Webinars in contact. How to organize a webinar - complete instructions

In this article, I'll show you how to organize from scratch, DIY, and (most importantly) completely free. Let's start with the very basics and gradually move on to more complex things.

Goal setting for the webinar

Before you start organizing a webinar, you need to ask yourself a simple question - what is the purpose of the webinar? From here we will dance with you. Personally, I have always argued and still maintain that a webinar can have only two goals - to sell something or to teach something. Very often, novice webinarists confuse these two goals.

For example, a future speaker can tell me - I want to hold a webinar to show people the possibilities of my program. I want to teach them how to use my program effectively. In such a situation, he sincerely believes that the purpose of the webinar is education. In fact, the main purpose of the webinar is to promote (read "sell") his software. Education is just a way to promote and sell.

What do you need for a webinar?

If this is your first webinar, then you probably think that this is a very difficult task, and it takes a lot of money and even more effort. In fact, the webinar can be hosted for free. As for forces, here is everything you need to host a webinar:

• Webinar platform
• Lecture hall
• Webinar Plan

Let's start with the simplest.

There are a lot of different services and programs for conducting webinars. They differ from each other in functionality, cost and some other little things. We will compare paid webinar sites next time, in another article. Now I will recommend Google hangout to you. This is a free and very powerful service from Google that will allow you to host an unlimited number of webinars for any number of people. You don't even need to have your own website. You will conduct your webinar directly through YouTube in real time. This service has changed a lot. So you can't bypass it.

In order to use hangout, you just need to register with Google+. After that, you will see a selection menu on the left (the so-called "Ribbon"). There will be the “Hangouts” we are interested in.

You will be able to choose either Hangouts or Live TV. Hangouts are more like group calls on Skype. There you will be able to communicate with several people in real time with video.

If you need to host a webinar for a large group of people, then choose "Live". Hangout has a huge number of functions. How to conduct a webinar through hangout, we will consider in another article - "Webinar on YouTube".

Webinar Invitation

Here is a little more difficult. Gathering people for a webinar is not a matter of five minutes. You will need at least 3-4 days to post the invitations. However, I do not recommend announcing a webinar more than 7 days in advance. Otherwise, your registered listeners may simply forget about it during this time.

Getting people to attend a webinar isn't just about posting a link to your scheduled hangout live stream. First, not everyone is registered with Google Plus. And secondly, you need to be able to remind people a couple of times that you are hosting a webinar. Even with reminders, no more than 35% of registered participants will come. And without reminders, you generally run the risk of being left with nothing (that is, in an empty webinar room).

Registration for the webinar

The best way to remind people about a webinar is by email. You can collect emails from webinar participants for free either through the Justclick.ru service (there you can also create a registration page for the webinar), or through another service from Google - Google Forms.

I will write you a detailed instruction on working with Justclick a little later. Now let's look at how to collect participants through Google Forms.

You are already registered with Google Plus, so you do not need to register anywhere else. Go to the page of all services from Google and select "Google Drive" -> "Create" -> "More" -> "Google Forms".

In field " New form» Enter the name of your webinar. In the "Description" field - a little more about who this webinar is for and how it will benefit the participants. Next, create the first form field - "Your name". The second field of the form is "Your email".

Select the question type as text. You can also change the theme of the form to make it look more interesting. Don't forget to check the "Make this question required" checkbox for the "Your email" field. The name can be optional.

You can also allow users to change their data after filling (if they suddenly made a mistake when entering data).

I recommend that you change the message that the user receives after filling out the form. First of all, go to the "Add-ons" menu and install free app Form notifications. This simple add-on will notify you when someone registers for a webinar and will also send a notification to the email address of the person who filled out the form. In the form settings you can specify:

• After how many registrations to send you a notification
• What question does the participant's email ask for (so that the application knows where to send the notification)
• What notification text to send to the participant

I recommend setting the notification subject to “Congratulations on registering for the webinar.” In the body of the notification, once again indicate when and what time the webinar will take place, and also briefly describe why this webinar should not be missed in any case.

Also, change the static notification after registering for the webinar. To do this, at the bottom of the question editing page, find the "Answer recorded" field. Change to "Congratulations on registering for the webinar. See you online! (or something like that).

Now your form is finally charged in order to collect emails from webinar attendees. In google form responses you can copy all collected emails and add them to hangout direct meeting settings. Now you can automatically send webinar reminders to registered participants.

Webinar promotion

If you want to use webinars for your information business, then I recommend that you first read the article "" (will open in a new tab). You may not need to self-promote your webinar right now. But if you have already decided on your own, then start posting a link to your registration form wherever you can.

• Try to use everything to advertise your webinar.
• Post the link on your VKontakte wall and share it with your friends.
• Find thematic VKontakte communities and try to publish the announcement of the webinar there (on the community wall or in a special topic, if there is one).
• Ask participants to like and repost so that your invitation is distributed through.

These simple tricks will allow you to collect the first small audience, and it is completely free or very inexpensive.

