Beware of Webinar Scams and Con Artists

March 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Do not be fooled by a new webinar scam that has surfaced. The scam goes something like this:

You will be contacted by a person or organization offering to pay you a handsome sum for a webinar ($500 to $1000 USD — or more).

You will be invited to communicate with the organizers via phone, e-mail or Skype. If you agree to a phone or Skype session, they will keep you on the line, telling how great their organization is and the great results they get for their clients. This introduction could go from anywhere between five and twenty minutes. If you only agree to e-mail, they will likely push for a phone or Skype meeting. They want your undivided attention to engage you in their hype.

You will then be invited to give a webinar for them. If you agree, this is where the scam goes into full force…

You will then be told that you will be billed or sent an invoice for $10,000 (or some other outrageous amount) which you must first pay, in order to take part in their program.

So, first they will offer to pay you, then it will be flipped around so that you have to pay them, in order to “be registered”, “be affiliated” or some other such nonsense.

Do not be fooled. The entire purpose of this scam is to get you to give up your hard-earned dollars and give them to someone who does not care about you, your professional development or your content.

But wait… It gets worse…

You may then be told that they DID told about the costs from the beginning. If you challenge them on this, they will swear up and down that you are denying it. They will claim that they have been perfectly transparent and either you weren’t listening or you were negligent in not paying attention. They may go so far as to indignantly proclaim that you are insulting their professionalism and ethics.

They’ll try to make you feel guilty… when all along, this is part of the scam. The idea, of course, is that you’ll feel bad and then cough up the money that you already promised to pay. Do not worry, you are not crazy. You didn’t promise anything. This is part of their hook.

Do not be taken in by this, or any other con artists.

 Here are tips to avoid being taken in by a webinar scam

  1. Check out every organization or individual who invites you to do a paid webinar for them. Legitimate organizations who are interested in 21st century technologies will almost certainly have a valid website.
  2. Be wary of e-mails coming from a public, free service. Ask yourself, “Why is this person not writing to me from a professional e-mail address?” I say that with tongue in cheek though, because I also use a Gmail account for some of my work… But not all of it. And I am highly searchable on the web, with books published on Amazon with papers published in peer-reviewed journals and I have a list of clients dating back more than a decade. My point is: Investigate these new “friends”. Make sure they are legitimate and well known in their field.
  3. If the client is unknown for you, treat your webinar as any other paid speaking engagement. Get a signed contract and a deposit for your services. I regularly charge new clients a 50% deposit for a presentation, regardless of whether it is live or virtual. Real clients will put their money where their mouth is.
  4. Develop a “virtual speaking contract” or “webinar presenter agreement” that outlines your fee and what your clients can expect in return.
  5.  Trust your instincts. If a deal feels “off”, then it probably is. At the very least, it is likely not a good fit for you. Decline invitations that do not align with your professional values, ethics or area of expertise. Don’t waste your time (or your money) on business deals that feel “off”. There are other clients waiting for you who would love to work with you.

You are a professional trainer, speaker, e-learning instructor or virtual presenters. You deserve to be treated as a professional… and get paid for your knowledge and expertise… not pay others to promote you!

 

Sarah Elaine Eaton, holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Calgary, Canada, where she currently holds the title of Adjunct Assistant Professor. She teaches courses in education and e-learning. She is the founder of Exceptional Webinars where she works with organizations and professionals to help them design and deliver top-notch e-learning programs and webinars.

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Are you looking for a speaker for your next event? Book me (Sarah Eaton) for your next event (either live or via webinar)! Contact us for details. Please visit Dr. Sarah’s speaking page.

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Build Your Own Webinar – Winter 2012 E-learning Program starts tonight

January 9, 2012 by 1 Comment

Tonight we are launching a month-long e-learning training program. The course will help the participants take their webinars from concept to delivery.

The course combines synchronous (real time) and asynchronous elements including live online classes, professional mentoring and peer support.

