Whether it's your own teleseminar or you're appearing as guest expert on someone else's teleseminar, you will often have an opportunity to tell listeners about a special offer. Normally you'd offer a discount not available to the public at large or something free that isn't generally advertised at all.

Listeners appreciate this gesture. Just be aware of several pitfalls.

First, consider whether a recording of the teleseminar will be made available. In many membership programs, members have the option of listening live or listening to the recording, either by downloading an MP3 file or by getting a CD in the mail. In other situations, the recording goes on sale to the general public for years to come or becomes downloadable for future members who missed the live event.

In any of these instances, you must resist the urge to put a time limit on your special offer. Recently I heard a teleclass guest offer a discount "by the end of today," only to have the host tell her that many members would receive the interview on MP3 in a day or two. "Well then, the offer is valid just the day they receive the email about the MP3," she said.

That didn't work either, really, because the "Gold" members also received all the interviews on CD and probably wouldn't listen immediately. A time-limited teleclass offer comes across as unfair unless everyone has been told, prior to the call, that they have to join the live call or immediately listen to the recording to be able to take advantage of a special offer.

You need to realize, too, that words like "today" and "tomorrow" are profoundly unclear to those listening to a recording. Always clarify such words with dates.

If you intend to put your own teleclass recording up for sale afterwards, you must either make sure the special offer remains valid indefinitely or edit the offer out of the recorded version of the call. Publicity expert Joan Stewart handles this by telling participants in advance to stay on the line after she turns off the teleclass recording to hear that day's special offer. That's one very effective solution!

Another time-related pitfall I've heard is describing a discount for an upcoming program but failing to mention the date of the event, even with something like "next week" or "next month." People may be listening to the recording soon enough to take advantage of the discount, but they're in their car or out jogging without the Internet at hand to look it up. Unless they really, really, really want to attend, this vagueness deadens their interest.

Special offers without a time limit are easiest to manage on teleclasses, but with forethought and planning, time-limited ones can work as well.

Of course, your offer could be for a discount, an exclusive bonus, early-bird access to something, limited enrollment with only a few spaces left, special access to you or any number of other goodies. Sometimes people sign up in response to an offer because they feel there's no other way to get something they want – and that's exactly the point.