ClickMeeting

– up to 4 presenters
– up to 10 hours of recordings
– 30-day trial period

ClickMeeting is a webinar platform that is currently breaking records of popularity. Certainly, its great advantage is that the entire tool is easy to use for both presenters and participants. However, if you’re going to run an international webinar, that’s fine too, because ClickMeeting supports 7 languages, including English of course. In addition, there is a moderated chat that can be automatically translated into one of the 52 available languages.

What other useful functions does ClickMeeting have?

The tool has such useful features as an on-demand webinar and an automated webinar. The first of them allows you to share previously recorded seminars in the pay per view model, i.e. recipients can watch the webinar immediately after paying for access. The second option is to create a seminar where many things can be set up automatically in advance. All you have to do is upload the recording and on a special timeline add at which point the poll, CTA button or other available elements should appear on the participants’ screen.

In this program you have all the basic functions needed to conduct a webinar – the ability to share your screen, conduct a presentation, record a speech or conduct live surveys. In addition, ClickMeeting also has a board where you can create diagrams and notes for participants. Importantly, the tool has the option to organize paid webinars for which participants can pay via PayPal. So if you want to host an online seminar not only for lead gathering, but also for direct monetization, this is one of the best webinar software you will find.

The most important information at a glance:
– the ability to personalize the webinar, profile page and thank you page (own logo, colors, etc.),
– integration with other tools (including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, HubSpot, PayPal),
– the ability to record and store a webinar,
– option to create a CTA button that will take you to the offer page,
– an option to buy an addition to the package (sub-accounts for employees, more space for recordings, space for additional participants and presenters).

Zoom

– free plan for up to 100 participants (maximum 40 minutes of the webinar)
– up to 1 GB of recordings

We have recently associated zoom mainly with remote learning, but it also has a rich plan for webinar creators. Its big advantage is that it has a permanent free version – but you have to remember that you can then create webinars of up to 40 minutes. Also in this program you can conduct paid webinars and store seminars in pay per view format, and additionally integrate it with EventBrite – the ticketing and registration management tool. A useful option, but only available in more expensive packages, is the ability to create your own URL, including your brand name. In addition, you can also use Zoom to track source URLs and see where attendees are signing up for the webinar from.

What other useful functions does Zoom have?

When it comes to features for presenters, Zoom has similar options to ClickMeeting, i.e. presentation mode and drawing board, plus chat (private and group) and Q&A panel. What is not in the first program is the audience attention indicator. Thanks to this function, you can control which participants are the most engaged and how many of them are looking at what you present at any given moment. A nice and visually interesting addition is the virtual raise hand button for participants. This way you can see the questions when they are presented and you can answer them on the fly.

In Zoom, you also have the option of personalizing the webinar itself and the registration form. The platform also allows you to send e-mails to the subscribers with reminders about the upcoming seminar – you can also tweak them with your colors or logo. You can also instantly integrate Zoom with Facebook and YouTube to broadcast there as well, and with your CRM to collect leads. One thing to fault this platform is its few webinar automation options and marketing tools, but it’s still a good option for people getting started with online video.

The most important information at a glance:
– payment for participation in the webinar via PayPal or by credit card,
– e-mail reminders about the webinar,
– integration with Facebook and YouTube,
– own url,
– the ability to store webinars in the cloud,
– the ability to track the source of the conversion.

MyOwnConference

– up to 10 presenters
– up to 100 GB of recordings
– free plan for up to 20 participants (maximum 20 minutes of the webinar)

MyOwnConference is a cool tool for you if you only want to use webinars to collect leads, as it doesn’t have the option of organizing paid events. Similarly to Zoom, it has a free plan for an indefinite period, under which you can organize webinars for 20 participants with three presenters at the same time. The entire platform is available, so it’s a good choice if you are concerned that your participants may not know English well.

