When it comes to hosting a webinar, one of the most important questions is about the actual cost. Compared to other aspects of running a business, such as creating and manufacturing a product, webinar hosting is not that expensive. Nevertheless, you will need at least some budget to run successful online presentations.
More and more businesses are incorporating webinars into their content marketing strategy. This is happening primarily because it’s so simple to host a webinar these days, but also because webinars are great for business promotion and lead generation.
Table of Contents
- Equipment
- Guest speaker
- Promotion
- Webinar platform
- Digital Samba: the smart choice for your webinar needs
In this article, we have analyzed the basic expenses for webinar hosting, so that you can adjust your budget and get the most out of your virtual events.
Equipment
The cost of equipment is probably the lowest, compared to other aspects of webinar hosting, because most companies already have the necessary equipment.
The basic equipment consists of:
- PC/laptop
- headset
- webcam
- reliable access to the internet
This is literally all you need to do from the technical side (we will discuss the webinar platform separately). Chances are you already have these in your company, so the cost here is minimal. In case you don’t have everything, you can buy a high-quality headset and webcam for $250 to $450.
If you also need a laptop, then the total price will probably go over $1000. But this scenario is not very probable because, in most instances, a company already has all of the above-mentioned equipment, so the cost here is minimal if any.
Guest speaker
If you’re running on a tight budget, then it’s best not to invite a guest speaker for your webinar. Depending on their expertise and business arrangement with your company, an external speaker can cost anywhere from a couple of thousand dollars to tens of thousands. For most small and medium businesses, this amount of money is way too much to spend on a single webinar.
If this is the situation with you, then it’s best to go with an “internal” speaker, such as an employee, a coworker, or a business partner with whom you have a longstanding relationship. Also, some people would gladly accept to be the speaker on your webinar for free, especially if they are allowed to mention their product or service.
You can discuss this possibility and find a solution that will work well for both parties. Again, the good thing is that you can get a speaker for your webinar without spending a dime. This is crucial for businesses that are in their early stage of development, without strong financiers or investors to back them up.
Promotion
You won’t reach the desired number of webinar attendees unless you promote your webinar well. That is why good promotion is vital. However, just like for the previous two aspects of webinar hosting, promotion doesn’t have to use up too much of your allotted budget.
In fact, if you have well-developed communication channels in your marketing pipeline, the cost of promotion will be minimal. Do you have a strong newsletter or an email list? How many followers are there on your social media pages? Do you have a podcast? How about a video content channel? All of these are great for promoting your webinar, and they practically cost nothing (no more than you usually spend on maintaining them). If you have a lot of subscribers or followers, you can market the webinar to them via these channels, which will guarantee you a solid number of attendees.
However, if you want to promote the webinar via paid ads, then you will need to invest some money into it. Although there are no exact numbers for this, expect to spend at least 40% to 60% of your webinar budget on promotion. Since this is possible only if you have a budget, to begin with, you can still rely on free marketing channels, such as your podcast, mailing list, or social media.
Webinar platform
Technically speaking, you could check off the previous three requirements without spending any money; you already have the equipment, you won’t invite a guest speaker and you will promote the webinar via free channels. However, there is one requirement you cannot circumvent, and that is - a webinar platform. You simply won’t be able to host your webinar unless you have a good platform to back you up.
There are many webinar platforms, with different pricing plans. Each of them has plenty of features, but the biggest problem is the actual price. Depending on the plan you choose, a webinar platform can cost from less than $100 to over $500, for businesses and large-scale digital events. We tried to come up with an affordable, reliable, yet feature-rich solution for webinars, backed by full online support.
Just to give you a hint, our Digital Samba platform offers:
- unlimited meeting duration
- unlimited number of webinars
- HD video conferencing
- VoIP and telephone conferencing
- full branding (for Pro Plus users)
Digital Samba: the smart choice for your webinar needs
Let's delve a little deeper into Digital Samba, a top-tier choice for hosting your webinars. As an EU-hosted service, Digital Samba assures that your data remains within the secure bounds of the European Union, ensuring adherence to the stringent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements. This aspect provides an elevated level of confidence for those seeking a GDPR-compliant video conferencing solution.
In addition to our commitment to data security, Digital Samba brings to the table a comprehensive suite of video conferencing APIs and SDKs. These tools allow businesses to embed video conferencing functionality directly into their software products or websites. This feature is a game-changer as it creates a seamless user experience, effectively bringing the meeting to your audience rather than directing your audience to the meeting.
Digital Samba prides itself on its end-to-end encryption, offering an additional layer of security that safeguards the privacy of your communication. You can be assured that your discussions, shared documents, and proprietary information remain confidential and secure.
Digital Samba’s platform is built to be flexible, making it an ideal choice whether you're a start-up, a medium-sized business, or a large corporation. It scales with your needs, ensuring you can grow your audience without worrying about hitting capacity limits.
Remember, the choice of platform can make or break your webinar, and with Digital Samba, you're opting for reliable, secure, and GDPR-compliant video conferencing that elevates your virtual events to the next level.
Photo by Vanilla Bear Films on Unsplash
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