Webinar Plan

Now it's time to think - what and how to say at our webinar? The average duration of a webinar is 90 minutes. During this time, you can manage to say about 16,000 words. This is 48 pages of text(!) In no case should you try to speak "impromptu". You must know exactly what you are going to say. V otherwise, your speech will be boring, you will make many pauses, the pace of speech will be low. Don't be surprised if all the listeners run away long before the end of your webinar.

I have a whole step-by-step instruction on what and how to say at the webinar so that people are interested, and so that they buy what you offer at the end.

I remind you that we do not always sell something for money. In a webinar, we can promote demo versions of our program, invite people to register somewhere, or just spread some idea.

The main thing is to have a specific result of your performance in numbers, and not just “like everyone liked it”. Use ours to figure out what kind of earnings you can expect.

Here you can find . And in this article I will give you the main points that you should pay attention to.

1. Trust

If you are promoting or selling something, then the audience should first of all see you as an expert, that is, a person who can be trusted in this specific issue. Therefore, at the beginning of the webinar, you need to tell what success you have achieved in this field. You can watch in order to sound more convincing.

2. Value

You need to clearly and clearly explain to people the benefits and value of what you are selling at the webinar. Especially if you want to charge money for it. Listeners should see that the value of your offer is many times greater than your asking price. By and large, you should “create value” throughout the entire webinar. In the main part of the webinar, you should give the main content, constantly emphasizing what value (money or time) it brings to your potential clients.

3. Uniqueness

You must be able to explain why this decision you need to take from you, not from your competitors. This stage is also called “detuning from competitors”. This can be left for the end of the webinar. By this point, your listeners should already be aware of why they need your decision. Make sure that they do not go away to compare your solution with analogues on the market, but stay with you.

This is, of course, a very general outline of the webinar. In another article, we will analyze in detail and step by step how to sell at a webinar, but I hope you get the basic idea. If you master these techniques, it will bring you excellent income.

Summary: How to organize a webinar with your own hands and for free

• Create a "live broadcast" in Google Hangout
• Create a registration form in Google Forms
• Post a link to the registration form in social networks
• Ask attendees to spread the word about your webinar
• Plan your webinar ahead of time
• At the beginning of the webinar, you try to inspire maximum confidence in the audience
• In the main part of the webinar, you provide content and emphasize the value of your offer
• At the end of the webinar, you stand out from your competitors

Don’t worry if you don’t manage to make money the first time (or even get someone to the webinar). From time to time you will get better and better. I recommend that you study my in-depth articles on each of these points in order to increase the effectiveness of your webinars at times.

I hope this article was helpful to you. Don't forget to download my book. There I show you the most fast track from zero to the first million on the Internet (squeezed from personal experience for 10 years =)

See you later!

Your Dmitry Novoselov

We have released a new book "Content Marketing in in social networks: How to get into the head of subscribers and fall in love with your brand.

Development of computer and information technologies allows you to bring your business to new level. Now it is much easier to organize the workflow, delivering information to a large audience in the format of seminars, conferences and interviews. They are held online, without the need to rent a room for participants. All this is possible thanks to the services for organizing and holding webinars, which allow you to optimize the available resources and save time on preparing the event.

A webinar is a training session conducted in real time from a computer or laptop and in the form of communication. This can be a business meeting, lecture, master class, etc. Since the format allows the lecturer and the audience to have some kind of dialogue, several parties are involved in the process. As a rule, viewers can see the speaker, and he perceives them as comments in a special chat, where they can ask and answer questions, communicate with each other. But if there are less than five participants, they can all be displayed on the screen using webcams.

Organization of the webinar

If a large number of people take part, it is necessary to carry out some organizational part, namely:

• Find free program for webinars. For these purposes, various popular sites can be used: from the social network VKontakte to YouTube video hosting.
• Register those who wish by creating a web page with a description of the event, the exact time of the event and the cost (if information is supposed to charge money). Usually such events are held for professional and personal development.
• Set up notifications for addresses email left by users in applications. This is necessary in order to send required documents and materials for the lesson, remind about the beginning of the broadcast, providing the letter with a link to the place, etc.
• Depending on the chosen platform, it may be necessary to install special software on a PC or high Internet speed if a browser is enough for a hangout.
• Prepare the text of the lecture and the visual component (presentations, pictures, graphs, tables, etc.).

This is done to make it easier for the audience to perceive the material.

Free webinar services

There are a huge number of different free webinar sites. They are presented in the form of programs and online services designed for video meetings, and differ from each other in terms of technical specifications, functionality, capacity, subscription cost, and so on.

Typically, paid sites are used by representatives of large companies to hold conferences and trainings for employees from different branches. For ordinary users and representatives, representatives of small and medium-sized businesses, the best option is free services. They provide everything necessary tools to communicate with participants.

Google Hangouts

Google launched in 2013 software for instant messaging and video conferencing - Google Hangouts. The service is convenient in that it allows you to bring together a certain number of people for communication. At the same time, it can be used not only for entertainment with friends, but also for the purpose of conducting lectures, trainings and arranging business events where existing or potential partners discuss the terms of cooperation.

In order to host a webinar on Google Hangouts for free, both parties need to carefully prepare: the audience and the author of the event. In particular, each participant must have a valid Google account, from which they should log in to the official website of the project.

