Written vs. Audio Marketing?

--> Written vs. Audio Marketing?

Written vs. Audio Marketing?
by Jeremy Gossman

Are you ready for some interesting figures?

* People remember only 10% of what they read

* People remember only 20% of what they hear

* But people remember 50% of what they both read
and hear!

** And it is found that audio increases the web site
viewers attention span by 45%

** Almost 80% of web users have audio!!!!!!

These figures reflect the necessity of having audio on
your website. There are 3 basic components to
recording audio:

1.) A Recording Program
2.) A Uni-Directional Microphone
3.) A Code that will call on your audio

Today, you will learn about the recording program. In
order to record your voice or the sounds you desire,
you must have a program that can do the job....

Total Recorder and Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge Studio
6.0 are 2 programs that come highly recommended.

To Find out more about these programs check out the
links provided below:

http://www.totalrecorder.com
http://www.sonicfoundry.com/main.asp

*Please note that there are several products at the
Sonic Foundry website but for your recording purposes
the Sound Forge Studio 6.0 will do the job and comes
at a reasonable price.

#2, a uni-directional microphone.
A terrific uni-directional microphone can be found at
Radio Shack.

http://www.radioshack.com

Once you get there, you will want to do a search for
Uni-Directional Microphone.

*Or you could always go by your local Radio Shack or
electronics store.

With the use of the a program such as Total Recorder or
Sound Forge Studio 6.0 and a microphone, you can start
the recording process!

Now all that's left is step #3, a code that will call on
your audio! This can be found at:
http://www.audioplayerpro.com

**************************************************
6 Week Advanced Instant Internet Profit Program
http://www.acceleratedinternetprofits.com
**************************************************

copyright 2003
Jeremy Gossman

Internet Marketer and Consultant from Texas. Has Collaborated on several successful online projects. Most current is: http://www.acceleratedinternetprofits.com

Why you can't do without a car audio crossover.

--> Why you can't do without a car audio crossover. I've heard the question asked many times before, 'Do I really need a crossover?' Without wasting any time I quickly answer, 'Yes you do'. Whether it's a passive crossover or an active crossover, your car audio system will never sound good without a crossover. I want to make myself very clear here, so before you get confused let's talk about what a car audio crossover is and why you need one.

A crossover is a filtering device which limits the frequencies that reach a speaker. It splits a music signal into separate frequency ranges and sends them to speakers that are designed to best reproduce each frequency range. For instance, only high frequencies would be sent to your tweeters, midrange to your mid range speakers, and lows to your subwoofer.

The passive crossover is very common. It's basically a capacitor or coil installed on the speaker leads between amplifier and speaker that stops certain frequencies from reaching a speaker. It's relatively inexpensive and easy to install.

But for your car stereo system to perform better and be efficient, you need an active crossover, also referred to as an electronic crossover. It is installed between your head unit or equalizer and your amplifiers. Your electronic crossover sends the proper frequency ranges to each amplifier. Some people run three separate amps: one for bass, one for mids and the other for highs.

Active crossovers are almost infinitely adjustable. You can vary the crossover points and adjust the level of separate speakers to achieve the best overall sound in your vehicle.

If you're serious about sound you must have a car audio crossover. Otherwise your system will sound terrible. Oh what a mess it will be when your subwoofer and mid-range speakers duplicate many of the same frequencies! How about when your mid-range speaker attempts to put out high notes that your tweeters are supposed to handle. Can you bear such grief? I can't.

And this is just the beginning of your sorrow and pain. Since low frequencies are being sent to your tweeters there will be distortion. As a result of this distortion your tweeters will be destroyed. Loud bass will eventually destroy your mid-range speakers as well. Now you've got to start from scratch and buy a new set of speakers, all because you started on the wrong footing.

Mantius Cazaubon is a successful author and publisher of Car Stereos Guide.com. A resource for information and tips on buying car stereo and audio products online.

Why you can't do without a car audio capacitor.

