How to Create Your First Automated Webinar and Meeting
Complete Step-by-Step SimuLive Tutorial
SimuLive Team
Product and Marketing
Welcome to the complete guide for creating your first automated webinar or meeting with SimuLive. Whether you are a marketer looking to run evergreen webinar funnels, a trainer delivering consistent onboarding content, or a sales team automating product demos, this tutorial will walk you through every step.
SimuLive transforms your pre-recorded content into live-quality experiences complete with chat simulation, virtual participants, and multi-platform streaming. By the end of this guide, you will have a fully configured automated event ready to engage your audience 24/7.
What You Will Learn
Industries Using SimuLive
SimuLive empowers professionals across diverse industries to run automated webinars and meetings for sales, marketing, training, onboarding, customer education, and lead generation:
Prerequisites
Before you begin creating your first automated webinar or meeting with SimuLive, ensure you have the following ready:
Zoom Account
- Zoom Pro, Business, or Enterprise for Meetings
- Zoom Webinar license for Webinars (100-10,000 attendees)
- HD video, Chat, and DLP integration enabled in settings
Google Account
- Google account for Google Drive integration
- Sufficient storage for video content
- One-click authorization (SimuLive is Google verified)
Video Content
- Pre-recorded video in MP4, MOV, AVI, or MKV format
- Recommended resolution: 720p or 1080p
- Duration: Up to 24 hours supported
SimuLive Subscription
- Active subscription with available credits
- Plans from $5/hr (Silver) to $11/hr (Diamond)
- Platinum/Diamond for chat and virtual participants
01Sign Up and Account Setup
Start by creating your SimuLive account. Visit simulive.us and choose your preferred sign-up method.
Google OAuth Login (Recommended)
Click "Continue with Google" for instant signup with automatic Google Drive integration. Since SimuLive is a Google verified application, this streamlined approach grants immediate access to upload files for your video content.
Email Registration
Sign up using your email address. You will receive a verification email. Click the link to activate your account. After email signup, authorize Google Drive access from Dashboard → Integrations.
Complete Your Profile
After registration, navigate to Dashboard → Settings to configure your default timezone, contact information, and notification preferences. A properly configured profile ensures accurate event scheduling.
02Choose Your Subscription Plan
Navigate to Dashboard → Subscriptions to view available plans and purchase credits. SimuLive offers flexible subscription tiers to match your event volume and feature requirements.
Credits are consumed based on event duration. For example, a 2-hour event uses 2 hours of credits. View your usage history and remaining credits anytime in the Subscription dashboard. See the below for detailed features.
03Connect Integrations
Navigate to Dashboard → Integrations to connect your Zoom and Google Drive accounts. These integrations are required before creating your first runbook.
Connect Zoom Account
SimuLive offers two methods to connect your Zoom account:
Public SimuLive App (Recommended)
One-click authorization through the Zoom Marketplace.
Required Zoom Account Settings
The following settings must be configured in your Zoom account for SimuLive to work properly. These settings are specific to the Zoom platform (Teams, Meet, and Webex support coming soon).
- 1Log in to zoom.us and go to Settings → Meeting
- 2Enable "HD video" in In Meeting (Advanced) for 720p/1080p streaming qualityZoom HD Video Guide
- 3Enable "Chat" in In Meeting (Basic) for chat functionality
- 4Enable "External in-meeting chat DLP integration" in In Meeting (Advanced) for chat simulation to work with external integrations
Connect Google Drive
Google Drive is currently the only supported cloud storage option for SimuLive content (Dropbox and OneDrive support is planned). If you signed up with Google OAuth, your Drive is already connected.
- 1Go to Dashboard → Integrations
- 2Click "Connect Google Drive"
- 3Select your Google account and authorize SimuLive
- 4Status will change to "Connected"
04Upload Your Content
Content is uploaded during runbook creation. Navigate to Dashboard → Runbooks → Create and in the Config section, you will find the "Upload Files" option.
Video File Requirements
Supported Formats
- MP4 (Recommended)
- MOV
- AVI
- MKV
Recommended Specifications
- Resolution: 720p or 1080p
- Duration: Up to 24 hours
- High bitrate for quality streaming
Chat Simulation File (messages.json)
Chat simulation creates an interactive experience by automatically sending timed messages during your event. This feature is available on Platinum and Diamond plans.
File Format (messages.json):
{
"00:30": "Welcome everyone! Excited to have you here today.",
"01:15": "Feel free to ask questions in the chat!",
"05:00": "Great question! Let me address that...",
"10:30": "We're halfway through - hope you're finding this valuable!"
}Virtual Participants File (participant-names.json)
Virtual participants appear as pre-joined attendees in your event, creating social proof. This feature is available on Platinum and Diamond plans with a maximum of 10 participants.
File Format (participant-names.json):
[ "Sarah Johnson", "Michael Chen", "Emily Davis", "James Wilson", "Amanda Martinez" ]
05Create Your First Runbook
A Runbook is your complete automated event configuration. Navigate to Dashboard → Runbooks and click "Create Runbook" to open the two-step creation wizard.
