Add Audio to Your Web Site and Increase Your Sales up to 35%!

Ok, you've got your site built, you have traffic coming to it, a good product at a reasonable price.... hmmm... what else do you need?

What else could increase your conversion rate?

Audio!

All right I know what you're thinking... "Why should I go to all of the trouble of adding audio to my web site?"

Because it can increase your sales by up to 35%!! That's why.

Adding streaming audio it isn't as hard as you have been led to believe and you don't even have to pay a monthly fee either. You can start with sound recorder (Pre-installed on every Windows computer) and the free microphone that came with your computer.

Some of the things you can do with audio to enhance your site are:

* Create audio greetings

* Create audio testimonials

* Narrate tutorials

* Create audio ezines

* Add audio files for your visitors to download

* Create audio articles

* Add your band's music clips as tempting teasers to get buyers

* Read children's stories

* Tell Jokes

* Sing...

* Add music as a background to your web site (Tastefully - please!)

This list goes on and on.

Let's quickly cover a couple of the items on the list and see what the advantages are.

Create Audio Greetings:

Well, I think this one is fun. Don't you often wonder what that "Guru" sounds like? Or even what a web master who has created your favorite web tool or ebook?

Adding an audio greeting is actually about the easiest thing to do if you want to improve your sales. For most web sites, when done tastefully, the sales can jump up to 35%! People just trust you more and feel like they know you a little better if they hear your voice.

Also, excitement is contagious. If you are excited about your product, ezine or membership site you can hear it in your voice when you talk about it. SO CAN YOUR CUSTOMERS! And more importantly, your potential customers.

Audio Testimonials:

What can I say about this compelling reason, but this... what would be more believable to you - a web site with a bunch of written testimonials or a web site where you can hear the actual voices of current / previous purchasers explaining what benefits they got from the product? How do you even know for sure the written testimonials are real?

It's hands down the one with the audio.

All you need is Audacity (Which is free at http://audacity.com) to edit down too long testimonials - actually, is there such a thing as too-long testimonial? Maybe not - and the ability to have customers send you .wav files and a small picture of themselves.

NOTE: You can get a free script from Will Bontrager at http://willmaster.com that will allow you to accept files from your customers OR you can set up a seperate ftp account at your server for customer uploads. See other articles in this series to learn how to implement this.

Piece of cake!

There are a couple of other steps to adding the audio to your site, but I will get to that in other parts of this article series.

Create Audio Ezines:

Have you ever heard Jim Edwards "I Gotta Tell You" ezine? (http://igottatellyou.com) Or watched the multi-media ebook and ezine how-to tutorials in Epublishing Express? (http://epublishing-express.com)

It is so much more compelling to hear someone explain exactly what to do than read a dry ezine (No offense to all the other thousands of ezine writers out there) or ebook (Ditto to you ebook writers) and you learn much faster.

Did you know that you only retain about 10-15% of what you read once? But that retention goes up to 60% if you hear it at the same time and flies up to 80% for a multi-media presentation.

How many fewer customer service calls and emails would you get if you customers were retaining 80% of what you were teaching them? I can tell you... a lot!

Think of all the extra time you would have to promote your business, create new products (Audio and multimedia products of course!) Heck, even spend more time with your family and hobbies.

How much happier would your customers be if they were able to duplicate your success and complete your tutorials, assignments, or follow your direction?

Again - a lot! How many more of your customers would buy other products from you if you were successful in teaching them or helping them with your first product? I think you can see where I am going with this...

So, know that you know how important audio is how do you get started? The first thing you can do is go to http://easy-web-site-audio.com and sign up for the free Audio Tips Ecourse and get a new tip every three days on creative audio uses.

That's a good start :)

Remember those audio testimonials?

Here are some other free resources for all of you ebook and ezine writers to get you started: (Some long links may wrap)

Microsoft: http://microsoft.com (Free)

Additionally you can access lots of free content add-ons, tools, and tutorials when you go straight to the media section on the Microsoft web site.

Find it at Media Player v.9: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.aspx (Free) Here you can upgrade to Media Player 9 (To store all of your audio files you have made in the easy access audio library) which is free.

Media Player 9 is the preferred media player for listening to streaming audio along with Real Player which is also free.

There are a lot of add-ons for the program, especially you want to get the one that converts your MP3s into smaller WMA files and save space on your computer. (It is a free teaser, they will probably try to get you to buy the full Plus! collection, but you don't have to!).

Visit http://www.microsoft.com/plus for more information on the PLUS! product if you think in addition to converting audio you might want to let the kids play around with Media Player too. :)

Remember all that extra family time you are going to have since you won't have hardly any customer service issues?

Real: http://real.com (Free)

Get the Real Audio player basic program which allows you to play Real Audio formatted files. A lot of online content is in this format.

Don't forget if you are adding Real Audio to your web site to get the free "Producer" which converts other types of audio files (> wav and .MP3 for example) into Real Audio files for uploading, streaming, etc.