What other useful functions does MyOwnConference have

In MyOwnConference, you can make slideshows, movies and files in various formats and share your screen to show something live. Here, too, you have the option of adding a CTA to the webinar, i.e. a button that will take participants directly to your offer page. You also have a moderated chat at your disposal and you can block trolls that are interrupting your speech. The good functionality is that participants can send messages directly to you, not in a group chat – you immediately catch direct contact with those who are most interested. What else? Live tests and surveys are something you can definitely use.

Thanks to this tool, you can also create webinars in your own colors and under your logo, and send equally well-branded invitations to participants. You can record and store your speeches in the cloud, with 100 GB in the paid package and 500 Mb in the free package. You can easily create a landing page for your event in this tool and organize regular webinars.

The most important information at a glance:
– the ability to send invitations,
– the option to create a landing page,
– CTA in the webinar,
– private messages to the presenter,
– creating recurring webinars, – integration with Google Analytics.

GoToWebinar

This platform focuses on slightly different features than the ones we mentioned earlier. There is no special presentation mode in it, so data can only be displayed on the basis of screen sharing. There is also no drawing board, though you can make on-screen notes when showing files. However, it is possible to introduce a custom registration form. What does it give you? You can get a lot more information about your participants by adding your own questions. You can also create paid webinars (paid in dollars only) and create certificates for attendees.

What other useful functions does GoToWebinar have?

When it comes to presenting opportunities, the audience attention indicator is a good addition. Thanks to this tool, you can check even how many percent of people are currently looking at your screen or which participants are the most involved (there is an option to raise a hand virtually). In addition, you also have a chat and a Q&A panel at the webinar, and you can quickly conduct a survey among participants during your speech. The add-on that can be very useful to you are automatic transcripts that you can download after the recording is finished. An option not available on other platforms is the ability to provide participants with downloads.

GoToWebinar has perhaps the most personalization options out of the tools mentioned. You can not only add your colors and logos here, but also set the number and time of sending e-mails with webinar reminders and thank you for participation. The tool will also allow you to track the source from which the most entries for the webinar are coming from, share the recording after the webinar ends and change the URL to your own.

The most important information at a glance:
– the ability to add questions to the registration form,
– integration with CRM,
– number of emails with reminders to choose from,
– conversion source tracking, – audience attention indicator,
– paid webinars,
– certificates for recipients, in order to participate in the webinar, you must have the application downloaded,
– automatic transcriptions.

GetResponse

– up to 3 presenters
– up to 20 hours for recordings

This name is most associated with the newsletter tool, and rightly so. Initially, the platform was only used to create them, but over time the company expanded its offer to organize webinars. Thanks to this, buying a webinar package here is a good deal for people who already use GetResponse for e-mailing and have a contact base built there. In this tool, you can send e-mail invitations using one of the many templates available. You also get the option to create landing pages and configure the autoresponder.

What other useful functions does GetResponse have?

What has GetResponse prepared for the presenters? There are interactive whiteboard, screen sharing, presentation mode and the ability to play videos during the webinar. There is also a CTA that you can use to direct your audience to the offer page. Of course, there is also a chat for participants in this tool. You can integrate your webinar with Facebook and YouTube, so your audience can also find you on platforms that they know well.

GetResponse has a paid webinar option, however these are only available in more expensive packages. An interesting option, however, are automatic webinars that users can play in return for leaving you with their e-mail address. Also here you can personalize the webinar URL and record the speeches to share them later as well. The thing to be aware of is that package prices are not fixed – they increase as your audience list grows.

The most important information at a glance:
– e-mails with invitations – many templates,
– the ability to create landing pages,
– integration with Facebook pixel,
– URL adaptation,
– integration with Facebook and YouTube,
– automatic webinars available by e-mail,
– integration with the newsletter database, if we have an account there,
– paid webinars only in more expensive packages,
– the price increases with the number of participants.

