In short: Running a 30-minute webinar takes about two hours of work, not including prep and marketing.

• Technical Check: 15 minutes before the event.

• Event Duration: 30 minutes for the talk and Q&A.

• Post-Event Work: 1 hour 30 minutes for editing, uploading, and sharing the recording.

A bit of context: Hosting the Swiss Service Design Week

Last week, I've been hosting the Swiss Service Design Week 2025. It's a mix of remote and on-site events that goes over 7 days. The 6 remote events are lightning talks—30-minute webinars where guests share 3 insights and answer 3 live questions. On the seventh day, we had an on-site event: the Swiss Service Design Day 2025.

Right before the webinar: 15 minutes

On the day of the event, my work starts at 16:45. We spend 15 minutes checking technical details—making sure mics work, screen sharing functions properly, etc.

The Event: 30 minutes

The actual event runs from 17:00 to 17:30. Afterward, I get to have five minutes with the guests to thank them again and debrief.

After the event: 1h15

After that comes editing, which takes me until 18:45. During this time, I remove filler words, fix mistakes, and cut out my standard introduction about the Service Design Network Switzerland.

Once edited, I upload the video to YouTube, add it to our website with transcriptions, and create a highlight reel for LinkedIn to tease those who missed it. I also email everyone who registered to let them know the recording is available. Typically, only 10-20% of registrants attend live; most watch later.

When do I do this?

I prefer doing all this right after each event, especially during weeks with daily events.

What's missing: recruiting the guests and marketing

In these two hours I haven't counted the time it takes to find, book and schedule the talk with a lovely guest. I haven't also included here the time it takes to do the marketing of the event: creating the registration page, the linkedin posts, newsletters, etc. so that people know about the event.

Written with AI help

This article is based on an audio note I took while walking that was transcribed and cleaned using Audiopen. I then reviewed and improved the text by hand.