In the last post, I suggested that the previous industrial economy mindset was counter-productive and was impacting education in unfortunate ways. The challenge is to "dial back" the mindset of excessive consumerism driven by business values that consider greed as positive. In order to tackle the complex real world problems that are created by this mindset and ironically that actually make it difficult to conduct business globally, we need to recognize that a changed purpose and vision of education that is more in line with solving the pressing problems that we all face is essential.Credit: www.storygeist.com  "Even astute business people would agree that it is very difficult to conduct business in zones in the world where there is repeated cycles of civil war with the exception of being an arms dealer or those involved in reconstruction efforts during interludes."With respect to change in education, the purpose of education changes from what it was in the past. Now the following might be a brief description of what we should be looking at:The purpose of education is to create a generation of learners who will become agents of change in our societies using all the benefits of technology to solve complex real world problems.The purpose of education is nurture the development of creators of new knowledge and new skillsets that are in sync with the needs of societies moving forward and enriching the quality of life for their citizens. Innovative thinking needs to be a natural skillset that needs to be encouraged and applied to all facets of the lives of individuals.The purpose of education is to create online global learning communities that will serve business and formal education. Due to the global reach of such technology, the collaborative goals of such communities should be to make accessibility easier for the nations of the globe that are disadvantaged.    E-Learning--An Existing ObstacleOne thing that should be made clear is that it is not the technology that is the primary driver of needed change; it is a changed vision and perspective. As a support for this idea, a case in point is the attitude that learners have in taking E-Learning courses. Keeping in mind that even the most recent generation has been brought up and educated with the mindset of excessive consumerism, we find that they approach E-Learning as if it is a "buffet table" spread before them. They choose from a list of courses those that fit their immediate goals, fulfill the assignment requirements, get their grades and then leave. This is the pattern of the consumerism mindset but we are faced with the troubling question:"If we seek to focus on the importance of collaboration as an important and desired skillset, then how can this be accomplished if each learner has an individualized mindset which runs contrary to the concept of a community of learners?"If the goal is to nurture learners to be a collaborating group dedicated to solving complex real world problems, then the emphasis needs to change from "I" to "WE". A startling revelation that really needs to be considered critically is the fact that many E-Learning organizations still design their offerings using the dated industrial mindset. This mindset can be seen at work in discussion forums in LinkedIn when the discussion is about online courses. "The advanced technology can not disguise the mindset behind the design." This is a problem that high education still needs to address effectively. Too much of the present E-Learning presented to students in institutions of higher learning still focus on the accumulation and memorization of information and how effectively a student can regurgitate the favourite perspectives of their instructors. Even if they use advanced and flashy media presentation tools, it still does not change the substance of what learners are learning. It is also the reason that many learners disconnect from their learning because all it represents to them is a classroom exercise with no real ties to the outside world.What we need to strive for in the design of effective E-Learning is "thoughtful engagement" of the learner. Design that focuses on the habits of the mind; that engages, challenges and teaches student how to think in an online environment is far better than the previous industrial mindset that stated that it is important to teach students what to think. However, it can't end at the walls of the class whether the real brick and mortar or even the online LMS! The changes to the learning experience requires that we foster not the concept of " the course" but instead a much more personal, relevant, online learning community that transcends the boundaries of an LMS."Does higher education get this or do they think that it is still technology that drives learning?"    Changing the Focus Through Agile, Adaptive and Collaboratively Based PedagogyGiven the present state of E-Learning and the political, social, economic and moral events we see escalating which pose problems that seem to defy solutions, we have to ask a sobering question:"Why don't we see more effective collaborative efforts in finding solutions to complex real world problems today? Credit: www.cele.sog.unc.eduI believe that part of the problem is that developing collaborative skills with a focus on real world problems that learners can relate to is not a high priority in education and the collaboration that is encouraged, largely dealing with social issues, asks learners how they feel about what is happening but makes little effort to teach them the thinking skills required for them to become thoughtfully engaged with the topic with the idea that they can contribute to arriving at potential solutions that will be considered as a meaningful contribution by the society. So, what is the solution to this?We do have a choice. We may continue on the path we are on and pretend that what we are doing involves thoughtful engaging collaboration or we can stop and ask ourselves: will we be able to live in a future created by our children who are receiving an education that reduces them to simply a bar code and discourages any attempt to be real change agents in a world that so desperately needs them to be engaged in change?How, you ask? In my next post, I will detail suggested changes that need to be made that better reflect an agile, adaptive pedagogy required for the nurturing of online learning communities... The last word belongs to the BOSS.

Understanding what your visitors want is paramount to selling your courses online. When someone visits your site, they’re going to look through your course landing page and curriculum to see whether you answer the questions they have. If you don’t specifically address their concerns, they aren’t going to pull out their wallets for you. So how do you find out what your visitors are looking for? In this episode of Teach Online TV, we cover a really easy way to do just that. So with Hotjar, you can collect qualitative information on your website such as heatmaps, visitors playbacks, and even polls and surveys. Heatmaps give you a visual representation of what people are looking at on your website and where they’re clicking. Recordings show you exactly how they’re moving their mouse and the things that they are reading or clicking. Finally, you can actually drop little surveys in to collect information from people who are visiting your site. And these serve both as a great way of gathering some information and also engaging people a little bit more when they arrive on your site. With surveys, you can ask people things like how they found your site, so that you know which marketing channels are working, or what information they’re looking for, so that you can improve your sales copy. You can even collect email addresses by offering them a discount for your course. To implement this in your Thinkific site, head over to Hotjar, grab the installation code from your dashboard and drop it right into your site footer code. You can access your site footer code in Thinkific under your advanced settings, and you can start setting up your heat maps, your recordings, polls, surveys and a few other great tools that will help with your growth.   The post Teach Online TV #06: Marketing Research Using Hotjar appeared first on Thinkific.

