How to Host a Professional Webinar

business tools Jan 13, 2015

ARE WEBINARS ON YOUR 2015 BUSINESS PLAN?

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN HOSTING A WEBINAR FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

What is a webinar?

A webinar is live meeting / session / presentation that takes place over the internet. A webinar can be in the form of a webcam presentation, powerpoint presentation, screen share training session, just to name a few of the functions.

How can I use a webinar in my business?

A webinar can be used an every business in one form or another.

They can be used for :-

Information session where you tell people about your products and / or services
Training session where you train the participants on a topic / subject
Sales session to promote your latest product / service you have for sale
Get to know sessions – often delivered as training to let participants build a relationship with you and your business
List building
Live Q&A
Present e-course training for e-course students
Use recordings for passive income or repurpose

There are so many programs on the market for webinars which one do I choose?

What is your purpose of the webinar?
Will it be a free or paid webinar?
What is the level of your target markets technical savvyness?
Do they want to access it on a smartphone, tablet or computer?
What level of interaction are you wanting from your audience?
- Mic access
- Webcam access
- Chat with other participants
- Q&A
Are you happy with a delay between your presentation and what the audience experience?
Are you wanting to use slides, screen share, webcam or multiple presenters?
Are you wanting a recording?
Do you need it to integrate with your newsletter service or does it provide reports you can import?
Do you need individual branding for webinars? (if you run more then one business or brand)

BUYER BEWARE – Webinar programs seem to be the number 1 affiliate product often promoted by people who have never actually even hosted a webinar.

Before jumping on the latest webinar program bandwagon ensure you ask the promoter how many webinars they have hosted and how many with the latest webinar program they are promoting, also try to attend one of their webinars using this program (are there any issues with sign up, are their any issues on the webinar (A good indicator there is a delay is where they keep asking “just checking everyone can hear me” and then there seems to be a delay as to when they get a response), was a recording offered (did you receive it or was an encore offered? Usually offered due to an error in recording the webinar), did your questions get answered (if not Q&A possible might not be working or a delay and they maybe reading pre-set questions), how was your experience on the webinar (was it easy to log in, use and was the experience good your end – sound quality, screen view etc).

Another consideration is ongoing costs (once off purchase is usually not true – yes you pay once for the program but that is all in the purchase), will you be charged for upgrades to the software as they are released, will the software continue to be developed, does it rely on another platform to work (eg: Google Hangouts).

Hosting a webinar with confidence

For your first ever webinar look at getting assistance from someone who has hosted webinars before and who can help you with the technical aspects of running the webinar, so you can just focus on presenting while you get use to presenting to an audience you can not see.

The Business Classroom has just released a new module on Webinars, included in the module so far:-

Webinar Checklist
Tele-conference vs Webinar
Free vs Paid Webinars
Payment Options for Webinars
Hosting your Webinar Recordings
Go To Webinar Set Up Check List
Setting up a webinar in Go To Webinar
Pricing a Webinar
Timing your Webinar
Webinar Program Features

Become a member today, new modules and topics released weekly.

Headmaster's Tip

Sam’s Best Tip for Hosting a Webinar

Having hosted myself and assisted with over 600 webinars in the last 18 months, my number 1 tip is invest in reliable, easy to use webinar program, I use and recommend Go To Webinar.

If you are not technically savvy look at hiring technical support for the webinar, so all you have to do is turn up and present and don’t have to worry about the technical side or customer support during the webinar.