16 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
16 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

What's your absolute best Webinar advice?

by jonb
13 replies
We've decided to make webinars (paid and unpaid) a part of our strategy for the year ahead. I'm starting on research for it, but I wanted to turn first to the smartest folks I know.

So, what's your best advice about webinars? What's the best service? What makes a webinar successful? or anything else that comes to mind.

Thanks!
#absolute #advice #webinar
  • Profile picture of the author impact-productions
    Practice in advance, and make sure you have all the technical challenges sorted.

    Giving a webinar is a lot like giving a live presentation, apart from you're much more limited. You can't see the audience, gauge their faces, or see how well they're comprehending what you tell them. So, it's an art form to re-learn what you know already about offline presentations and to apply it to the online marketplace.

    Thom
    Signature

    Get My Exclusive Online FAST Start Training
    Totally FREE For A Limited Time - No Email Optin Required

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2768230].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
    - GotoWebinar or Freebinar.com
    - Give great content
    - Make an irresistible offer
    - Place a limit on it to create scarcity
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2768311].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author jonb
      Originally Posted by Ron Douglas View Post

      - GotoWebinar or Freebinar.com
      - Give great content
      - Make an irresistible offer
      - Place a limited on it to create scarcity
      Thanks Ron. Have you used Freebinar? How'd it work out for you?
      Signature

      .

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2768351].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      In a few webinars I've listened to it's apparent one of the participants was way over-hyping their enthusiasm about a product or service that was being pitched (yes, they actually pitch products on those things...).

      It comes across as being insincere and quite frankly is akward to listen to. Ironically, if someone's tone of voice makes the lead-up to the pitch seem like the expected results could be an everyday occurrence it gives it more credibility, imho. If the pitcher is still wowed about what they're talking about perhaps they think it was a fluke. (If they're having a hard time believing it, why should I believe it )

      Now, a decent level of enthusiasm beats the heck out of someone who's two breaths away from snoring, but for goodness sake, let's keep it real.

      ~Bill
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2768362].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author IdeaLady
    Practice with whatever system you use to make sure you understand how it works.

    Use good equipment. Get a decent microphone, rather than relying on the built-in microphone on your computer. You can get a headset mic for under $50 that will work well.

    Watch the placement of the mic. You don't want to broadcast loud breathing noises because you stuck the microphone right under your nose. Also listen for 'popping' on 'p' and other hard sounds.

    Test. If you are recording the webinar for later use (and you should be) test the recording quality. I found that GoToWebinar is good, but the audio is not perfect. I record a separate audio track that I can use instead of theirs for the replay or DVD.

    Whether the webinar is free or paid, deliver great content. People value their time, and they will not want to waste an hour sitting through garbage, even free garbage.

    Have fun!
    Signature

    Cathy Stucker, http://www.IdeaLady.com/
    Get Content, Get Links - Free! http://BloggerLinkUp.com

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2768406].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author jonb
      Originally Posted by IdeaLady View Post


      Test. If you are recording the webinar for later use (and you should be) test the recording quality. I found that GoToWebinar is good, but the audio is not perfect. I record a separate audio track that I can use instead of theirs for the replay or DVD.
      Do you mean that you locally record yourself while doing the seminar and then save it as a separate track, or do you actually re-record yourself after the seminar and use that as the permanent audio?
      Signature

      .

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2768420].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author IdeaLady
        Originally Posted by jonb View Post

        Do you mean that you locally record yourself while doing the seminar and then save it as a separate track, or do you actually re-record yourself after the seminar and use that as the permanent audio?
        I make an MP3 recording of the audio locally. (I use MP3MyMP3, but there are loads of other free recorders out there.) Then, when I edit the recording done by GTW, I replace the audio track with the MP3 I recorded.

        This could be a problem if you are trying to match audio to live video of you speaking. I find that over the course of an hour, the audio does not synch exactly. However, if you are recording all screen capture, or enough screen capture that you can easily make edits to the audio or video, it should be fine.
        Signature

        Cathy Stucker, http://www.IdeaLady.com/
        Get Content, Get Links - Free! http://BloggerLinkUp.com

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2768434].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author jonb
          Originally Posted by IdeaLady View Post

          I make an MP3 recording of the audio locally. (I use MP3MyMP3, but there are loads of other free recorders out there.).
          Very cool piece of software - thanks for tipping me to that.
          Signature

          .

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2772400].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author shermancox
    Ahh...bout to do a webinar tomorrow....I use gotowebinar.com. I purchased one of those USB headsets for about 25 bucks from tigerdirect.

    I simply record the seminar with my camtasia. I haven't played with gotowebinar's recording features in that I own camtasia.

    Webinar's are cool and in some niches if you do them you will be about the only one doing them...



    I am grandfathered into gotowebinar's old plan though. I hadn't heard of Freebinar.com, it is probably all I need.
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2772440].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Gail_Curran
      Respect your audience's time and don't waste it. Start on time and get to the point quickly.

      Don't spend the first 20 minutes telling your life story or the life story of your "special" guest. I don't care. I'm not listening. All I care about is whether you have some useful information for me. Focus on delivering some value instead of stroking your own ego.

      Give the audience a valuable tidbit right away and they will be more likely to stick around.

      Expect technical issues to occur and have a backup plan.

      Make it interactive. Use the polling feature, or ask questions and get the audience to type in responses or raise their hands.

      Keep kids, dogs, birds, and other noisemakers out of the room. Show respect for your audience by being professional and taking the webinar seriously.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2772501].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author skyline-SEO
    Originally Posted by jonb View Post

    We've decided to make webinars (paid and unpaid) a part of our strategy for the year ahead. I'm starting on research for it, but I wanted to turn first to the smartest folks I know.

    So, what's your best advice about webinars? What's the best service? What makes a webinar successful? or anything else that comes to mind.

    Thanks!
    what's your best advice about webinars?
    Script out what you want to say on your presentation and then tie it up to your offer. Don't ramble
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2772512].message }}

Trending Topics