AnyMeeting

– up to 12 presenters
– 30-day trial period

AnyMeeting is a platform designed mainly for small webinars – the maximum number of participants here is 1000, which is a big difference compared to other tools where the limits are tens of thousands. Here, too, a chat is available for participants, both public and private. However, you can completely remove chat on your speech so that nothing distracts your audience. AnyMeeting allows you to personalize your webinar, including sending invitations tailored to your needs.

What other useful functions does AnyMeeting have?

As for the basic functions for the presenter, here you can share the screen, show presentations, movies and pdf files and block participants who do not follow the meeting rules. You have the Q&A panel and engagement statistics at your disposal all the time. You can conduct real-time surveys and of course record your webinar for later use.

AnyMeeting also offers an interesting option for presenters who work together remotely. The package of this tool includes the so-called green room, i.e. a room for leaders. It is available one hour before the scheduled webinar so that presenters can discuss their speech together in private conditions. In addition, the website also offers e-mail reminders about webinars and personalized forms for participants. The only thing you need to remember is that the website does not allow broadcasting from mobiles devices.

The most important information at a glance:
– personalized invitations,
– real-time polls and emoticon reactions,
– public and private chat for participants (possibility of removing it),
– the ability to send presentations, pdf and mp4 files,
– custom forms and registration pages,
– green room for lecturers, – e-mail reminders about the webinar,
– cannot broadcast from mobiles devices.

WebinarJam

– up to 6 presenters
– up to 4 hours of webinar

This platform offers an interesting solution when it comes to landing page for registration – here you can choose two templates from those provided by the tool and test which one is more effective. If you want to create webinars on a regular basis, you will love the option to permanently book one room. Then the same link leads to each presentation, so participants will easily find you. In addition, WebinarJam offers reminders not only in the e-mail version, but also via SMS. One of the most interesting solutions of this tool, however, is the so-called panic button. If you have technical problems during the webinar, you can move all presenters and participants to a new working room with one click.

What other useful functions does WebinarJam have?

The lecturers also have a lot of possibilities here. The package includes standard options such as screen sharing, chat or presentation mode, but also the ability to take notes on presentations, create polls and polls, and enter clickable offers to your products during the webinar. You can conduct your seminar here both from the computer and the telephones, so you can broadcast without any problems, wherever you are.

In WebinarJam you will also find a separate room for the technical person, i.e. the control center. Thanks to this, you do not have to deal with everything yourself during the presentation – you can ask someone to moderate the chat, share surveys and offers at appropriate times, or track statistics. The platform also gives you the option to create paid webinars for which participants pay via PayPal or credit card.

The most important information at a glance:
– automatic recording of the webinar and the ability to set the times of repetitions,
– the option of booking a dedicated room – always the same link,
– you can change the status of any participant to presenter at any time,
– possibility to test two landing pages,
– e-mail and SMS reminders,
– e-mails after the webinar tailored to the user – depending on whether he stayed until the end or left earlier,
– the ability to create clickable offers that will appear at a given moment of the webinar,
– panic button,
– control center – a separate room for a technical person,
– paid webinars (credit card or PayPal).

Livestorm

– free plan with no time limits (20 minutes of webinar, up to 10 participants)
– possibility of paying extra for an additional presenter
– up to 4 hours for a webinar

Livestorm is another platform that is available, so it is easy to use even for participants without knowledge of English. Here you can create paid webinars and pay per view recordings. In addition, Livestorm offers a registration form that you can embed on your website, and an option to track which sources are generating the most registrations.

What other useful functions does Livestorm have?

The platform allows you to share your screen, conduct presentations, and enter CTAs into your webinar. Of course, there is also a live chat and the option to record your speech. You can also integrate a webinar with CRM to conveniently collect leads. If you like to be in touch with your audience, you will also be pleased to invite any participants to speak – with no limit to the number of participants.

Also in Livestorm you have the option of personalizing the registration form and the webinar itself – you add your colors and logo so that everything matches the company’s visual identity. The platform also allows you to plan repetitions of your speech – you can show it any number of times. The option of exporting all statistics to pdf is also convenient here – it will be useful if you want to print them, show them to your superiors or send them to the client.

