Free -- Yes, Free -- Phone Conferencing
I don't understand how they do it, but they do it! There is no longer any need to pay annual rental fees -- sometimes upwards of $1,000 -- for a phone conference bridge line.
If you've been thinking of trying group coaching, leading a teleclass, or hosting a discussion group, do it now. Don't let worries about access to teleconference bridge lines get in your way. Both FreeAudioConferencing.com and FreeConference.com provide 100-person bridge lines at no cost to you. The fine print is this: Long distance charges do apply for your callers unless, of course, your callers are lucky enough to be in the area code of the assigned phone number.
Callers will hear a short "commercial" for the provider when they dial in, but it's a small price to pay. You can get going with your ideas for group programs, and you don't have to worry about a high price tag. This will cost you, if you don't take advantage of it! Imagine the possibilities...
When you are ready to step up the pace, both services provide cost- effective ways to remove the commercial ($9.95 per month at FreeAudioConferencing.com), obtain a toll-free dial-in number (10 cents a minute per caller, charged to you, at FreeConference.com), or even download MP3 recordings of the call ($10 from FreeAudioConferencing.com).
My favorite? FreeAudioConferencing.com -- they assign a phone number and host/participant codes for use at any time, making it easy to provide the same dial-in instructions for each session of a program series. Go ahead and try it, and tell me what you think. Maybe we can even schedule a conference call to discuss these conference calls...

Skype may be an alternative. Skype 2.5 has something called skype casting. There are programs on the market which record skype calls which are low cost. Skype is also an alternative for one on one coaching. The sound quality is generally better than a telephone, too.
Posted by: Merrill Louise | June 19, 2006 at 10:12 PM