The standard set for communication consists of a computer with Internet access, a headset in the form of headphones with a microphone (or separately) and a webcam. Any browser can be used, but Chrome is recommended by users because it is made by the same company and is better suited for interacting with Google products. The process of creating a webinar is simple:

All participants, regardless of their status (listeners or presenters), have the opportunity to independently choose the sound and image quality settings on the screen. This is done in a special tab in the form of an icon with a gear. Once opened, select " Bandwidth” and apply the appropriate settings. To keep in touch by asking or answering questions, the user can use the general chat.

The only downside this method communication lies in the fact that Google Hangouts has limits on the total connection of people. In particular, it is suitable for a conference of no more than ten people.

Ustream

This is one of the most reputable sites. Its total audience is more than a million people. It differs from analogues high level video and sound recordings. In combination with a good camera, you can watch live broadcasts in high quality. The only negative for the Russian-speaking audience is the fact that the interface is presented exclusively on English language: for those who do not speak it, problems will arise at the stage of applying the settings. However, in other characteristics and functions, it is noticeably superior to other platforms for free webinars.

YouTube

You should start hosting webinars on YouTube if you are expected to a large number spectators. Today, video hosting occupies a leading position in the field of video content and can compete with highly specialized sites. And this despite the lack of functional features. Moreover, in comparison with the same Ustream, it loses in the number of features, but not in popularity and ease of use.

Its popularity is due to the fact that it does not require absolutely no investment. With YouTube, you can host full-fledged online meetings, including paid and private meetings. By choosing it as the main platform, the user deliberately limits himself to working tools. Other disadvantages include:

• Video delay for a few minutes.
• Lack of a built-in automatic start notification tool.
• You can't poll the audience.
• Often, the broadcast is interrupted due to undeveloped functionality.

In contrast, the benefits of the service are given. In particular, it is absolutely free, and the number of participants has no limits. The whole process of work takes place inside the video hosting in online mode, so there is no need to install additional software on your computer. At the same time, viewers can access the webinar from any device: smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs. After the end of the video broadcast, the recording can be published and monetized on the YouTube channel.

To host a webinar on YouTube, you must have a Google+ account. This gives automatic access to almost all of the company's products, including YouTube. Next, choose google item+ Hangouts On Air. In the window that opens, you can mark the users who will participate in the conference. At the same time, there is a function for the corporate domain, thanks to which colleagues at work can join the lecture directly from the Google+ feed.

In the "Basic information" tab, you must enter a description and objectives of the project, as well as indicate which category it belongs to. The broadcast creator can choose privacy settings:

• Open access, when all users who see ads on the Internet can join.
• Access by link, which implies that the creator himself must send an invitation to the circle of interested parties in the form of an address.
• Restricted access that prevents new users from joining the broadcast.

In the "Parameters" section, in the "Subcategory" menu item, you can select the level of data transfer delay. If you select a low gear, then the time difference will be minimal - no more than 60 seconds. This allows you to communicate with the audience in almost real time. If you select the standard delay, this time will be increased, but the quality of the recording will be extremely high.

During the webinar, viewers will be able to ask questions and chat. The author also has access to the chat: he can read it and answer questions, write messages and add useful links on the topic.
When the meeting comes to an end, the host must click on the "End Broadcast" button. After the recording is processed, a video version will be available to which you can apply privacy settings: hide or publish on the YouTube channel.

How to hold a webinar on VKontakte

Live broadcasts on the social network VKontakte are quite easy. All you need is a smartphone or PC with internet access. There is no need to install additional software for a computer and a phone. But if you wish, you can use the free VK Live client on Android and iOS, or an unofficial modification of the Open Broadcaster Software program for PC.

To start a webinar, you need to go to the VKontakte website (to your own page or to the community), open the "Video" section and select the "Create broadcast" item.

In the video encoder settings, you can generate a link by which the online conference will be available to users. Together with the link, a key is issued. It must be preserved, but not transferred to third parties, since anyone can obtain authorship with its help. Like YouTube, VKontakte has a chat for viewers, and at the end of the broadcast, you can save it and later publish it in full version on the personal page or in a group.

Why host a webinar

Technical preparation for the webinar is to check the equipment for serviceability: computer or laptop, microphone, webcam. In order for the content to be interesting to the audience, it is important to memorize it well and draw up an event plan.

However, before you start preparing, you should decide on the goal itself. Usually the event is held in order to sell a product or service, to teach the audience, or simply to inform.

Webinar Advertising

After doing step by step instructions on the topic of how to host a webinar yourself, you need to start inviting participants. The easiest way to do this is by sending emails or posting an appropriate announcement on social networks. If the theme of the event is highly specialized, you should take care of advertising. You can post it in groups on Facebook, VKontakte, on thematic sites, etc. This should be done two weeks before the start of the broadcast so that the audience can prepare.

In order to avoid any problems in the process and not distract either the audience, or even the presenter, moderators should be invited. They will keep order in the chat and control the technical component.

In order for users to be aware of the topic under discussion, you can first send them the documents and presentation used. After the end of the webinar, you can send out a questionnaire to find out the opinion of the participants about the last meeting, the quality of its organization and usefulness.