Can you suggest an affordable (or free) commercial-grade Webinar platform?
I need it to be reliable enough to deliver a for-pay course. Also, it must integrate with PayPal. The ability to deliver e-mail marketing messages would be a big plus.
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Feb 20, 2016
Hi Anne, I'm testing WebinarIgnition right now and like it. I've purchased Easy Webinar and found it wasn't so easy- tech glitches. I like InstantTeleseminar but their interface is so outdated, I don't want to communicate that to clients.
Also, have you considered what other software you might want to use in combination with your platform? For instance, I got WI and Click Funnels almost at the same time. If I'd read the CF documentation and community first, I would've gotten Evergreen Webinars because that integrates with CF.
Don't freak out, though. It's just a matter of knowing what you ultimately want to do with your webinars and planning for that. Since you plan to sell, you might see what platforms integrate with the shopping carts & funnels you like as part of your decision-making process. Good luck!
Feb 20, 2016
"Free" doesn't go with commercial-grade, reliable, flexible, and versatile. Except for a free trial with limited features. If you want people to pay you, provide an excellent experience, and don't try to get by on the cheap.
"Affordable"relates the cost of the system to the amount you make from it. If you have confidence that you can attract many paying customers, then having a solid system--that may cost a little more--will be well worth it, because it will attract more sign ups.
Feb 20, 2016
If you want free or cheap, you get cheap. If you are trying to impress prospects, you MUST look and feel professional.
The gold standard is GoToWebinar. WebinarJam Studio, WebinarFusion and others that are bad on Google Hangouts are good if you are the only one speaking and do not need to interact with attendees other tan to read and answer questions they post.
GoToWebinar and WebinarJam are probably the most popular.
As for integrating email, you use an autosponder and email marketing system. I don't know of a webinar system that does that.
My set up is this: Set up the webinar in GoTo Webinar. Registration nd follow up pages built using LeadPages. GetResponse and Hatchback to send the email. For a Thursday webinar, I send on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday morning, 1 hour prior, 15 minutes prior and 5 minutes prior. Sometimes I will add a text message option for this registering. Follow ups go 15 minutes after the end and the day after. These depend on what I am selling and how many bought and where everyone left the buying process,
Feb 22, 2016
Hi Anne, I have found that you get what you pay for with webinar platforms. I am a huge proponent of affordable (and even better, free!) marketing tools but GoTo Webinar is 100% worth the expense for the audio quality when hosting a number of viewers. It has tons of integrations so it's likely that it "talks to" Paypal. For email, I always recommend MailChimp, which offers a free account to start and if you need more functionality/integrations (it does integrate w/ GoTo) it is still a very cost-effective upgrade.
Feb 20, 2016
The best solution I've seen for the money by far is Webinar Jam. It costs about $400 per year for an unlimited number of attendees per webinar and it has even more features than industry leader GoToWebinar, which costs around $500 per month with a limited number of attendees per session.
Feb 20, 2016
Anne
You could do a lot worse than look at GetResponse which is an integrated digital marketing platform. It is cheaper than Webex and goto meetings is well specified and includes a host of marketing automation features such as email templates and sending,landing pages and complex auto responders as well as having some great features for webinar like interactive polls and the ability to track engagement of participants. Another nice feature is the whiteboard. You can get a 30 day free trial.
If you only have a small number of participants have a look at Google Hangouts which is free.
I have also used Zoom to good effect for international web coaching and webinars although their webinar platform is quite expensive, the basic video conference package is good enough to share slides or your desktop and costs a lot less but Zoom only integrates with Google calendars and not PayPal.
Feb 22, 2016
I don't know anything about webinar platforms, but I'm wondering why it needs to integrate with Paypal. Your website would have a landing page to enroll clients which I would assume would be linked to your Paypal, correct? The platform would be used to produce/record the webinar. It sounds like you might be looking for a CRM system that integrates e-mail marketing as well. These would be two different things I would think. But as I said, I'm not familiar with webinar software, so maybe it does all you need in one place. I hope you get the information you need!
