Are you getting all "webinar-ed" out? Do you love 'em or hate them?

I'm not - I've actually never seen one at all. Doesn't appeal to me. And reading your description above certainly does nothing to change that.

I don't know, but I'm guessing that as Warriors go, I'm in a smaller minority than you, for never seeing one.

Same as Alexa, I simply don't attend Webinars. Aren't they often glorified sales pitches anyways? I'm quite happy with the Skype rooms I'm already in, and the Saturday night chat that I watch every week.

Out of curiosity, I tuned in to one that was by a famous marketer. It was a total trainwreck, completely unorganized and difficult to understand. Never again.

I'm with you guys, webinars are way too long. When they started, it was just an hour and you were done, but now, they drag on and on. Most are just a glorified sales pitch posing as a training session.

I haven't attended one for years. Most give you very little content (if that) then it's a massive sales pitch with tons of scarcity.

James Scholes

I will download webinar replays so I can watch the actual content and skip the rest - but I definitely won't spend the time to watch them live

I definitely can't sit through them either. Way too much small talk and set up going on "live" before the actual webinar.

(Uh..UMMM... Lou D'Alo)

I also prefer reading the content on PDF's but I know some people love webinars and like to sit back and absorb the information.

I'm probably not in the webinar target market but I would pay to see someone's dog give one!

The only webinars I attend are the ones held for our private community of marketers. Webinars are mostly useless. They're just a big drawn out sales video IMO. Never again

I attend webinars from only a few people. Mainly from this one guy named Dave Dee.

Eh, just because everyone's doing it doesn't mean everyone's been watching in the first place

It's like website creation, I feel that everyone in the world should know what WordPress is and how to use it, but almost every single person I talk to in real life doesn't have a clue.

As for webinars though, I would attend one by someone that I really admired. Other than that, nah.

***BIG YAWN***

I've never liked webinars. Ever. They remind me of the old network marketing conference calls.

I agree with Evolve 91
You sit through a 2-3 hour webinar only to be sold on a $997 product that no one has the cash to buy anyway.
I hate them, don't watch them and wish I could pause them or skip to the end to see the sales pitch.

I also receive several webinar invitations, In some of them I subscribe if the subject sounds interesting, but I really prefer to wait for the webinar reply, so I can forward all the introductions, just go to the meat... some times almost no meat at all... but I think I never bought something from a webinar.

I can't stand them. A few years ago they were short (45 minutes to 1 hour), consisted of 90% powerful and useful information, and only 10% selling. Now they are all "let's talk about this 1 little thing that you already know about for 10 minutes, and then I'm going to keep talking about my product for the next 80 minutes".

As one member said, it's time you can't get back. I started out dropping out of the webinars after about 10 minutes so that I could get real work done. Now I just delete the emails as soon as I see that dreaded word.

I have never, ever done webinars. There's no way I'm going to waste my time calling in to hear some kind of sales pitch.

I used to listen to recorded teleseminars and all that, but don't really even do that any more. Maybe it was because i was more of a newbie back then but I used to eat it up. I kinda feel like that's how a lot of people were back then, but it seems definitely more fragmented these days.

I love webinars if they are by people I know are actually planning on giving good information. Lisa Stoops recently did a great webinar about product creation. It is all about who is actually presenting. If I find that someone drags on and on or pitches more than teaches, I leave and don't watch their webinars anymore.

The big thing for me is that I need to have a connection with the marketer BEFORE I go to their webinar, otherwise I will likely ignore the invitation.

Hi
I quite like Webinars but it does depend on who is doing it. I recently attended a 4 week coaching programme in webinar format and enjoyed the content, but it was all content and no sales pitch. I also like the fact you can listen to a replay and there is no pressure to actually be there. If used properly they are a great marketing tool especially if you as the presenter are giving value for money but as you can see from the above comments many people don't feel they are getting value for money and they are being overused by the internet marketers. However, in other niches they're still fairly new and are a good way to promote yourself whilst building a list, giving away value and building your reputation.

The thing with webinars is that you get an email saying watch this webinar and you will discover a strategy that can make you rich and all webinar does is talk about how good this so called money maker is. I'd say pretty much all free webinars are like that and suck people in with this strategy. The only webinars that I've found useful are ones that I've had with my mentor Alex Jeffreys who is a 7 figure internet marketer.

Any good marketer should know what marketing method is the best one for them and their audience.

Mic is simply not for everyone. Some marketers do really sound ridiculous, make me feel sorry for them, and then I can't really follow their advice anymore

Just like anything else, there are good webinars and bad webinars, just like there are good sales pages and bad sales pages.