Tonight’s agenda looks like this:

Session One - Planning for success

Introduction / Course materials / agenda review

  • Types of webinars
  • Why webinars should be part of your overall organizational or business strategy
  • How often you should host webinars and why
  • Why you should outline your webinar
  • How to organize a successful webinar
  • How to price a fee-based webinar
  • Tips on what to outsource and what to do in-house

Can’t wait to meet the participants and start working with them on how to design, develop and deliver a webinar!

Are you looking for a speaker for your next event? Book me (Sarah Eaton) for your next event (either live or via webinar)! Contact us for details. Please visit Dr. Sarah’s speaking page.

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How to set up a webinar registration system

July 18, 2011 by 2 Comments

Some webinar platform providers offer an integrated registration system. There are other ways to do it, too. Some webinar presenters I know use an online shopping cart that is linked to their website. This is an excellent way to drive traffic to your website.

If you charge for your webinar, you will almost certainly want a PayPal account. You may want to consider setting up a business account (also called a “merchant account”). This will allow you to send invoices track sales.

An online event registration system can help with both the management and marketing of your webinar. I have used Eventbrite, but there are a number of other companies that offer similar services.  Here’s how webinar registration using Eventbrite works:

You set up an account with the company. This will involve sharing your name, address and contact information. You may also be required to link this account to your Paypal account. This allows you to receive payments from participants.

Set up your virtual event. Include the title, description, time and location. For location, I use “online” rather than my city. This indicates to prospective participants that it does not matter where they are located, they can participate in your event.

 

Create tickets. Participants buy a ticket to your online event.

Create discount codes. These are useful because they allow you to offer a discount to loyal clients, to groups or to individuals. You can discount your ticket price by a percentage or by a monetary amount.

Take advantage of the marketing opportunities offered by the company. Online ticketing companies will offer services such as HTML code that you can cut and paste onto your own website. The code produces a button that participants can click to be directed to a page where they can buy a ticket. The button says something like “Register”, and often you can adapt the text, shape and colour of the button for your own website.

Services such as Eventbrite charge a nominal fee for their services. The amount you pay depends on the amount you make. The more money you make, the more money you pay in service fees, since their model is based on a very small percentage of your sales. (This is how they stay in business as a company). Their service even allows you to post free events, at no cost. (No sales = no service fees). It is a fair and low risk method to effectively promote online events.

Are you looking for a speaker for your next event? Book me (Sarah Eaton) for your next event (either live or via webinar)! Contact us for details. Please visit Dr. Sarah’s speaking page.

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How to Price a Fee-based Webinar

July 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There is a hot debate raging about whether you can – or should – charge for webinars. The basic rule is this: If it is a marketing webinar, do not charge one penny. If it is an online training session and the webinar is the product, then you can charge for it.

In April 2011, I researched over 150 webinars offered in the first six months of 2011 in terms of their length and price. I found webinars ranging from free to $1200 USD per hour.

The highest priced webinars had a few characteristics in common. In general, they were aimed more at organizations than at individuals and they presented highly technical knowledge, such as regulations about tariffs and trades or critical updates and standards in the pharmaceutical industry.

At the time of writing this book, most webinars aimed at individuals were, on average, between $39 and $69 USD per hour. Some were less and some were more. The average though, was in that rage.

A number of factors affect the price of a webinar including: mandatory vs. subjective sessions, the subject matter, the audience for whom it is intended, and the experience and the quality of the presenter.

Mandatory vs. voluntary learning

If you are offering compliance training for an industry or sector and it is necessary for all employees to take your training, then it is likely that companies will pay higher fees for this type of training. Mandatory programs may need to include some formal evaluation or assessment.

Voluntary learning, interest courses or professional or personal development courses generally have a lower price point.

Subject matter

In general, the more technical or specialized the material, the more the training will cost. A webinar on how to market your widgets is simply not going to command the same price as how to do precision movie editing using a highly specialized software.

Unique topics add a sense of value. In general, people are willing to pay for what they value. There is a saying in training: You can either go broad or go deep, but not both. That means that you can offer a general, cursory overview without giving in-depth explanations. That’s going broad. Or you can pick a very specific topic and drill down into the details. That’s going deep. Generally for training courses, depth adds value. If you want people to pay for your webinars, offer sessions that are specific, with a laser-like focus on one topic. Drill down deep into the details.