The complete blueprint? Nah, there’s only one way to sell on webinars. Wasps. That’s right! You need wasps to make sales. You know, those flying, yellow and black insects that try to sting you. Chris Newman knows what we’re talking about. He’s the creator of Cinechopper, an online course for drone enthusiasts. The full price for the course is $1,475, and the only method he uses to sell them are webinars. One day, on his weekly webinar, Chris realized there was a wasp in his room. He freaked out, starting jumping around, screamed a bit, and spent almost ten minutes trying to kill it, all while his audience watched and laughed. So much for trying to be professional. His sales revenue increased by 50% that day. So, yeah, wasps. But in all seriousness, webinars are extremely effective. No matter what industry or niche you serve, webinars may just be the game-changing marketing channel you need to dramatically increase sales for your business. You’ve probably even attended a few webinars yourself, so you’ve seen first-hand how effective they can be. The reason webinars work is because they provide an environment in which you can quickly earn the trust of your target audience before you ask for the sale. By watching Chris valiantly vanquish a wasp, his audience saw him as a real person and immediately trusted him. You can’t get people to shell out $1,475 without building that kind of trust. Sharing some of your best content on a live webinar for free - content that actually helps your target audience - allows you to build trust and position yourself as an authority on your topic. You get to educate and interact with your target audience, which makes selling to them so much easier. If you do it right, you’ll find that by the end of your webinar, many of the attendees will actually be grateful for the opportunity to become your customer. The best way to convince someone you can help them is to actually help them. - Frank KernClick To Tweet From $0 to $20,000 per month in sales using webinars To help illustrate just how powerful webinars can be, allow us to share an example from one of our customers: John Michaloudis (www.myexcelonline.com) used our platform to create and sell his first online course. Using free webinars as his primary customer acquisition channel, John was able to go from $0 to over $20,000 per month in sales in just 6 months, enabling him to leave his full-time job to focus exclusively on teaching online (click here to download the complete case study). But John isn’t the only one using webinars to sell his online course. Here are a few examples of other entrepreneurs who have successfully used webinars to sell their online courses: Marie Forleo (B-School) Lewis Howes (School of Greatness Academy) Nick Stephenson (Your First 10K Readers) Chandler Bolt (Self-Publishing School) Amy Porterfield (Webinars That Convert) Nathan Chan (Instagram Domination) Ramit Sethi (Earn1k) Even though the entrepreneurs mentioned above are all using webinars to sell online courses, it is worth noting that online courses are not the only thing you can sell on a webinar. Webinars can be used to sell coaching or consulting programs, live events, software, and even physical products. However, since online courses are our primary area of expertise, for the purpose of this article we are going to focus on how to use webinars to sell online courses, and more specifically, how to sell online courses on live webinars.  It is possible to generate sales using pre-recorded webinars (often called evergreen or automated webinars), but that is another topic. We’ll start by outlining some of the main benefits of hosting live webinars, and then we’ll show you how to set one up, how to structure your presentation, and how to promote your webinar to your target audience. If you follow our advice, you can be up and running (and generating more course sales!) in no time. We’ve also created a quick-launch checklist that you can print out and refer to every time you run a webinar. Get it here. Okay, here we go… How to use webinars to sell your online course. #teachonline #webinarsClick To Tweet Benefits of Hosting Live Webinars In addition to generating revenue from your online course sales, there are several other benefits of hosting live webinars. Here are a few of the main reasons why online instructors are using webinars to sell their courses: 1. Build your email list Webinars are a great way to build your email list because people have to register to attend your webinar using their email address. This gives you the opportunity to communicate with them directly before and after the webinar. Even if someone registers for your webinar but isn’t able to attend it, you still have a way to communicate with them. 2. Attract qualified leads for your business Anyone who registers to attend a live presentation about your topic is most likely a qualified lead. A person’s time and attention is one of the most valuable things they can give you. If someone willingly volunteers to spend an hour or more with you on a live webinar, you can assume that they are serious. Very few people are willing to spend an hour of their time learning something that they are not seriously interested in. 3. Connect with your audience Hosting a live webinar gives you the chance to build a connection with your audience by interacting with them in real time. Throughout your presentation (or after your presentation when you do a Q&A session), you will be able to answer any questions your audience asks you. Doing that helps to build trust and also helps you learn more about the needs and concerns of your audience. 4. You don’t have to be technically savvy Even if you don’t consider yourself to be technically savvy, you can still host a live webinar successfully. We’ll recommend some specific programs you can use to host your webinar later in this article but, for now, just know that there is absolutely no shortage of software options to host your webinar. Most of them are quite simple to use, which means you can learn to host a webinar in a relatively short period of time. 5. Keep costs low (for you and your attendees) Webinars are essentially the equivalent of a live event, the main difference being that they are hosting virtually. This means that people from all over the world can attend your event, without incurring the travel and accommodation expenses that they would normally incur if you hosted your event at a physical location (like a hotel conference room, for example). Many webinar programs can host 1,000 attendees or more at a time. Excluding marketing costs, your cost to host a webinar will likely fall somewhere between $0 and a few hundred dollars, depending on which program you use. When you compare that to the cost of booking and staffing a hotel conference room, you can see why webinars are extremely cost effective. 6. Educate before you sell In the book Influence by Robert Cialdini, an entire chapter is devoted to discussing the principle of reciprocity. According to Cialdini, one of the best ways to sell a product or service to someone is to provide massive value to them upfront before asking for the sale. When you help someone for free, they are more inclined to reciprocate (by purchasing your product or service). Webinars give you the opportunity to share valuable content with your audience for free before you introduce your online course to them and ask for the sale. Not all of your attendees will go on to purchase your course, but everyone who attends your webinar will benefit from the free training you provide to them during your presentation. We spoke with Ryan Smith from Agreement Express, and he put it this way: "Focus on providing value and educating, not pitching. Use the education in the webinar to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to your solution." - Ryan Smith 6 benefits of using #webinars to sell your online course. #teachonlineClick To Tweet Webinar Programs and Equipment (Technology) There is definitely some software and equipment required to host a live webinar. The good news is that there are numerous options available to you, most of which are pretty inexpensive. Basically, you will need a program to host your webinar, an account with an email marketing service provider, and a microphone and webcam to communicate with your audience. Oh, and you will need a computer or a laptop with a strong internet connection (which we assume you already have!). We won’t get into too much detail here, but we will recommend a few of the options that we have used or that our customers have used successfully. Keep in mind that the specific programs and equipment you use to host your webinar are not nearly as important as your overall webinar marketing strategy and the content and experience you provide for your audience. Do some research to determine which software and equipment options are a good fit for you, but don’t get bogged down by all of the options that are available. Just pick something and go with it. If you decide to use different programs or equipment later, that’s fine. Here are some of the webinar programs we recommend: Crowdcast.io Go To Webinar Zoom Google Hangouts Easy Webinar Webinar Jam Here are some of the email marketing service providers we recommend (by the way, we integrate with all of these): MailChimp Convert Kit Aweber Get Response Active Campaign Infusionsoft For your microphone, we recommend using the Blue Yeti or Blue Snowball For your webcam, we recommend using the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C290 On a side note, you may want to use 2 separate computers or laptops to host your webinar (if you can). One would be for giving your presentation (sharing your screen or presentation slides with the audience), and other would be for following a presentation script and/or keeping an eye on the question and comments that your audience types into the live