Picture this: You spend weeks preparing your big webinar launch. You’ve got the guest speaker, the topic is hot, the emails are ready to go—and boom! Your email gateway fails. No one gets the invites. Your registration numbers plummet, and now you’re in panic mode.
You’re not alone! Even big webinar platforms have faced this issue. But the good news? Many found creative ways to bounce back and save the show.
TL;DR
Email gateway failures can crash your registration plans just before your webinar launch. This happened to multiple webinar platforms and app users. But by using clever re-engagement strategies like SMS, retargeting ads, and backup email tools, they saved their events from total disaster. Let’s dive into the top 8 apps and what their users did to recover!
1. Zoom Webinars
What happened: A large webinar for a fitness brand had over 3,000 registrations lined up. Just 2 days before the event, their email gateway failed. No reminders went out. Attendance rates were heading toward disaster.
What they did: They switched gears and sent SMS reminders instead. They also set up retargeting ads on Facebook for people who had visited the registration page but hadn’t completed signup.
Result: 65% of their original audience showed up. Not bad for a launch that nearly flopped.
2. Demio
What happened: A SaaS company ran into trouble when Demio’s emails landed in spam due to a DNS misconfiguration. Overnight, their open rate dropped by 80%.
What they did: They added a secondary email tool (MailerLite) to resend the invites. On social media, they launched a “Find the Golden Ticket” campaign where users could repost for a second chance to register.
Result: Registrations recovered by 50% in 24 hours.
3. WebinarJam
What happened: During a cryptocurrency workshop launch, an AWS outage caused the email delivery system to delay messages by over 12 hours. Many reminders came in too late.
What they did: They extended their replay window and emailed a direct link to the on-demand version of the webinar. This was paired with a 3-part “VIP content” email tease sent using ConvertKit.
Result: Once the emails were back, the replay got over 4,000 views—double the expected live turnout!
4. BigMarker
What happened: A content creator scheduled a product launch on BigMarker. But a misconfigured sender domain triggered ESPs like Gmail to block the notification emails.
What they did: The team added popup notifications on their blog and embedded countdown timers into high-traffic pages. They also used chatbot messengers like ManyChat to ping their Facebook followers.
Result: A last-minute registration surge saved the launch, leading to 2,100 live views and hundreds of product conversions.
5. GoTo Webinar
What happened: An education company using GoTo Webinar noticed that their email link previews weren’t being generated on Apple Mail—making the emails look broken. This caused slow signups.
What they did: They quickly redesigned the email using simpler HTML and sent it through a third-party SMTP (SendGrid). They also used push notifications via their app to drive registration.
Result: Their final registration rate ended up being 95% of the original target.
6. Livestorm
What happened: A marketing agency used Livestorm for a series of live workshops. An ESP blocklist was updated three days before launch, and their reminders were halted.
What they did: They created a “private Discord group” for all early signups and dropped links through there. They also used Google Ads with RSVP CTAs targeting people who landed on their funnel previously.
Result: The Discord community doubled in size, and they used the same strategy for future events.
7. ClickMeeting
What happened: At the height of Black Friday promotions, ClickMeeting users reported email delays of 24+ hours. Offers tied to webinars expired before most people even saw the invite.
What they did: Hosts quickly pivoted to WhatsApp reminders and used Bitly links to track engagement. They also created a 24-hour replay with extended discounts.
Result: The extended replays did better than the original live events — with more sales coming in after-the-fact.
8. EasyWebinar
What happened: A coaching business relying on automated webinars had a crucial flaw. When their SMTP provider glitched, automated sequences stopped mid-funnel.
What they did: They used Zapier to reroute registration data to a backup CRM (like ActiveCampaign) and restarted email flows from there. They also added limited access to free video previews to entice users to register again.
Result: Their funnel recovered in 72 hours, and they made 80% of projected revenue despite the setback.
Takeaways: How to Save Your Webinar If Emails Fail
Email isn’t your only weapon. Here are the top things these pros did:
- Use SMS reminders
- Send push notifications through mobile apps
- Retarget with social ads on Facebook and Google
- Leverage chatbot tools like Messenger or WhatsApp
- Embed registration links in websites and blogs
- Create urgency with limited-time replays
- Always have a second email tool ready
Final Tips
Webinars live or die on your audience. Never put all your eggs in one email server. Treat your reminder strategy like a relay race—have backups! Get creative, and your launch may be even stronger than before.
A glitch doesn’t mean game over. It could be your chance to shine.