The most important information at a glance:
– personalization of the registration page,
– unlimited number of repetitions of the recorded webinar,
– inviting participants to speak,
– possibility of introducing CTA,
– the ability to embed the registration form on your website,
– on-demand webinars,
– paid webinars,
– automated webinars,
– analysis, statistics, tracking the source of registration,
– the ability to export statistics to pdf.

WebinarNinja

– up to 10 additional presenters
– up to 8 hours for a webinar
– 14-day trial period

WebinarNinja allows you to create paid online seminars and on-demand webinars, as well as hybrid versions. What does it mean? You can record part of the speech in advance, and live only parts of it – for example, those that involve interaction with participants. Before starting the recording, you can also create offers targeting your products and plan when they should appear on the audience’s screens.

What other useful functions does WebinarNinja have?

Presentations, chat, polls, screen sharing – all of these basic options are also found in WebinarNinja. You can also change the registration and thank you pages according to your needs, including adding additional questions to the forms. The tool also allows you to change the meeting URL to your own – to refer to your brand.

The platform allows you not only to plan reruns of the webinar, but also to upload the recording to the webinar search engine – thanks to this, even more people can find you. An interesting option is also the ability to export data from the system, including even the participants’ chat recording.

The most important information at a glance:
– on-demand webinars,
– paid webinars,
– hybrid webinars – recording with the host,
– the ability to create offers in advance and make them available to participants by clicking or at a scheduled time,
– integration with CRM,
– data export (including chat),
– personalized url,
– the ability to add a webinar to the webinar search engine.

Of course, there are many more webinar tools on the market. They differ in interface, additional options and prices. For the purposes of this list, we chose those that together create a cross-section – from very simple ones, intended for people who are just starting to run webinars, to professional ones, providing many marketing options.

The Internet is the most promising sales channel – there is no doubt about it. Regardless of the field in which you operate, the ability to reach the customer without locations restrictions gives you a huge competitive advantage. It is worth using it – especially since setting up an e-shop today is simpler than a few years ago.

But be careful! If you think it will become like the snap of a finger… well. It’s not that good. To move from idea to implementation and then successfully build your market position, you need to know how to do it step by step. So see what you need to open a well-functioning online store.

Step 1: refine the business concept

Before getting into the technical details of your own e-shop, you need to go through some basic business tasks. They are the foundation of your investment. Remember: when setting up an e-shop, you invest in the long term. Therefore, you have to be prepared that the development of your business will not happen from month to month, and you will have to wait for the results.

So the question is: how to start? It depends on several factors. Consider: should an online store be a way to develop a stationary business or is it the first step you take on the market? If you already deal with the production and distribution of certain goods via stationary channels, you probably already have appropriate mechanisms developed, including with transport and storage of products, as well as marketing facilities. You already have a customer base and you know who your solutions are addressed to.

However, if you start completely from scratch – the first step is to find an industry. Start with in-depth research. Check what is the economic situation at the moment and consider in what area you are an expert or you can quickly become one. There are two approaches to this topic: either targeting a niche or building an exclusive brand, or vice versa – relying on proven and common material goods.

Also, remember that you have to decide whether you will sell goods under your logo (e.g. by cooperating with the manufacturer to create your own brand) or redistribute it.

It is equally important to ensure a suitable place for running an e-shop. While at the beginning, with small orders, you can manage by storing products, e.g. in a home garage, over time you will need professional storage space.

You can also decide to work in the dropshipping model, which means that you will work with the supplier of products, and you will only deal with the entire sales process until the order is finalized. This solution is good for completely novice entrepreneurs, but of course it also has its downsides, such as limited impact on the shipping process or checking the quality of products.

