from you appreciate messages that help them decide. A short sequence over about a week is a good starting point. The timing is a rule of thumb, not a law.
- On the day: A three-point summary, the promised materials and a calm sentence about your offer with a link.
- One day later: Answers to the questions that came up most in the chat. This is often the most useful email of the whole sequence. Our guide to using the webinar chat as a conversation shows how to collect them.
- Two or three days later: An example of someone applying the content, clearly labelled as an example and without invented results (see honest social proof in webinars). Add your answer to the most common objection, prepared as described in handling objections before they come up.
- Before a real deadline: Only if one exists, such as the start date of a fixed cohort. A made-up deadline can be unlawful towards consumers and costs trust either way. For deadlines and timers in general, see using countdowns fairly.
- To close: A short note that the sequence ends here and what comes next, such as an occasional newsletter if the consent covers it.
Two rules keep the sequence clean. Anyone who has bought stops receiving sales emails for that product and gets onboarding messages instead. And anyone who attended but didn’t opt in receives none of these emails after the session.
Unsubscribing and objecting
Consent can be withdrawn at any time, and withdrawing must be as easy as giving it (Art. 7(3) GDPR). People can also object to direct marketing at any time (Art. 21 GDPR). In practice:
- Put an unsubscribe link in every marketing email, clearly visible rather than hidden in tiny grey text.
- One click is enough. No login, no password, no mandatory survey before the unsubscribe goes through.
- Act on it immediately. No more marketing afterwards, not even “the last one that was already scheduled”.
- Set the unsubscribe header. Since 2024, large mailbox providers have required high-volume senders to support one-click unsubscribe that the inbox itself can display. Many sending services add it automatically.
- Keep marketing and bookings apart. Someone who opts out of marketing should still be able to receive reminders about a session they’ve booked.
Don’t simply delete unsubscribed addresses if a new registration could slip them back into a marketing sequence. Many senders keep a suppression list used only to make sure no further marketing goes out. Mention it in your privacy notice.
Keeping records
If challenged, you must be able to show that someone consented (Art. 7(1) GDPR). For every marketing consent, store:
- the time of sign-up and of the confirmation click
- the exact consent wording as it was at the time
- where consent was given, such as the registration page or a form in the webinar
- the time of any unsubscribe or objection
When you change the consent wording, keep the old version. Consent you can no longer prove won’t help you when it matters.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send the recording to people who missed the webinar?
If the invitation promised a recording, sending it belongs to the registration, and a factual email with the link makes sense. Add promotion for your offer to that email and it becomes a marketing message that needs consent.
Do I need consent if my attendees are businesses?
It depends on the country. Several EU countries, Germany included, require prior consent for marketing emails to business addresses as well. The UK’s rules are more relaxed for some business addresses, but differ in detail. If your audience is international, consent for everyone is the simplest safe route.
How many follow-up emails make sense?
As many as genuinely add something. As a rule of thumb, three to five emails over about a week is plenty. Watch your unsubscribes: if they jump after one particular email, that message is too pushy or not needed.
Can I phone attendees after the webinar?
Rules on marketing calls vary across countries and are often stricter for consumers. Consent to emails does not cover phone calls. If in doubt, ask explicitly whether and how someone would like to be contacted.
Final thoughts
A good follow-up continues a conversation with people who have asked for it. Separate registration messages from marketing, collect consent with clear wording on the page and make leaving easy. Then your post-webinar emails are welcome and on solid legal ground.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, consult a lawyer.