--> Why you can't do without a car audio capacitor. I've heard the question asked many times before, 'Do I really need a capacitor?' Before answering that question I ask, 'Do you have a high powered system?' 'Does it require sudden power bursts?' 'Is your amplifier being robbed of power?' If the answers to my questions are yes, make every effort to connect a capacitor to your car audio system.

A capacitor is a bit similar to your car battery; it stores electrical energy. But unlike a battery it doesn't produce its own power, it simply stores it. A car audio capacitor will help you get the most from your amplifier. It will store power for release on demand, delivering it to your amplifier just when it's needed.

Your car amplifier requires a lot of power to play loud music, especially when there's lots of heavy bass. Without a capacitor your amplifier will be robbed of power by parts like your lights, engine, and air conditioner.

So what happens when your car audio amplifier doesn't receive enough power?

A common occurrence is dimming lights. In such a situation the light will follow the beat of the music. The light will dim each time a heavy bass note sounds. If you were to turn off the lights, your car stereo system would suddenly sound louder and the music would be cleaner.

Your amplifier is simply trying to use more energy than the electrical system can supply. If a capacitor had been present there would have been enough energy to power your amp. That electrical energy would have already been stored.

When you want to reduce headlight dimming, improve bass response, and increase the power of your amp, a stiffening capacitor is a must. Equipped with capacitor and an adequate power supply, your system will get every bit of current it needs. Voltage drops will be a thing of the past.

With so many brands available online, it's easy to find a capacitor that meets your needs. You can choose from popular brands like Phoenix-Digital, Blitz-Audio, Kole-Audio, Pyramid, SoundStorm, Lanzar, Power-Acoustik, Pyle, Legacy, Nitro-BMW, SPL, and Volfenhag. No longer will your car amplifier be hungry for power.

Mantius Cazaubon is a successful author and publisher of Car Stereos Guide.com. A resource for information and tips on buying car stereo and audio products online.

Why Aren't You Using Audio?

--> Why Aren't You Using Audio? Why Aren't You Using Audio?

By

Ronni Rhodes

As use of the Internet continues to grow geometrically, we see an increased demand for information to be provided by a variety of media. Viewing options can range from simple text to PDF documents to video clips. Unfortunately, each option requires more and more resources and technological know-how. As convergence moves inexorably forward, we have to ask ourselves if there is a practical way to combine the best of this technology and still provide the user with a satisfying Internet experience.

The answer, at this stage of Internet evolution, is audio.

Voice, by itself, provides the means to enhance a user's enjoyment of the Internet. Voice conveys many of the intangibles underlying the written word. A voice can touch the human spirit and deliver a message on its' own merits. Audio can build community and maintain relationships.

Audio is the most mature of the streaming technologies and doesn't have the bandwidth requirements associated with video. Any Internet user connecting at 28.8k or better can enjoy FM quality sound without experiencing buffering and other annoyances that can affect video at lower bit rates.

It is common knowledge that people only retain 20% of what they read, but they do remember 70% of what they see and hear. That fact in itself increases the value of an audio message delivered from a website for the typical user. And, the implications of how audio can increase Internet enjoyment for the handicapped are overwhelming.

Streaming audio provides Internet businesses with unlimited opportunities to reach their audience and to simplify their interactions. Streaming audio broadens a product's appeal and helps to stimulate sales. People are comfortable with audio and have few qualms about using it in their day-to-day lives.

Retailers can integrate audio into their operations in several ways. Use it to enhance product descriptions and deliver product information in ways far more persuasive than plain text. Booksellers can have "special events" that offer audio excerpts from selected titles. Art dealers can use voice to give value added information on an artist or a period of history depicted by an artist's work. (Think of those audio tours that museums offer.)

Organizations that specialize in selling educational tools can use audio clips for potential clients to preview and evaluate the material being offered. The ability to sample the product is a potent and practical selling aid.

Business-to-Business sites and corporate Intranets can also harness the power of audio. The need to provide up-to-the-minute information for employees and customers can be well served with streaming audio and the telephone. Integrating audio into the corporate communications mix is a tool that is easy to use and addresses the need to communicate with a distributed work force.

