By Lynette Chandler

Let me tell you a quick story. A few months ago I attended a
seminar series which was also streamed live online. In each
of those sessions, I noticed the number of online
participants versus the number of phone in participants was
on average double if not more. One day, the seminar was held
only on the phone. Can you guess what happened?

That’s right. Participant rates dropped to an all time low. The
next week we got back on both telephone and live streaming
online, total number of participants rose. Now this might
be a simplistic observation but it is clear, given the
choice people like to join a seminar session online. This
is a great reason for you to stream your teleseminar
online.

Conference calls can be expensive.

Depending on your provider, many charge by the number of
people and duration of the call. So if you have 15 people
on a call together for 60 minutes at a rate of 4.5¢
per minute per participant, you’ll be paying $40.50 per
session. May not sound like a lot but remember, if any of
those variables change, your cost changes too.

Reach a wider, international audience.

No matter where they are, if someone has an Internet
connection, they can ‘tune in’ without the hefty cost. I’ve
lived inside and outside the U.S. Believe me, no matter how
great the information is, it is rare I would dial into a
teleseminar with a U.S. number because the cost is too much
and this sentiment is shared by others. For a great many
people in the world, long distance is very expensive. No
doubt, they are lower today than they were 5 even 10 years
ago but it’s still not as affordable as what you’d get
dialing out of the U.S.

Another thing to consider is, many people do not know how
to dial International. A lot of times they also have to go
out of the home to purchase a calling card from a store.
These are all barriers to attending your teleseminar call.
If you’re already selling online, your customers
undoubtedly have access to a computer with Internet
connection. By streaming your audio (or video), you
eliminate those barriers.

Who are they going to call?

Even within North America where long distance is very
affordable, people still choose to spend their money
wisely. Remember, you’re not the only one holding
teleseminar calls. In any given week they could have 2 or
more invitations. If people choose to call in to several
seminars, it could add up to a small fortune at the end of
the month.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying teleseminars do not
work. They do. Very well indeed and have a great track
record. Plus, it is a highly accessible technology around
the world. But the world we know is changing; so are
people’s preferences. And the technology available today
makes streaming content and web conferencing easy and
affordable. So if you could reach a few more people by
streaming it online or adding a web conference component to
your teleseminar, why wouldn’t you?

Lynette Chandler helps entrepreneurs recognize and apply the power of technology and its trends to their marketing. Learn how web conferencing can help improve your business today at www.bizfactsonline.com/webconference.

Article reprinted with permission from LadyPens.com

The fact that so many solopreneurs and small businesses working out of efficient home offices are managing multi-million dollar companies is something we’re all cheering, in between multitasking and refreshing our computer screens. Now comes a conference that gives us a moment to pause, celebrate and examine the “Power of Less.”

Organizers argue that the notion that small budgets prohibit big success is so pre Web 2.0.  Instead here’s how they look at the dynamics of the small enterprise in a Web 2.0 world:

“Constraints drive creativity, whether in business models, or platforms.  It means the power of the small screen, the thin client, the streamlined itnerface.  It might mean the power of small teams, or even going solo.  It’s also the paradox of power: sometimes the best way to gain power is to give it away, which why during these challenging times, we are learning that nothing builds brands like a nurtured community.”

Amen.

If this sounds like your kind of conference, especially since it features speakers like Trust Agents co-author Chris Brogran, then you ought to plan to be in New York city  from November 16-19, 2009 at the  Javits Center.

For more information about the program and registration click here.

Sorry I read something today causing me to delete this.

Here’s a great reason to be in Toronto October 6-7 at the beautiful Sutton Place Hotel.  The Canadian Institute is holding their annual, popular social media conference this year called “Managing Social Media – Practical Solutions and Legal Strategies for Maximizing Success and Minimizing Risk.”