HOWEVER, a good webinar will always outperform a good sales page (it's more engaging). I have a humungous amount of hard empirical data to back that claim up.

I prefer looking through the written content I find in the War Room here than looking for webinars- it's much faster, and what one report leaves out you can often fill in with other content already in the War Room.

I too don't like webinars as much as I like webinar replays, there's always a hook, which I understand because we all need to make $, but I don't like to commit to an hour of hype for a product that doesn't really help my biz. With a sales page you lose what, 5-10 mins? With a webinar you lose a minimum of 45 mins - no thanks.

Gary, I don't have time to read all 40 replies above mine... just like I don't have time to watch a sermon-long webinar.

I'm with you - if I know the darn thing would be caped at 30 - tops 45 mins, I MIGHT be interested. But without having ANY CLUE, I don't even start.

I've only ever sat through 4 webinars from go to woe... and that's because I was speaking on them!

Paul Barrs

I have had enough of them to be honest.... In fact I am fed up with pitch fests....

I have unsubscribed from a lot of mailing lists as most of them are just spouting the same crappy WSO and offer very little value....

I was taught to "Mind my own business" and that is exactly what I am doing.... simple really

I have great personal contempt for webinars as a selling tool, but they work so well that I've built my own webinar software for clients.

I have personally never bought from a webinar, I've learned very little (and seen hundreds of webinars from dozens of gurus), and it is a major time-suck... but from being on the other end of the webpage, the numbers that come from webinars have been awesome for years and even with a reduced effectiveness compared to 5 years ago, they still work well at separating money from wallets.

What I think is 'rude' is doing a webinar-only promotion without a long salespage that I can scroll through and ignore along the way. With a webinar, I am captive for every painful detail of the speaker. On the salespage, I can skip the personal stories and testimonials and gauge the technical points of a product/service that matter to me.

I think other "marketers" around here are sick of webinars because a lot of them are on various IM lists that offer a lot of webinars. So it would make sense that they are "webinar-ed out."

And also why they aren't popular among people here.

Whether or not they work on converting the appropriate target market is another question entirely.

I think the mistake is you are on the wrong end of webinars, you should be the one making the money, then you would probably like them. I love doing webinars they do 2 things for me and my webinar JV partners:

1. It builds a list (gets 2nd best posible leads on the list )
2. Generates sales

It also is a great way to build a relationship with the webinar JV partners!

So webinars are great when you are the one making money, plus I attend them as well but I pick the 1 per week and that's it. I know people who attend 2 per day that is stupid.

It feels like I'm being forced to waste my time if the only way to get information is through a webinar.

I like to sit in and watch hpw the presenters deliver the content and preset their pitch.

A lot can be learned by studying others marketing.

I've attended a few webinars. I've only finished 1. I just wait for the recording to become available and listen to that while I'm doing some other tasks. That way I can pause and rewind at my leisure.

Next time you attend a webinar don't do so as a prospect or a potential customer. Do so as an UNDERCOVER AGENT - see WHY the webinar is structure in the way it is, how the slides flow, the language that is used and how the offers are constructed. Then do your own and you will fall in love with them, trust me! :-)

I've made literally 7 figures with webinars over the years but I don't just pitch, I go 90-95% content, you have to help people even if they don't want your offer.

Gary - I know you'll probably be on mine on Wednesday, I'll say hello :-)

There's no doubt that when done correctly webinars can be a fantastic sales tool.

I actually initially signed up to use Infusionsoft AFTER watching one of their webinar sales pitches a few years ago.

I was weighing up the pros and cons of all the different e-commerce solutions that were available in the marketplace, but then Infusionsoft got me on a webinar and made a killer offer with some immediate scarcity, and I was SOLD!

I have become more and more disenchanted with Webinars. They are usually 70% training, 30% sales pitch. I prefer to just buy a course that has 100% pure value, without messing with a pitch.

I used to enjoy webinars but not anymore. For one, they usually take place at night and I work nights. Secondly, they are nothing more than pitch fests with products that cost well into the three to four figure range. Webinars are a dead give away to me that the product being pitched is not going to cost anywhere near $7, $17, $37, $97 etc. LOL!

I remember when webinars were beginning to be all the rage and it was such a novelty that everyone wanted to be in one and you would be lucky if you managed to wiggle your way into one. Nowadays, just like you stated above, everyone and their dog is doing a webinar. I get about one or two a day, every day now! :rolleyes:

Yes, I'm sure you can pick up a nugget here & there but it's usually not worth the time spent and yes, I'm sick and tired of hearing the presenter struggle with G-T-W and also go on about their life story. Especially if it's a well known marketer. This leads me to multi-tasking and the ensuing shock/outrage when they announce how much they want for their wiz bang course.