Producer Basic (Free): http://www.realnetworks.com/products/producer/basic.html

If you want to stream from your computer or server (Warning advanced topic!) you can use the free Helix Server Basic. Helix Server Basic (Free): http://forms.real.com/rnforms/products/servers/eval/mbps.html

Also use the free PresenterOne to add audio and video to your PowerPoint presentations and stream them from your web site! http://www.realnetworks.com/products/presenterone/index.html (main page) and the free version is at:

http://forms.real.com/rnforms/products/tools/presenteronebasic/in dex.html (Approx. 20mb) since it requires Producer (Real Audio product with a free version see above) it includes it in the installation.

So if you are thinking of enhancing your PowerPoint slides and are going to download this, you don't need to download Producer separately.

Shoutcast: http://shoutcast.com (Free)

Start your own radio station for free. And obviously link to it from your web site and broadcast tutorial and educational content on your niche topic. Free to record and free to broadcast.

Live365: http://www.live365.com (Fee)

You can also start your own radio station starting at only $7/month.

Pirate Radio: http://pirateradio.com (Fee)

Purchase software for $29 one-time fee that will having you broadcasting in about 1/2 hour.

Keep your eyes peeled for more audio/video/multi-media related articles in this series. We will be talking about different types of audio files, conducting interviews, recording tutorials, adding audio testimonials to your web site, and more. :)

By the time we're done you will be an audio / video master!

"Techie" Teri Mramer is the busy web master at TreeFree Publishing, The Editor of Epublishing Express- The only ezine that teaches ebook and ezine publishing with screenshots and videos! http://Epublishing-Express.com Also author of "Easy Web Site Audio!" The Easy Web Site Audio tutorial! e-Manual comes with 15 how-to videos. Add audio to your web site in about an hour! http://Easy-Web-Site-Audio.com

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Jingles - What Constitutes A Successful Jingle Campaign?

What constitutes a successful jingle campaign? In this article we... Read More

Creating Web Content Using Audio Recordings of Expert Interviews

Creating Web Content Using Audio Recordings of Expert Interviews The... Read More

Streaming Audio Recorders

1. i-Sound WMA MP3 Recorder 6.x - On Sale www.abyssmedia.comi-Sound... Read More

Heres Exactly What Makes Web Audio So Powerful

Have you ever tried to communicate with another person using... Read More

How to Create Professional Audio Books from Scratch

My name is Alan Twigg and I'm writing this article... Read More

What The Muscle Power of Audio Can Do for Your Site

How Audio can Influence SalesAudio can enhance your website by... Read More

Add Audio to Your Web Site and Increase Your Sales up to 35%!

Ok, you've got your site built, you have traffic coming... Read More

Teleseminars, Audio Downloads, Podcasts: Listen Up So You?ll Learn and Earn More

Internet Marketers love audio. You can't blame them. They used... Read More

How To Record Streaming Audio, Internet Radio And

When it comes to music on the Internet, you have... Read More

Why Arent You Using Audio?

As use of the Internet continues to grow geometrically, we... Read More

7 Ways to Use AUDIO to Increase Your Web and E-mail Sales

Thought about adding audio to your Web site yet? You... Read More

CD/DVD Master Preparation Tips

"CD/DVD Master" is the disc you provide to your CD/DVD... Read More

How to Use Your Computer as a Recording Studio

A few years ago there was a revolution in recording... Read More

Transmit Clean Digital Audio with Digital Coaxial Cables

In the world of digital audio, there are two types... Read More

wav; Recording Voice or Instruments

A graduate student in Belfast wrote to me about a... Read More

Alternatives to MP3

Although MP3 is the most popular format for encoding music,... Read More

Get Personal by Adding Your Voice to Your Site

Many customers in today's online business world are shopping around... Read More

The Ten Commandments To Creating Amazing Audio Products

1.Thou shall create audio products as the fastest way to... Read More

Internet Radio: A Sanctuary in the Rubbish Tip

The internet, it's a whole world of information and entertainment,... Read More

Five Tips to Become a Soundbite Genius

1. Speak in soundbites to everyone.Getting key phrases for concepts... Read More

Adding Streaming Audio to Your Website

Adding streaming audio to your web site can help you... Read More

Seven Ways to Warm Your Prospects Using Website Audio

Gone are the days when putting audio on your website... Read More

Eight Reasons Why You Must Add Audio to Your Website

NUMBER 1 : INTERNET USERS REMEMBER WHAT THEY HEAR Did... Read More

Audio Websites -- Web Developers: Make Money Now

Are you a website developer looking to establish a long-term... Read More

How to Add Audio to Video

Digital media is everywhere you look. Music and video production... Read More

MP3 vs. WMA

There are just a few audio compression formats out there,... Read More

WAV; Useful Applications; Recording Your Tapes or L.P.s to CD

My first article about digital recording that I have had... Read More

DVD Audio: An Introduction

DVD Audio is a music format that is designed to... Read More

Why Publishing MP3 Can Cost You A Fortune

This was news to me. It might be news to... Read More

Why I Hate Flash Audio and What I Did About It

I love spoken-word audio. I've been listening to seminars, lectures,... Read More

Dont Use Web Audio The Wrong Way

Have you ever wrestled with a set of instructions, but... Read More

Adding Sound To Your Web Site - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Many webmasters like the idea of adding background music to... Read More

7 Ways to Use Website Audio in Your Marketing Arsenal

Most visitors to your website are using computers with audio... Read More