In both the retail and business-to-business marketplace, audio can and should be used to maintain those all important customer relationships. Voice messages add a personal touch that intrigues the listener and encourages them to remain on the site.

Employee training is greatly enhanced with audio. Use it to orient new employees and keep the information archived on the site for easy reference. Sales training can also be archived and quickly retrieved when needed. The ability to offer customized audio training materials on a 24/7 basis makes streaming audio a very versatile and efficient learning tool.

Some words of caution are also necessary. Audio, just like any other value-added technology, has to be used judiciously. It should be employed for a specific purpose and to enhance the text based message being delivered. Think of your audience and how you'd like them to interact with your website. Keep in mind that your visitor may be coming to your site while they're at their place of business and plan accordingly.

The future of streaming audio is bright and filled with promise. More and more Internet users have become familiar with streaming audio and use it everyday. Internet radio broadcasts are extremely popular and are now being employed as effective advertising vehicles. Audio e-mail messaging is becoming widely available and is being positioned as a practical business tool. Consumers are attaching audio messages to greeting cards and experimenting with Internet telephony. Streaming audio will allow the average Internet user the ability to create content that conveys the power of voice and the emotions that it conveys.

So...why aren't you using audio?

Ronni Rhodes is the owner of WBC Imaging, an Internet company that specializes in web site enhancement utilizing streaming media technology. With her husband, Don, a digital media engineer, they work with companies to incorporate streaming as part of successful and meaningful sales and marketing programs.

Please direct all questions and comments to:
Ronni@wbcimaging.com
520-742-5780
http://www.wbcimaging.com

What is DVD Audio?

--> What is DVD Audio? DVD Audio is a music format that is designed to offer improved audio performance over CD. The new audio format can be used to provide listeners with Advanced Resolution stereo and/or multi-channel (up to a maximum of six channels) music. In order to play back DVD Audio discs, players have to be specially designed to support the format. So far, consumer electronics manufacturers have announced a range of DVD Audio players, including home decks, portable players and devies for cars.

DVD Audio has a sampling rate of up to 192kHz compared to a maximum of 44.1kHz for CD. It also supports resolutions of up to 24 bits, compared to 16bits on CD.

The idea behind DVD Audio is that it alllows peoducesr to give listeners a playback experience that is much more faithful to the original master recording that has been possible previously.

DVD Audio discs have a much higher capacity than CDs. This extra space can be used to provide audio at the highest possible quality or for longer recordings, or to provide additional material, such as infromation on the artist, photos and even video, all of which can be displaye don a television screen. Alternatively, DVD Audio discs currently on the market from the likes of the Warner group of labels have the audio content in both DVD Audio format and as Dolby Digital surround so that they can be played back on regular DVD players.

DVD Audio discs are navigable in the same way as DVD Video when polayed back on a player connected to a TV set. Users can select the required track from an on-screen menu and with an internet connection, can click on links to go to websites.

These dual format discs are a good way to kick-start the market while DVD Audio players are still relativley rare. The market will also be helped by combined DVD Video and Audio players.

What Your Car Audio Can Teach You About Marketing.

--> What Your Car Audio Can Teach You About Marketing. Stand next to any road, and every so often a young person will go by with the latest rap CD blaring. If it happens to be a cold day, he (it is always a he) may have the windows up. Then, all you will hear is the thud of the overworked bass speaker in the back. After he turns 30, the young driver probably won't even be able to hear that, if he continues this unwarranted assault on his ears.

That big bass bin can't handle the vocal sounds, and the front speakers would melt if they had all those thumps going through them. So the car audio separates out the various frequencies using filters, sending only the bass to the big bins in the back, and only the higher and more delicate sounds to the little speakers at the front. Both, and especially the bass, are then amplified so they are audible in the next county.

Marketers have borrowed the same terminology as a way of looking at how their business treats its customers. Marketing graduates will often talk about 'Filters' and 'Amplifiers' almost as if they actually understood them.
Filters

A filter in marketing speak is anything which prevents your customer from doing business with you. Some filters are 'natural' - if you provide personal training services for example all of your clients will need to be within easy reach. This natural, geographic filter means that you are unlikely to sell to someone in another country.

