Best Webinar Software: Massive Roundup Review!

Summary

Shane Miller from Active Growth Home reviews nine webinar platforms, detailing his testing process with live webinars to crowds of 100-300 people. He evaluates the platforms on marketing features, engagement, pricing, and reliability, ultimately recommending WebinarJam for its strong marketing features and affordability. He also provides conditional recommendations for Zoom, Crowdcast, and BigMarker, and advises against GoToWebinar, ClickMeeting, Webinar Ninja, Easy Webinar, and Demio due to various shortcomings.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Shane Miller from Active Growth Home conducted a comprehensive review of nine webinar platforms to determine the best options for various purposes.
• 💡 Miller tested each platform by conducting live webinars with audiences ranging from 100 to 300 people to evaluate performance under real-world conditions.
• 💰 The review included a detailed price comparison for different scenarios, highlighting the cost of hosting webinars for 100 and 500 attendees on a monthly and annual basis.
• 🚫 Miller eliminated certain platforms based on their lack of reliability, poor stream quality, outdated UI, and insufficient marketing or engagement features.
• 🏆 WebinarJam was identified as the top recommendation due to its strong marketing features, specialized focus on conversions, and competitive pricing.
• 💡 Criteria for the best webinar tool included marketing features, engagement capabilities, webinar funnel pages, automation, pricing, and reliability.
• 💻 Technical issues were reported by users after the initial reviews of WebinarJam and Big Marker, indicating that no platform is completely free from potential problems.
• 🔑 Webinar platforms like Click Meeting, Demio, Webinar Ninja, and Easy Webinar have been working on updates and improvements based on feedback.
• 📈 WebinarJam stands out for its ease of integrating with marketing strategies, offering scarcity factors and offer displays that can significantly impact sales.
• 📊 The review emphasized the importance of real audience testing to truly assess a platform's capabilities, as opposed to merely examining features in isolation.
• ❗ Miller advises that while updates from platforms are positive, it's still crucial to consider their track record and reliability over time before making a decision.

Q & A

What was the main purpose of Shane Miller's review of webinar platforms?

Shane Miller aimed to find out the best webinar software by testing nine different platforms, comparing their features, and providing a roundup review to help others choose the most suitable one for their needs.

How did Shane Miller ensure a fair comparison of the webinar platforms?

Shane Miller signed up for each platform as a customer, paid for the plans, and conducted actual live webinars with a real audience to test the platforms under real-life conditions, ensuring no sponsorship or special treatment influenced the review.

What criteria did Shane Miller use to evaluate the webinar platforms?

The criteria included marketing features, engagement features, webinar funnel pages, automation or evergreen webinar features, pricing, and reliability and stream quality.

Why is reliability and stream quality considered a 'killer feature' for webinar platforms?

Reliability and stream quality are critical because they ensure a smooth experience for attendees, allowing them to easily join and participate in the webinar without technical issues, which is essential for the success of any webinar.

What are the two pricing scenarios Shane Miller focused on for comparing the webinar platforms?

The two scenarios were a low budget option for webinars to 100 people on a monthly basis and a higher budget option for webinars to 500 people on an annual basis.

Which platform did Shane Miller identify as the cheapest option for hosting webinars for up to 100 people?

Zoom Meetings was identified as the cheapest option, costing $15 a month for hosting webinars for up to 100 people.

What was the main reason for eliminating GoToWebinar from the list of recommended platforms?

GoToWebinar was eliminated due to its high price and lack of marketing features, not offering enough value to justify its cost despite its reliability.

Why did Shane Miller not recommend ClickMeeting despite its comprehensive feature set?

ClickMeeting was not recommended because of poor reliability and stream quality, which resulted in a negative experience for the audience during the live webinar.

What is the main advantage of WebinarJam according to Shane Miller's review?

WebinarJam's main advantage is its strong focus on marketing features, including the ability to display offers and scarcity factors during a webinar, which can significantly impact the profitability of sales webinars.

What is the recommended use case for Crowdcast based on Shane Miller's review?

Crowdcast is recommended for Patreon creators who want to host exclusive webinars and meetings for their supporters, as well as for webinars where attendees need to pay to attend.

What does Shane Miller suggest doing if you're unsure about which webinar platform suits your specific needs?

Shane Miller suggests watching the full written review and taking a quiz provided in the description of the video review, which will help determine the best tool for an individual's specific use case.