chat. We spoke with Michael Buckbee from Blockerwall, and he shared some excellent advice to help you avoid any technological hiccups when you host your webinar: "Practice both the actual presentation, but also with the webinar tools you’re going to use. At my last webinar, I was using a new system and had mistakenly set the slides to display on only half the screen. I had to stop and reset midway due to audience complaints. If you can, setup a second computer (or even a phone) as a guest webinar attendee and periodically check it to make sure things are working." - Michael Buckbee That’s it! Once you have all of these in place, you are ready to start setting up your webinar. The next step is to create a Registration and Thank You page so people can sign up for your webinar. Your Webinar Registration Page and Thank You Page Before you start promoting your webinar, you’ll need to create a Registration Page to send people to. This is the page that explains what your webinar is about, who is hosting it, when it is happening, etc. You’ll also want to create a Thank You page (also called a Confirmation Page) that confirms someone’s attendance after they register for your webinar and tells them what the next steps are. To create an attractive webinar Registration Page and Thank You Page, we recommend using LeadPages. They have several templates to choose from that have already been proven to work effectively. What to include on your webinar Registration Page: A compelling headline The title you give your webinar is very important. It must be compelling and intriguing enough to make someone want to register. Don’t be vague. Make a bold promise. If someone reads your headline and still doesn’t know what the webinar is about, you’ve written a bad headline. There is a great article about blog headlines by Brandon Gaille, one of the top business bloggers in the world. Even though the article is about creating a headline for a blog post, his tips can definitely help you create a catchy headline for your webinar. Summary of topics covered Use bullet points to describe the main topics that will be covered during the webinar. Tie each topic to a specific benefit to your target audience. We recommend including 4-6 bullet points on your webinar registration page. Information about the host Include your name and the name of any co-host(s) that will be presenting on the webinar. Include an image of each host, along with their applicable title or credentials. The goal here is to position yourself (and if applicable, your co-host) as an authority on your topic. Date and time of the webinar Make sure you include the exact date and time (including the time zone) for the webinar. You can even include a count-down timer to help create a sense of urgency. Here is an example of a webinar Registration Page: What to include on your webinar Thank You (Confirmation) Page: Confirm registration Thank the person for registering for your webinar. If you promised them a free resource in exchange for registering for your webinar (an ebook, checklist, or workbook, for example), let them know how they can download that resource. If a link to the resource was included in the confirmation email that you sent them, let me know. Alternatively, you can include a link to download the resource directly on your Thank You page. Social share options By including a few social media sharing buttons on your Thank You Page, you give the person who just registered for the webinar the opportunity to share the webinar with their network via social media. This can help increase the number of sign-ups you get for your webinar. Here is an example of webinar Thank You Page: When is the best time to host a webinar? There isn’t exactly a one-size-fits-all best time to host a webinar, but we do have a few suggestions. The first is to consider who your target audience is and what they are most likely doing during the day and time that you plan to host your webinar. If most of your target audience work a 9-5 job, for example, they probably won’t be able to attend a live webinar during typical working hours. In that case, hosting your webinar in the evening or even on a weekend may be your best option. If your target audience is entrepreneurs or people who work from home, you can definitely get away with hosting your webinar during a weekday afternoon (on a Wednesday or a Thursday, for example). The best thing you can do is host a few webinars at different times to see which days and times work best for your target audience. At Thinkific, we host a live webinar every Thursday at 11am PST (2pm EST), and so far that works well for us. Regardless of when you schedule your webinar, be prepared to start promoting your webinar 4-7 days before it starts. Don’t schedule your webinar for more than a week into the future, since most people will forget about it or make other plans by then. Strike while the iron is hot, as they say. Sending Email Reminders To Webinar Registrants Once you’ve set up your webinar Registration and Thank You pages, the next step is to set up your email campaigns. These are the emails that will automatically be sent to each person who registers for the webinar. There are emails you’ll want to send before the webinar, and a few more emails to send them after the webinar is over. We spoke with Lisa Work, a photographer and web designer who regularly hosts webinars to promote her online classes, and she suggested writing all your emails in advance and then scheduling them to be sent at the appropriate times. "I set up my reminders and follow up emails ahead of time, so I don’t forget and they are all automated. I then use previous ones as a template for new webinars - that saves tons of time." - Lisa Work You’ll want to create a separate email list for each live webinar that you host. Later on (after your webinar is over and you’ve taken down the replay), you can move the people who attended your webinar over to your general newsletter. Registration confirmation email: Immediately after someone registers for your webinar, they should receive a confirmation email. In this email, you should thank them for registering and remind them of the day and time that the webinar is happening. If you promised to send them any additional resources in exchange for registering for the webinar, include a link to download those resources in this email. Reminder emails: In order to maximize the attendance rate (also called the show-up rate) of your webinar, you’ll want to send out several reminder emails before the webinar starts.  Remember, these are the emails that you are sending exclusively to the people who registered for your webinar (do NOT send these emails to your entire list of email subscribers). Here is a typical frequency for webinar reminder emails: Reminder #1: send 2 days before webinar start time Reminder #2: send 1 day before webinar start time Reminder #3: send 2 hours before webinar start time Reminder #4: send 15 minutes before webinar start time Replay emails: Since the majority of people who registered for your webinar probably won’t attend (20-30% attendance rates are pretty standard), you should definitely send a recording of your webinar to those who were unable to attend the live training. Many of the people who did not attend your webinar will watch the replay and decide to buy your course. So if you don’t send them a link to the replay, you are literally leaving money on the table. Here is a typical frequency for webinar reminder emails: Replay email #1: send immediately or as soon as the replay is available Replay email #2: send 24 hours after live webinar (replay reminder and expiring offer) Replay email #3: send 48 hours after live webinar (replay reminder and last chance to buy expiring offer) Webinar Presentation Structure Depending on the nature of your webinar topic, the way in which you deliver your presentation will vary. You can prepare a slideshow presentation using PowerPoint or Keynote, you can share your screen to demonstrate certain tasks or programs, you can do a live video stream using your webcam, or some combination of any of these methods. If you’re going to do a slideshow presentation, we highly recommending reading this article about slideshow presentations by Seth Godin. Regardless of which method(s) you choose to utilize during your webinar, you should definitely try to generate sales at the end of your webinar. It would be a shame to spend all this time and energy (and money!) promoting your webinar, creating your presentation, and sharing amazing content with your audience, only to generate zero dollars in course sales at the end of your presentation. Contrary to popular belief, you do NOT need to be an expert salesperson to sell your online course on your webinar. You just need to follow a proven structure that ensures a smooth transition into the "sales pitch" part of your presentation that does not require you to be inauthentic, sleazy, or use high-pressure sales tactics in order to generate sales. "If you ask someone to take one big action ("stick around for another 30-45 minutes"), they’re not as likely to follow through as they are if you ask them to take a series of smaller actions ("stick around for five minutes," or "ask a question"). These smaller actions are called micro-commitments, and they take advantage of the fact that once a person says they’ll do something, they want to do it." - Kelso Kennedy The presentation structure we’re about to share with you is the structure recommended by Lewis Howes. Lewis has been selling his online courses using webinars for several years. He’s hosted literally hundreds of webinars, generating over 7-figures in online course sales in the process. The length of your webinar will vary (we suggest 60-90 minutes in length), but as a general rule, your presentation should be 80% content, and 20% selling followed by a question and answer (Q&A) period