Yes, travel and marketing budgets are shrinking, but all is not lost. Many organizers are finding that Webinars can help promote events, educate exhibitors and buyers and keep and grow customers, as well as extend a show's brand year-round.

BENEFITS
- Keep your industry informed by addressing timely political issues or government regulations, giving advice or best practices, disseminating information to chapters and positioning your show as an informational resource.
- Educate exhibitors about the attendee audience, what first-time exhibitors should expect, how to make the most of their participation and how to leverage media during a show. Use satisfied veteran exhibitors, the manager of the show or the CEO to deliver the message.
- Provide continuing education or certification units or allow access to archived conference programming, including keynotes and educational sessions.
- Tease attendees about the value of attending. Show short clips from popular speakers scheduled to be at the show, and introduce new areas of the exhibit hall, new exhibitors, products or technical demonstrations.

Charging participants
PROS
Generates revenue. Creates a sense of value for the content.
May help to ensure participation after registration.
Justifiable if used for certifications or CEUs.

CONS
Some resent paying when so much content is free on the Web.
Registration tends to be higher when there's no fee (but dropout rates are, too).
Need to handle credit card charges and explain refund policies.

TIMING
- Avoid Mondays and Fridays.
- The best start time is 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. EST, so you can catch West Coast people in the morning hours.
- Keep the length to one hour.

Keys to success
Content - Create catchy titles, but be sure the content is meaty - something your audience can use to work more effectively, save money or advance their business goals. And remember, not all content is suited to be delivered electronically. Motivation, for instance, is more difficult to deliver without a face, so it's inappropriate if you're not streaming video.

Speakers - Speakers don't have to be celebrities or even well known in your industry, but they must be engaging. Speaking for Webinars is different from speaking in person, so be sure to rehearse with the speaker, even for a voice-over for PowerPoint slides. Also recommend that the speaker stands during the delivery to mimic the feeling he or she would have on stage.

Moderators - Moderators may be used to introduce the program, act as an emcee or facilitator for a panel of experts, handle the sponsors' plugs, etc. Moderators should have the same rehearsals as other speakers.

POINTERS FOR PLANNING
-  Don't rush it. Test everything - the audio, vocals and phone transmissions. Be sure participants understand how to log in and how to send in questions for the Q&A that makes the Webinar interactive.
- Anticipate the types of questions participants may ask and have answers ready. The moderator should monitor the questions coming in and \bunch\"" questions of the same nature to avoid repetition. Let speakers know how to respond to questions they can't readily answer.
- Beware of diminishing returns. Don't overschedule Webinars if you don't have unique information to convey. Periodically review archives and delete sessions that aren't timely. Most Webinars are archived for about six months.
- If people are paying to participate"