Teleseminars — presentations via telephone — are
the fastest way to build your ezine list as you share knowledge with
those in your target audience.
Before we jump into the "how",
let’s discuss the different types of teleseminars and why each is a
valuable service you can offer.
1. Free teleseminars.
Free
teleseminars allow you to quickly grow your database/mailing list as
you provide information to an interested audience. They can come,
listen a while and leave with the feeling that you have given them an
informational nugget they didn’t have before. In another version of the
no cost teleseminar, you can be an expert on a colleague’s teleseminar
in order to gain added visibility with a crowd that may be interested
in your products and services.
2. Paid teleseminars.
Paid
teleseminars offer all the same advantages as free ones with the added
benefit of making you money! In order to charge for a teleseminar, you
want to be sure you are offering valuable information so your audience
leaves feeling good about you and about the call.
You can expand
the paid teleseminar into more than a single call by offering a
"teleseminar bootcamp" or workshop like I’m doing in my 5-week
Jumpstart My Ezine telecourse.
Setting up and running a teleseminar is simpler than you may think. You need only four things to get up and running:
1. Shopping cart
In
order to automatically accept reservations from those who wish to join
your call AND automatically send them out the call-in information (and
reminders), you need a shopping cart or autoresponder service. I prefer
a shopping cart for this as the payment function is built in if you
decide to offer paid teleseminars. I highly recommend Kickstart Cart
(www.kickstartcart.com; a brand of 1ShoppingCart) for this purpose as
it also allows you to easily track links so you know which ads are
working the best.
2. Bridge/Conference Line
Now that
you can accept sign-ups, you need a place to have your call.
FreeConferenceCall.com is great for calls up to 96 people. It doesn’t
cost a dime and allows you to mute the entire line while you’re in
presentation mode (this comes in handy if you are recording).
For
calls where you anticipate a large number of people OR if you want a
live operator to assist during the Q&A period, I recommend Black
& White Communications (www.blackandwhite.com) — they’re not free,
but there are times when the added expense is worth it.
3. A way to record
First,
I recommend that you get a good phone (not your cell and preferably not
your cordless) for your teleseminars. I use and love Audio Acrobat
(www.audioacrobat.com) for all my recording needs — for only
$19.95/month, you can easily record all your teleseminars, podcasts and
interviews and offer them as either giveaways or CDs for sale. They
even offer free step-by-step training via teleseminar a couple times a
week.
4. An audience
It’s great to have all the
technology down pat, but you still need an audience to present to. You
should promote your teleseminar on your website and via your ezine (No
ezine? Send out an announcement to your list!). Have a few weeks before
your call? Send a postcard. You can also submit announcements to other
websites and newsletters where your target audience hangs out.
With the steps and resources above, you’re officially out of excuses and I’m waiting to hear about your next call!
Leading small business expert Sandra Martini is the "Automatic Business Coach." Sandra delivers simple proven, yet innovative, ways entrepreneurs can implement processes and systems to create a waiting list of clients while giving them more money, time, and freedom in their businesses. For free articles, free resources and to sign up for her free audio mini-seminar "5 Quick & Easy Ways to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot" visit www.SandraMartini.com.