I know, I know, I can hear you now….

“But Leesa, don’t you frown upon the freemium telesummit model?”

Yes, I do and my client had to really twist my arm to produce his third telesummit using the freemium model.

But I’m glad I did…

Because I was able to experience firsthand the differences between premium vs. freemium telesummits.

Now, this doesn’t change my view of hosting freemium virtual events, but I do believe that there are some wonderful benefits to hosting a freemium one. So, here are the disadvantages and advantages of hosting a telesummit based on the freemium model.

Advantages of the Freemium Model

The Freemium Model Encourages a Higher Level of Access on the Live Calls

My client only offered the live session for free which ended up being a REALLY smart idea. If the attendee missed it and wanted to access the replay, they had to invest in the package that contained the recordings.

There were no 24-hour or 48-hour access to the replay. You had to be there to listen and if you missed it, invest in the recordings.

When I checked my client’s numbers in InstantTeleseminar, he had 10x the number of people listening in via the phone or webcast compared to the premium telesummit we hosted in 2010 and 2011. Ten times! I was SHOCKED at what I saw.

With that many people listening to the live session, it results in a higher percentage of attendees taking action on offers the speakers or the host make. One speaker emailed us to say how delighted he was to see a bump in subscribers to his list after making an offer during the live session.

My recommendation: If hosting a freemium telesummit, offer free access to the live sessions only. Save the recordings for the package that people need to invest in.

The Freemium Model Removes Money as a Barrier to Participation

Money can sometimes dissaude someone from participating. We all know that. There are many excuses why someone just won’t pay for education or training. The freemium model removes the barrier to participation and gives the attendee access without putting limits on their enthusiasm.

In fact, I believe this loving move – to offer access to the live sessions at no cost – does more to encourage the attendee to take decisive action on any offers the host makes. They’re not in a penny pinching place. They get valuable content for free and thus, can make the upgrade to whichever offer meets their budget.

However, for this free access, email is not enough. I firmly believe that if you’re going to give away all this great content at no cost, the attendee must give you more than just their first name and email address. There has to be some effort on their part.

My recommendation: Gather, not just an email address, but mailing address too. Or, take the opportunity to have attendees fill out a survey for a coupon that’ll give them free access. But email and first name are just not enough in my book.

The Freemium Model Helps Attendees Commit to a Higher Level of Investment

The psychology of a telesummit attendee is to get information and results fast. They will listen to the free sessions and if there’s an opportunity to work directly with host, they’ll jump at it.

This is the pyramid model that Kendall Summerhawk encourages her students to use. You get them on your list with a free offer, typically an invitation to talk to you through a breakthrough or discovery session, then you invite them to invest in a high-level coaching day. If for every 10 conversations, 3 say yes, this means that your coaching day is priced well. If more than 4 say yes, it’s priced too low.

My recommendation: With the freemium model, you’ll have a captive audience who want results fast. Don’t be tempted to offer them just access to the recordings. Invite them to sign up for a breakthrough or discovery session, then move them into a coaching day with you.

Disadvantages of the Freemium Model

The Freemium Model Brought Out Brokeback Entrepreneurs

I wrote about the Brokeback Entrepreneur a few years ago and this term applies to some of the people we met during my client’s freemium telesummit.

My team and I dealt with a higher number of tickets compared to years past. The first day of a telesummit is the busiest, but I found we were more busy than normal. And the type of tickets we got were from people who were ANGRY that they missed the free session, wanted us to make the recording available, then “stormed” away when we shared that they could get the recording if they invested in the package.

I’ve learned that when people get angry about not getting access to the FREE offer that you’ve pretty much insulted the god in their life. It means that even if you bend over backwards to appease the person’s anger with an extra, unadvertised offer, they’ll pretty much spit in your face in the form of demanding more.

Getting emails that say “you don’t know what your mission is, do you” all because they had tech issues accessing the free session doesn’t make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

My recommendation: Put together a list of FAQs so you’re clear right up front what your boundaries are. Share that link in every email sent to attendees.

The Freemium Model Increases Costs

Due to the high number of people accessing the page to get the handouts and call-in details, there were some server outages. With the premium model, we never had this problem since the numbers were lower. Only those who paid got access to the handouts and call-in details. With the freemium model, my client encouraged those who signed up to share the call schedule page with people in their office, so we really couldn’t anticipate our numbers.