Others are contructed. Mercedes Benz dealers the world over have large, bright, glassy establishments. They tend to intimidate anyone who can't afford the prices, acting as a natural, probably intentional, filter.

Filters can also be fairly subtle. If you send out a mailing by post, research shows many are discarded without even being opened. If you have a leaflet delivered, the 'open an envelope' filter is removed, so people can't help reading it, even while they are trying to throw it away.
Amplifiers

An amplifier is anything which increases the ease of doing business with you. Any business which decides to take payment via credit cards, for example, will find the number of people who can do business with them is amplified compared to when only cash was acceptable.

Marketers probably won't admit it, but filters and amplifiers are opposites of the same thing. Removing a filter has an amplifying effect, and vice versa.

I insured my car the other day over the Internet. The first few sites I tried only supported Internet Explorer. That, at least to me, is a filter and I went somewhere a little more Firefox friendly!

Many corporate web sites insist you provide a lot of information before they will send you that 'free' White Paper you are interested in. No doubt that information is required by someone in the business, but it filters out a lot of otherwise interested people who simply won't take the time to fill out the form and inevitably receive all the sales calls afterwards. After all, they can't be sure they're even a prospect before they read the White Paper!

Apple has potentially filtered out a large portion of their target market for iTunes by only accepting credit cards. Most under 18s won't have a credit card, and they are the major buyers of chart music. The 'Music Store Card' is an attempt to turn this filter into an amplifier.
What Filters and Amplifiers Mean to Your Marketing

Importantly, this way of thinking allows you to look at all of your marketing, online and offline, in a critical way to improve your response rates and your sales. Every time you look at any aspect of your business, ask yourself if this filters out customers you want to serve, or if you can amplify the target market by improving the process.

Perhaps you could send postcards or use leaflets instead of putting brochures in envelopes. Don't insist on a customer's life history before you will allow them to buy from you. Make your web site informative and easy to use, rather than slick, 'cutting edge' and hard to understand. If you are providing services, make it clear on your site where you are and the distance you will travel. Use local town and county names as keywords to filter out people who will never be able to buy from you, but to amplify the chance of attracting locals.

If you do this consistently, over time you will get your filters and amplifiers to attract profitable customers to you, not send them away to your competitors, never to return. With more than 30 years in the IT industry, Mike Street is now director of FastComm (www.fastcomm.net) which specialises in information and tools to help increase sales, including Airlook Mobile Email software, the Eye Catcher Video Phone and the online Contact Management system, FastCRM. He is also webmaster of his wife's Health and Beauty site Zenergie (www.zenergie.co.uk)

What You Need to Know About Using Audio on Your Web Site

--> What You Need to Know About Using Audio on Your Web Site

What You Need to Know About Using Audio on Your Web Site
http://www.medrocket.com/tools/articles/article090501_01.html

By Kevin P. Richardson
Healthcare Internet Marketing Consultant

Millions of people are listening to audio on the Web every day. They're not just teens downloading MP3 audio clips of their favorite songs, either.

Maybe you're among them. They're people at home and work listening to on-demand audio on topics running the gamut from financial advice to relationships to technology to entertainment. And yes -- they're even tuning in to health and wellness topics.

With so many health sites on the Web, using audio well can set your site apart from the pack. Audio also can be a powerful way to attract site visitors and keep them coming back. It's considered "sticky," meaning visitors will come to listen to your audio and stay around a while. Audio players are plentiful and best of all they're usually free to download.

The only way to determine if audio works for you and your Web site is to get the creative juices flowing and try it.

Testing 1,2,3 -- How Should We Use Audio?

Your site can feature audio versions of popular health education articles, health seminars, news updates, descriptions of medical procedures, special health product offers, and patient testimonials.

Adding an audio greeting to site visitors lends a personal touch to your site and humanizes the user experience. (For an idea check out the greeting on the MedRocket home page at http://www.medrocket.com.)

Audio features are also a good way to make your site more accessible to visually impaired web surfers. The possibilities are almost endless. You can even include the audio links in email messages.

