One can never prepare enough, I think.

I want to share 3 Preparation Tips with you that I use to organize virtual events for clients.  They are my ‘mise en place’ for virtual events.  Mise En Place is a french term meaning “things in place,” which I borrowed from the culinary industry.   My mise en place consists of two documents (a Timeline and a Workflow) and a practice event.

Preparation Tip #1: Timeline

For ample marketing and organization the Timeline is imperative for your virtual event.   It is a critical path that outlines Pre- and Post-event Marketing efforts, Attendee registration (and payment if yours is a paid event), Attendee messaging (email reminders) and Post-production tasks, and who is responsible for each task.  As a Virtual Events Specialist, my clients rely on me to have each task listed and assigned with a deadline date.  So for instance, while it is my client’s responsibility to decide the title and description of the event, it is my responsibility to determine which tool will work best and get the word out about the event.  For a typical complimentary teleclass or webinar, I find that 2 weeks is ample time to announce and market a virtual event.

Preparation Tip #2:  Checklist

The other document on which I rely heavily is a checklist.  Much like the pre-flight checklist a pilot uses, this document lists step-by-step instruction for me and my client so that no details of the event management are overlooked.  Every detail.  I remind myself to open my email account (so I can provide trouble-shooting assistance to attendees).  I remind myself to have a glass of water available.  I remind myself to make sure that anything with a  noise is quieted during the call.  Every detail is listed on the checklist.

Preparation Tip #3: Practice Event

My last suggestion for Virtual Event success is the practice event.  This is usually done the day before your actual event.  I dial into the conference call line or log into the webinar tool with my client and we have a dress rehearsal of the event.  The Practice Event is a great way for you to test your Checklist and work out any bugs in your plan.  I practice my welcome script, I practice muting phone lines, I practice changing presenters.  Practice makes perfect, after all.

What are your ‘must-have’s when planning a virtual event?  Feel free to comment below…

I have been following blogging industry leader, Denise Wakeman for some time.   She teaches folks about blogging and online visibility, and building better business blogs.   Denise, founder of The Blog Squad, outlined “14 Attention-Getting Tactics for Launching a Business Blog,” in her recent post on the Social Media Examiner blog.  I was not surprised to read that 6 of her 14 suggestions included easy-to-implement ideas using audio and video.  Here they are:

* Host a live-streaming video event

* Create a video to promote your blog

* Repurpose your content

* Feature experts (Interview them via teleconference or webinar)

* Host a webinar

* Host an online radio show

Thanks, Denise, for an insightful post!  As usual, her content on blogging is of great value.  I suggest you follow Denise!

Have you thought about using a different medium for getting your message to your target market?  What challenges are you facing in trying new marketing tactics?  Please feel free to comment below:

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More and more companies and small businesses are choosing to hold Virtual Events rather than the more expensive offline events and conferences. In fact, “Virtual Meetings and Events [will] replace 2.1 million airline seats by 2012” (Gartner, Feb. 2009). 76% of businesses say they have already begun using or plan to start using Virtual Events in 2009, while 70% of Corporate Event Organizers predict a reduction in live events in 2010 and forecast significant growth in virtual conferences and webinars.

Why my interest in virtual events? Part of the interest stems back to my training in college where I majored in Sound Recording Technology. I’ve always had a love of technology and gadgets – but not everyone shares my views. Even with the myriad of easy-to-use-tools for virtual events available, some entrepreneurs and online professionals would rather concentrate on delivering their content, and not worry about the technology. And that is the gap that our Virtual Event Specialist services fill!

I plan to launch a new division of my business called Virtual Events Team in 2010. Here is an example of my work.

Shortly, I will be able to announce that I have earned my Virtual Event Specialist certification through VAClassroom. I want to help entrepreneurs implement the use of multimedia in their marketing efforts, and felt a live stream video was one method of demonstrating the ease of use.

Do your research, and choose a vendor based on your needs.  Some options to consider: Do you need a back-up phone line?  Will your callers be using VoIP service to call in?  How many callers do you expect?  What is your monthly budget for this service?  Bells and whistles cost money, but if you don’t need lots of bells and whistles, then you can save yourself some budget dollars.

After choosing your vendor, you will set-up an account with them.   A unique conference call line and PIN will be assigned to you.   (These details are what you will share with your audience prior to any teleseminars you offer.  )

Decide what day and time will be best for you – and your audience – to deliver the teleseminar.  (Remember that with recording capability, you won’t have to try to coordinate the schedule of your whole audience.  Simply offer them a recording of the call to playback at a later time!)

Send out an email invitation to your list giving them the call-in information.  Don’t forget to send them a couple of reminders (1 week out,  3 days out, 1 day out, and the morning of…) to ensure that the callers have all the details to attend the call.

On the day of the call be prepared with your information, a glass of water, and a cheery attitude!  Call into the teleseminar line about 15 minutes early.  Welcome callers as they come on to the call.  Start the call recording.  Introduce yourself and deliver your information.  After you have delivered your information, have a Q&A session.  Thank the callers for attending.  Stop the recording.  Download the audio file of the call, and follow-up with an email to your list to send them a recording of the call.

….Or hire your Virtual Assistant to manage all these details so you can prepare more information to present ;-)

What is a teleseminar (aka teleclass)?    Typically teleseminars are training or sales information delivered via a conference call.   A day and time for the call is scheduled.  Attendees are sent invitations to the teleseminar and are given the conference call number to dial.  On the day and time of the call, the host and attendees call in to the conference call line.  The host presents the material and answers questions from the audience.  After the event a recording of the teleseminar is sent to attendees (to benefit those that could not be on the call live).  Voila!  Information delivered, call recorded, your time is leveraged!

Tomorrow you’ll learn how to host your own teleseminars.

According to a VAClassroom.com presentation I attended:
“Businesses are adapting to Virtual Events at a record pace! 67% of professionals responsible for physical events report that overall attendance has dropped, and 76% of businesses say have already begun using or plan to start using Virtual Events in 2009. In fact, 70% of Corporate Event Organizers predict a reduction in live events in 2010, and forecast major growth in virtual conferences and webinars.”

Think about how much information you have to share with your target market.  Wouldn’t a virtual event of some kind help you leverage your time and money to share your information?  Of course it would.

In my next posts, I’ll outline some of the virtual events you can consider for your business.