Through use of a webinar, the Internet has provided the opportunity for important conferences and meetings to be held among many people from any location. A webinar is like broadcasting a program over the Internet for meeting attendees to watch simultaneously, and it provides the ability for attendees to contribute as if they were in a face-to-face meeting.

Use webinars as an inexpensive alternative for many things such as training employees, conducting long-distance business meetings, making sales presentations or as a marketing tool for finding new business. Understand the following webinar key terms before beginning to explore the options in web conferencing.

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Webinar

A webinar is a web-based seminar that features audio and video elements and the ability for interaction among all of the viewers.

I recommend: Find an in-depth definition for webinar provided by Communique Conferencing.

Webinar service provider

A technology firm specializing in web conferencing will provide the tools needed to produce a webinar by either allowing you to purchase software to run your own webinars, or by hosting a webinar directly through the company's website.

I recommend: Read about the three largest webinar providers at Global Conferencing Solutions to compare all the different service options available and learn what to expect from a provider.

Webinar software

Webinar software combines communication technologies that make it possible for audio, video, text and interactive tools to work congruently across the Internet.

I recommend: Look at the webinar software guidelines offered at Miguel Carrasco's Real World.

Audio conferencing

The audio conferencing portion of webinars allows the presenter to be heard by all webinar attendees at the same time in one of the following ways: over a telephone line, streamed through the website, via satellite or moderated by an operator.

I recommend: Learn about various audio conferencing options available for webinars at WebEx.com.

Video conferencing

A video presentation is what sets webinars apart from simple telephone conferences where a live video of the presenter can be streamed through the web. This is done with a series of slides, or with high-quality equipment for television-quality video.

I recommend: Find various video options available for webinars explained at Coreography.

Webinar archiving

Archiving a webinar means converting to a file format that allows it to be saved for record purposes, or to be viewed later using minimal computer memory.

I recommend: Learn about webinar archiving by reading the FAQs about web archiving at Confluence.

A web seminar service, or webinar, will allow you to set up seminars on the web that you can host for clients or employees spread out in many different areas. If you have clients in different areas of the world that you need to do a presentation for, a webinar is a great way to host one without worrying about where to have everyone meet. They can all log on to your webinar service provider and be in the same meeting from their different locations. You can set webinars up for your company meetings so employees who are out of town will be able to attend.

The first step to setting up a webinar is finding a webinar company that offers the features you want to use in your webinar. You can research webinar information over the Internet, search through a webinar list and select a web seminar service company that offers everything you need to host your webinars.

1. Search the Internet to learn about different webinar services.

2. Research different webinar providers, and select one that will work for you.

3. Set up your webinars using the provider you selected.

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Learn about different webinar services

There are many different webinar providers, and each one offers their own, unique services. Some offer audio and video conferencing; some allow you to host webinars directly through their web site, for a fee; and some provide you with software you'll have to set up and use. Before you can decide what provider to use, you'll want to compare different webinar services and determine which one will meet your needs.

I recommend: Phone and Web Conferencing Resource matches you to as many as five different web conference providers you can compare. BuyerZone provides a questionnaire that allows you to compare services and prices of different companies that provide webinars, webcast and web conference services.

Find a webinar provider

Once you determine what type of webinar service you'll need, you're ready to find a provider. There are many different providers, but choosing one that can offer you different services may be your best bet. These providers will grow with your business, allowing you to host smaller webinars now, but providing the services you'll need to host larger seminars in the future.

I recommend: Cisco Webex provides video conferencing, web conferencing and online meetings. MegaMeeting.com provides affordable, easy-to-use video and web conferencing software.

Set up a webinar

After you have selected your webinar provider, you'll want to know everything you can do with it to get your money's worth. One way of doing this is by sharing experiences of using webinars with other users, and by finding information to help you use your webinar service to its full potential.

I recommend: Webinar Wire is a blog site that allows webinar users to post messages about producing, promoting and powering webinars and web conferences. Webinar Success offers information on hosting webinars, making them more effective and learning the basics.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Learn more about using a webinar by attending a web seminar about them.

A webinar is an online seminar that allows you to conduct training or meetings through web and/or audio. It is a good way to convey information to many people in various locations. Webinars are becoming an important part of web conferencing for many businesses to reaching more clients or hosting training meetings with other business sites internally.

