Web Worker Payoff: Webinar Emcee

If you have expertise in a specialized business area, can keep your cool when hundreds of people are hanging on your every word, and know how to show good humor when technical snafus arise, you may have a bright future as a webinar host.

And the potential is only growing. A survey by webcast company On24 reported that the 35 b-to-be media companies it studied produced more than 1,200 individual Web events last year, up 32 percent from the previous year.

According to e-content editor Kanoe Namahoe (profiled last week), who acts as a site producer for 1105 Media’s Campus Technology and T.H.E. Journal, the people she uses as hosts for their Webinars tend to know how to “move the conversation along.” Looks on camera don’t matter, since the Webinars include slides and audio but not video. However, she says, hosts do need “the ability to speak clearly. They need to articulate. They need to have charisma…and the ability to speak with authority, not from a script.” That requires understanding the topic under discussion to help guide it.

She pays $1,000 to $1,500 per Webinar, depending on experience.

Why not use magazine editors to do the job? They presumably know the topic and understand the audience. And, since they’re already on the payroll, they’re free. “From a resource perspective,” says Namahoe, “it’s not possible. Plus, outsiders bring so much experience each time they do this.”

It’s up to Namahoe to act as wizard behind the curtain. She works with the company that’s sponsoring the event to develop the topic, special guests and slide presentation for the show; writes the promotional copy for editorial newsletters and other email alerts; lines up the host; acts as a liaison with the company that hosts the events (On24 in her case); runs a dress rehearsal; and during the live event culls through viewer questions to prioritize them for the host.

When problems arise, such as losing audio, she directs participants to keep doing whatever they’re supposed to (after all, the event is being recorded for the archives) and kicks into action with the tech support people from the hosting company until the event is back on track.

But as the voice of the event, it’s up to the host to do the apologizing to the audience. Showing grace under pressure is part of the job.

How does the Web pay off for you? We’d love to hear how you’re making money.

Susan Heid’s Web Worker Payoff column, profiling income and career opportunities on the web, appears weekly.

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