Should You Charge for Your Webinars?

At flyte, we put on monthly Web marketing Webinars that cover everything from search engine optimization to Google Analytics to promoting a business blog. We actually put them on twice.

The first one is free, and available only to our clients as a value-added service/thank you for doing business with us. The second is a paid one available to anyone (with an Internet connection, a phone line and the cost of entry.)

I've definitely heard some good arguments for not charging for Webinars; however, whether you should charge or not should be based on what your goals are.

When You Should Give Your Webinars Away For Free:

• You have a product or service that can be enjoyed by the masses. Think Ben & Jerry's vs. Red's (which sells ice cream in South Portland, Maine, and is only open when the weather is good.)
• You have the bandwidth to distribute your product or services to the masses. For example, if you're a solopreneur photographer, you're not going to be able to do the amount of business that Sears Portrait Studio can, regardless of how much better your product may be.
• Your goal is to build up your business. If you don't have a following already, and if you don't have  a proven track record, it's difficult to get people to pay for your Webinar when there is so much free information out there.
• You are rewarding behavior. As in, we give our clients free Webinars because we want to thank them for choosing and sticking with flyte.
• You want to get an important message out. If you're not a for-profit business, or if you have an important cause and want to get your message out as far and wide as possible, a free Webinar is (probably) the way to go.

When You Should Charge for Your Webinars:

• When you want to qualify your audience. I found this when I first started giving presentations: when you don't charge for them you often get a room full of tire-kickers, people who don't have anywhere better to be, and people who don't appreciate the value of what you're providing.
• When you want people to show up. Another lesson I learned from presentations: when a seminar or webinar is free, something more urgent invariably comes up. Case in point: our most recent free webinar had 14 people sign up, but only 4 got on the call. The paid webinar also had 14 people sign up, and approximately 16 got on the call. Hmmm...will have to look into that.
• When you don't have the bandwidth to work with everyone. One of issues with being a small botique Web design and Internet marketing company is that you can't work with everyone. I like the fact that through our webinars we can help a lot more small businesses and entrepreneurs than I could ever work with.
• When you want to establish your value. Whether real or not, a paid event is perceived as having more value. Even if people can't attend (whether due to time or money), your value and the value of your material goes up in their eyes.
• When you want to make money. It's nice to get paid for your hard work and your expertise. If you're providing value that helps another person accomplish their goals or helps another business grow and expand, there's nothing wrong with getting paid for it.

So, before you decide whether or not to charge for your next Webinar (or seminar), review your personal and business goals...and then set your price.

Rich Brooks
That Webinar is How Much?!

Comments

[ultrayellowpages]

Most webinar hosting companies will have all the technical bells and whistles you'll need. Costs are extremely affordable and within reach of the smallest of businesses.

bill shor