7 Ways to Build Your List (And Your Traffic!) in 30 Days: Teleseminars & Webinars

Using multimedia is a great way to engage your audience without having to leave the comfort of your own home. Webinars and teleseminars are great options if you want to teach something to your audience and when each member signs up to attend, you capture their email address and grow your list.

Teleseminars vs. Webinars

Teleseminars are an audio-only presentation whereas webinars include both audio and video. With a teleseminar, participants can listen via their computer or their phone line. If they choose to call in on their phone, they can move around their home while listening to your presentation. This format is best when you’re sharing stories, introducing yourself and your business, hosting a Q&A session and if you are the only speaker.

Webinars tie the audience members to their computers because of the video or screen capture aspect. However, this format is wonderful for teaching a concept, demonstrating a product, or if you have multiple presenters who have their own slides to share. The choice between hosting a teleseminar and a webinar really depends on what type of information you have to present. 

How to Really Engage Your Readers

Multimedia options for presenting to your audience help build that relationship with your potential customers. Anyone can read a website but if you’re lucky, they will spend only a few minutes on your site. With a multimedia presentation, these people are committing a significant piece of time to listen to you. You have their attention for much longer so your message needs to be very clear.

Teleseminars and webinars also allow your audience to connect with you and see you as a real person. They can finally put a voice and a face to a name. You’re not just a pretty headshot on your site; you are a real person who has a lot to offer them. This is another step closer to getting your audience to know, like and trust you as a person and as a business owner. 

Something to Keep In Mind…

Absolutely anyone can host a teleseminar or webinar but keep in mind, this will involve a lot of talking! Depending on what you are presenting, most multimedia presentations last between 60-90 minutes. Or you could plan to speak for 45 minutes and then answer questions from the audience for the last 15 minutes. You’re free to schedule it any way you want but keep in mind your audience members and the information you’re presenting.

If you have never presented like this before, practicing will ease your mind and your presentation will become natural. However, reading a prepared script might not be the best way to proceed because this could sound very boring. It’s best to jot down bullet points of what you want to cover and then just practice your delivery. This way you will sound more natural, like you’re talking to your best friend.

Another tip to remember: technology isn’t foolproof. You do need special bridge lines or a webinar room in order to hold these events and even though these companies have built their business around this technology and keep improving it, technical difficulties do sometimes arise. Practicing with your chosen provider will familiarize you with how to work things and if you encounter any problems then, you can call the support line immediately. Also keep the support line number handy in case something arises during your presentation.

Usually your audience members will be very forgiving if you make an announcement at the beginning of the teleseminar or webinar, reminding them that sometimes technical problems arise. If something happens, this isn’t a reflection on you or your business; it’s just part of depending on technology.

How to Start

Now that you have decided to host your own multimedia presentation, it’s time to get organized. First, you need to get the necessary equipment but don’t let this scare you. It’s actually very easy.

How to Choose a Teleseminar Service

To host a teleseminar, you need to find a company that offers multiple bridge lines. Essentially, you’re renting a bunch of phone lines for the duration of your teleseminar. This is the most secure way to have multiple people all hearing your teleseminar at the same time.

You will find both free and paid teleseminar options but like anything else, you get what you pay for. Look especially at the features offered by each company. Some features to pay close attention to are: the ability to record your teleseminar, the number of phone lines available and how easy it is to export email lists.

Especially important is the ability to record your teleseminar, which may not be available with a free service. If you record your teleseminar, you now have a new product to sell or a new freebie to offer your list. Some people who register to attend your teleseminar might also not make the call and offering a recording to them is a nice touch.

Obviously, the number of phone lines available with your service will make the difference between how many people you are able to reach. Some companies only offer 25 phone lines while others offer 100+. If you’re just starting out then 25 lines should suffice. Once you start holding teleseminars regularly or your audience grows significantly, you will want the ability to increase that number, which could mean upgrading your plan or possibly switching to another provider.

Some options for teleseminar service providers are:

• Nextiva.com - They cater to small businesses
• BlogTalkRadio - They offer a free 30-day trial!

How to Choose a Webinar Provider

To host a webinar, you need to find a webinar hosting service. Again, do some research to compare features and pricing of different companies. If you’re a beginner, you might not need all the bells and whistles some companies offer. Recording is still important as is the number of seats available. One more webinar feature to look for is the ability for your audience members to ask you questions. Some providers offer a chat room where people can type in their questions and this is often preferable to opening the lines to questions, primarily because of the background noise you will hear.

Some options for webinar service providers are:

• MegaMeeting – They have a full 30-day money-back guarantee.
• ClickMeeting – You can try it free!

Next Steps…

Now that you have chosen your provider, it’s time to schedule your teleseminar or webinar.

Start publicizing your event and gathering those email addresses! Most of all, provide all your attendees with valuable information they can use.

One tip: keep all your attendees muted until you reach your question and answer session. This way you avoid hearing the barking dogs, crying babies or someone eating their dinner. Some services allow only the host to un-mute people while other services allow the attendees to un-mute themselves if they have a question.

Once you hold your teleseminar or webinar, you have a brand new list of names. Most of these providers have a way to export this list of names into a CSV file, which can then be imported into your autoresponder / email provider. This is an important feature so find out how easy this process is before you sign up for a paid service.