at the end. If your presentation lasts 60 minutes, here is what this structure would look like: 1. Meet and Greet (5-10 minutes before webinar start time) Check to make sure your audio and video is working Welcome attendees who are arriving early Encourage people to share the webinar on social media 2. Introduction (5 minutes) Introduce yourself (briefly) Housekeeping and request to remove distractions Tell them what the webinar is about Tell them who the webinar is for (and not for) Share the goals for the webinar and agenda 3. Your Story (10 minutes) Introduce yourself and share credentials for credibility Share the struggle you faced Share the transformation you went through Share the result you achieved 4. Main Content (30 minutes) Deliver on the promise of the webinar Provide proof (stats, examples, case studies, etc.) Break up your big idea into smaller, actionable steps 5. The Pitch (15 minutes) Introduce your course (the perfect solution!) Show them what is included Tell them the price of your course Include testimonials from other customers Show them the bonuses that are included (show the dollar value of each bonus) Present a webinar-only price for your course and all the bonuses Offer a guarantee (ie. 30-day money back guarantee) Create legitimate urgency (ie. offer a fast-acting bonus to first 10 customers) Call to action (give them a link to your check-out page) 6. Q&A (15 minutes) Answer any questions or concerns your attendees have Congratulate people who buy (call them out by name) Thank everyone for their time and close the webinar "Have the webinar be SUPER valuable and packed with useful content. Make sure your topic feeds perfectly into your course and then don’t be afraid to really pitch it - share the benefits of your course and show people how to sign up and what to do next." - Lisa Work Additional Tips For Increasing Sales On Webinars A huge mistake that people make when hosting a webinar is rushing through the "sales pitch" part of it because selling makes them feel uncomfortable. They love to teach their audience, so they do a great job of providing valuable content throughout their presentation, but when it’s time to present their course, they get nervous and lose their confidence, and their audience can tell. When you follow the presentation template we outlined above (and you provide a ton of value to your audience throughout your presentation), you’re giving your audience the opportunity to delve deeper into your topic by purchasing your course comes across as a natural next step. You are inviting them to become your customer. You do not need to hard sell. You don't have to be an expert salesperson to sell on a #webinar. #selling #teachonlineClick To Tweet Here are some tips to help you maximize your course sales from your webinar: Turn on your webcam before you start your presentation A great way to build rapport with your attendees and show them that you are, in fact, a real person before you begin your presentation is to turn on your webcam during the Pre-Chat so that the attendees can see you. Spend a few minutes chatting with people, thanking them for attending, asking them where they’re from, etc. before you turn off your webcam to begin your presentation. Offer a satisfaction guarantee After you present the price of your online course, offer a satisfaction guarantee (for example, a 30-day money back guarantee) to remove the risk of buying from you. Yes, there’s a tiny risk that some people will take advantage of this guarantee and ask for a refund shortly after taking your course, but more people will buy your course because you offered the guarantee versus if you did not. So in the end, you come out ahead. Leave your offer page up during the Q&A session After you finish presenting your course and you transition into the Q&A period of your webinar, make sure you leave the slide that shows the link to your course checkout page on the screen. Some people will decide to buy your course during the Q&A session, so you want to make sure they know exactly where to go to do so. Include time-sensitive bonuses for buying An effective way to encourage your webinar attendees to buy your course immediately after attending your webinar is to offer time-sensitive bonuses. Some examples of bonuses you can offer include a private coaching call with you or discounted (or even complimentary) access to additional courses you’ve created. If you give your attendees a specific deadline to purchase from you in order to receive the bonuses, make sure you honor that deadline. Do not give the same offer to someone who purchases after the deadline has expired, or you will lose credibility with your customers. An easy way to set this up is to create a special course bundle consisting of the one you’re pitching along with any additional courses, ebooks, coaching or other bonuses. You can then take this page down after your deadline so that no one else has access to it. Offer a payment plan In many cases, there will be people who attend your webinar and watch your sales presentation at the end who want to purchase your online course but cannot afford to pay for the entire course upfront. For that reason, you should always offer the choice between paying for your entire course upfront or paying for it over an extended period of time with a monthly payment plan (if you’re using Thinkific, you can set this up in your course pricing section). For example, if you sell your course for $497, you can give your customers the option to pay for the entire course upfront or with 6 monthly payments of $97 each. If they take the monthly payment option, they end up paying more for your course ($97 x 6 = $582), but spread over a longer period of time. Offer a discount If you don’t have additional bonuses to sweeten the deal, you could also try offering a time-sensitive discount. Of course, you run the risk of making less if people were going to buy at full price anyway, so only try this if you haven’t had luck with the full-price option. You can create a coupon code that automatically expires after a certain time to generate that urgency. Record the webinar Since a significant portion of your course sales will likely come from people who watch the replay of your webinar, it is very important to record your webinar so that you actually have a replay to send them! After your webinar is over, email the link to replay to everyone who registered for the webinar. Have fun! The last tip we can share with you to make the experience of hosting a webinar more enjoyable for you and for your attendees is to have fun with it. Don’t be afraid showcase your personality on your webinar. Be excited. Share a few stories. Bring a wasp along. Tell a few jokes (appropriate ones, of course!). If you don’t enjoy hosting your webinar, your audience probably won’t enjoy attending it. "If you can bring the energy and sprinkle in some humor, then people will be much more engaged and it will make it so much easier to attract sales." - Johnathan Dane Great tips for increasing your sales with webinars. #teachonlineClick To Tweet 6 Ways To Promote Your Webinar Setting up your webinar and creating your presentation is definitely a lot of work, but if you do it properly, it will all be worth it in the end. Once everything is ready to go, the final step is to invite people to attend your webinar! Basically, you want to get as many people as possible to visit your Webinar Registration Page. This is known as generating traffic. Here are some ways to promote your webinar and generate traffic to your webinar Registration Page: 1. Your email list Your email list is definitely a great place to promote your webinar. These are people who know, like, and trust you (hopefully!), and they have given you permission to communicate with them. However, do keep in mind that not everyone on your email list will be interested in your webinar, so don’t send them too many emails about your webinar or you will risk losing subscribers. A good rule of thumb is to send 2 emails about your upcoming webinar to your list. In the first email, share a story that naturally leads into an invitation to attend your webinar. Outline the topics that will be covered on your webinar, and include a link to your webinar registration page. After a few days, send a reminder email to the people on your list that did not register for your webinar after receiving that first email. Again, outline the topics that will be covered on your webinar, and include a link to your webinar registration page. Some people will appreciate the reminder, especially if they missed your first email and really want to attend. Others will read the email and still choose not to attend, and that’s okay too. Maybe it just isn’t a topic they are interested in at the moment. Ramit Sethi has perfected the webinar promotion email. He sends out emails that are as long as an entire post and explains a concept in them. Then, at the end of the email, he invites people who want to go deeper to a webinar around that concept. A really cool thing he does is automatically register people for the webinar if they click on his CTA, instead of making them go to the registration page and fill out their emails again. 