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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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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New Kindle Book: “Exceptional Webinars Made Easy”

May 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Press Release – Book Release “Exceptional Webinars Made Easy” by Calgary author, Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD

Exceptional Webinars Made Easy, by Calgary author, Sarah Elaine Eaton, was released globally this week by Amazon as a Kindle e-book.

This book is a game-changer in the webinar world. It combines practical “how to” tips with solid best practices for both elearning and business.

If you are a trainer, entrepreneur or small business owner, Exceptional Webinars Made Easy is for you. It is designed to help readers understand the basics of what is needed to develop and deliver marketing webinars and basic e-learning training sessions.

This is Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton’s fourth book. It is her first book on e-learning and her first Kindle book. Eaton founded Exceptional Webinars in 2010 to help independent services professionals and small business owners become more tech savvy in their work and use the power of webinars to become 21st century entrepreneurs and business people.

An international professional speaker, Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton has presented to thousands of people around the globe. In 2010 she was inducted into the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and the Global Speakers Federation.

With a PhD in Education, she has been working with educational technology since the turn of the millennium and giving webinars since 2005. She is passionate about webinars and the potential they create for business and non-profit organizations. Her passion is effervescent, leaving audiences inspired and ready to take action.

Dr. Eaton has authored hundreds of articles and three previous books. Her work has been featured on radio and numerous websites. In 2009-10, she received a Pinnacle Award Honourable Mention from the Centre for Interactive Learning and Collaboration for her virtual training programs.

Order your copy today from one of these global Amazon sites.

 

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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Webinars or Teleseminar? Which is better?

May 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Lately I’ve seen a few events posted both webinars and teleseminars. It’s the same event, held at the same time. Participants can either log in via their computer and “watch” the webinar or call in on a phone and listen to the teleseminar.

Some speakers and experts who are used to doing teleseminars seem to think that they can double-up and have a both a webinar and a teleseminar a the same time! Sounds great in theory.

The problem is that these are two drastically different types of events. Or at least they should be.

Old telephoneTeleseminars

  • Made popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
  • Speakers must rely on excellent vocal delivery, much like a radio announcer.
  • The speaker is an expert.
  • No slides or other visuals are generally needed.
  • Often, the speaker will simply talk for the entire length of the teleseminar. Some questions may happen at the end.
  • These calls often involved a lot of “hype”. I’ve been in teleseminars that are 80% hype and 20% content.
  • Follow the “sage on the stage” model where the speaker expects 100% of the audience’s attention.

Webinars

  • Becoming increasingly popular in the 21st century.
  • Speakers must rely on excellent vocal delivery, much like a radio announcer.
  • The speaker is an expert.
  • Participants demand solid content. Unlike some teleseminars, webinars require at least 80% solid, valuable content.
  • Engaging visuals are part of the experience. It is not uncommon for a truly exceptional webinar producer to put 4 or more hours into the visuals for a one-hour webinar. Visuals can include slides, info graphics, videos, live application demos, screen sharing or anything else that creates interest and engagement. Visuals are a core part of the webinar experience. A dry deck of Powerpoint slides just doesn’t cut it.
  • The speaker expects and appreciates questions throughout the session. It is not uncommon for participants to be engaging in live chat… They are included in the experience… not just spectators.
  • Today’s webinar experts recognize that their participants can – and will – check out at a moment’s notice if what they’re talking about isn’t 100% engaging.

Woman at laptopWebinars and teleseminars are based on two very different starting points or philosophical bases, if you will. Teleseminars rely 100% on auditory input on the part of the presenter… and 100% of auditory input on the part of the listener. Webinars incorporate auditory, visual and interactive learning, all at the same time.

To me, a teleseminar is akin to the old radio programs of the 1940s and 1950s. People would gather around their radios anxiously awaiting the next episode of their favorite radio program. The experience involved the auditory input as well as their own imaginations, to make it come alive.

Then, in 1950s and 1960s, people began to buy TVs. Their entertainment experience suddenly included both audio and visual input, right from their own home. They didn’t have to go to a cinema to see a “moving picture”.

TV changed everything. While radio lives on, people don’t gather around their radios the way at the time their favorite program started the way they used to many decades ago. Now people flip on the radio to add background music while they’re doing another activity, say driving, working or cleaning the house.

But people still sit down in front of their TVs, either at a specific time, or at a time they choose, because their program has been recorded, and enjoy the visual and audio experience known as television programming.

Webinars are more like that… People expect high quality visuals integrated with a fantastic audio program. They like the idea of it being scheduled at a particular time so they can tune in live if they choose. AND they want to know it can be recorded so they can enjoy it when they want to, on their terms… and even watch it again if they want. People today expect – even demand – to be entertained, informed, educated, challenged and above all else, engaged… They want choice and they want to be involved… They want to chat, respond and have their say.

Teleseminars don’t allow for much of that.

Like the old radio programs, teleseminars will likely diminish in popularity over the next decade or so… but may retain a small loyal following.

More and more, people will start to favour webinars over teleseminars and never look back.

Whatever you do, don’t insult your audience by thinking they’re one in the same. It’d like watching a TV show with your eyes closed.

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