Chủ Nhật, 14 tháng 9, 2014

10 Steps for Planning a Successful Webinar



Tips for organizing and manufacturing on-line seminars for your noncommercial or charity

Online seminars, or webinars, square measure a dynamic and fascinating thanks to convey info to a geographically distributed audience on a budget. If your noncommercial or charity faces associate degree current ought to share info long-distance however has restricted education and travel funds, webinars will assist you save cash whereas providing a valuable service to your constituents. Learn the ten essential steps to designing, organizing, staffing, promoting, and running a webinar.
Online seminars, or webinars, square measure a dynamic and fascinating thanks to convey info to a geographically distributed audience on a budget. If your noncommercial faces associate degree current ought to share info long-distance however has restricted education and travel funds, webinars will assist you save cash — and scale back your carbon footprint — whereas providing a valuable service to your constituents.
Nonprofits use webinars for a range of functions, as well as computer code coaching, sharing info a couple of new product or service, or promoting a program. Moreover, new on-line tools square measure creating it straightforward for any organization or charity to host a webinar, even with restricted technology experience. Below, we'll define a number of the most important steps you'll fancy set up quality, cheap webinars at your noncommercial.

1. raise yourself (and others) whether or not a webinar is that the right tool for your wants.

Webinar computer code may be a strong coaching and reaching tool, but, like all technologies, the choice to use it ought to be subordinate to your strategic objectives and also the wants of your audience. whereas webinars work well for a few topics, they are not suited to each coaching would like.
When determinant whether or not a webinar is that the best medium for your wants, take into account your audience, the topic matter, and also the time you will need to hide your topic. If you are addressing alittle, internal audience of colleagues a couple of new structure goal, as an example, a webinar is also a less acceptable possibility than it might be for, say, a coaching seminar for an oversized audience of shoppers and funders. Likewise, a daylong course on effective social communication may not translate well to a web seminar. Most on-line audiences tend to lose interest when concerning 2 hours, therefore organize your topics and data so that they will adequately be lined given now constraint, or break your program into chunks of 2 hours or less. once you are breaking an oversized topic into smaller chunks, leave a minimum of fifteen to half-hour between sections. However, if your audience is busy, or if they are unaccustomed to on-line learning, it's always best to go away every day or a lot of between sections. In alternative words, few folks will spare over 2 hours every day for coaching, and even that's troublesome to manage.
When evaluating whether or not a webinar meets your wants, you will additionally want to solicit the feedback of subject-matter consultants and webinar tool consultants, alternative nonprofits in your field that have conducted their own webinars, and even the audience you propose to deal with. Informal conversations, formal interviews, and surveys and polls will all assist you assess whether or not a webinar is that the right medium for your — and your audience's — wants.

2. Recruit speakers and a support team.

Once you've got determined that a webinar is that the right tool for you, you will need to assemble a team of employees members or volunteers to assist you run it. In general, there square measure 3 main players during a webinar: the organizer/facilitator, the presenter or presenters, and assistants. you may fill all 3 of those roles yourself, you may assign them to a few totally different individuals, otherwise you would possibly would like over 3. Bear in mind, though, that whereas some presenters will handle all of those roles on their own, we have a tendency to solely advocate the going-solo approach for associate degree old trainer addressing alittle audience. In most cases, you ought to at the terribly least divide up the organizer and presenter roles, and for giant, complicated webinars you will typically would like one or a lot of assistants.
• Organizer/facilitator. The organizer is that the creator for developing the webinar topic, locating a speaker, promoting the event, putting in the registration, and act with participants. The organizer sometimes participates within the webinar itself by introducing speakers, interviewing the topic matter consultants, weakening audience queries, and inspiring audience participation. The organizer additionally monitors the scenario and helps to troubleshoot logistic and technical issues. In alternative words, the organizer will most of the toil, and most of the steps printed during this article. Time commitment: roughly ten to twenty hours per webinar.
• Presenter(s) (also referred to as material experts). Ideally, presenters ought to concentrate their efforts on getting ready their demonstration and their PowerPoint slides. throughout the webinar, their main focus ought to be the presentation itself, yet as fielding queries from the audience. Worrying concerning the webinar computer code, event registration, troubleshooting, and alternative logistic details detracts from the presenters' ability to offer an attractive presentation. In bound formats (a word, as an example), you may have over one presenter. Time commitment: four to 6 hours per hour of webinar.