2. Your website You should definitely use your website to promote your webinar, and there a couple of places throughout your website where you can do this: The top bar of your website Add an invitation to register for your webinar to the top bar of your website (remember to use a compelling headline!). Include a link to your webinar registration page. Some WordPress themes will let you do this, but if yours doesn’t, HelloBar is a great option. Here is an example of a webinar invitation that Lewis Howes used on the top of his website: In your sidebar Add an image that promotes your webinar to the sidebar of your website. When someone is reading an article on your blog, for example, they may see that image and decide to register. We use an image in our sidebar to promote the live webinar that we host every Thursday, as you can see below: At the bottom of your blog posts Another great place to invite people to attend your webinar is at the end of the articles on your blog. Consider adding a text invitation, or an image to make it really obvious. In a popup box A popup box on your website is also an effective way to promote your webinar because it forces your website visitors to decide whether or not they want to attend. With the other methods listed above, there is a chance that your website visitors won’t actually notice them. It’s hard to miss a popup. You can configure it to appear after a certain period of time, or just before someone tries to leave your website. Here is an example of a popup we have used on our website to promote our webinar: 3. Facebook Ads Facebook Ads are a great way to promote your webinar to a specific target audience because you can target people based on their demographics, specific interests, etc. Keep in mind that Facebook’s advertising platform is very robust and there is definitely a learning curve, so you should test a few campaigns on a small scale before you spend a significant amount of money on a campaign. You may even want to hire a Facebook Ads expert to help you out with this. If you run an ad to people who don’t know who you are (cold traffic), instead of promoting your webinar to them, promote a free gift that is helpful to them (like an ebook, cheat sheet or a checklist). After they download your free gift, invite them to your webinar. They are more likely to register for your webinar at that point since you just gave them a free gift (remember the principle of reciprocity?). If you run a Facebook Ad directly to your webinar registration page, it’s best to target people who already know who you are (warm traffic). Create a custom audience of people who already like your Facebook Page, have visited your website recently, are subscribed to your email list, or a combination of all of these criteria. If you haven’t already, make sure you install a retargeting pixel on your website so Facebook can track who visits your website. Also, try experimenting with video ads on Facebook. Chris from Cinechopper found that regular ads weren’t very cost-effective and a one-minute video ad converts a lot better. 4. Social Media Social media can be a great place to promote your webinar as well. But make sure you are strategic about it. Don’t spam your friends or followers with constant posts about your webinar, and make sure you create unique posts that are appropriate for each platform. On Instagram, for example, you could include a link to your website or webinar registration page in your bio, and then post an image that promotes your webinar and invites people to click on the link in your bio. On Twitter, you could schedule a series of Tweets to go out over a few days, each sharing a specific tip that is relevant to your webinar topic, along with a link to your registration page. On Facebook, you could create a post to invite your friends or followers to attend your webinar. Tell a quick story that transitions naturally into your webinar invitation, and include an image in your post so that it is not just a text post (images get more engagement on Facebook). On Youtube, you can mention the webinar in an outro and link to your registration page at the end. 5. Guest posting If you don’t have much of an audience yet, piggyback off someone else’s! With guest posting, you can land yourself on a high-traffic website and, hopefully, bring some of that traffic back to yours. Start by finding some popular blogs and sites in your niche and reach out to them with a guest post pitch. Follow this guide from Mirasee for best results. Include a link to your website or a link to your webinar registration page in your bio that appears at the bottom of your article. Make sure your article is helpful to your target audience and relevant to your topic. This will ensure that the people who decide to click on your bio to learn more about you are actually in your target market for your online course. 6. Promotional Partners & Joint Ventures This strategy is great if you don’t have a large audience, or you’ve already promoted your webinar to your audience. Basically, you find someone who also serves your target market but who isn’t a direct competitor of yours. Tell them about your webinar (and your online course), and ask them if they would be interested in promoting your webinar to their audience in exchange for a percentage of any course sales that are generated on the webinar. This strategy works best when the person you reach out to co-hosts the webinar with you. Since they’ve likely spent several years establishing trust with their audience, you want them to co-host the webinar so that they can introduce you to their audience before you begin your presentation. This is very important. A personalized introduction from that person helps to edify you and quickly earn the trust of that person’s audience. To take it a step further, you can even spend some time before the webinar to chat with this person and ask them questions about their audience. The more you know about their audience, the more you can customize your presentation to speak directly to that audience’s needs and desires. 6 way to promote your next webinar. #teachonline #webinarsClick To Tweet Ready to host your own live webinar? Class is over. It’s time to start taking action. Start by downloading our free Webinar Workbook. This checklist will help you plan and prepare a successful live webinar. Then, follow the instructions. Set up your registration and thank you page, create your presentation, start promoting your webinar, and make some sales. And don’t forget to come back here and let us know how it went in the comments below!  The post The Complete Blueprint To Selling On Webinars appeared first on Thinkific.

Got Chromebooks? Get familiar with these 10 tips for personal, professional, or classroom use! 1. Keyboard Shortcuts goo.gl/QWxjJN2. Zoom in/Out on Chromebooks goo.gl/HfiLSh3. Pin an App to the Taskbar4. Search5. Caps Lock Key6. Screenshots7. Split Screen8. Pin a Webpage to apps Screen9. Download Files10. GAFE Training Center goo.gl/m2hCmwLooking for more on Chromebooks? EdTechTeam's Chromebook workshops can help you make the most of this powerful tool! Chromebooks in the ClassroomHarnessing the Power of Creation with ChromebooksGAFE Jumpstart Workshop 1: Chrome Browser, Chromebooks, and GmailGoogle for Educational LeadersView our entire catalogue of PD offerings here.Request a workshop here.

[Post by Justin Hearn, President of GeoMetrix Data Systems Inc.] Our GeoTalent Administrator console and GeoTalent Flex interface have been designed to be compliant with accessibility standards such as those in the US’s Section 508 as well as those in WCAG guidelines. The legislation known as Section 508 is an amendment to the United States Workforce Rehabilitation Act. Section 508 requires that certain branches of the US Federal government make their electronic and information technology accessible by people with disabilities. While Section 508 only applies to specific US Federal agencies, many other government organizations as well as private businesses in the USA have chosen to apply Section 508 to their own systems. The reason for this is to eliminate barriers in information technology. But 508 is not the only set of standards covering accessibility for websites. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) were developed in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world with a goal of proving a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally. Organizations across the globe have chosen to meet either 508 compliance or WCAG guidelines. As a software developer, it is our obligation to ensure that the systems we develop meet accessibility standards such as those listed above so organizations that use our products can meet compliance if required. At GeoMetrix, we have therefore made accessibility a priority in the development of our GeoTalent Flex interface. The purpose of WCAG and Section 508 is to ensure that persons with disabilities have equal access to electronic and information technologies. This means that software systems should have no barriers to use by those who are differently abled. Of course, this does not mean that a blind person and a sighted person will use software in exactly the same way. What it means is that the blind should be able to access the software in a way that makes it usable to them. For example, those with impaired sight often use assistive technology such as a machine readers to tell them via audio what is visible on a computer screen. If what appears on the screen consists of only graphical elements, a machine reader will be unable to translate that into spoken words. The purpose of accessibility standards is to ensure that a situation such as that does not occur. For that example, if graphics are used, they must have text tags attached to them so that a machine reader can translate the elements into spoken words. But it is not only sight-impairment that is covered, but also mobility and other disabilities. WCAG and Section 508 provide technical standards that websites should comply with to ensure web accessibility for all. Section 508 also has standards for desktop applications and reporting standards. In fact, Section 508 covers all software, hardware, and telecommunications equipment. This is not only to ensure access for end-users, but to guarantee that there are no barriers to employees with disabilities who may need to utilize technology in the course of their work. Statistics show that globally, 285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired. Of those, 39 million are blind and 246 million have low vision. Hearing loss affects approximately 10% of the world’s population. The percentage of people with mobility issues worldwide is almost as high. Then there are those with learning-related disabilities. Opportunities should exist for everyone to access technology. While those with differing abilities will certainly have differing experiences, the technology itself should not be a barrier. In meeting WCAG and 508 compliance, GeoMetrix Data Systems assures accessibility for all in our GeoTalent administrator console and GeoTalent Flex interface. To read more about GeoTalent and accessibility, please download our white paper in PDF. GeoTalent Accessibility.pdf For more information about WCAG visit W3 For more information about Section 508 visit the Section 508 website Photos courtesy of Freeimages.com

