I got a call from a potential client today; “Can you tell me how to do a teleseminar?” I had to stop for a second and think. It is sooooooo easy to forget that nobody is born with the knowledge of how to do these things. So it’s as good ‘a time as any to write this stuff down and share it. Don’t forget the disclaimer — there are always multiple ways to do things — this is just a basic setup.
How to Setup Your First Teleseminar
What you need first:
- De Plan. What are you going to share with people? Who is your audience? How will you get them to come to your teleseminar? Free? Not? If it’s free, what is the purpose? Are you just giving something away, or is this a tickler for selling another product? If so, is the product ready? How much does it cost? Will you give some special offer? Make it a good offer, and make it limited (first 10 people, until midnight Friday, etc.)
- Website (or blogsite where you can add pages) and the ability to create your signup page (you or someone you hire).
- Email marketing service where you can store user email addresses (Mail Chimp is free, aWeber, Constant Contact, and 1Shoppingcart are some other popular options).
- Good content for the class and for your signup page — write it yourself or get help.
- A teleconferencing account set up with a service that will allow you to record (there are tons — check out freeconferencing.com, freeconference.com, etc.) If you intend to turn the recording into a product later, or if the recording is especially important for some other purpose, I recommend that you get an additional service, such as Audio Acrobat to record the call. So you’ll have 2 recordings, just in case.
OK, tools in place? Now here’s the flow:
- Setup a list in your email marketing service, with a unique name for just this teleseminar. Include the date in the name. I like to start with the date, so that things sort out nicely and they’re easy to find. Example: 020910_FreeCall_SnowShoveling Topic: How to Shovel Snow Without Getting All Wet
- Create the web page. There are volumes of sites where you can find information on how to create your web copy. My advice — find one that you like, and be a copycat. Don’t copy word for word, but copy the method.
- Go back to your email marketing program and generate the HTML code that will be the form on your website where people can signup for this fabulous call. Then put the code into your new web page. The mail service that you use should have a tutorial for how to generate the HTML code and then just copy and paste it into your web page.
- If your teleconference service requires that you schedule the calls in advance, go do that. Make a note of the call-in number and access code.
- Now back to your email marketing program (can I call that the EMP? just kidding….) and create an autoresponder message. This is the note that people will receive via email when they signup. It should contain some thank-you language, a little bit about the content of the teleseminar, and the call-in instructions. *IMPORTANT! Some teleconference services don’t play well with Voice Over Internet (VoIP ) services (like Skype or Vonage) or cell phones. If this is the case, let people know, in this email, that it’s best if they call in with a land line.
- Create a custom thank-you page. After someone signs up where will they be directed? Will they get an ugly default thank you note from the email marketing program? Or will you take the time and effort to make a pretty one for them? After you create it, be sure to make a note of the complete path name where that file is, and then go into your email marketing program and in the setup for your autoresponder list, there should be a place where you can replace that default (ugly) thank-you page link with your beautiful thank-you page link.
- Prepare for the call:
- Test, test, test, and practice, practice, practice! Be sure everything works as planned, and that you know exactly how to start the call, how to mute / unmute, record, etc.
- Be on the line early and be ready! Understand how the conference controls work, and don’t forget to start the recording! Have a plan for muting all callers if you run into noise issues. Have a plan for allowing questions. Practice before you leap!
- If you plan to make a special offer of a product, be sure the product is set up in your shopping cart system, and be sure that you have created a sales page for that product. At the end of the call you’ll give people the link for this sales page. You want to be sure they can buy what you’re selling!
That’s an overview. Check out the document under the Helpful Stuff page to get a picture of it. Sometimes a picture is way more helpful than long explanations. Got any additional tips to share? We’re all ears!