• Assistants. old organizers typically manufacture webinars with none help, however there square measure a minimum of 3 situations wherever you ought to take into account soliciting for help: once you or your audience is unacquainted with webinars associate degreed webinar tools; once you decide to play an oversized role within the oral communication (either as an inquirer or participant); and once you expect an oversized audience. Assistants will facilitate by responsive queries that the organizer and also the presenter do not have time for. Often, assistants focus entirely on responsive technical and logistic queries ("I cannot hear the audio," for example). during this case, you'll recruit and train the assistant yourself, and anyone moderately tech-savvy will do an honest job. However, for webinars wherever you expect an oversized audience and wherever you anticipate a lot of audience queries than the presenter alone will answer within the time assigned, you will would like associate degree assistant WHO understands the topic at hand to assist with responsive chat queries. (An alternate approach would be to refer all unreciprocated inquiries to a web forum wherever the presenter will respond at a softer pace.) Time commitment: one to 2 hours per hour of webinar.

3. confirm the format.

A webinar may be structured during a style of formats to suit totally different functions. Below square measure some standard formats you may consider:

4. set up your visuals.

Since webinars suppose audio and visuals to urge the message across, each ought to be partaking. Plain slides with lots of text do not work yet as attention-grabbing visuals that illustrate the subject being mentioned.
Some visuals you will want to incorporate together with your presentation are:
• An introductory slide reminding your audience the way to log in to the audio and what time the webinar can begin.
• A slide introducing every presenter, as well as job title, affiliation, and a photograph if offered.
• A fast summary of the webinar agenda and also the topics to be lined.
• Screen grabs of internet sites or tools you'll be discussing. If potential, try and show the sites and tools in action (rather than simply the image stills) for a a lot of dynamic expertise. Most webinar tools permit you to share your desktop, displaying in real time your interaction with programs and websites.

5. decide a tool.

There square measure dozens of internet conferencing tools out there, giving a range of options tailored to totally different wants. Idealware's article many sensible on-line Conferencing Tools offers a roundup of cheap computer code choices. In TechSoup's webinar going to grasp on-line Conferencing Tools, Idealware founder Laura Quinn describes however on-line conferencing tools work, however you'll use them to assist your organization or charity, and also the style of computer code choices offered. Eligible and qualified nonprofits and libraries will request donations of ReadyTalk and GoToWebinar from Citrix on-line through TechSoup.
Pay shut attention to the current call and provides yourself a while to do out numerous internet conferencing platforms. Once you start with a specific webinar tool, it's arduous to change to a brand new tool. There square measure many reasons for this: You and your colleagues have learned to use the computer code, your regular participants square measure at home with this tool, and you've got already obtained a subscription to the current program (unless you are employing a free tool).
When advisement your computer code choices, here square measure many inquiries to ask:
How many individuals can the tool accommodate?
Most tools and rating plans set a cap on the quantity of participants. Once you reach that variety, new participants notice themselves fast out or the tool lets them in and charges you a fee for every person higher than the cap. for free of charge and cheap  internet conferencing packages, the cap is commonly as low as fifteen or twenty participants. alternative plans high out at fifty or a hundred, whereas enterprise-level packages permit as several as one,000 participants per webinar.
How much will it cost?
While some packages square measure free, alternative vendors charge for internet conferencing and audio one by one, some charge per participant per minute, et al charge a flat fee per month or per annum. once you add within the fees for hosting recorded webinars and also the value of a fee phone bridge (when applicable), the rating schemes may be difficult.
Which options can you need?
Do wish to merely show a presentation or demonstrate the way to use a selected piece of software? Would you prefer your participants to be ready to head of your desktop? does one need a live video feed of the speakers? check that you select a tool that enables you to try and do what you want.
How is audio handled?
Some product provide integrated, web-streaming audio, that permits participants to pay attention to the presentation through their laptop speakers or their laptop headsets. With this arrangement, if participants decide to speak, they're going to would like a mike for his or her laptop or a telephone receiver with a inbuilt mike. If they add shut proximity to their colleagues, they're going to additionally would like laptop headphones or a laptop telephone receiver to avoid bothering their neighbors. A telephone receiver with mike that plugs in via USB or normal audio ports is well-suited to the current kind of webinar and prices between $20 and $40.
Other webinar platforms need that participants and presenters dial in to a special signaling, typically stated as a phone bridge. you always have 2 choices for this: a toll variety, during which case the participants ought to pay the fees charged by their long-distance or mobile phone provider; and a fee variety, during which case you or your organization pays 5 to 10 cents per minute for every participant. If you absorb the prices of those calls, remember that they'll add up quickly throughout webinars with a high turnout. as an example, fifty three individuals collaborating during a 60-minute webinar at six cents per minute would value a complete of $191.
Finally, several webinar platforms provide you with each web-streaming audio and phone-bridge choices. you'll like better to change one or the opposite, or both. sanctionative each styles of audio offers you and your audience some flexibility within the event of a technical downside.
Do you wish to record the webinars and create them offered for later viewing?
If so, raise however the computer code handles recording and whether or not the seller charges additional to create that recording offered on the net. Most vendors charge for the net hosting, instead of the recording feature itself, however you ought to continually check to be sure. Monthly hosting fees may be as high as $15 per month per recorded hour. If {you feel|you square measure feeling|you're feeling} the fees are excessive, you'll transfer the recording and create it offered yourself, however serving or streaming the recording from within your network would possibly place a strain on your information measure or your technical experience.
When evaluating computer code, you'll additionally wish to raise what precisely gets recorded. Some tools, for example, solely show the slides beside audio, however do not record the chat oral communication or the desktop sharing. Vendors additionally vary in terms of however long they save the recording. Some delete it when a month, whereas others reserve it till you delete it yourself.