We believe the best way to provide EHS training to your workers is to use a blended learning solution, mixing and matching the different types of training (instructor-led, field-based OJT, video, e-learning, written materials, social learning, webinars, etc.). When selecting the type of training to use for each training need, you shouldn’t select randomly. Instead, you’ll want to look at the benefits and downsides of each training type, and try to find a match between training type and training need. With that in mind, here’s a quick list of some advantages of online EHS training. We’ve got 10 items on the list, and have given one or more examples or case study for each. Hope you find some food for thought here. Convergence Training is a training solutions provider with a strong EHS offering. We make several different learning management systems (LMSs), off-the-shelf e-learning courses for EHS and other training needs, custom training solutions, and more. Contact us to set up a demo or ask some questions. Also, why not download our free Guide to Effective EHS Training? 1. SPEND LESS TIME AND MONEY CREATING EHS TRAINING MATERIALS Many companies think it’s cheaper to create training materials on their own instead of having a training provider do it. It sounds reasonable at first—you’ve got experts in-house who know everything your employees need to know, right? Maybe you can have your EHS manager and some engineers work together on it? But what sounds like a good idea in theory doesn’t always turn out that way in practice. Especially when you consider the costs of producing training, the cost of removing experts from their real jobs, and the cost of having training developed by people who aren’t experts in training development. Example: Assume the direct costs of paying your EHS manager and an engineer for a year are $125,000 each, or a total of $250,000/year. Next, assume that each spends a total of six months creating EHS training materials for your workforce (although it could easily take more than that). That’s more than $125,000 right there. Next, consider the indirect costs of pulling these people off their ordinary jobs: For giggles, we’ll put that at another $100,000. But again, it could be much more than that. Finally, consider the quality of the training materials those two will create. They’re not instructional designers, and the materials they’ll create are probably not going to be engaging and effective. There may be no learning objectives; the writing may be poor; the graphics may not be helpful; and the assessments may not accurately evaluate workers’ skills and abilities. This less-effective training has its own indirect cost on employee safety, productivity, and morale. As you can see, the costs of producing training internally are higher than you would expect. NOW you may see the true dollars and cents (or should we say sense?) of having training materials created for you. Related Articles: Adult Learning Principles Effective Learning Graphics How People Learn Book Review: Julie Dirksen’s Design for How People Learn 2. CUT THE COST OF TRAINING DELIVERY Many companies do all their training in what they proudly refer to as the old-fashioned way: instructor-led training in a classroom environment or face-to-face OJT in the field. Don’t get us wrong. We think there are times when instructor-led, face-to-face, person-to-person training is just the right solution. But there are other times when different training approaches are the better choice. In some cases, that’s because the training is more effective when delivered in a different format. In others, it’s because it’s less expensive to deliver training in a different format. And sometimes, both reasons apply. Case Study: A training manager at a large manufacturing facility in Louisiana was using a third-party training consultant to deliver EHS training to workers. But that wasn’t cheap. He had to pay the trainer and pay that person’s travel expenses, for example. But the bigger problem was that in order to get all his workers together for the training, he had to pull them together after work and pay them overtime to complete the training. Plus there was the expense of food and drinks during the training, and the time he spent arranging all of that. This all added up to a LOT of money. A few years ago, he decided to get our learning management system (LMS) and 3-D animated EHS courses. This allowed him to deliver a lot of the training online. Workers could complete the online part of the training on their own, during slow parts of their work day. The very expensive overtime was no longer necessary. He later told us that the LMS and online EHS courses paid for themselves in the first day (!), and that they saved his facility almost $300,000 on EHS training in the first year alone. And that doesn’t even take into account that in many cases (though not all), the sophisticated visual images, audio narration, practice questions, and testing of the e-learning courses make for more effective training and assessments than the third-party consultant was providing. This more effective training comes with its own set of financial benefits we’re not including here but we should keep in mind as well. Nor does it take into account the benefit of online records, which we’ll get to next. Related Articles: 8 Times When Online EHS Training Is Better Than Instructor-Led Training What Is Online Health & Safety Training, and What Can It Do? 3. REDUCE THE COST OF TRAINING RECORDS AND REPORTING Another expense that adds up quickly with training is the expense of creating, storing, retrieving, and reporting on training records. Stop and think of all the work you do when creating records of EHS training: passing out paper-based sign-in sheets and gathering signatures; creating Excel spreadsheets and Access databases; entering data into those spreadsheets; storing paper-based records in manila envelopes in metal file cabinets; later rifling through those file cabinets or scanning those spreadsheets trying to see who’s done and who’s not done with training, etc. You get the idea—if you’re still using a paper-based record system, or if you’re still using a largely manual process of creating training records in spreadsheets, you’re spending way too much time on training records and you’re getting very few of the benefits an online system can give you, such as easier reporting, dashboard views, and automated notifications. Examples: Here are some ways you can spend dramatically less time and money on EHS recordkeeping and reporting—all while getting better, more complete, and more accurate training records. Instead of handing out paper-based sign-in sheets during classes—use a mobile device to grant attendance credit, collect electronic signatures, and automatically sync the data with your LMS. Instead of creating custom Excel spreadsheets and Access databases—use a pre-configured system that automatically captures all relevant training record data. Instead of manually creating training records—when possible, use e-learning courses and other activities that automatically pass completion data and test scores to your LMS. Instead of checking multiple locations (spreadsheet, filing cabinet, database, and storage closet) to find stored training records—use an LMS that stores them all in one central location. Instead of searching the training records of multiple workers, or over various years, or both, looking for anomalies, patterns, trends, and/or inconsistences—run a pre-configured report in an LMS and have the data you want in seconds. How much time do you spend on recordkeeping? What’s the cost of all that time? Why not save time and money by automating this and putting it online? Related Articles: How Online Tools Can Save MSHA Part 46 Recordkeeping Headaches 8 Important Training KPIs to Track with Your LMS 4. CUT COSTS OF INJURIES & ILLNESSES There are MANY reasons to make sure people get their proper EHS training. The first and most important is that nobody wants to see anyone get hurt. No job is worth getting hurt or killed for—it’s something you hear all the time, but it’s more than just lip service. It’s true. But companies also have financial motives to provide EHS training. When a worker gets hurt, sick, or even killed on the job, it’s expensive. You’ve got to take time out to ensure the welfare of that worker; you may have to train a replacement; you may have to reassign the sick or injured worker to a new, less-critical position; etc. Example: A training manager in a Georgia mill explained to me that an employee had suffered a back injury while lifting materials improperly from a conveyor (even though there was a mechanical lift for that purpose). In one year, direct costs associated with that person’s injury had totaled $200,000. To make it worse the company had to reassign the worker to an unnecessary position they created solely to keep that person employed. So that adds more thousands to the costs. And of course, additional costs came with staffing the injured worker’s former position, and training someone to perform that. Related