So, as you can see, if you are a complete beginner, you need to start by developing the business foundation. When they are ready and you know:
– What do you sell,
– to whom your products should go,
– what are your “processing capacities”,
– what budget do you have to start with,

you can start setting up an online store from the technical side.

Step 2: branding

If you already run a stationary business and have developed a brand recognizable by customers, the best solution is to promote it also as part of e-commerce activities. Remember, however, that if your market niche is highly competitive, an expressive, easy-to-associate brand may be one of the factors that will affect your business success. So developing a good branding strategy right from the start is the best you can do. Changing the name later can be time-consuming, costly and, above all, risky.

How to create a good brand? Before you start:
– precisely define the group of customers to which your products will go – assess their needs, expectations, problems, challenges,
– indicate the key values with which your store (and products) is to be associated – which will be more important: prestige and very high quality of products, or maybe their designer character?

Once you know how you want to communicate with the market, you can go to the next step: choose the brand name and its visual identification system.

Especially in the latter aspect, it is worth using the help of professional graphic designers and web designers – they can perform this order on their own or as part of cooperation in designing the e-store layout. It all depends on how you want to “put it up”.

At this stage – when you develop a store brand – it is also worth buying a website domain. Remember that you have at your disposal not only com domains, but also .eu or .co.uk, but also many unusual ones. Nevertheless – these 3 mentioned just now give you more credibility. If you have the option, choosing a domain:
– buy a few “endings” of the address at once – you can then redirect them to the correct store (yours!),
– avoid dashes and other elements in the domain name that may make it difficult for the user to enter the address “by finger”,
– remember that the domain name itself has no impact on positioning – it should be easy to remember and of course be associated with a given business.

Step 3: choosing a platform

At this stage, a very important decision awaits you – which technology will be used in your e-shop. You can go several ways.

A. Commissioning experts to develop your store “from scratch” – it is the safest solution, which at the same time can be fully adjusted to your business needs. However, you must remember that the costs of creating a dedicated platform can be high (and unnecessary), and the time to prepare the website can be very long. That is why this solution is chosen by investors who can afford a one-off spend from several dozen or even several hundred thousand dollars.
B. Take advantage of the e-commerce platform.

When choosing an online store platform, be guided primarily by how large-scale you plan to operate – also in the perspective of many years. Also consider your budget.

When it comes to e-commerce platforms, you have two basic types of services: subscription platforms and open source platforms. How are they different?

Open Source Platforms
This is software that you must install on your own server. They are suitable for people who care about high independence, the ability to adjust the e-store to specific expectations, and above all for medium and large-scale stores. Running them may require previous e-commerce experience or technical support (especially at the beginning).

Usually the platform itself is available for download free of charge, but its operation and extension of the store’s functionality may require investment in paid plugins. It must also be remembered that it will be necessary to implement it on the server and integrate the selected graphic layout with it (own or selected from the available ready-made templates).

Open-source platforms:
– provide the possibility of a very wide “customization”,
– they are friendly for the positioning of online stores,
– they have enormous technical support – especially the users themselves, who are constantly developing this technology

When you choose one of them, you will experience additional costs of implementation, hosting, administration, as well as challenges related to adapting the platform to legal requirements (including developing store regulations).

If you choose an open source platform, you will also need to purchase hosting at this stage. The hosting server should:
– be well secured – so that it is not vulnerable to attacks, and that your clients’ data is safe,
– be adapted to the requirements of the e-commerce platform that you have chosen,
– provide you with sufficiently fast data transfer.

You can choose from shared, inexpensive and suitable for small stores, and dedicated servers – more expensive, but also easier to configure individually. They are suitable for larger and more advanced e-shops.

When choosing an open source platform, you also have a greater impact on the appearance of your e-store. So you can implement it on a template prepared by a computer graphic – so that it fits best into your brand’s visual identity system. You can also take a look at the ready-made templates that are already available.