The only webinar I would "attend" is if I paid for it and that is a very rare occurrence. Even then, the presenter would have to guarantee that it will be recorded because of my work hours. Usually I turn it into an MP3 and listen to it while at work the next day. Great way to pass the time!

Overall, I do not love webinars anymore. I avoid them as much as Amway reps. So to answer your question Gary, you are not alone in this. Cheers!

I have been doing webinars longer and more them then 99% of you on the warrior forum over 300+ (probably way more). I have people who have been clients for years and they can in on webinar and they come over and over again.

I know there is nothing I can say to change the tide but I don't care. The truth is it's a fantastic tool! I love it, I give content, People get know who I am, if they like it they become clients if they dont' they dont'. It's fantastic! To me people who don't use it are missing out but it's their liberty!

There you go I said it I know most of you don't care I'm ok with that!

I suppose I'm in the minority!

I love them!

Of course, I am VERY choosy as to who I spend my time with, and if I determine that I've made a mistake, "click" on the big X in the right hand corner of GoToWebinar! lol

I've learned SO much and can honestly say I've purchased some of the best pieces of software and other stuff by being live on the webinar (great "pre-launch" deals) and have gotten lots of good training.

I'm a picky snooter.......so, I don't hesitate to quit one early if I'm disappointed...

Time is Money, but Knowledge is Power

Just my 2 cents...

I love webinars. I listen on my phone while I drive or work.

1- I hate when people waste 20-30 minutes getting set up or worse ask stupid questions like who here wants more traffic for their websites? Really? Come on!
2- I hate replays that remove the controls (pause etc) won't watch them
3- I hate when people think they can "freestyle" a webinar. Respect your audience and prepare, you aren't good enough to do it off the top of your head.
4- cut the unnecessary banter. No one likes to hear you talk as much as you like to hear yourself talk

But overall I do like them. There are some whose webinars I watch faithfully and others I will skip because of one or more of the above reasons.

I think they are a great sales tool if well executed but then someone who is poorly executing a webinar probably poorly executes everything else.

I have joined some webinars and I have learned from them. That said, there appears to be a common problem with knowing when to stop.

They will be very popular with IM because they offer a captive audience to promote products to. If you join a webinar you must simply assume that there will be a sales pitch somewhere along the way. Just remember - you are entitled to say no if you want to.

There is some evidence that those giving webinars are presuming that they are meeting all the needs of the audience, so don't need to bother with correspondence outside of webinars.

They are useful but they are not the silver bullet that some would like to promote them as.

I've done well over a thousand+ live webinars (I'm on track to do over 170 this year alone; did 104 last year), since 1999, back in the pre-voice text box days.

Most webinars are awful. I try and tune in to my competitors' webinars but tune out after 5-8 minutes. Most even start late. How unprofessional. And they're not professional presenters, so they're boring, they use verbal "ahs" "ums" and other rookie stuff.

My free saturday webinars now I've cut down to 30 minutes (w/10min Q&A), for brevity and speed, and have over 820 registered attendees; many of whom actually show up lol. I like using gotowebinar best; I also like omnovia and adobe connect.

Professionally done webinars are a rarity. Most are long, amatuerish, boring, dull, repetitive, and often 30%+ sales pitch. How lame. I do webinars for a living, and I should put out a "how to do webinars" info product but my competitors would buy it, and use what I'd teach, so I won't.

Keys to success: learn professional speaking skills first. It takes decades to get good. At least keep webinars brief, fast paced, to the point. Be fun. Not joke-time, but at least enthusiastic, knowledgeable, confident and a pro. Move the free line, I like showing "what" to do, sell the "how" to do it, so there's reason to buy. I also give away a few valuable "hows" to establish credibility and impact, with proof elements.

Ok gotta go I've got another one in 13 minutes to do. (really). Nowadays I don't attend hardly any webinars, I wait for a replay link and fast forward/skim watching like 5 minutes total if that, from the 60 minute lame pitchfest webinars my competitors do. That's the main tip; learn to become a professional speaker (go to toastmasters, read books on presentation skills, practice hundreds of hours etc).

Stupid forum tricks #5:

http://www.warriorforum.com/blogs/pa...um-tricks.html

Rob

I've gone through a lot of webinars and some are good and some are crap. While I was going through the webinars, I guess I filtered those details that I don't need and use or practice those that I think are good information.