The good news is that the intermittent outages only happened when the first session was set to begin each day. And as there were no complaints from attendees, my team and I were slapping each other on the back that the outages were not noticable.

Also, we experienced higher than normal access to the video that’s on my client’s front page. I hosted it through AudioAcrobat because it has a prettier interface compared to YouTube, but after getting an email stating that I was over my allotted bandwidth (which means a higher bill), my team moved the video over to YouTube.

My recommendation: Free is not really free, so make sure your server can handle your newfound popularity and that you’ve budgeted for any increases in the use of online tools.

The Freemium Model Produces Smaller Conversion Numbers

What’s very attractive about the freemium model is that it can build your list fast. I’ve seen people add up to 10,000 people to their list in just a matter of days. But there are 2 issues:

1. The conversion from free to your recording package is low. It ends up being as low as 2%. Hence, you need a high level of sign-ups in order to break into 5-figures on admissions alone.
2. The unsubscribe rate will be higher. Most people who sign up for a free giveaway will unsubscribe as soon as you send your first non-telesummit ezine. I’ve heard one internet marketer state that you’ll lose 70% of your list within 13-months. He’s not that far off. I participated in a free giveaway in April 2011. Nearly a year later, only 50% remain on the list. Some email services will penalize you if you lose too many subscribers in a 30-day period. One of my Certified Virtual Event Managers who participated in a giveaway got emails from her email delivery service stating that losing too many email subscribers may get her classified as a spammer and they’ll close her account if the trend continued.

My recommendation: Just be aware that you’ll have a higher than normal unsubscribes. If you’ll fall apart seeing that many people leave your list, either don’t use the freemium model or send those unsubscribe notices to an email you never check.

Final Thoughts

I still much prefer the premium model, one where people pay for access to the live sessions and the recordings. However, there are some compelling reasons why one could use the freemium model, however, consider both the advantages and disadvantages before hosting your next or first telesummit for free.

A telesummit host sends you an email requesting your free giveaway so she can add it to her telesummit website. Then a couple days later, the same host shares the day/time you’re speaking at her telesummit and includes the call-in details so you can connect to your session.

You sit there staring at the emails completely confused. Who is this person and why are they sharing this information with you? And why are they assuming that you’re going to speak at their telesummit which is now only a week away?

And then it hits you…

You remember a phone conversation you had with the host 2-months back agreeing to speak at their telesummit. However, between that conversation 2-months ago and the emails you’re getting a week before you’re set to speak, you’ve heard nothing from the host.

You look ahead to your calendar and surprisingly, you’re free to speak. But you’re irritated that now you have to prepare your speaking materials at what seems to be the last minute. And you’re equally irritated that the host seemed to disappear and forgot to send you reminders along the way.

How would you respond? Leave your comments below.

I love gorgeous information pages, especially ones that showcase virtual events. I broke down this category of Overall Design into two:

• Long Sales Page – one that features all the content on one single, scrolling pagecategories:
• Short Sales Page – one that features 4 or more mini-pages

Below, I share my pick for the Virtual Event Best In Show – Overall Design in the Long Sales Page category.

Overall Design – Long Sales Page (Winner)

Ultimate Soulmate Summit – www.soulmatesummit.net

This virtual event took place in February 2011 and was hosted by Arielle Ford and Claire Zammit. When I saw the page almost a year ago, I never forgot it. It had a gorgeous banner, well designed speaker profiles and a consistent brand throughout the page. Absolutely stunning!

Overall Design – Long Sales Page (Runner Ups)

List Building Summit – www.listbuildingsummit.com

This event took place in April 2011 and was hosted by Vrinda Norman. I had a chance to speak to her personally about her virtual event and her numbers were outstanding. Even more so is the design of her virtual event page. She’s getting ready to host the 2nd annual List Building Telesummit taking place April 2012. Get on her list so you can see the full sales page in action.

Practice Building Conference – www.practicebuildingconference.com

This virtual event took place in September 2011 and the host, Casey Truffo, has an awesome eye for design. She never disappoints with her gorgeously designed information pages and of course, the Practice Building Conference information page is her best yet.

Right Brainers in Business Video Summit – www.rightbrainersinbusiness.com

Hosted by Jennifer Lee, I think her multi-speaker virtual event was the first to be hosted entirely by video in 2011 (the link above will take you to her 2012 page). What makes Jennifer’s virtual event stand out is that all the font on her beautiful information page is her own. Yup, that’s right. She turned her handwriting into a font.