Presentation highlights:

• Hear from a team of Telus on best practices and lessons learned for getting management buy in for building and sustaining your social media team
• Learn how Ford overcame digital rights and licensing hurdles to create an open and impactful content strategy
• Understand how to choose the best applications for your organization
• Find out what leading lawyers are advising on the privacy, disclosure and security minefields putting your organization or small business at risk.

For registration information call 1-877-927-7936 or visit www.canadianinstitute.com/socialmedia.

Interested in learning more about how to promote your brand on Facebook? Want to understand how to leverage Facebook as part of a social media strategy? Or are you a developer looking to build the next great application? This day-long workshop, led by some of the most talented and well-known names in the Facebook community, are coming together to show you how Facebook and it’s components can be used to create engaging experiences on the world’s most popular social networking site.

Facebook Marketing: Inside and Out

October 1st 2009

9am-5pm

The Arts & Letters Club, 14 Elm Street, Toronto, Canada

Admission: $99/single, $150/Flex Pass

Visit Refresh Events to register.

Many small business owners today are living their dream – working from home or in their community helping to build security for their family and the people they support or employ.  To keep the entrepreneur in you engaged and motivated to continue the good work, it’s important to feed that inspiration and you can do that by attending any one of the hundreds of small business events happening this season.

Think of the cost as an investment in your business.  The benefits are significant.

Meeting face to face with others is great way to communicate. Online communication is fantastic but not when it is the sole means of communication.  Mix up your interaction with peers and clients for your own professional development AND to build your business.

Connections you might make at conferences can lead to new business opportunities you might never have accessed being locked away in your own office.

Fall is a wonderful time of year to get out there and take advantage of all the events and networking opportunities in your particular field.  Take a look at our current events section to find out what might be of interest to you and then book your tickets!

Kelby Carr

Kelby Carr is a former investigative reporter turned “new media mom” (her term) that I first discovered online a few years ago. She’s one of the growing numbers of professional women who have turned to blogging and online writing not just as an outlet but as a means of replacing the income lost after making the decision to come home to raise children.

She’s an inspirational powerhouse in social forums like twitter but what makes her stand out is her focus on “bringing others with her.” Her conference “Type-A Mom Conference” is all about showing others in her peer group – moms (or Dads) working at home that networking and income earning opportunities to be gained through blogging.

The Conference will be held September 24-27, 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Tennis and Golf Resort Asheville, North Carolina. Click here for more information.

Some more details on Kelby taken from the Type A Conference website:

Kelby Carr was named one of the 50 Most Influential and Powerful Women in Social Media. She operates a network of social parenting blogs as well as a social bookmarking site just for moms and an investigative blogging site. She also blogs for About.com, a New York Times Co., and Suite101, and she is a Tech and Meta editor for Blog Nosh Magazine. She blogs about social media, Twitter, mommy blogging, and life as a mom 2.0 empire builder at KelbyCarr.com. She’s been geeking it out on computers since the early 1980s, building web sites since the early 1990s, and blogging since 2002.

If you’re a man or woman who has not heard of the acronym “WAHM” here’s a quick definition: WAHM is a term used by a segment of the small business sector that includes women raising children while they work at home hence the term “work-at-home-moms” or WAHMs.

The need for a WAHM network or sector comes from a real desire that many work at home moms and dads have to find business colleagues and service providers who understand the unique challenges and lifestyle opportunities that come with being a WAHM (or WAHD – work at home dad).

One of the leaders in this sector is veteran podcaster, consultant and cheerleader for WAHMs, Kelly McCausey.  This Tuesday, September 8 as many kids return to school after the labour day weekend, many WAHMs will be joining Kelly for “Totally Free Tuesday.”

This day will be an opportunity for those women or men thinking about working from home to ask questions and to hopefully learn from some of the successful work-at-home entrepreneurs who will be making themselves available for discussion.

This “orientation” will essentially be an all day online event. Everything takes place in a user friendly web conference room.

To participate in this unique orientation and have your name included in the draw for key resources entrepreneurs can use click here to sign up.