Big Seminar 14 will be in Las Vegas, one of my favorite cities. It’s only fitting that Big Seminar is there this year – after all, it’s the LAST Big Seminar, so we want to go out in a big way.

Last year, our host, Armand Morin, opened in an Elvis costume, surrounded by showgirls in large head-dresses and tall heels. It was quite an opening! When I asked him later is he was really singing he said “Of course I was!” and looked insulted that I might have thought otherwise.

Because this is the LAST Big Seminar (after 14 of them – that’s a long, successful run!) it’s going to be a virtual who’s who of Internet Marketing experts. I suspect if there is a name that you recognize he or she will be there!

So that comes to Y-O-U –

Are you going to meet me in Las Vegas?

There are two VERY special reasons why you want to:

Reason #1: Between now and October 1, you will save $250 on your ticket! Now THAT’S incentive! Get started today!

Reason #2: I’ve teamed up with my good friend Connie Ragen Green to offer you the BEST possible bonus package. Read all about it Our Big Seminar Bonus.

I just listened to the recording of a webinar I did with two other speakers. And the audio stunk!

It wasn’t the content – it was the technical aspect of it. In fact, we are going to have to re-record it before publishing the replay. That’s double work, double time – and all because some technical items weren’t done properly.

Rather than having you experience this type of extra work and disappointment, here are some tips to be sure you get it right the first time.

1. Always use a land line when hosting a teleseminar or webinar. The difference in sound quality between speakers when some are using a landline and others the VOIP is huge. In fact, even good editing can’t fix it.

The VOIP sound is tinny and often fades in and out depending on the Internet connection. While you may be able to listen through your computer, don’t chance it when you are the presenter.

2. Use a headset to keep the position and distance of your microphone consistent throughout the call. Otherwise you have sound that is loud one time and too soft the next.

3. Remove all jewelry. It clanks against the phone and you’re not even conscious of it. From dangling earrings to a necklace, all jewelry is a threat to sound quality.

4. Mute yourself when you are not speaking. This is especially critical in a multi-speaker situation.

I’ve had guests who had a side conversation, forgetting to mute themselves. Others who ate or drank while another speaker was talking. Even typing notes in the background should be done as little as possible. Just assume everything can be heard.

5. Plant someone in the audience. Nothing takes the place of live intelligence from the outside world. So ask a friend or top client to listen in and give you real-time feedback. They can use the built-in tools for your recording service or instant messenger. They’ll be your ears on the ground, hearing what your attendees are hearing and reporting back to you.

I had the luxury of learning all of this in live speaking situations where I inadvertently wore a necklace or silky material that rubbed against the microphone. So I got immediate feedback from the sound techs as it was happening.

In a remote situation like webinars and teleseminars we sometimes don’t realize the impact of small things.

So next time you get ready to give a teleseminar or webinar, do a sound check. You will be amazed at what you hear.

Dr. Jeanette Cates is an Internet strategist who works with intermediate marketers who are ready to move to the next level. She is the author of TeleseminarBasics and FirstWebinar and coaches online presenters.

I am one of only 12 speakers who will be speaking at the Internet SuperStars conference in Orlando, January 15-17, 2010.

I’m particularly excited about this event because it is my first time to speak – AND it offers a unique learning opportunity for the participants.

You see, each speaker will present 100% content for an hour, then take questions for an additional 25 minutes. The last 5 minutes will be spent on explaining their continuing education option. So you get tons of content with a very short pitch.

THEN the speakers for the day will gather for a panel Q&A session – which is followed by the participants actually doing hands-on work on the tasks the speakers have outlined. You’ll be able to Take Action while you’re there – with help from the people who actually taught you to do it. See why I’m so excited about this?

You’ll want to register immediately. The free preview calls start Monday, November 23 – and I’m first up! Plus, as you’ll see the cost is currently at its lowest point and will start rising December 1. NOW is the time to lock in your spot for Orlando. Meet me there!

If you’ve ever heard Armand Morin speak or teach, then you can understand why I’m excited about this. For three full days, Armand will reveal and teach his Internet Marketing strategies and secrets.

The order of the topics and the length of time spent on each topic will be determined by Armand as he monitors feedback from the attendees. People ask him questions in the hall – and he comes back in and demonstrates the answer. I’ve watched as he literally tested things right there on the stage!
In March 2008 Armand did a similiar event in Los Angeles, exclusively for people who invested in his IME product. No one who attended that event doubts its power and the impact it had on many people. I personally know people who:

Watched Armand for 3 days. Then Launched their online business and six months later had a $1.2 million product launch. Less than a year online!

