“Six figures in 90 days” or “say goodbye to back pain for good” sound like lines that fill a registration page. They are also the quickest way for a webinar to run into legal trouble and lose the trust of its audience. This guide explains why income claims and health claims are so risky in webinars, what EU rules say about them in general terms and how to tell success stories that hold up.
Why webinars invite big promises
A sales webinar builds towards one moment, the decision. It is tempting to make the result look as big as possible. A few features of the format add to that:
- The presenter’s own story. Many hosts explain how they made it. What worked for them easily sounds like a promise to everyone.
- Repetition. An automated webinar says the same sentence at every session. An inflated claim ends up reaching a lot of people.
- Borrowed copy. If you present a partner’s product, it is easy to repeat the claims from their sales page. Affiliate webinars with clear ad disclosure touches on this as well.
- AI-written scripts. Language models like round success statements that nobody has checked. How to spot and prevent AI hallucinations shows how to catch them.
What consumer law says
In the EU, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive prohibits misleading commercial practices. Information is misleading if it is false or likely to deceive the average consumer about the main characteristics of a product, and the directive explicitly lists “the results to be expected from its use”. That is exactly what income and health claims are about. Each member state has turned this into national law.
Three points are often missed:
- True statements can mislead too. What counts is the overall impression. A customer’s success story may be genuine, but if it comes across as the norm when it is the exception, it can deceive.
- Have your evidence before you advertise. If you promise specific results or quote figures, you should be able to back them up if challenged. “All my students say so” is not evidence.
- Selling to businesses doesn’t make you exempt. The directive’s list of practices that are always banned protects consumers. Separate EU rules on misleading advertising protect businesses as well, so webinars aimed at freelancers and companies are covered too.
The UK has its own consumer protection law and advertising code, built on the same basic principle.
Income claims
Common lines and better alternatives
| Claim | Problem | Better |
|---|---|---|
| “Earn €10,000 a month” | The result depends on the person, the market and the effort | “I’ll show you how I approach it and what you need to have in place.” |
| “Passive income, no work required” | The effort is hidden | “You’ll put in a lot of time at the start. It gets less later, but it never drops to zero.” |
| “Guaranteed first clients in 30 days” | An outcome you can’t control | A genuine money-back guarantee if you offer one, kept separate from any result |
| “No start-up costs” | Software, ads or materials usually cost money | State the typical costs openly |
The right-hand column is less exciting. It attracts people who know what they are signing up for and are less likely to be disappointed later.
Showing your own numbers
Screenshots of revenue are popular in some niches. If you show your own figures, put them in context:
- Revenue is not profit. Say what was left after costs, or make it clear the figure is revenue.
- Give the time frame. One strong month is not a monthly average.
- Explain your starting point. If you already had a large audience, contacts or experience, that belongs in the story.
- Keep your results separate from your buyers’. What you achieved says little about what someone will achieve with your course.
Earning by recruiting others
Some webinars promote schemes where people mainly earn by recruiting new members who in turn pay to join. Pyramid schemes are on the EU list of practices that are always unfair to consumers, and some forms are criminal offences in several countries. Look very closely at what you are promoting.
Investing and finance
Webinars on investing, trading or crypto assets sit in a regulated area. Recommending or arranging specific investments may require authorisation from a financial regulator. General education is not the same as investment advice. If in doubt, get specialist advice before you announce the first session.
Health claims
When health advertising rules apply
Rules on health advertising don’t only cover medicines and medical devices. National laws often also catch methods, treatments and programmes as soon as the advertising refers to detecting, curing or relieving an illness or condition. A webinar about a breathing method for migraines or a programme against back pain can therefore fall under them even if no medicine is involved. Germany’s Heilmittelwerbegesetz is a well-known example of how strict these rules can be.
If you talk about general wellbeing, eating habits or everyday movement without referring to any illness, those specific rules usually don’t apply. The general ban on misleading practices still does.
What is particularly risky
Typical problems in webinars include attributing effects a method doesn’t have, suggesting that success is certain or claiming there are no side effects. Testimonials and personal case stories about illnesses are often restricted in advertising aimed at the general public, especially when they could mislead.
Across the EU, falsely claiming that a product can cure illnesses, dysfunctions or malformations is always unfair to consumers (Annex I, point 17 of the directive). Food and food supplements have their own rules: under the Nutrition and Health Claims Regulation only authorised health claims may be used, and food may not be presented as preventing, treating or curing disease.
| Risky | More careful |
|---|---|
| “This method cures your migraines.” | “I’ll show you exercises that help me calm down in everyday life. If you have symptoms, please see a doctor.” |
| “Pain-free in six weeks, guaranteed.” | Describe what happens in the programme without promising an outcome. |
| “No side effects at all.” | Delete it. |
If your topic touches on mental health, there is also the question of where coaching ends and therapy begins, which is regulated in many countries. Webinars for coaches and consultants discusses this.
Success stories with context
Real customer stories persuade better than any claim. They stay fair only if you give them context.
- Only real stories, with consent. Invented or composite cases are off limits.
- Typical or exceptional? Say whether a result is typical. If you don’t know, say that too.
- Tell the path, not just the result. Starting point, time frame and effort belong in the story, as do circumstances that had nothing to do with your offer.
- Show modest results as well. Someone who won their first two clients after three months is more believable than a fifth record-breaking story.
- Small print doesn’t fix it. A light-grey “results not typical” note doesn’t change the overall impression if the rest of the webinar only shows top results.
An example of a story with context: “One participant from last year’s group sold her first course after four months. She already had a newsletter with a few hundred readers. Others from the same group aren’t there yet.”
Selling an online course with a webinar also covers how course creators can talk about results without overpromising. And the question “will this work for me?” is best raised by you, as described in Handling objections in advance.
Checking your script
Before a webinar goes online, do one pass purely for claims. Mark every sentence that contains a result, a number, a time frame or an effect, and ask:
- Can I prove it, and do I have the evidence to hand?
- Is it typical, or does an exception sound like the norm?
- Do I mention requirements, effort and costs?
- Do words like “guaranteed”, “certain”, “always” or “effortless” appear?
- Does anything refer to an illness or condition?
- Did any sentences come from someone else’s sales page or an AI tool without being checked?
For automated webinars, repeat this check regularly, because offers and evidence change. If you promote other companies’ products, label that advertising too, as explained in Labelling advertising and sponsorship in webinars.
Frequently asked questions
Can I show my own income in a webinar?
Yes, if the figures are true and you give context: time frame, revenue or profit, your starting point. Make it clear that your numbers say nothing about what buyers will achieve.
Does a “results not guaranteed” disclaimer help?
It is sensible, but it doesn’t replace an honest presentation. The overall impression is what counts. If the webinar spends an hour showing top results, one sentence at the end hardly corrects that.
Does this apply if I only sell to businesses?
Misleading advertising is prohibited towards businesses as well. Some of the strictest rules, such as the list of practices that are always banned, only protect consumers. Honest, verifiable statements keep you safe either way.
Can I say my method helps with stress?
General statements about wellbeing are less tightly regulated than claims about illnesses, but they still have to be true. Once you talk about burnout, anxiety or other conditions with a medical dimension, you are quickly in health advertising territory.
Final thought
A webinar convinces people for the long term when it shows what is realistic and what it takes. Big promises might bring more sign-ups, but also more disappointment, refund requests and legal risk. This article is general information, not legal advice.