Congrats to the winners and runner ups! I’m pleased to honour the best that virtual events have to offer. Please comment on these selections below, but before you do, please read my criteria here.

So, I’m taking a different approach…

I’m going to show you a collection of virtual events that I feel are doing it the right way. I’m calling it the Virtual Event Best In Show. Next week, you’ll see my pick of virtual events that did the right things in terms of content and design.

Here are the 8 categories that I’ll showcase:

1. Best Page Design

- I love gorgeous designs, so I’ll be looking for virtual events that use beautiful graphics and images on their sales page. This includes content, images, ease of reading and overall design.

1. Technology of the Year - I’m going to choose technology that helps virtual event organizers and hosts make it easier to plan or produce virtual events.
2. Most Innovative Format – I’m looking for virtual events that do something other than the typical lecture style format over the phone.
3. Most Provocative Theme – I’ve come across some virtual event themes that really push the envelope. I’ll share a winner with you.
4. Host of the Year – There are many fine facilitators and emcees that I’ve heard over the past year and I’m going to select one who I think stands out above the rest.
5. Aspire Award - I’m going to select a virtual event that was hosted for the first time in 2011.
6. Trailblazer Award - The person I’m going to select is someone who has hosted the same virtual event for 5-years or more. There are very few out there who have done so and I’m eager to recognize their efforts.
7. Hall of Fame – I’m going to recognize individuals and vendors who sparked the virtual event movement with their innovation, professionalism and unselfishness.  Probably going to look back to 2001 when I first got started in the virtual event space.

I know this series will spark ALOT of discussions. Before you comment, please remember my criteria for choosing the Virtual Event Best In Show:

• I’m focusing on virtual events hosted by solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, independent consultants and small business owners. In other words, this list will be skinny on corporate and enterprise examples.
• The virtual event must have been hosted between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. Anything earlier than that hasn’t been considered.
• I’m also focusing primarily on virtual events that feature multi-speakers. Think telesummits, video summits and webinar/teleclass series.
• This list is entirely subjective. It’s based on what my eyes see and my ears hear. You may not agree with my picks and that’s okay.
• I’ll also list runner-ups in each category, except the Hall of Fame category.

I’d love to hear who you think should be included in this list. Please share your links below. You can suggest your own virtual event, one you attended or one you setup for a client. Remember – multi-speaker virtual events hosted in 2011 only please! Please share your links by Monday February 6, 2012.

In the video clip below, I share why it’s important to understand how your values influence your telesummit and virtual event success. I have 7 values in total – abundance, connections, vitality, faith, excellence, freedom, joy – and in the vide, I explain how my first value, abundance, helps me produce successful telesummits.

What are your values? Please list 3, 5 or 7 below. The ideal number is 5, but if you’re having a hard time narrowing it down, don’t exceed 7. Click here to see a list of values to help you define your top 3, 5 or 7 (opens in a new window).

I went ahead with it and after hosting the Social Media Telesummit in 2008, 2009 and 2010, it helped to boost my income and raised my credibility in the marketplace which made it so much easier to attract clients and joint venture partners.

If you’re waiting for someone to give you permission to host a virtual event on your topic, you need to shake all your doubts aside and just go for it.

Here are a few reasons why you’re the best person to host a virtual event on your topic:

You know ALOT about the topic.

You studied it for years, you have a degree or certification in it or you have experience working with a process, tool or procedure. For example, I started my first blog in 1999. I could easily host a virtual event about blogging due to the number of years I’ve used this tool. So, what do you know really well? Whatever it is, you can definitely host a virtual event on that topic.

You are your own success story.

Maybe you were once bankrupt and are now a self-made millionaire. Or, maybe you were angry and then, you developed a unique system that led you to a life of peace. If your mess is now your message based on a step-by-step system that you created, you are in a great position to host a virtual event.

My friend, Milana Leshinsky is an excellent example of this. When she first migrated to the United States from her native Russia, she started doing mini-websites for people. Eventually, she focused on helping coaches create multiple streams of income online. She went from making $100 here and there to a multi-million dollar business. She was more than qualified to host the Coaching Telesummit in 2005, 2006 & 2007.

You have a community of people who listen to everything you say.

You may have spent months building a membership website or an online association and now, you have hundreds and hundreds of members who hang on to your every word. One of my clients, British Hill, was in this position. She spent a couple of years building an online community that numbered in the thousands and now, she was wondering how to monetize this attention.

