1. Read the sales letter or announcement for the teleseminar carefully. You want to make sure the content and the people speaking are a match for your interests. The only time I was ever disappointed was when my expectations were not met – and when I re-read the sales letter I found out what I expected was not explicitly mentioned.

2. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of the multitude of complimentary teleseminars being offered. Yes, each will end with a sales pitch. But I consider 55 minutes of great content worth the 5 minute commercial. Certainly can’t get that trade-off on TV!

3. If they ask for questions before the teleseminar, send in a question. No matter how hard you have to think, come up with a good question. Many times the host is looking for good questions to get the discussion started, especially at the start of a call, so your question is more likely to be used on the air if you get it in early.

That means that if they use your question your name will be mentioned on the call. This is no cost publicity! Not only will the live audience hear your name, but everyone who listens to the replay will hear it, too. That can be years of PR.

Why do you care? Because when people are attending a teleseminar, the only thing they have to go on is a name. And the only names they are hearing are the experts who are talking – and the experts who are asking questions. Through association, you are automatically counted as one of the experts. Do this on several calls and other attendees will begin to “recognize” you. That’s good for your reputation.

4. Whether or not they ask for it, send a testimonial immediately after the teleseminar. Don’t wait till the next day. The seminar host is flying high and posting the followup page right after the seminar ends. So when your timely testimonial arrives, he/she is likely to add it to the site. You will be amazed at how many people say “I saw your testimonial on so-and-so’s site.”

A good testimonial is specific. Don’t say “great information”; instead say “I really liked the three tips you gave on affiliate traffic.” And be sure to sign your name and title and website as you want them to appear – they’ll copy and paste it if you’ve done a good job.

5. Use your testimonial as the start of your sales copy. Many teleseminars offer resale rights or affiliate programs. You’re in the perfect position to market the program – you’ve just listened to it and raved about it. Now tell your friends and colleagues about it – and make a profit as well.

So the next time you sign up for a teleseminar, look upon it as a marketing opportunity!

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?’

1. “I don’t know why I would want to host a teleseminar.” There isn’t a business that can’t benefit from a teleseminar. Because you are voice-to-voice with your prospects and clients, they feel they know you better. And when you bring them more information in this format they respond with increased loyalty – and sales.

2. “The technology is too complex!” On a basic level you need a “telephone bridge line” that allows multiple people to call into a central number. Sign up for a free line, then invite your family or several friends to join you for a call so you can practice muting and unmuting the line and using the other call controls that are available. You will quickly see it is easier than you thought, with practice.

3. “I don’t know how to record the call.” You definitely want to record the call – but you don’t have to do it yourself. There are services that will record the call for you and give you the file. They will even upload it to your website! It is generally best to have an outside service to record for you until you have a lot of experience under your belt.

4. “I don’t know what to talk about.” The easiest solution is to interview someone else. Then you just need to ask the questions. In most cases the person you’re interviewing will give you a list of questions you can ask.

If you prefer being “the expert” take the top 10 most frequently asked questions you get from clients and prospects and answer those. You will be amazed at how much you have to say when you’re talking on a topic about which you are passionate.

5. “I might make a mistake.” This is probably the biggest reason people use to put off hosting a teleseminar. Let’s get over it! You are not perfect. No one else is perfect. We have all done something to embarrass ourselves. But you can edit any “faux paux” out of the recording. Now you just have to worry about the live attendees. And if that’s what’s holing you back, record the teleseminar without a live audience. Then just offer the replay.

Hosting a teleseminar is too important a part of marketing your business to be ignored. Take steps this week to overcome any issues that are stopping you – and make that call!

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 when you’re hosting teleseminars.