Audience

Who are you presenting to? Generally, corporate audiences will have more dollars to spend than non-profit ones. Organizations who sponsor employees to attend virtual training seminars will have a larger budget to spend than an individual entrepreneur. You’ll want to think about your target market, and what price that market will bear, when you are developing the pricing strategy for your webinar.

The quality of the presenter

A well-known presenter is more likely to draw a crowd and add value to the session. Consider the presenter’s CREED:

Credentials

Reputation

Expertise

Experience

Dynamism

An excellent presenter will have all of these.

Participants’ time is part of their cost.

It is not only the cost of your webinar for your participants is their time. If someone gets paid $40/hour and they take an hour out of their day to attend your webinar, then that session has cost them a minimum of $40. What are they getting in return for their time?

If you charge money, for your webinars, understand that the actual cost to the participant is your fee, plus the time they take out of their day to be there. You need to ensure that they are getting top value for their bottom line.

Related post: How Much Should You Charge (or Pay) for a Webinar?

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What’s the difference between webinars and e-learning?

July 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are two main types of webinars, and a third that is basically a combination of them. Let’s look at the differences between them:

Marketing webinars

Marketing webinars are designed to generate leads for new business, provide value to existing customers, drive traffic to your website and ultimately, increase your sales. Marketing webinars generally have a sales pitch included somewhere in the session.

Some marketing webinars are “fluffy” and by that I mean that they are full of hype, with no content. Really, they are not very effective. People today have very little tolerance for “fluff”. The best marketing webinars offer a sample of a product or service. Their approach is, “We’re going to give you this little slice of what we do for free today, so you can see the excellent quality that we offer. We’re confident that if you like what you see, you’ll want more.”

The most effective marketing webinars are rich in content. I would say that at a minimum, a marketing webinar should be at least 70% content. Some are as high as 95% content. That means that they include “how to” information, instructions and practical, useful information.

My recommendation to clients is not to include the sales pitch at the end of the webinar. Why? Because participants will realize that all the content that is valuable to them has been covered and they will leave the session. Instead, work in the sales pitch at the beginning or in the middle of the webinar, with a mere reminder at the end.

Marketing webinars are generally free.

E-learning or online training sessions

Want to know a secret? The same technology that is used for webinars is very similar to the technology used by the best universities around the world to offer online classes. The technology you choose may not have advanced features like online break-out rooms or quiz functions, but the basic platform will be very similar.

Professors of online university courses teach all kinds of courses online. Some universities offer entire degree programs online. E-learning is big business.

The difference between a marketing webinar and an e-learning session is simple. In a marketing webinar, you’re ultimately trying to sell a product. The e-learning session is the product.

E-learning sessions likely do not contain any sales pitch. They focus at least 99% on content. They may or may not contain an evaluation or a quiz at the end. The point of them is to teach the participants new information or new skills.

There is usually a fee for e-learning courses. What you’re paying for is the instructor’s expertise, the course content and the course materials.

These kinds of training sessions may be offered as individual online training workshops or part of a series or larger program.

If you want to be paid for your webinars, you’ll need to offer a well-prepared training class, complete with learning objectives, solid content and training materials.

Hybrid webinars

These webinars are a combination of a marketing webinar and a training webinar. They are usually jam-packed with content and often include training materials, but the participants don’t pay for these sessions. Hybrid webinars may be offered by employers as part of a “lunch and learn” program or by an association as a value-added service for members.

The presenter may or may not be paid for their services. I have heard of presenters being paid as much as $1000 for a one-hour webinar, though payments of a few hundred dollars is more common. Some organizations don’t pay at all, but instead tell the presenter that they can offer their products or services during the webinar.

If you are approached by an organization to offer a webinar for them, ask in very clear terms whether you will be paid and if not, ask if you are allowed to make a pitch.

In general, there has to be something of value for both the participants and the presenter.

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Are you looking for a speaker for your next event? Book me (Sarah Eaton) for your next event (either live or via webinar)! Contact us for details. Please visit Dr. Sarah’s speaking page.

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