With my team’s help, British hosted a wildly successful telesummit which led to speaking engagements and a renewed relationship with her tribe. If you have a membership website, Ning group or online association with a membership in the hundreds, a virtual event is definitely something you are more than qualified to host.

You’ve written and spoken on the topic.

If you’ve published a book, a series of articles, a column or if you’ve produced a television show, radio program or podcast series on your topic, then you’re fully qualified to launch a virtual event in your industry or niche.

When I wrote my book, Podcasting for Profit, I interviewed just over 50 podcasters and did tons of research to make sure all my data was correct. People really appreciate this dedication to a topic and if you write or speak on a topic often, this qualifies you as an expert.

Which brings me to my last point…

Others call you an expert

If the media quotes you often or if a journalist, colleague, best selling author or one of your clients calls you an expert, then you should wear this badge with honor. As an expert, people will listen to you and take your opinions more seriously. When you have this platform, it’s a perfect time to host a virtual event.

My final thoughts

You do have what it takes to host a virtual event. You do not need anyone’s permission to do so. Just remember that if you know as much as you do about your topic or if others believe you’re an expert, it’s a fine time to produce a virtual event.

Want to get started with your telesummit, video summit or webinar series? Why not invest in the Telesummit Success training. This content rich audio program, plus downloadable transcripts and handouts, will get you started with planning your telesummit.

I presented this material at a closed door event hosted by Kendall Summerhawk. Over 250 coaches gave me a standing ovation after the session was over. Telesummit Success will teach you the four things you need to do to get started with planning your telesummit. Click here to get more info on this program.

In the video below, I share the #1 thing that fills virtual events. It’s a phrase I’ve shared many times before, but this time, I add it to song. Hat tip to Mark Silver for inspiring me to reach into my musical background.

And look out for an announcement from me on Tuesday December 20, 2011 where I’ll share how you can learn about the best marketing tools to use to get more bums in the virtual seats.

Now, you can cheap-out and use a password-protected webpage to deliver your information to attendees. However, this is not a secure way to manage your virtual event recordings. Plus, you risk adding more tasks to your already full plate because this process is not automated.

Aside from the money you save using a blog and few plug-ins to create your own virtual event minisite, there are are three powerful reasons why you need to use something more robust than a password protected webpage to deliver information to attendee about your virtual event.

#1 – You Improve Customer Service

The first time I hosted a multi-speaker virtual event, I used a blog. The problem was that my team and I had to manually copy attendee registration information from our online shopping cart system to the blog and then send an e-mail to the attendee letting them know about their registration details.

This process took anywhere between 1 to 2 business days to complete depending on the workload of my virtual assistant. Of course, during this time, attendees would get a little frantic wondering why they haven’t received further information and curious to know what to do next. I’ve had some people freak out to the point where they’ve asked for their money back.

So, having a system that automates the entire registration process helps you to provide optimal customer service and lessen those refund requests. And if your attendees are happy, they’ll reward you with sales in the future.

#2 – You Build a Tribe Quicker

Virtual events can attract tens of thousands of eyeballs which translates into thousands of sign-ups to your list which ends up bringing you hundreds of paid registrants. That means you’ve already identified a market willing to pay you for your services.

But the bigger result is that these eyeballs, sign-ups and customers are united under one theme, one message and one leader. And these are the key ingredients in creating your very own tribe.

In his book, Tribes, Seth Godin says that a group needs only two things to become a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate. The benefits to creating a tribe around your personality, your business or your brand is that you now have a highly attentive audience to share your ideas, programs and services with. Of course, I’m simplifying this a bit, but you get the idea.

Your very own virtual event minisite allows you to provide a central place for attendees to communicate with one another and your virtual event is the shared interest. When you, as the virtual event host, allows connections to take plact between those who have a shared interest, you create a long lasting bond to you, your virtual event and eventually, your brand.

#3 – You Create Passive Income Easier

There’s no better way to create tons of information products in a short period of time than to host a multi-speakervirtual event. If you’ve been sitting around trying to create your first or umpteenth information product, a multi-speaker virtual event will help you achieve this feat in no time.

Depending on what you used to deliver the recorded content to your attendees will depend on how quickly you’ll start earning passive income. Building your very own virtual event minisite using a blog and some powerful plug-ins, such as Wishlist Member, can help you turn your virtual event minisite into a membership website. For an extra fee, you can add content on a monthly or weekly basis so that attendees continue their learning with you after the virtual event is over.