Step 5.1: Configuration
- Select Subscription: Choose an active plan with available credits
- Select Zoom Account: Choose your authorized Zoom account
- Select Google Drive: Browse existing folders or upload new content
Step 5.2: Details
- Title and Description: Event name and agenda
- Date, Time, Timezone: Schedule at least 10 min ahead
- Duration and Schedule Type: One-time or recurring
06Configure Live Streaming (Optional)
SimuLive can simultaneously stream your automated event to multiple platforms. Live streaming requires a Gold, Platinum, or Diamond subscription. Configure streaming after creating your runbook.
Step 6.1: Open Live Stream Modal
- 1Go to Dashboard → Runbooks
- 2Find your runbook and click the Stream icon (radio tower)
- 3The Live Stream modal opens showing your event details and available destinations
Step 6.2: Configure Stream Settings
- Start Time: Set when streaming should begin (must be within event duration window, at least 1 minute after event start and 10 minutes before event end)
- Resolution: 720p HD (Gold) or 1080p Full HD (Platinum/Diamond) based on your subscription
Step 6.3: Add Destinations
Click on each platform to expand and configure. Each destination requires:
- Stream Key (required, minimum 10 characters)
- Stream URL (required, RTMP format: rtmp://...)
- Dashboard URL (optional, link to platform's live dashboard)
- Display Name (optional, custom label for this destination)
- Active Speaker Name (optional, display speaker name overlay)
Step 6.4: Save and Go Live
- 1Click "Save All" to save your stream configuration
- 2When runbook is Running, the Source Encoder section appears
- 3Click "Start" to activate the Source Encoder first
- 4Use "Start All" to begin all destinations, or start individually
- 5Live destinations show LIVE badge with real-time status
Destination Status Indicators
How to Get Stream Keys
07Manage and Monitor Events
All your events are managed from the Dashboard → Runbooks section. Monitor status, view details, edit settings, or delete events as needed.
Runbook Status Indicators
Available Actions
View
View details
Edit
Modify settings
Stream
Configure streaming
Delete
Remove or abort
08Subscription Plans Comparison
| Feature | Silver $5/hr | Gold $7/hr | Platinum $9/hr | Diamond $11/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Video Quality | 720p | 720p | 1080p | 1080p |
| Audio Quality | 32kHz | 48kHz | 48kHz | 48kHz |
| Stream Quality | 720p | 720p | 1080p | 1080p |
| Chat Simulation | — | — | ||
| Virtual Participants | — | — | ||
| Custom RTMP | — | — | — | |
| Priority Support | — | — | ||
| Dedicated Support | — | — | — |
09Troubleshooting Common Issues
"Zoom account not connected" error
Navigate to Dashboard → Integrations and re-authorize your Zoom account. For custom integrations, verify your OAuth credentials and webhook URL are correctly configured.
Video quality appears lower than expected (Zoom)
Ensure HD video is enabled in your Zoom settings (Settings → Meeting → In Meeting Advanced → HD Video). See Zoom HD Video Guide for detailed instructions. Also verify your subscription tier supports your desired quality—Silver/Gold max at 720p, while Platinum/Diamond support 1080p.
Chat messages not appearing during event (Zoom)
Verify you have a Platinum or Diamond subscription. Check that your messages.json file format is correct. In Zoom settings, ensure both "Chat" (In Meeting Basic) and "External in-meeting chat DLP integration" (In Meeting Advanced) are enabled.
Live stream not starting on platform
Ensure you have Gold, Platinum, or Diamond subscription for live streaming. Verify Stream Key (min 10 characters) and Stream URL (rtmp://...) are correct. When runbook is Running, start the Source Encoder first, then start destinations. Check that stream start time is within event duration window (at least 1 minute after event start and 10 minutes before event end).
"Insufficient credits" when creating runbook
Your event duration exceeds available credits. Go to Dashboard → Subscriptions to purchase additional credits or reduce event duration.
Cannot start destination stream
The Source Encoder must be active before starting any destination. Open the Live Stream modal, ensure runbook status is Running, then click Start on the Source Encoder section first. After source is active (SOURCE ON badge appears), you can start individual destinations or use Start All.
Need more help? Contact our support team at simulive.us/support or email support@simulive.us. Platinum and Diamond subscribers receive priority and dedicated support.
10Frequently Asked Questions
Have more questions about SimuLive?
View All FAQs11Conclusion
Congratulations! You now have all the knowledge needed to create and manage automated webinars and meetings with SimuLive. From connecting your Zoom and Google Drive integrations to configuring chat simulation and multi-platform streaming, you are ready to deliver engaging automated events 24/7.
Remember, SimuLive transforms your pre-recorded content into live-quality experiences. Whether you are running evergreen webinar funnels, automated product demos, or consistent training sessions, SimuLive handles the technical complexity so you can focus on your content.
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Written by
SimuLive Team
The SimuLive team is dedicated to helping businesses transform their webinar and meeting strategies through powerful automation tools.
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