Article: Training and ROI  5. AVOID COMPLIANCE PENALTIES You should provide EHS training to your workers for the right reasons: to protect the safety and health of workers and to preserve the environment. And if that’s not enough, of course it’s also the law, and we all want to follow the law. But along with those carrots, there’s a stick: penalties and fines for non-compliance. And those penalties and fines can be costly. Using prepared training materials can help you comply with the regulations you face. And a learning management system can not only help you deliver that necessary compliance training, but can also keep records and let you run reports to prove that you did it. Case Study: A packaging manufacturer who is a customer of ours recently had a disgruntled employee file a complaint about them with HIOSH (Hawaiian OSHA). The worker claimed he had not received proper EHS training and that it was a dangerous workplace. HIOSH came to the site to investigate. They met with the HR manager, who was ultimately responsible for the training function, including EHS training. HIOSH looked around the workplace and investigated. But in addition, the HR manager created an account in her LMS so they could investigate her training program. They looked at the company’s LMS to see the type of training that was assigned, delivered, and conducted. They ran reports to see the training records of the disgruntled employee. The HIOSH investigator was impressed with the company’s safety program and EHS training. It was obvious that the disgruntled employee’s complaints about safety training and other safety conditions weren’t factual. No fine was delivered—instead, the HIOSH inspector told the training manager "to keep up the good work." More Examples and Cautionary Tales A quick scan of OSHA’s website shows these penalties in their "Recent Significant and/or Egregious Cases" listings: $758,000; $1,013,000; $463,000; $917,000; $1,200,000; $360,000; $307,000; $550,000; $729,000; $378,000; $563,000; $1,200,000; $157,000; and $1,900,000. All those fines were levied in 2011 or 2012. That money could have bought an awful lot of LMSs and EHS e-learning courses! In addition, OSHA placed at least one company in their Severe Violator Enforcement Program, "which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law." You can only imagine that’s not fun. Why invite OSHA or another regulator to get up in your grill like this? Related Articles: Training and ROI 3 Ways Online EHS Training Can Improve Your Safety Culture 6. COMPRESS THE TIME NEEDED TO TRAIN A WORKER It takes a long time for a newly hired worker to get through all of the mandatory EHS training to work at a site. Then there’s the EHS training the worker has to complete at each new position in his or her career line of progression. And then there’s the refresher training delivered every year (or at two- or three-year intervals, in some cases). Conducting all or most of this training using written materials, face-to-face training, and instructor-led classroom training can chew up a lot of the worker’s time. But by using online learning in addition to these other types of training, you can (a) reduce the total amount of time an average employee needs to complete EHS training and (b) compress the window of time needed to move the worker through the EHS training cycle from start to finish. Examples: Although person-to-person and/or instructor-led training have some real strengths, they often come with a measure of inefficiency as well. Employees end up spending a good deal of time waiting for this kind of training—waiting for the instructor to be available, waiting while the instructor is called away momentarily, etc. e-Learning courses can be used alongside these more traditional training methods to use the employee’s time more productively and efficiently. For example, a new hire can begin the first day on the job by watching some e-Learning courses on basic EHS topics. Then, when the EHS manager is free, he or she can follow-up with a shorter, instructor-led session that addresses more complicated issues and provides an opportunity for Q&A or hands-on demonstrations. The same point applies when a worker is promoted to a new position and is faced with new job hazards, or when the worker needs to complete refresher training after one, two, or three-years. Related Articles: Training for a Worker’s Line of Progression 7. DECREASING COSTS OF MACHINE DOWNTIME & DAMAGE A modern, industrial facility can produce at nearly miraculous rates. When everything’s working, that is. Downtime is the enemy of effi­cient production. Downtime is expensive—very expensive. But workers who have received proper job skill and EHS training can help you decrease that downtime dramatically and keep your machines operating 24/7 all year round. Examples: When a new job process, new work flow, or new machine is introduced at a work site, it takes a lot of time to provide workers with the proper safety training. And in some cases, because the EHS manager is overworked, the training is never created, updated, or delivered. It’s easier to keep up with these changes, and to deliver timely EHS training, with an LMS. The LMS creates an organized, structured method for evaluating your currently training, noting gaps, updating existing materials, creating new materials, and delivering those materials to appropriate workers. And those workers who have received complete, up-to-date, accurate EHS training on all job tasks, work procedures, production flows, and machines are more likely to use them properly and safely. And as a result, they’re less likely to do something that causes you to interrupt operation, perhaps because a part was broken by a worker performing an unsafe act (as a result of improper training). Related Article: Training and ROI 8. RECEIVE BETTER AUDIT SCORES FROM DOWNSTREAM CUSTOMERS Many companies have to demonstrate to their own, downstream customers that they have a robust EHS training program. Those downstream customers want to know the kind of company they’re doing business with, and they often want to know if the company is providing appropriate EHS training. Having an LMS can help you provide better training and create better training records, and it also makes it easier to document your training efforts by running reports. This can help you better demonstrate the quality of your EHS training, which in turn can earn you a better audit score from your customer. And that will make the customer more likely to continue their business relationship with your company. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle of effective EHS management providing a positive ROI. Case Study: We do business with a large manufacturing site in Pennsylvania. They make a consumer product, rebrand it, and sell it to a large national retailer who, in turn, sells it to people like you and me. This large national retailer holds annual inspections at our customer’s plant. These inspections include a review of the EHS training program and EHS training records. The training manager explained to me that in the past, these audits were very difficult for him. He’d drop everything to accommodate the auditor, would spend hours trying to find and gather training records, and yet would inevitably be unable to document all of his training. The auditor, in turn, would typically give his site an audit score in the mid-80s on a 100-point scale. Then the training manager began using our LMS and EHS courses, along with his own training materials. We caught up with him later, and he had good news for us. Recent audits had taken only ten to fifteen minutes of his time. He just ran some reports, printed them, and left them in the conference room with the auditors. What’s better, those audit scores skyrocketed—from the previous average of mid-80s to the high-90s. In fact, his site scored a higher audit score than any other site in his company ever had. And, not too surprising, soon other sites in the company became our customers too and began using the LMS and online courses as well. Related Article: Training and ROI 9. GIVE WORKERS A SENSE OF OWNERSHIP OF SAFETY Using an LMS to deliver your EHS training shows workers that you care enough to make an investment in their safety and health. This, in turn, causes the employees to make their own investment in safety and health at your workplace. Which makes for a safer, healthier workplace that’s more productive and efficient and less costly. Case Studies: Two recent customers told us similar stories about using an LMS to deliver EHS training and watching their employees take a greater sense of ownership of safety and safety culture at work as a result. The first, a small manufacturer in the Southeast, used to have an incomplete EHS training program that primarily included instructor-led and in-the-field training. Supervisors spent a lot of time informing workers about upcoming training, making sure they attended the training, later finding out why some people didn’t attend, and then arranging for makeup training. But when this customer adopted our LMS and began using it for EHS training, there was a significant change. Workers logged into LMS, saw the EHS training assigned to them, as well as their completion status and due date. This change of responsibility—from supervisors to workers—put the workers in the driver’s seat, and ultimately led them to take an increased role in other aspects of safety. Our second story is from a small manufacturing company out West. Like the first company, they didn’t have much of a safety training program before they came to us. But according to their EHS training manager, soon after they implemented our tools, a culture change took place. Workers began to identify and report job hazards, something they hadn’t done before. And they began correcting coworkers who were performing unsafe acts. When their management