For me, forums like Warrior is really good learning place and I don't use any webinar to learn..

Dear Fellow Warriors:

Webinars are unique tool for mass user engagement because of the interactive (Q&A) component- if structured properly..

Probably the best webinar maker online is Shane MeLaugh and Jason Fladlein offers enormous value in his webinars too.

Another thing to bear in mind is the "event" aspect of a webinar. Suppose this is why super stars like Dan Kennedy and Frank Kern use them.

People buy via event like atmospheres, think of auctions and the power of crowd psychology.

I'm not saying this should be misused but if you can show your true value in a webinar people will sign up to pay you for more of it.

The question is: are webinars better than or equal to videos when it comes to know, like and trust?

I don't know the answer to this one because I have not found statistical comparisons but

I believe most worthwhile webinars have a content portion before the pitch portion while most product pitch videos do not-..Dave Guindon and some others being the exception to the rule.

Personally, I prefer to watch webinar replays so I can fast forward to cut down the time spent per webinar to 30 minutes max.

Some marketers like Michael Cheney have figured this out and don't make replays available.

And then there are the "canned" webinars which amount to one extended video. The only advantage to this is you are able to schedule viewing more easily to your time zone.

I've watched hundreds of webinars and thousands of videos over the past four years and have joined webinar swaps.
.
At the end of the day webinars are a superior way to bond with your autoresponder lists while enabling you to reach out to joint venture partners and extend your online reach/reputation.

I'm sure Dave Cowles and Chris Farrell have seen good results from their webinars as they provide valuable education and tips as do Dave Guindon and Chris Ｇuthrie, Spencer Haws ...I could go on and on.

To wrap up: If you see yourself as a "presence" marketer a la Brendon Burchard or Ryan Deiss or someone of that ilk then being able to deliver premier cru webinars would be a great tool to have in your marketing magic bag.

If you don't see yourself as the coaching type but more of a campaign manager type then you might not need them.

Webinar fatigue has hit the im marketing niche recently to be sure and the cost of Go To Webinar is highish.

I'm thinking along the lines of small group interactive 20 minute Skype calls featuring deep experts in narrow specialties supported by a pdf share driving to an offer.

I'd also like to explore scheduling say 10 speakers a week using a forward looking calendar so attendees could pick and choose their marketing poisons.

All the best,

PV

Hate to break it to all of you marketers but I no longer attend webinars either. Here is my list of "Top 10 Reasons Why I No Longer Go to Your Webinar(s)":

1. First, too many of you prattle on.
2. You do not keep on topic.
3. You are not organized in your presentation
4. You invite too many non essential guest presenters to participate (only to miraculously partner with them in a week or two later so you can hit me up for yet another launch.)
5. I know you'll send me the link (ad nauseum) after the fact, to watch your "great webinar replay from last night!"
6. It used to be I"d get an invitation to attend a webinar, and perhaps a reminder. Now I am inundated with reminder after reminder, countdown after countdown. Guess what - for those of you who webinar spam me, I either ignore you completely or delete you altogether.
7. Some of you do not include a timer in your replays. Bad marketer, bad bad! It is MY time, not yours -- please respect that.
8. You spend too much time trying to sell or talk me into something, instead of educating or informing.
9. You focus on YOU (and your ultimate agena), not ME (and my needs)!

... and the last of the "Top-10 Reasons I No Longer Attend Your Webinars" is ...

10. Your agenda is quite misguided - quit trying to get into my wallet, and instead try to get into my mind (and heart). Treat me right and I'll be a loyal follower ... treat me wrong I'll never open an e-mail from you again.


One last note: Webinars are still a useful and relevant tool in one's marketing arsenal, but they should be used like salt -- a dash will do you; too much will do you (and your marketing recipe) in!!

One thing I am noticing is that most people are talking about webinars the way Internet Marketers use them, and that is as a sales pitch.

There is a website that I have been a paying member, for about 3.5 years now paying $20/month.

And once a week we all get together ("we" being me and all the other members) and this guy holds a webinar on self-help and persuasion techniques.

It is a a mastermind group of sorts where he presents techniques and strategies and we can ask questions about them, or we will go over past strategies and explain how we are trying to use them and get help and tips from him.

So the way he is using webinars is not in the initial phase to make a sale, but he is using them as a way to build bonds with his customers, and as a way to make sure we are applying the skills properly so we get results and because of that success it makes us more loyal to him and see him as the go to guy when it comes to that area of our lives.