6. produce associate degree agenda.

About 3 or four weeks before your webinar, hold a call with the speaker or speakers and confirm what queries {you'll|you can|you may} raise and also the order during which the speakers will gift. If you're employing a format that permits visuals, raise every speaker to furnish the graphics and pictures to accompany his or her section of the presentation well previous time. (If speakers square measure demonstrating computer code, solely many slides are going to be necessary, as most of the webinar can possible be spent on the applying itself.) you will additionally wish to raise speakers to send a photograph and temporary story description that you simply will use for registration and reaching.
Follow up this primary decision with associate degree email containing notes from your discussion. These notes could include:
• A list of topics and queries you came up with throughout the call.
• Deadlines for materials. If your presenter plans to use PowerPoint slides or alternative visual aids, raise her to send you the graphics and visuals a minimum of 2 or 3 days before the rehearsal therefore you have got time to see to it and merge her materials together with your own. as an example, you will have a PowerPoint example you utilize for all displays and webinars. you will have introduction and conclusion slides you wish to feature. And, of course, you ought to ascertain every slide for typos.
• An agenda with the order of the speakers and also the length of every section. as an example, the agenda for a tempered word concerning 2 totally different diary platforms with a noncommercial blogger and a school author would possibly seem as follows:
o 11:00 Moderator introduces speakers and provides an summary of the tools being mentioned.
o 11:05 Moderator talks to blogger.
o 11:15 Moderator talks to school author.
o 11:30 Blogger demonstrates tools.
o 11:40 Moderator opens inquiries to audience.
o 11:55 Moderator offers a quick description of your organization or charity and its work.
o 11:58 Moderator wraps up webinar, thanks participants, and tells audience wherever they'll choose a lot of info.

7. Schedule a drill.

A few days before your webinar, you ought to schedule a minimum of one 30- to 60-minute rehearsal with all participants to figure out any unresolved queries or technical problems.
Your drill ought to cowl the following:
• An introduction to the participants. If speakers haven't met throughout the initial decision, this is able to be an honest time to introduce the those who are going to be gift throughout the webinar, each on-line and behind the scenes. check that the participants grasp whom they ought to intercommunicate if they need queries throughout the webinar — and the way they'll reach them.
• An introduction to the webinar tool and its options. Discuss the way to use the tool, what options square measure offered to the presenters, and wherever participants will move to get additional observe in victimization the tool on their own before the event.
• An instrumentality check. this can be an honest time to make sure that each one of your presenters' in operation systems, internet browsers, headsets, and alternative instrumentality square measure compatible with the net conferencing tool. luckily, most webinar tools let presenters and participants take a look at their laptop for compatibility before the event itself. you'll sometimes do this by directive them to an internet page wherever they'll launch a wizard that tests for the mandatory parts and plug-ins. make certain to incorporate directions for this together with your registration info. whereas you cannot force attendees to examine their computers, follow up together with your presenter to make sure that she has all of the downloads and plug-ins she wants.
• A review of your agenda and visuals. reassess the agenda and move through the presentation to make sure that slides square measure within the right order which speakers grasp wherever they are available in. Before the rehearsal, compile your presenters' visuals and cargo them into the conferencing tool. {this can|this may|this can} facilitate presenters perceive what the attendees will see, because the presenters' read is totally different from the attendees' read.
A drill is additionally an excellent chance to come up with enthusiasm for the forthcoming event and rally your presenters.

