Teleseminar Marketing Funnel Number 1: Free Q and A Teleseminar to Paid Class

If you can speak well over the telephone, you can use teleseminars (topical, prearranged conference calls) to give people interested in your topic a sample of what you know and teach. Then you invite them to sign up for a paid telecourse or other kind of teaching program.

This is a teleseminar marketing funnel I have successfully used numerous times. If you have your own list, this model doesn’t require you to give away any commissions on the paid program. If you don’t have your own list, you can publicize the free teleseminar through online event listings, free announcements in forums and email lists, press releases and ads.

Here are the steps to follow.

Step 1: Announce a free one-hour teleclass in which you’ll answer questions about your topic. On the signup form for the class, include a box where people can type in their biggest question about the topic. When people sign up, they should receive an automated email informing them of the phone number and access code to use for the free teleclass, as well as the date and time of the call. Send a reminder email, containing the same information, to all the participants an hour or two before the call is scheduled to begin.

Step 2: Hold the free teleclass. Keep the group muted during the first half, when you answer the best pre-submitted questions in an organized fashion. You can also answer relevant questions that no one actually submitted. Then unmute the line for live questions and comments. Make sure you provide real value in your answers rather than come-ons for the upcoming paid program. Begin and end on time.

Step 3: Email those who signed up for the free teleclass (and who may or may not actually have attended) and let them know about the upcoming paid class. Provide a link to the web site that explains it in depth. Send one or more reminder emails about the upcoming paid class to this list.

Optional: Record your free Q&A call and make the recording available to those who didn’t sign up for the Q&A session. Have automatic followups in place pitching the paid class to those who request the recording.

Variation: Ask colleagues to host a free Q&A teleclass with you. Pitch the paid class both at the end of their Q&A class and in automated followup emails. Use an affiliate program so you can reward your colleagues with a commission for every person who signs up for the paid class through their link.

If you repeat your paid program, you can either repeat the whole process above or just offer the free recording of your Q&A teleclass, with automated followups in place that pitch the upcoming paid program.

If you turn your paid class into a home-study program, you can keep your offer of the free teleclass recording up indefinitely on the web, with its automated followup emails. You can then drive traffic to that opt-in through pay-per-click ads, blog posts or keyword SEO.

I credit this model with tens of thousands of dollars in income, and I look forward to hearing how it has worked for you!