Webinar series are a great way to keep members engaged over time. They encourage repeat attendance, build anticipation for what's coming next, and let you deliver more in-depth content.
In this article, we’ll walk you through our recommended workflows for setting up a series. These processes are based on what we’ve seen run smoothly for our customers and their attendees.
The Basic Format
A webinar series takes a little extra setup in Novi, but once your events are in place, managing registrations is easy. There are two main pathways you can follow depending on your preference. Follow the links below:
Option A: I Want Attendees to Register Once, Then I'll Handle the Rest
1A. Create Your First Event
Start by creating an event for just the first session in your series.
Name it in a way that clarifies it's part of a series (e.g., Winter Webinar Series - Session 1), and list the full schedule (how often, how many sessions total) in the Event Description. This makes the setup abundantly clear for your potential attendees.
For this initial event's date and time, use only the first session's date/time - not a range spanning the whole series.
📌 Important Note: If you set the event's start date to session one and the end date to session twelve, for example, attendees who add the event to their calendar will have that entire span blocked off. Keeping the date/time scoped to just the first session avoids this.
Step 2A: Add a "Register for the Series" Ticket
On this first event, you can add a ticket that lets attendees register for all sessions at once. It can be named something like “Register for the Series”.
Make it available to anyone who wants to sign up for the whole series.
Price it to reflect the combined cost of all individual sessions, potentially with a slight discount as an incentive for committing to the whole series upfront.
Step 3A: Set Up Additional Tickets
After setting up your “Register for the Series” ticket, you can decide what additional tickets you need.
For example, are you allowing attendees to register for just the first session? If so, you’ll need a single-session ticket as well. It can be named something like “Session One Only”. Make sure to price it appropriately.
Step 4A: Set Up Subsequent Sessions and Tickets
Once your first session is done, you’ll need to create additional, separate events for the remaining sessions. Feel free to use “Copy Event” to expedite this process:
However, make sure the event description and tickets are edited appropriately.
For example, your “Session One Only” ticket should be renamed “Session Two Only”, and so on.
If you still want to allow new sign-ups to join the full series partway through, keep a “Register for the Series” ticket open - just make sure the price is updated as needed.
The final step is to make sure subsequent events/sessions have an admin-only, free ticket. This is what you’ll use in Step 5 to batch-register attendees.
Step 5A: Use Batch Registrations to Take Care of Series Attendees
This is how you’ll handle those who have a “Register for the Series” ticket.
As each subsequent session gets close (weekly, monthly - whatever fits your cadence):
1. Go to the original session's event and filter down to attendees who registered via the series ticket.
2. Check the boxes next to those attendees.
3. Batch-register them into the upcoming session.
4. Make sure to register them under the admin-only, free ticket you set up in Step 4.
5. Make sure Charge for Registration is toggled off.
6. You can choose whether to send a confirmation email for the batch registration (it's a nice reminder, but optional).
Option B: I Want Attendees to Register Themselves for Every Session
The steps above walk through an admin-managed setup, where you batch-register series attendees into each session yourself. If you'd rather have attendees register themselves for each session at their own pace, you can sell series access as an ecommerce product instead of an event ticket.
Step 1B: Create the Series as an Ecommerce Product
In Ecommerce > Products, create a product representing the full series (e.g., Summer Webinar Series Package).
This product isn't tied to any specific event - it's simply what attendees purchase to gain access to the whole series.
Price it for the full series.
📌 Important Note: Make sure the product is purchasable by individuals, not companies. Since each purchaser needs to be personally registered for events later on, Novi needs to know exactly who bought it - not just which company. Attendees should also be logged in when they purchase so the order links to their member record.
Step 2B: Create a Group Based on the Purchase
In Segments > Groups, create a group with the criteria "has purchased [your product]." This group will automatically populate with everyone who buys the series package.
Step 3B: Add a Free, Group-Restricted Ticket to Each Session
On every session's event, add a free ticket (e.g., Series Package Holder) in addition to your regular paid ticket, and restrict its visibility/eligibility to the group you created in Step 2B.
Purchasers can then log in and register themselves for whichever sessions they'd like, at no charge, since they're in the eligible group.
Everyone else still sees and registers through the regular paid ticket.
FAQs
Can attendees register for just one webinar instead of the whole series?
Yes, as long as you've added a single-session ticket to that session's event (see Step 3A). This is optional and only needed if you want to offer that flexibility.
Do attendees get charged again when I register them for a future session?
No. When batch-registering series attendees into upcoming sessions, use an admin-only, free ticket (see Step 4A). Also make sure Charge for Registration is toggled off. They already paid in full when they registered for the series.
Will attendees still get reminder emails for sessions they're batch-registered into?
Yes, as long as the reminder email is set up in that session's event Settings:
Why shouldn't I just set one event with a date range covering the whole series?
Attendees who add the event to their calendar would have the entire date range blocked off, rather than just the specific session time. Setting up one event per session keeps their calendars accurate.