8. Reserve your instrumentality and area.

By and huge, the webinar tool you select can confirm the sort of kit you will need to run it. In general, you'll wish to possess the following:
• Headsets. The organizer and every one presenters can would like headsets — phonephone headsets if your webinar tool uses a phone bridge, or laptop headsets if your tool uses integrated internet audio. Technically, you'll use the phonephone phone if your webinar package includes a phone bridge, however it's distracting associate degreed wearying to elevate a phone to your ear for an hour or a lot of, particularly once you are employing a mouse and keyboard. ne'er gift a webinar employing a telephone set. Even during a quiet location the audio quality is commonly poor, and in noisier spots a telephone set can obtain background signal.
• A cord if you are employing a portable computer, as a backup for your battery.
• A network cable to attach you on to the network if you are not employing a wireless affiliation.
Regardless of the instrumentality you utilize, you'll would like a quiet area during which to conduct your webinar. additionally to employing a telephone receiver, you ought to reserve a room or place wherever there will not be background signal or interruptions. additionally to keeping out background workplace noise, you will additionally need a area secluded from outside distractions, like construction noise or sirens.

9. got wind of a system for registering attendees and confirm your value structure.

Before you start promoting your webinar, confirm what tool you'll use to register attendees. Some on-line conferencing programs, like ReadyTalk, provide inbuilt registration tools. sign language up participants victimization free event-registration tools is another choice, however bear in mind that free tools oft lack the advanced options that you're going to wish if you manage lots of events.
Choosing associate degree event-registration tool may be a experience to create a call on whether or not you'll charge for your webinar — and if therefore, how much. whereas most fee-based webinars square measure offered within the $25 to $40 vary, others may be priced at upwards of $200 per meeter.
Keep in mind that whereas organizations that invest vital time and energy into a daily series of high-quality webinars would possibly recoup a number of their prices by charging attendees, nonprofits that solely manufacture many webinars a year could move potential participants with a fee, to not mention making additional work for themselves for little or no profit. On the opposite hand, charging a modest fee ($5 to $20) to recoup the price of some time and expenses could be acceptable, looking on your audience. As you assess your audience's wants (see Step 1), you'll confirm whether or not they square measure possible to obtain the sort of webinars you will be giving. If you are unsure, you'll continually elicit associate degree elective donation till you get a stronger sense of your audience and their temperament to pay.
If you propose to charge a fee that your audience can see as vital (for example, over $25), check that most or all of the subsequent square measure true:
• You have a wealth of active expertise, associate degree particularly deep data of the topic, or another attribute that produces your recommendation particularly valuable to potential participants. Do some internet searches on your topic. If you discover lots of high-quality, easy resources that contain an equivalent info you propose to gift, turn over concerning charging for your webinar.
• You have lots of expertise with coaching generally and on-line communication particularly. confine mind that participants have higher expectations after they pay; the more cash you charge, the larger the expectation that you simply can deliver an attractive, well-produced webinar.
• You have the capability to gather payments simply employing a tool like PayPal.
• You decide to conduct webinars on a daily basis.
One advantage of charging for your webinar is that it provides associate degree incentive for participants to point out up. If everybody pays beforehand, you will have fewer no-shows. With free webinars, you'll expect that roughly fifty % of the those who sign in can fail to attend.

10. Publicize!

It is vital to urge the word out way and wide concerning your forthcoming webinar, particularly if you are about to charge for it. you'll wish to start causing out info 2 to a few weeks before the event. produce an attractive, compendious description and convey clearly whom the webinar is for— as an example, beginners or advanced, accidental technician or executive.
Good places to advertise your event embody your information processing system, on-line event calendars like forthcoming.com, relevant listservs, newsletters (online and printed), Twitter channels, Facebook teams, native events for nonprofits, and sites that promote noncommercial webinars. do not forget, too, to push future on-line seminars at the tip of currentwebinars.

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