Webinar FAQ

Here’s a snapshot comparison of various web-conferencing solutions.

Over $100/month

webex Event Center
Free Trial?: Yes
Price: Request quote.
Recording: Yes, audio/video using flash or windows media file.
Features: Unlimited meetings up to 3000 ppl. Automated email management, streaming audio/video, powerpoint presentations, share documents, applications and more.
Support: Free training, online user guide, free 24/7 phone support.

$50-$100/month

gotowebinar
Free Trial?: Yes (30 days)
Price: $99/month Save 20% on yearly purchase.
Recording: Audio Recording.
Features: Unlimited webinars up to 1000 ppl. All the features of gotomeeting plus tracking of registrations, polling, surveys and more.
Support: Online support and 24/7 phone technical assistance.

webex Meeting Center
Free Trial?: Yes (14 days)
Price: $75/month per host. Also available as pay-per-use.
Recording: Yes
Features: Unlimited meetings up to 15 ppl. File transfer, text chat, share documents and more.
Support: Online user guide, free 24/7 phone support.

$20-$50/month

gotomeeting

Free Trial?: Yes (30 days)
Price: $49/month Save 20% on yearly purchase.
Recording: Audio recording.
Features: Unlimited conferences up to 15 ppl. Desktop sharing, white-boards, text chat, and more.
Support: Online and phone customer care. Unlimited software and service upgrades.

webex MeetMeNow
Free Trial?: Yes (14 days)
Price: $49/month Save 20% on yearly purchase.
Recording: NO
Features: Unlimited conferences up to 10 ppl. Private chat and more.
Support: Unlimited instructor led and self-paced training. Online ‘help’ section.

Free to $20/month

sightspeed
Free Trial?: Yes (15 days)
Price: $19.95/month – $695/month
Recording: Yes, video and voice.
Features: WebCam based. Multi-Party Video Conferencing, text messaging, unlimited PC-to-PC calling, and more.
Support: Live video or phone support 6am-6pm. Online knowledge base.

vyew
Free Trial?: Yes
Price: Ranges from $0 (ad supported) up to $19.95/month.
Recording: No
Features: Unlimited meetings up to 45 ppl. No special software required, desktop sharing, white-boards and more.
Support: Online user guide.

When choosing a webinar or webconferencing vendor, it makes sense to pick the simplest solution for your needs, and this includes the needs of your attendees.

Many people are not really computer-savvy and if you ask your audience to install or download software, they may be either unsure of what they should do, or suspicious of the software for security reasons. Picking a web-conferencing solution such as gotomeeting that doesn’t require your participants to download any special software will improve the response to your event.

Several days before your webinar, try to find a person who is not especially experienced (computer-wise) and do a trial run of your conference with him/her as the audience. Ask how well the webinar worked and if there is anything that might be made easier.

One measure of a successful webinar is how many people actually attended. Scheduling your event for the best day possible can positively influence the percentage of people who attend your event.

Weekends are usually a bad choice because most chose to spend that time with their families, pursuing their hobbies, shopping, or just relaxing.

Mondays are often a stressful and busy day at work, so are usually best avoided for that reason. Plus football fans don’t want to miss the big game Mon. night.

Fridays are usually another poor choice because people just want to get through the day at work and start their weekend.

Wednesdays are possible, however some people attend church or other activities on Wed. night.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are usually a good choice for holding a webinar, at least without specific factors or evidence to the contrary.

To actually find the best date to schedule your webinar, why not ask the people you invite? Consider adding a ‘best day?’ survey question to your webinar registration form.