Attended and listened to Armand for 3 days – and within six months had qualified for his elite Platinum coaching club.

Attended the 3-day event and within a few months won a $25,000 contest, based on their online business.

And the stories could go on! Suffice it to say, this is a POWERFUL event!

The event will run 9-9 on Friday and Saturday in Orlando. You’ll have lunch and dinner on your own – and I encourage you to get with others who are on the same path to Online Success.

You’ll have ample breaks throughout the day and lots of time to network, so bring plenty of business cards with you.

And bring your questions and your dreams with you. If ever you were going to attend an event that can change your life, this is it!

There is no sales letter for this event. Unless you know someone who knows about it, you won’t hear about it. There won’t be any big mailings. No pre-launch videos. No blog. This is strictly a well-kept secret.

That also means it will be a small and exclusive crowd. Probably less than 200 people will attend. And a good portion of them are members of Armand’s coaching group – and his Platinum coaching club. You’ll have up-close contact with the movers and shakers in the industry. Bring your camera!

And naturally you’ll be part of the small group that will be able to ask Armand questions – and get answers on the spot! I can’t emphasize the value of that.

Here’s what to do next:

1. If you have questions about the event, submit a ticket at my support desk at http://TechTamersSupport.com Include your phone number if you want to talk.

2. When you are ready to make the decision to attend, contact me directly through my support desk. If you are able to attend as my guest, your only costs will be travel and meals.

3. After you register you’ll get the hotel information. Make your reservations quickly before the hotel fills up.

See you in Orlando!

Nov 18 Robert Plank Webinar on List Building

Nov 19 Online Success Incubator Monthly Members’ Only Webinar

Nov 23 Jeanette is interviewed for the Internet SuperStars Conference

Dec 4-5 Armand Live in Orlando

Dec 6-14 The Jim Boat membership cruise

Jan 15-17 Internet SuperStars Conference in Orlando

Jan 22-23 Connie & Jeanette Event in Las Vegas

Mother had good intentions. But webinars had not been invented yet. If she had been an experienced webinar host, she would have shared the following lessons with you.

1. You can’t see the polls. While they are clearly visible to your audience, all you can see as the presenter are the tiny “audience view” slides. You have to pull out your magnifying glass to read the poll, much less interpret the results.

Even though polls are good for audience involvement and refocusing their attention on the screen, you may hesitate using them because of this eye-opening fact.

2. The control panel overwrites the screen. You lose the right one-quarter to one-third of your screen, depening on your screen resolution. Sure, you can “close” the control panel so it is just a tiny sliver. But each time an attendee asks a question it pops back open to full size.

Each time you need to run a poll, you have to open the control panel again to both offer the poll and see the results. If you need to change your screen view, you have to open the control panel. You’ll lose your view of the right side of your screen repeatedly.

3. Your voice is faster than your slides. Sure, you learned in high school physics class that light travels faster than sound. But when you add the complicating factor of the light traveling over the Internet – well, the slides take longer to show than it takes for your voice to travel over the phone lines.

So you need to change your speech pattern. As you change the slide on your desktop computer, pause a second. Then start talking. It will become more natural with practice. If you skip this step, your attendees will feel like they’re trying to catch up all the time.

4. New software on your computer may keep you from presenting. Webinar software is complex and runs half on your computer and half online. It is sometimes difficult to predict what may cause a problem. Before you host a large presentation, connect for a practice session. It can save a lot of stress and last-minute panic to be certain your new virus firewall won’t keep you from making that presentation.

5. You can’t do it alone. Sure you can handle the presentation by yourself. After all, how difficult is it to click through your slides and talk at the same time? You’ve done it a hundred times in live face-to-face seminars.

But if you want to leverage the power of a webinar and provide polls, field questions from participants, provide a quality recording and ensure all of your registrants are able to connect, then you need more hands than you have. Whether it’s your office assistant or your best friend – or a combination of both – get help, especially for your larger calls. Your participants will be glad you did!

While you won’t produce a flawless webinar every time, you’ll come a lot closer when you listen to these lessons from your mother.

Dr. Jeanette Cates is an Internet strategist who works with new and emerging online business owners. She is the creator of the First Webinar program, which helps you painlessly produce your first webinar.

