I've sat through a lot of webinars in my day. I think they are a fantastic tool and venue to spread knowledge. I like them so much that I want more people know about them and that's why I started Webinar Central. There is so much going on out there that it's a shame if a Webinar isn't at full capacity with people eager to learn.

One of our goals here at Webinar Central is to provide tips and tricks on Webinars, not just a database of Webinars. We want to become the place you come to learn about webinars and how to conduct them. So, this is the first articles of an ongoing series.

Without further ado, here are 10 Tips for Holding a Successful Webinar.

1. Practice with the software

We've all been there, in a webinar where it's clear the presenter did not adequately prepare by learning how to use the Webinar software. Whether it is Webex or GoToMeeting, take the time before you are having your webinar to work out the bugs and become a pro at using the software. You may be providing a free webinar, but busy people are giving you their most valuable asset, their time. Do not waste it.

2. Actually Have content on slides

Don't just have one slide with a picture of yourself for the whole presentation. Give your viewers something to look at. If you don't, they don't have a reason to stay inside the webinar program and will do other things on their computer while they half listen. That is something you DON'T want if you want your message to get across.

3. Start on Time

Again, people are busy and time is valuable. Please, start your Webinars on time. It's OK to wait five minutes to give any last minute stragglers a chance to join in, but don't wait forever to start. I've sat in on many webinars that started 15-20 minutes late.

4. Leave time to take questions

One of the advantages of a webinar is the fact that your viewers can participate. Take advantage of this medium. Encourage them to send in questions during the webinar to be answered at the end. And be sure to let them know at the beginning that they can ask questions. Also, be sure to leave time at the end to answers questions. Often times, many webinars run over and they either rush through the questions or don't do them at all and say "E-mail us your questions."

5. Stay on Topic

Don't ramble. Please. You should set out initially what you plan to talk about and cover. Stick to this and stay focused on the task at hand. It's easier to people to learn when there is a clearly presented structure.

6. Don't Spend 15 Minutes Talking about Yourself and Your Qualifications

I was in a Webinar just last week where the 'moderator' spent fifteen minutes talking about the accomplishments and qualifications of the two people that would be talking in the Webinar. Really, it was a bit much. Listen, we know your experts, that's why were there.

7. Keep Sales Pitch to a Minimum

Most companies give Webinars for free as a way to pitch their products and services. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. However, it's best to keep Webinars as a learning tool. Teach about concepts and theories behind your products and then mention your products. You don't need to SELL SELL SELL in a Webinar, let your knowledge and experience do the work. You should really only spend 5-10 minutes selling your wares if you're giving a Webinar about an industry subject. However, if your Webinar is all about one product, then fine, selling is all right, that's why your viewers are there. But don't bring people there for the "Ultimate Marketing Webinar" only to sell them something for 30 minutes when they are actually there to learn something. If people learn something useful, they will remember you.

A company that is great at the sales pitch light Webinar is Hubspot. They give great webinars on social media and internet marketing and they keep their sales pitches to a minimum. And you know what? When I think of internet marketing experts who happen to have a useful product, I think of Hubspot and Mike Volpe. I even tried to get my company to use their platform! The bottom line is, I've learned a lot about marketing and social media from them and because of that I remember THEM.

8. No more than 1 or two presenters, or else they all become noise

If we wanted to watch the View, we would. It's not conducive to learning to have 5 people vying for attention and get their viewpoints across. Most webinars are only an hour long. Make the best use of your time and take focused on one or two presenters. The rest just becomes noise.

9. Encourage further participation after the webinar

It's important to engage your viewer, especially if you are trying to interest them in your products and services. Invite them to Twitter while the Webinar is going on. Give them a blog page to go to where they can talk about the Webinar and ask questions when it's over. Keeping the conversation going, even after the Webinar is over is the key to good leads.

10. KISS - The Simplicity Principle

It can be great fun playing around with Powerpoint and making the coolest slides you can imagine but keep in mind that you have viewers. Don't give them more than they can take in at a time. Technology has a tendency to fail as well. Don't make your technical requirements for your Webinar too different or problematic. For example, the recent Hubspot Twitter Webinar was insanely popular, so popular that it crashed the Webinar platform despite having two separate feeds set up, it started 20 minutes late and half the people that wanted to view it got locked out. Many were able to watch the Webinar later, once it was posted on the Hubspot blog, but that was 20 minutes wasted while they were experiencing technical difficulties.

Also, if your concepts are so complicated that even you have trouble understanding them and have to write novelistic presentation slides, then it's definitely going to be too much for your viewers. Try to strip down your concepts and language and make them as simplistic as possible. Your viewers will thank you.

Webinar Tips and Tricks Conclusion

Webinars are an exciting medium and great way to pick up new skills and concepts as well as being a great way to generate sales leads. I hope you all find these successful webinar tips useful and are able to have your own hit webinars.