Today we’re going to make your website talk by adding audio to it.
Some practical uses for audio on a website…
1) Interviews, podcasts, etc.
Podcasting is syndicating your audio recordings using an RSS feed, such as feedburner.
For info about putting your podcast on Itunes, see:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/specs.html
2) Welcome to website
Consider split-testing an intro audio on your website to see if it keeps visitors longer.
3) Testimonials
Boosts the power of the testimonial by giving it more credibility and adding that extra dimension. See video for example.
Recommended resource for collecting customer testimonials:
Audio Generator (I’ve used it to collect over 1000 testimonials)
4) Guarantees
It can be effective to put an audio button in your money back guarantee area, so your visitors can hear you giving the guarantee with the sincerity of your own voice.
5) Ordering instructions
Your audio can explain how to order.
6) Opt-in instructions
This can be especially helpful if you’re doing double-opt-in. After they enter their name and email, you can verbally tell them to go check their email and confirm their subscription. (See video for example)
7) In an exit pop
Sometimes it helps stop people in their tracks if a voice says “Stop… I have something for you!”
8] Spoken transcript of your written content
Some of your visitors might prefer to listen rather than read. You could record yourself reading your content, or you could use a computer generated voice such as:
Ispeech (free text to speech tool)
9) Mood music*
Not recommended. See video for example of bad music, and how it can be done tastefully in some situations.
How to record your own audio for free:
First you need a microphone. I recommend getting a plug-and-play USB mic. I paid about $100 for mine, but you can get a decent one for under $30 at Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, etc.
Three steps:
1) Record an MP3 file
You’ll need some recording software. Here are some good free programs:
Audacity (my top choice)
Free Hi-Q Recorder
If you’re installing Audacity for the first time, you’ll need to download the LAME MP3 Encoder file:
http://lame.buanzo.com.ar/
or http://lame.sourceforge.net/
If you need help with it, check out: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/
(see video for demo of recording)
2) Generate a flash player
There are plenty of free MP3 flash players available:
Dew Player: http://www.alsacreations.fr/dewplayer-en
Dew Player for WP: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/dewplayer-flash-mp3-player/
1-button player: http://www.strangecube.com/audioplay/
WP Plugin: http://www.1pixelout.net/code/audio-player-wordpress-plugin/
Non-WP Player: http://www.macloo.com/examples/audio_player/
Player generators: http://flash-mp3-player.net/
Multi-track player: http://musicplayer.sourceforge.net/
3) Embed it on your website
(see video for demo)
Free flash player used in demo: click here to download (unzip it, and then just upload the SWF file along with your MP3)
Upload your files and paste the embed code into your web page.
Embed code from demo:
*If you’re putting it on a WordPress blog, be sure to fix the URL’s in the embed code to locate your SWF and MP3 files at their absolute location.
Action steps:
1) Think about how you can incorporate audio into your online business.
(Hint: I gave you 9 ideas)
2) Add some audio to your website.
In the next lesson we’ll be talking about privacy policies, disclaimers, and all that fun stuff.
As always, you are welcome to post your questions and comments below.
Have a great day!
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