Photo by René Piamont

I read an article in Canadian Business magazine written by Andrew Potter about the halo effect. It’s the perception that objects or people are better because of certain traits. For example:

• People are willing to pay more for organic foods because the perception is that it’s more nutritious.

• Or, that tall people are more likely to be hired because the perception is that their height makes them more competent.

The halo effect got me thinking about telesummits and virtual events…

Only Live Is Good Enough

I’ve noticed a curious habit when setting up telesummits and virtual events for my clients. Most attendees will wait until the last minute to register (70% to 80% of new sign-ups come through in the few hours before the first live session begins), then panic if they don’t get the call-in details before the first live session starts.

Despite the fact that the attendee can catch up with the recording, they will ask for a refund because they missed the first session as it was playing live.

Many treat telesummits and virtual events as a rock concert…

We grew up in an age when live was a better experience than the recording. If your favourite band came to town, you had to be there live to have something to remember for the rest of your life.

If a recording of a past concert was available for sale on DVD, you’d buy it  on your way out of the stadium knowing that the recorded experience could never compare to what you consumed live.

Another example is the series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation…

When the 2-hour finale was shown on television, I didn’t record it on my VCR (remember those) so I could watch later on. In fact, I climbed on the subway and made the trip to the Rogers Centre (then called the Skydome) to watch the series finale in a stadium with over 30,000 other Star Trek fans. When the episode is shown today in syndication on television, I reflect back to what I was doing when I saw the episode live.

We have been socialized to believe that the live experience is way better than the recording. The halo effect with telesummits and virtual events is that only the live session is worth investing in.

Use On Demand Language

As telesummit and virtual event hosts, we need to use different language when referring to live vs recorded content. If the halo effect gives the perception that live is better than recorded, then we have to change the perception with what we say.

On demand content is the language we should use.

• On demand helps us sell choice to the attendee.

• On demand helps to lessen the hierarchy of consumption.

• On demand helps to democratize how attendees interact with the content.

• On demand helps to remove the stigma that one consumption style is better than the other.

How would you reflect this new reality on your sales page? How would you position on demand content so attendees understand what they’re investing in? Leave your comments below.

So, they forgo hiring support and try to set up the virtual event, telesummit or video summit all on their own. While there is some satisfaction in knowing that you did it all by yourself, the fall out with spending 15-hours or more per week collecting information from speakers, installing a blog, writing copy and helping attendees is costing you precious time and energy.

Here are 3 signs that tell you it’s time to hire someone else to set up your next virtual event…

1. You neglected your clients and family

All those late nights updating webpages, getting speaker handouts and configuring the conference bridge service means that you missed out on spending quality time with the people who really care about you. I understand why this happens. You’ve heard about how powerful telesummits can be in growing your list and your income, so you’re hoping that you can do the work, save some money and benefit from all the hard work later on. But while you save money now, you end up neglecting client projects (the people who pay you) and neglecting your family (the people who love you). With someone helping you set up your virtual event, you’re free to focus on income producing projects (such as networking, speaking and enrolling new clients) while maintaining normal office hours (the difference between working until 5pm or 2 in the morning).

2. You hate attendees and speakers after it’s over

Isn’t a database stuffed with new prospects/customers supposed to make you happy? It should, but if you’ve played the roles of host, customer service agent, speaker liaison and webmaster every day for 6-weeks or more, your resentment of attendees and speakers will be high. The reality is that you should’ve had someone else take care of the support and technical issues so you’re free up to focus on just being an amazing host (and taking a well deserved break every day).

3. You didn’t make a profit

Weeks and weeks of planning and all you have to show for it is a few hundred dollars. How disappointing! So, for your next virtual event, put together a budget and decide early how much you can spend to hire someone to help you. Typically, you shouldn’t spend more than 30% of your entire budget on virtual event help. But the reality is if you continue to muck around with the details, it takes you away from the marketing and it’s the marketing that puts bums in the virtual seats. My clients who hired one of my Certified Virtual Event Managers typically make in revenue 3-5 times what they paid to hire help. It’s wise to have someone on your side supporting your every step.

Ready to explore your options?

If so, click here to fill out a Request for Help to connect with a Certified Virtual Event Manager. Speak to them about your virtual event needs.

What are some other clues that you may need to hire help the next time you host a virtual event? Leave your comments below and let’s expand this list of 3.