I currently charge a fee for
my webinars, but I’m getting pressure to offer them as free to our members.
What should I think about when considering whether or not to offer free
webinars or continue with pay-to-attend webinars?
Dear “For Free or Not for Free,”
This is a question many
association executives are asking themselves.
Membership is declining and your current members are demanding more
value for their membership dollars.
In our experience, the
answer is — it depends! It depends on your goals and mission. If one of your
webinar goals is non-dues revenue, you may want to charge for your webinars, or
perhaps line up sponsors to underwrite them and then charge a nominal fee or
nothing for members, but charge nonmembers.
You can offer orientations
(i.e. new member orientation) for free and charge for webinars that provide urgent,
need-to-know information, or where you are teaching a key skill. You can also
charge your members a lower rate than nonmembers – another way to show member
value.
Often a blend of paid and
free webinars is the answer – particularly when you can clearly differentiate
between the two types of events.
There is a lot of
information available to help you decide.
Here is an article in “Associations Now” debating the issue of providing
education for free.
And, as always, you can call
your KRM Account Manager to discuss whether paid and/or free webinars can help
you meet your goals.
Amy, Ann, Chris and Wayne –
800.816.2640
