Let’s talk once again about some great free sites, which help you run your business like a Fortune 500 company–on the thin budget of a startup.
Web 2.0 has risen to bring back a multitude of “free” web-based services, which were common before the “original” advertising-supported web companies nearly went extinct after the dot.com bubble burst in 2001. For early stage companies in particular, the return of this “no-fee” model can be a great thing. All you need is to do a bit of searching, and you can find many great services on the web to help you grow you business, efficiently and cost-effectively. I’ve found a couple of sites that will make you look like one of the giants of industry, to your partners and customers, in one important area.
Formal conference calls have historically been the domain of big companies, but no more. Here are two sites that allow you to set up the ubiquitous “dial-in” conference call, to simultaneously connect multiple parties in one call. Everyone gets a dial-in number and pass code for the conference. The two sites I’ve found are very similar in how they work. Both offer a robust, completely free to schedule such calls with a simple web-based interface—while offering an upgraded service, which is available for a small charge.
The two sites operate very similar business models. The major “upgrade” in both cases is a toll-free call in number, for a modest charge. There is also a premium charge for exceeding approximately 100 callers on the conference call (that’s a pretty big conference call for most people!), as well as for calls exceeding several hours, on one of the services. All told, very few restrictions, and a great, FREE, easy to use service—imo. Don’t take my word for it, try them yourself. The two sites are:
www.freeconference.com and www.totallyfreeconferencecalls.com
Let me, and all your fellow readers, know what you think! Post a comment with your own review.
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Conference Call service by AccuConference offers free conferencing with powerpoint and recording (no charges) via http://www.AccuTalk.net.
Love this article, the list is rich with some hidden gems. The one aspect the article doesn’t address is how some of the free tools can hijack your brand. One of my biggest pet peeves are those free conference calling services that we’ve all been tempted by in the past. My business was taken much more seriously when we spent the few bucks to get a service that allowed us to put our own brand on our conference bridge messaging. So “buyer” beware of the free tools and choose wisely. (btw, we use http://www.brandedbridgeline.com for our teleconferencing). Good Luck!