There are several parts to webinars that affect webinar pricing and costs. The first component of web seminar services is finding the right webinar service provider. A webinar provider will host your webinar and can give you assistance and support to run webinars effectively. Many companies offer a web seminar service, with prices ranging from $12 to $90 a month. A second component of a webinar is the webinar software itself. Many web service providers provide the software as part of their webinar package, while others sell the software only, allowing you to pay a one-time fee. When considering webinar pricing and costs, there are several types of pricing that you should note:

1. Annual subscription or monthly costs

2. Pay-as-you-go webinar plans

3. Free webinar solutions

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Consider the difference between an annual or monthly subscription for a web seminar service

Many webinar companies may provide a price difference if you pay annually for webinar services instead of monthly. Most of these annual or monthly packages allow unlimited webinars for a certain amount of people.

I recommend: WebEx Online offers a $10 savings a month if you subscribe annually to its unlimited webinar service. Monthly fees are $65 to $75 while an annual subscription is $55 to $65 a month. WebEx's webinar capacity is for webinars up to 25 people. GoToMeeting also offers a 20% savings if you pay for an annual subscription, with annual monthly fees at $35 to $45 and month-to month fees at $45 to $55. GoToMeeting also allows you to have unlimited webinars, but only for a maximum of 15 people.

Look into pay-as-you-go pricing plans for hosting web seminars

Some webinar companies also allow you use their webinar services on a per minute, per user price. If you are unsure of how much you will be using a webinar service, this is a nice option that allows you to use a web seminar service only as you need it.

I recommend: Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro services has a pay as you go plan that is 30 cents to 35 cents per minute, per user for each time you host a webinar. For web meetings, ReadyTalk offers 20 cents to 25 cents per minute per user price.

Find webinar solutions available for free

If you look in a webinar directory listing, you can find some companies that offers free webinar hosting that allows you to hold meetings or trainings. In these cases, there might be restrictions on the number of people who can participate in the meeting or the number of webcams you can use at a time. Most webinar companies that offer free services also offer other services for a fee.

I recommend: Dimdim offers a free web conferencing service for up to 20 people, with one webcam and audio bridge. Similarly, Yugma is another web conferencing service that offers free web conferences for up to 20 people.

Webinars are web-based seminars that can cover any topic you need. Webinars are one way to training and inform all types of people including employees and customers. Webinars allow companies to offer seminars without having to schedule meeting facilities, transportation or catering. With a webinar, the attendees log on to the webinar's website from any online location and attend. By receiving webinar education and training, anyone can create and host a successful webinar.

Webinar education and training can be received from the comfort of your computer free of charge. There are many sites that offer training information and "how to" advice about webinars. To receive quality webinar education, the webinar needs to cover at least three areas: basic tips, instructional guides to set up a webinar, and marketing information for webinars. A basic understanding of what it takes to create a webinar is a vital part of the process. Learning how the webinar needs to be set up and hosted is also vital to a webinar's success. Marketing strategies are also important to creating a successful webinar.

1. Review basic tips for new webinar creators.

2. Learn how to host and produce your webinar.

3. Discover your webinar marketing options.

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Find basic tips about creating webinars

Get a good start with basic tips about webinars. These tips are designed to help webinar creators get a foundation before setting up the webinar. These tips cover all aspects of webinars, however they do not go into a lot of specifics. After reading these tips you will have a good understanding of what the webinar may cost and how much time it takes to set up.

I recommend: Britt Bravo provides many tips for gathering information and creating webinars. Discover more tips about webinars at Charlwood eMarketing.

Locate instructions for creating a webinar

Understanding how webinars work and how to set one up saves hours of worry and work. These training guides show how to set up, record, work with the webinar software and how to handle webinar hosting. These are detailed instructions that explain how to organize a webinar.

I recommend: Find information at BuyerZone.com for setting up and running a webinar through webinar software. Fairfax Media also provides information about working with webinar software. Buzz Marketing supplies how-to information and advice about creating and hosting a webinar.

Learn about webinar marketing

Make sure your webinar is profitable by finding a large audience through great marketing. These guides instruct you in various marketing options you can use to promote your webinar. These marketing techniques can help generate more attendees for the seminar.

I recommend: Read information and tips about how to organize a webinar marketing project at Understanding Marketing. HubSpot also provides advice about webinar marketing and for creating a successful web event. MarketingSherpa offers articles and marketing tips for producing webinars.