Webinars (presentations or seminars held over the web) are terrific for reaching your customers and potential customers. It's a real chance to add value and lock in sales. But - oh dear - I have been fool enough to sign up for some terrible ones!

I have also been privileged to lead seminars that have received highly positive feedback. So here are ten sure fire tips that will help you lead a webinar you can be proud of. First time. Everytime.

Webinar Tip 1: Choose a great title for your webinar. Make it specific, stress the benefits, and weave in the outcome that attendees can expect. Which sounds more enrolling to you: "How To Build A Website" or "Give Me 45 Minutes And I'll Give You A Website Your Customers Won't Forget"? (OK, Let's hope they remember it for the right reasons, OK?!)

Webinar Tip 2: Spend time devoted to writing a compelling description of your webinar. Nail down the specific benefits - "You will learn 5 vital PHP scripts" etc. Give non-negotiable reasons to attend - "This webinar will not be offered again..."

Webinar Tip 3: Plant your webinar marketing strategy precisely. Will you email existing customers? Put up a targeted website? Work with a joint venture partner? How about a dedicated page on Facebook? You can't spend to much time on your marketing plan.

Webinar Tip 4: Be clear with yourself WHY you are doing this webinar. Is it a freebie? Do you want to make money? Is it to gain practice? Because if you aren't clear, you will put pressure on yourself for the wrong reasons i.e. it has to be perfect (but it's my first one); "I'm doing it for free" (but you can't afford to) and so on.

Webinar Tip 5: Be very, very specific regarding your market. Who do you want to reach? Beginners? Experienced marketers? Single mums? People with money? The reason for this is that you don't want to have people leaving in drives because they realize a quarter of the way through that the webinar is for sales professionals and not sail makers.

Webinar Tip 6: Get the date right! This is a personal one with me. Eighteen months ago I marketed a webinar that was important to me. I had sweated over every detail. Or so I thought. The date? The evening of November 4th, 2008. You see - I work in Europe. I had completely forgotten it was election night in the USA. Complete collapse of webinar!

Webinar Tip 7: How long is the webinar to be? Now, if it is just yourself, I feel and hour is plenty. If you are sharing air time with someone else, then ninety minutes will probably work. This is subjective -some people go on for two hours, but I feel it's hard to ask that length of time from people. Also, different time zones mean that some participants may well be taking part in the middle of the night, local time.

Webinar Tip 8. What's the format going to be? I suggest you don't rely on "talking heads" i.e. you, and maybe another. Use screen capture software, of PowerPoint slides to keep people's attention. And if you can make interactive, so much the better.

Webinar Tip 9: Registration. How are participants going to register their intgerest? Email? Web page? Opt-in? And what ill they receive - phone in line? Web URL. Check, check and check again that the system works. You'll be tense enough on the night; don't make it worse for yourself. (And don't forget to check that your server can handle the bandwidth demands.)

Webinar Tip 10: Pay, or Free? Common sense says that a free webinar solicits a higher audience, but don't be to quick. If you have a high profile in your market, or if the information you are offering is genuinely added-value, then you will be able to ask a ticket price.

So there are ten tips for leading a webinar you can be proud of - there'll be more.

My best to you.

Was this article of interest and value? James Gladwin is a successful Internet marketer and a list building expert. Get your own List Building product that you can sell - and make money! Click here: http://www.ultrasimplewebtraffic.com/email_course_ezine.html.