Feb 20, 2016
My recommendation,... Video Conference Software for Webinars, Online Meetings, Desktop Sharing & Web Conferencing http://scafidi.com/meetcheap-webconferencing
or try this one that i use for my business,... !http://scafidi.com/pure-leverage
All the web hosting tools you need to succeed online
- Web hosting
- Email Follow up System
- Your own LIVE webinar room
- Professional video hosting and creation services
- All included
Feb 21, 2016
Anne,
Sharing the following resource is very difficult for me to do and from a competitive business point of view...you will see why.
**I do not own nor profit in any way, shape or form from sharing this software** Viddler.com has EVERYTHING you stated you need...just rolled out earlier this month. FYI...speak to Daryl specifically and tell him I demand an Affiliate program be offered! :)
Feb 21, 2016
You can try https://www.braincert.com/online-virtual-classroom (it has a free option for starters and it integrates PayPal).
Mar 13, 2017
Thanks Silvana for the mention.
BrainCert has launched WebRTC powered HTML5 based Virtual Classroom (https://www.braincert.com/online-virtual-classroom) in 50 languages.
You can quickly check a hands on demo here https://www.braincert.com/try-virtual-classroom (No login required).
BrainCert also offers the largest low-latency global WebRTC infrastructure, enabling you to schedule and launch live virtual classroom sessions no matter where you or your attendees may be!
Feb 20, 2016
Yes, One that I am using right now is called Join.me. They have excellent yearly rates and one of the cheapest ones that I've used to date. Just go to Join.me.
Feb 20, 2016
Indeed I can. Although requiring a very high speed Internet connection, Google Hangouts will permit voice, text, and video connections. You may try and see if it fits your needs. IF not see below responses.
Best,
Marty
Feb 20, 2016
I agree with the Join.me suggestion. I have used them for years, both free and paid, and their service is especially simple for your attendees to use.
Feb 20, 2016
I've used: http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html Great product and costs less than $500 / year
Feb 25, 2016
Agreed on the quality of the product. I used it with a client who had it as their enterprise solution and it was great.
Feb 20, 2016
Been having good results with small groups (always most rewarding financially) using Zoom
Feb 20, 2016
Yes I can! Try it FREE! I can offer you a FREE 30 day trial! Check it out at TalkFusionDemo.com and let's connect in my VideoChat room today and I will share how you can benefit immediately. It's all about WebRTC now and if you aren't using it, you are missing out! Janice Silva, SmartIdeasNOW
Video Email, Video Newsletters, Video LIVE Meetings, Video Chat, Video Auto Responders
find me on Facebook.com/smartideasnow
Feb 24, 2016
Hello Anne.
There are several options that I have used that work very well.
Skype now can do multiple people on camera simultaneously projected to one another, I have not used this feature.
Google Hangouts works really well as does freeconferencecall.com and their free conference webinar tool.
I am NOT aware and have never had to attempt the Pay Pal integration, but Google has the ability to deliver e-mail marketing messages and has an entire division that exists to help users find, learn and use productively for their specific needs.
(you can also GOOGLE all the solutions I have mentioned and find the links and help you need there)
Best of luck to you on your search and final decision.
Darrell R. Miller
Pathways Hospice
Feb 25, 2016
Be aware that most free and low cost solutions are really just platforms, plugins and wrap-arounds that embed Google Hangouts on Air. There are lots of them - you'll need to check the service and price points.
But one you may want to look at that has a freemium model (zero cost low tier) is zoom.us. I've had it recommended but not used it. Like Dina, I have used Webinar Ignition. It is a WordPress plugin that wraps around hangouts, and as such, it is therefore a one-time cost.. It will also handle automated (evergreen) webinars. But note: it is a WordPress plugin and therefore will only be of use if you have a WordPress site to plug it into!
Walter...Again, spot on, brief and to the point advice. Great answer! The 1 problem with Citrixs' two options, (GoToWebinar and GoToMeeting) is even though a mobile/tablet app is offered...there is very little attendees can do. Your suggestions are very reliable however, if the majority of prospects will be using mobile or tablet app...be aware of this.