Subscription platforms (SaaS)
Subscription platforms usually operate in the SaaS model, i.e. Software as a Service. This includes such platforms as Shoper, Shopify or Shoplo. On them you get access to the software in the form of an accessible panel – and this is what your e-shop is based on. In their case, there is no need to “upload” the store to your own server – you use a ready-made system. Fees for using the platform in the SaaS model are charged in the form of a subscription – e.g. monthly or annual, and you, depending on your needs, can choose a specific scope of services and possibilities offered by the website. The costs of such a solution range from several hundred to several thousand dollars per year.

Who are the subscription platforms for? Primarily for beginners who want to run a small-scale online store, especially in the dropshipping model. The use of this solution is the simplest, but it poses many limitations – related to e.g. with limited functionality or the need to choose one of the ready-made graphic templates. Some SaaS platforms are also not perfect in terms of positioning online stores and are burdened with various barriers.

If you are in doubt as to which e-commerce platform to choose, get advice from experts. Analyze your business model with them so as not to make a mistake. Changing the platform later can be costly and time consuming.

Note: Your online store should be responsive. This means that it should be displayed in a fully functional way on various devices – both on computers as well as on tablets and smartphoness. Sales via mobiles channels are also growing very dynamically, so you cannot afford to lose customers from this source!

Step 4: e-shop integration with ERP

Although this is not a necessary requirement, it is worth considering integrating the online store software with the one that controls warehouse resources. Why? The reason is very simple: if it turns out that a customer orders a product that you do not have in stock, you will face trouble. This single situation can happen. However, if such problems become widespread, you will quickly lose your reputation, and with it – your customers.

That is why the best solution is to use the option of integrating the online store with the ERP system. The immediate flow of information will eliminate the possibility of a mistake and make your task easier.

Step 5: selection of payment methods and their integration with the e-shop

In order for customers to be willing to shop in your e-shop, you need to give them the ability to conveniently pay for goods. Of course, a standard bank transfer is not enough. That is why you must decide on a convenient, yet safe and easy-to-use payment method. There are many trading platforms to choose from. When choosing, consider both available payment methods, as well as commissions and other fees, and flexibility in accessing funds.

Step 6: choosing the delivery methods for the products

This is a matter that you need to take care of primarily in the model in which you handle the shipping of goods yourself. If you have decided to dropshipping, your contractor has probably specified the shipping methods.

However, if not, make sure your customers receive convenient forms of receiving products – apart from courier services, pay attention to the increasingly popular options for delivering goods to points, e.g. shops or parcel machines. On the other hand, however, remember that the more options there are for a customer, the greater the logistical challenge. Therefore, it is worth keeping the golden mean.

Step 7: Add Products

Many e-commerce platforms allow integration with wholesalers and automatic updating of product data. However, if you sell your own assortment, you have to describe it “by hand” in the store. When adding products to ready-made subpage templates, it is worth taking care of two key issues: on the one hand, the attractiveness of the presentation of the product range for the client, and on the other – the fulfillment of SEO requirements.

Therefore, both a good and unique description as well as attractive product photos count. If you sell an assortment of other manufacturers, you can usually get ready-made materials. If you distribute your own products, have professional product photos taken.

In the content area, make sure that:
– were written in the language of benefits – so that they presented not only the advantages of the products, but their translation into the customer’s needs,
– were written in a style adapted to the characteristics of the potential client,
– are in line with SEO requirements – care should be taken, inter alia, o the use of appropriate keywords, headings and bullets. You should also take care of entering metadata and generating friendly URLs.

Step 8: Marketing

Once your store is up and running and you start serving customers, it’s time to increase its visibility to customers, and thus – its popularity. In order to promote your e-store, you can take a number of activities – from paid links, PPC advertising, through social media activities, to positioning your online store and using inbound marketing tools.

It is also good to think about a blog in an online store, which will strengthen the potential of positioning and the image of the website. As you can see, the recipe for setting up your own online store is a methodical step-by-step operation based on a well-thought-out strategy. This is the best way to achieve long-term business success.