demonstrated that they cared by putting together a robust EHS training program, the workers responded by taking on the responsibility for everyone’s safety. As the training manager explained, "after that, nothing less than a full team effort was acceptable to the workers." Related Article: 3 Ways Online EHS Training Can Improve Your Safety Culture 10. CAPTURE AND DISTRIBUTE "TRIBAL SAFETY KNOWLEDGE" At many workplaces, important work processes and procedures are known by only a small number of workers, or maybe just one. This is sometimes known as "tribal knowledge." If that worker is out for the day, that information isn’t available. And if that worker retires, that information is lost forever. And with an aging American workforce that’s already suffering from a skill gap, this problem will get worse unless your company addresses it now. An LMS can help to capture that knowledge, store it, and distribute it to all workers who need it, letting you turn tribal knowledge to global knowledge. And a lot of that information will have a relation to safety. Case Study: A paper manufacturer in the Southeast began using our LMS to deliver training to their workers. They bought e-learning courses from us, and they imported their own training materials as well. But in addition, they put workers in charge of documenting their own work procedures so that the information could be captured and others could learn the same job skills. Workers used Word, PowerPoint, self-recorded videos, and e-learning authoring tools to document their work-related knowledge and skills. These materials were then imported into the LMS, assigned to some workers, and made available to others on a "reference" basis. The results were amazing. Every day, workers rushed to check the LMS, excited to see the new training materials their coworkers created. They’d watch the materials and then talk about them during the day, making sure to catch up with the coworker who created them to offer a "good job" and discuss more details. The LMS allowed the company to distribute that tribal knowledge more widely, and the initial distribution of that knowledge created even more discussion, sharing, and learning. Check These Samples and Additional Resources If those ten reasons are reason enough to get you interested in learning more about online learning, learning management systems (LMSs), and e-learning courses for EHS, you may also be interested in these short samples. Watch this two-minute video to learn more about how to use an LMS to administer EHS and other training. Watch this Overhead Crane Safety course sample, just one of many titles from our EHS e-learning library. Or, learn how to make your own e-learning EHS course in this blog post or this webinar. And hey, why now download our free Guide to Effective EHS training below?   The post 10 Key Benefits of Online EHS Training appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

You may have noticed that I have spent a LOT of time with planning in this blog.The silences should have told you I was also DOING stuff too.Architecture planning doesn't happen in a vacuum.As the plan is developed, it's good to observe what is going on in the environment.How are the relationships with and between the stakeholders?What concerns about the architecture (both existing and potential target) have come up in the interim?Have any new initiatives or projects appeared that impact your architecture?These observations will provide more intelligence around direction than just asking people.I still strongly recommend running your observations and conclusions by a few trusted stakeholders and a few interested outside observers that you also trust.Here is where things can get sticky and dangerous.You are threatening to change things.Change is scary.And if you are already working in an unstable environment, it can be even scarier.Are you inadvertently threatening their job?How much time did the other party spend building his/her current system? (You may be threatening their baby.)Is there a chance they may feel like you are overstepping your boundaries / getting in their business?And, particularly in a strongly hierarchical organization, do they even feel like you have the authority to make these recommendations? Managing upward among your ENTIRE management chain helps here before engaging with your more sensitive stakeholders. They all need to be on the same page with the same message. Otherwise, you are wasting your time.As you may have guessed, the target for the architecture is going to be a bit wider than may be comfortable. 

Thank goodness for Twitter! I love stumbling upon new tools…especially game sites! I recently found Quizalize during a late night #edtech search, and I’m so glad I did! Like many formative, game-based websites, Quizalize allows teachers to create review games and activities for their students for FREE! Unlike Kahoot or Quizizz, Quizalize offers a marketplace […] The post How to Use Quizalize to Review with Your Students appeared first on Teaching with Technology.

If you use the nightly builds at http://nightly.ardour.org/ or if you build your own version of Ardour from git (for yourself or others), please be aware that at about 20:30 GMT, the master branch was merged with the "tabbed" branch and thus the resulting builds will be substantively different from any older versions. The "tabbed" branch features two important changes from previous versions of Ardour. First and foremost, both the editor and mixer windows (along with the preferences window) are by default displayed as tabs in a single window. The tabs can be torn off to create detached versions, and the program will remember this state. Secondly, the entire mechanism for keyboard shortcuts has been completely redesigned to allow us to break away more easily from the constraints that GTK+ (our GUI toolkit) was imposing on us. The "tabbed" branch was under development for months, and has received some testing by a handful of kind and brave users. We nevertheless expect some breakage to emerge as more people start trying it out. If you use nightly builds or build Ardour yourself from git, please take a moment to consider the implications of your next "update". That said, please test it out and let us know what you think. There are lots of details left to be worked on before we consider this ready for release, and it will be a better release the more feedback we get. read more

Many businesses struggle to set prices for their products / services. Not just startups, but long-running businesses, particularly companies with high costs and lots of competition. If you set prices too high you may push potential customers away. Set prices too low and you reduce (or eliminate!) your profit. So, to help you avoid these traps, here are 3 of the most common mistakes that entrepreneurs make when setting their prices… 1. Undercutting the competition Only a very small % of businesses should attempt to beat their competition on price. If you are Walmart, Lidl, McDonalds, or Primark then this is an appropriate strategy because you need a big market to address, and your target market includes many low income families. But for most entrepreneurs, setting low prices destroys your profit (which directly impacts how much money you have to reinvest in your business and/or pay for shoes for your kids!). Instead, you need to set prices that reflect the value you deliver. Sure, some people will decide to go with the ‘cheap’ alternative, but that’s fine. You want to work with the customers who believe ‘buy cheap, pay twice’. Instead, you can pass the discount shoppers to your competition who will have to figure out how to make a profit on razor-thin margins. Even better, customers who focus on price tend to be more painful to work with! 2. Ignoring your costs To set a price that will make you a healthy profit margin (a portion of the money paid by customer that exceeds your costs), you need to identify and understand every cost in your business. You’d be surprised how even ‘small costs’ like website hosting, online tools, and payment processing fees add up. Identify all of the costs associated with you doing business, and work out whether they are ‘direct’ ‘variable’ costs (Where more sales = more costs  e.g. Lemons for a lemonade stand) or Fixed / Overhead costs (Where more sales don’t result in significantly more costs e.g. Paying rent for the location of your lemonade stand) . Don’t forget costs you plan to have in future, like staff salaries and sales commissions paid to salespeople - these can obliterate your profits and lock you into working for your business, rather than on it. 3. Not understanding what customers value Instead of reducing prices to create a better deal for the customer, ask yourself how you can add more value to your customer. This adds to the experience your customer has, which helps bring that customer back again and again - the key to a highly profitable business. To do this, you need to do your research - uncover the value you REALLY offer your customers by speaking to them. Then set your price based on that value. Doing this puts you in a great position to defend your price, with a good list "why" your offering is worth its price vs. the competition. So, avoid the pricing mistakes above, and instead build a profitable business. If you’d like to learn exactly how to set prices that maximise your profit (step-by-step!), then take a look at the details of my upcoming "Premium Profit Pricing Masterclass". Once you master pricing, (an area in which even experienced entrepreneurs sometimes struggle), you’ll save countless time, money and headaches by knowing how to set the right price for new customers, and how to ensure you are maximising your profit. You won’t get it right every single time, but over time, your extra profits will make the difference between you ‘struggling along’ or having financial freedom.