Things You'll Need:
- A good Internet connection
- Webinar program
- Attendees
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Step 1
Choose a topic for the webinar. It's important to give adequate thought to your topic. Make sure the subject is interesting and compelling enough to entice people to tune in. You can't have a webinar without attendees.
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Step 2
Create a lesson plan for the webinar. Once you've nailed down a good topic, take time to determine what aspect of the topic you'll focus on. To make the webinar valuable to the attendees, have a clear-cut plan for what you will discuss. According to Ken Molay, in his article on Webinar Wire, "the most common length of a public webinar is 60 minutes; however one of my favorite tricks is to schedule a webinar for 45 minutes." This approach allows for 15 minutes of Q&A without exceeding the 60-minute limit.
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Step 3
Find a webinar program. You can visit the Web Conferencing Database online for reviews on different web conferencing programs. There are paid and free options in webinar programs. GoToMeeting is a paid option with prices that start at $39 a month. Dimdim has a webinar program that's free as well as one that's paid and costs $19 per month. The paid options tend to have more features, like the ability to record the webinar and host more attendees. Typically the lower-priced or free options will only allow you to host a maximum of 25 attendees, while the higher-priced options may let you host up to 1000 attendees or more.
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Step 4
Do a test run. Invite a few friends or co-workers to participate in a test run. Your test run should last for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes. You'll need ample time to try out the features you plan to use during your full-length webinar. Do your test run at least a week before the scheduled webinar. You might have to change programs, so you should give yourself time to do so.
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Step 5
Send the webinar information to your attendees at least three days in advance. You can either include your information in an invitation that requires a response or you can simply send it in an email. If your webinar program has a limit on attendees, then you may want to consider the invitation option to control the number of people that participate.
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Step 6
Do a run-through of your lesson plan. If you are new to holding webinars and don't want to exceed your time limit, you should do a run-through of your lesson plan. You don't need an audience to do this. If you planned your webinar to be 45 minutes long, make sure that's exactly how long it runs. It may feel strange to recite your material without an audience, but it will help you to properly organize your thoughts and give your attendees the most value for their time, especially if you're a first-time host.
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Step 7
Log in to your webinar program at least 10 minutes before its scheduled start time. Doing so will give you a chance to do a startup check and make sure everything is working properly with the meeting portal that day. You want to start promptly, and that might not happen if you log in at the same time you're supposed to start the webinar.
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Step 8
Greet your guests cheerfully. You'll be notified as people log on, so say hello with a smile in your voice. Your initial tone will set the mood for the entire web conference.
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Step 9
Begin your webinar. You should be confident and ready to roll. Enjoy sharing your knowledge with your attendees.
Comments
yolandanichole said
on 10/31/2009 I've been considering conducting a webinar. Thanks for the outline of what to do and the great resources!