Regardless of the type of business you have, you can use teleseminars to increase your prospects and please you clients. While they are one of the most overlooked marketing tactics, they are also one of the easiest and most effective techniques you can use.

So how can you start using teleseminars?

1. Offer training sessions. You can show your affiliates how to better sell your products. Or you can answer clients’ questions on how to more effectively use a product they just purchased. In either case the recording becomes a valuable tool you can offer on an ongoing bases – as a bonus or as part of the actual product.

2. Do market research. Offer a teleseminar on a specific topic, advertising that you’ll answer the top ten questions on the topic. Let them ask questions when they register for the teleseminar. Then just answer the questions. You’ll see from the registrations whether or not there is a lot of interest in the topic. Plus the contents of the call are dictated to you by the listeners. You can decide whether or not to develop a product on the topic with these two pieces of information.

3. Add a revenue stream with teleseminar registrations. Offer at least one teleseminar per month on a “hot” topic or a *perennial* topic of interest. You can charge at least $20 for a content-filled call. In some markets, a simple call can easily be $100 – $250, although you need to research your niche to determine the best price. Be sure to add a handout for enhanced value. Even if you only have 50-100 people on the call, it makes it worth your time.

4. Offer small group coaching. You can easily handle 10-20 people on a group call. And with that level of individual attention, people are willing to pay a handsome fee. Consider, for example, a very reasonable fee of $100 per month for two group coaching sessions. Now multiply by 20 people in a group. It takes 2 hours of your time – and you’re earning $1000 per hour. Not bad for a phone call!

5. Host an open call. You can do this with an exclusive group – or a larger subscriber list. Essentially you are on the line, ready to answer questions. Anyone with an interest calls in and asks the question. Others just call in and listen, perhaps adding comments or offering an answer to a question. This tactic costs you an hour. But it really raises your level of “accessibility” in your callers’ eyes. Plus, it often triggers a product idea for you, based on the questions people are asking.

Any one of these technique can be easily implemented. Two or more combined can exponentially expand your business and enhance your bottom line.

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Dr. Jeanette Cates is an Internet strategist who works with consultants and other experts who are are ready to leverage their expertise into Online Success. She offers more ways to expand your business in TeleseminarBasics.com

A webinar in an online presentation. Your attendees listen on their telephone while they watch their computer screens. It gives the same quality of information as if they were sitting in an auditorium listening to you and watching the large screen up front.

As a business owner, webinars make a lot of sense. There are three major benefits you get when you present your information as a webinar.

1. Webinars provide a familiar learning method. All through college and into professional conferences, the attendees sit and listen to the speaker, watching the slides or demonstration on the screen.

If you’ve had any presentation experience, this feels very familiar to you. You are able to carry it off with the same professionalism you would a live face-to-face presentation. And attendees give you the same attention and respect they give to the “big name” conference presenters.

2. Webinars provide a rich participation environment. Depending on your purpose, you can provide

– the ability for attendees to ask you questions during the presentation

– live chat among the participants

– polls that let you know where they are and keep them focused on the screen.

Likewise, you can provide handouts before the presentation. You can invite other speakers and even hand them the mouse so that they can control the screen for a while. In effect, it’s the closest thing to being in an interactive, face-to-face environment.

3. Webinars provide a higher perceived value than any other live presentation mode. While teleseminars are still an excellent choice for some presentations, people just perceive that a webinar, with its richer communication environment and the video recording, is worth more.

That means you can not only charge more for the original presentation, but you can also charge more for the resulting product. In the long run you can easily double or triple your revenue by presenting via a webinar versus a teleseminar.

While webinars provide the richest communication with your prospects and clients, they are not the easiest presentation to set up. Whereas with a teleseminar you can just get on the telephone and start talking, a webinar takes more preparation and planning.

The wise business owner will get at least some basic training before offering their first webinar. Add webinars to your business and watch your profits soar.

Dr. Jeanette Cates is an Internet strategist who works with new and emerging online business owners. She is the create of the First Webinar program, which walks you through the steps to creating your first webinar.

There are lessons that we learn as we go. Our mothers could have told us – but we would neither have believed them nor paid attention. Instead, they let us learn on our own.

In that spirit, let me share a few things I’ve learned about teleseminars.

1. They can “see” you over the telephone line! No, they can’t see your flip flops or your bad hair day. But they *can* see your smile and your energy. So stand up, walk around, get excited! Smile into the phone, even when you’re the only one in the room. The audience is watching!