And for all the membership sites that I have ever joined in the IM field no one does a membership site like this guy.

Maybe it's just the strategy of using webinars as a way to make a sale that is webinaring out everyone.

But what if people were instead to use webinars like this guy as a way to provide interactive content, help improve your customers rate of success so they see you as the go to guy, and as a way to build customer loyalty.

Just a thought!

Shane_K

I feel that way about youtube videos. It's bad enough listening to the required "Here's where I came from - I did it so can you" story; it's bad enough listening to all the umm and uhhhs... but I especially find it tedious when they announce what they're about to do. For example, let's say they're going to open a box and put something in it. They'll first say:

"Now I'm actually going to open the box and put something in it, okay? So let's go ahead and actually open the box now and put something in it." Oh good lord just do it and I think I'll catch on.

If someone I choose to
subscribe to his/her list
chooses a webinar as
a medium to share
valuable knowledge and
pitch a product I am
going to be on the
webinar

There is a lot of studying
you must do everyday
and a webinar is more that
what people are imagining.

"EBiz Mom"s comments are 100% correct about webinar objections; how most of them are. I agree. Most customers are webinar'd out since they're bad webinars. Good webinars though, I get hundreds in mine, though it took years to get there.

====
ok for example I've got another webinar I'm doing in less than 30 minutes, to hundreds... it's going to be 90% solid content, with 10% pitch at the end. The 90% solid content will be better than most of my competitors' paid events' quality. Move the free line to outcompete; because you've gotta stand head and shoulders above the rest. And the pitch, is for a relatively inexpensive continuation of what I'm teaching.

I've got two webinars tomorrow, another Thursday and yet another Friday and then one more Saturday morning. Done properly, they can add genuine value to people's education and training lives, but the key is making them exceptionally high quality.

For example I took over 6 hours to prepare for a presentation tonight that will be less than 60 minutes total. Lots of preparation and solid content to give my audience. That's how you earn their trust -- the right way.

a) learn professional speaking and teaching skills (takes years; I've been doing this fulltime for over a decade)
b) deliver solid professional training content that's world class, or close to it
c) modestly offer some additional training that's a bargain price at the end
d) develop and earn trust over time.

there's no shortcuts, but that's how a professional does it for a living. at least I do.

Tip: do some exercise before the webinar, to get energy levels up; some quick stretches or whatever

I stay away, as being a marketer myself I know the main reason your hosting this super cool 'FREE' training webinar is nit because your a genuinly nice person wanting to help people BUT to convert the prospects who are currently on the fence.

Although Webinars are HOT at the moment, I think most people are starting to realise just what exactly these webinars are for..that being said webinar will still be here for a long time.

HI Everyone My name is Rich Willens and I am the host of Webinarswaps, an affiliate marketing platform that does live webinars.

I have been listening to your comments and I have taken all the good with the bad and I agree with some, disagree with most.

Webinarswaps has a pre-show to get out all the kinks. The show is recorded without all the fluff.

There is always a sales presentation. Usually some free training but you know going in there will be a presentation. Now, with that being said, most of the webinars on webinarswaps has quality programming. I invite you all to http://www.webinarswaps.com/webinars/archive and see the quality of information and presenters we offer.

Your comments about legnth and content is well taken and look for some changes in the way we present our webinars. I am saying, instead of fly by night webinar producers: (anyone with a list) that will give anyone a webinar, we think we present the benchmark in quality webinars and would like you to check us out. Click on any replay and you will see the difference between Webinarswaps and everyone else.

Thank you so much for being our associates and we welcome our new marketers/attendees as well.

Rich WIlens

I never attend webinars - attended one or two and I didn't like the concept. Also, they tend to be on a time zone where I'm sleeping or unable to attend. I like to read an ebook. My pace.

Ebooks are fine.

Webinars are great if they are value packed. Of course there is always a pitch at the end and if there isn't, then guess what you are still in a funnel no matter what. The problem with webinars today is they carry on way to long. I think if others would cut their times down to 1 hour max with say 30 minutes Q&A and tons of value, they would get way higher attendees. The thing to realize though is that some like them and will attend them and others will not. Regardless, they are in my opinion one of the best ways to monetize products period. As AA stated, they definately create happier clients and loyalty. It's more of a psychological aspect than anything.

I've have listened to a few recorded training webinars (No sales pitch at the end) while doing other tasks - The speaker is quite well known and I got a lot of great info out of it.

On the other hand, I wouldn't make time to sit down and watch one for a few hours - seem's counter-productive and a bit of a waste of time!