2. You’re talking to “dead air” when you mute the line. This is generally a shock to most people on their first teleseminar. And I’ve heard many of them unmute repeatedly just to be sure there is still someone listening. After all, it’s lonely in there, in the muted area all by yourself. Never fear. Your audience is still there – you just can’t hear their breathing.

3. Half the registrants won’t show. They have good intentions when they sign up – especially for a “free” call. But things come up. Even when they have paid to be on the call, they get caught in traffic, company shows up unexpectedly, the dog has to go to the vet, the kids have soccer practice, the last episode of “24” is on. Things happen. It’s incumbent on you, the organizer, to remind them about the call – repeatedly. Then cross your fingers and “go on with the show.”

4. You need to do the follow-up work before the call. After the call you are stoked and pumped from the call – the last thing you want to do is take care of details! But the audio needs editing, the registration page has to change, email reminders have to go out, the transcript needs editing, you need to set up the product in the shopping system, etc. There is just a lot to do! And if you haven’t done most of it ahead of time, you’ll spend more time after the call than you did before. And that dilutes the excitement and leaves you less time to enjoy the moment.

5. It takes 6 hands to do a teleseminar. You have to follow the call outline, check the recording levels, IM your guest, field questions via email and watch the clock. What to do? Get help! Hire someone to record the teleseminar. Ask someone to handle the question emails for you and ask the questions on behalf of the audience. Add operator service to your line. You can’t do this alone – unless you’re a split personality or very talented.

Consider yourself forewarned about these lessons. But I’ll know you weren’t listening when on your next teleseminar you keep unmuting the line and saying ‘Hello – anyone out there?’

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Dr. Jeanette Cates is an Internet strategist who helps consultants and other experts leverage their expertise into Online Success. Jeanette shares more tips and tricks in her popular course at http://www.TeleseminarBasics.com

One of the most frequently asked questions asked about teleseminars is, “What do I talk about?” Rephrased it is “What content sells?”

Here are 5 ways to not only find something to talk about, but also find a profitable topic as  well.

1. Ask questions. Ask your potential audience what they want to know. A simple ASK campaign is the fastest way to get a lot of questions on your topic. It’s also a great way to judge whether or not a topic will sell. After all, if you can get people to ask questions, then you’ll be able to get them to listen to the answers.

On the other hand, if you can’t get any questions on the topic, then it is not likely to “sell” as a teleseminar topic.

Once you have your questions, then look for the themes. And turn these themes into the top ten questions asked. Given that, it’s easy to craft your sales letter to highlight the ten topics you’ll discuss on the call.

2. Watch the news in your field. You may want to set up a Google alert that keeps you informed of the latest news on your topic. Watch the discussion forums to see what people are discussing. You’ll quickly pick up on the hot topics.

Now it’s just a matter of deciding whether you want to set up an ASK campaign to get the questions or set up an interview with an expert to answer the questions. But you’ll know it will “sell”, since it’s already been identified as a hot topic.

3. Look for experts in your field and interview them. Everyone loves the idea of getting insider tips from the experts. So look for those experts you would most like to hear from and request an interview.

Most likely once you’ve settled on the topic you want to interview them on, they will send a list of questions you can ask on the interview. But don’t be afraid to ask additional questions or questions to clarify their answers. That’s what makes an interview interesting – those little nuggets the host is able to pull out of the expert.

4. Look for problems. Listen to the conversations your colleagues have to see what’s bugging them. Watch the discussion forums see what topics come up again and again. What problems never seem to be solved?

Look for solutions to these common problems. Research and find answers to present in a teleseminar format. That can even be the start of a product, based on the teleseminar.

5. You pick the topic. You’re already an expert in your field. You know what questions people ask. You know what they need to know to be successful in the field. Just list the topics, then create a teleseminar series. Your first teleseminar might be the “survey course,” which covers all of the topics at a very shallow depth. Then offer a paid series that goes into each topic in depth. Not only will you have an excellent home study course, but you’ll also be serving your clients by providing the information you know they need.
If you ever find yourself asking “what can I talk about,” just review this list for immediate ideas. You’ll never run out of topics again.

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Dr. Jeanette Cates is an Internet strategist who works with consultants and other experts who are are ready to leverage their expertise into Online Success. She shares everything you need to start hosting your own teleseminars in www.TeleseminarBasics.com