Delivering the Goods -- Streaming Audio

In the olden days of the Web the quality of audio was pitiful. It was just barely passable AM-radio quality. More recently though, Web visitors can hear very good quality audio even over relatively slow Internet connections (28.8 Kbs).

Audio quality isn't the issue that it once was and the choice of content delivery now comes in two basic flavors -- streaming audio and downloadable audio.

As the name implies, streaming audio sends the audio data from a server to the user's browser in a more or less continual stream. This is good because it lets people listen to the audio as it arrives without waiting for the entire audio file to download.

Pick Your Favorite Format

In the streaming audio arena, RealPlayer from RealNetworks claims roughly 90% of the market. The other common streaming formats are Windows Media Audio and Shockwave audio. Recently even MP3 files can be streamed, which has excellent quality audio though usually requires higher connection speeds.

Conversely, downloadable audio usually requires the entire MP3 or WAV file to download before it can be played on the user's computer. The up side of this method is that the audio can be much higher quality -- near CD quality, if you will -- than is possible from streaming media over a slower Internet connection. It is possible now to stream MP3 files.

Generally, I recommend using streaming audio for most uses, unless you want to provide your Web visitors with a high-quality audio presentation that they can download to their computer and listen to at their leisure without an Internet connection. MP3 files can also be loaded into portable digital audio players and some PDAs.

Cue Talent -- Creating Your Audio Content

Once you've decided on the purpose and focus of your audio content, you're ready to begin the process of creating a script, recording, converting to digital format, and delivering the files.

If you decide to create the audio files on your own, here's the basic sequence of events that will take place:

Scripting --
Prepare a script for narration. Unless you're simply providing a verbatim audio version of an existing text or HTML document, you should write the script in a conversational tone. Remember to write for the ear and not the eye. Some words and phrases look fine on paper but sound muddy (even slurred) when spoken aloud. Read your script aloud before you have it narrated. Make sure it sounds natural.

Record the Narration --
You can either record right into the computer or record to a high-quality analog or digital recorder and then transfer the recording to the computer. The two crucial elements at this stage are the quality of the narration and the quality of the microphone.

Professional voice talent knows how to control their voice and deliver the script with feeling. You might be able to have an on-air personality at a local radio station record the script for you for a reasonable fee. Otherwise, find someone with a great voice in your organization or track down a professional. As for the microphone, the little one that came with your computer won't sound nearly as good as a studio microphone. Use the best microphone you can find.

Digitize the Audio --
Whether you record the narration directly into the computer or onto audiotape first, at some point you'll have to get the audio into the computer. Most late-model computers have the capability to digitize audio. Record the audio at the highest quality possible; 16-bit audio at 44.1 kHz is the common setting.

Recording simple sounds on your computer is fairly simple. However making a good-quality recording suitable for broadcast on the Internet is more challenging. The only way to determine if your equipment and technique are up to the task is to record a test and listen to how it sounds streaming from a server.

Adjust Audio Quality --
Once the audio is on your hard drive you should open the file in an audio-editing program like CoolEdit. Check Downloads.com http://download.cnet.com for other freeware and shareware packages. Crop the narration to cut extra silence at the start and end. Then adjust the equalization levels (cut 100 Hz and lower and boost between 1 and 4 Khz). Then normalize the audio track, which optimizes the loudness of the recording in relation to the loudest segment. Other adjustments in compression and noise reduction can also be made at this time. Save as a WAV or AIFF audio file.

Encode the File --
Decide how you'll be delivering the final audio file. If you are using Real Audio, then you need to use the Real Encoder (http://www.real.com) to transform (encode) your WAV audio file to a Real Audio (RA) file. For Windows Media Audio, you'll need to use the Windows Media Encoder (http://www.windowsmedia.com) to create a Windows Media Audio (WMA) file.

Upload to the Server --
After you've successfully encoded the audio, upload it to your Web server using an FTP program. Depending upon the number of people who might access your audio file at a time, you may need to place your audio files on a special server, such as a Real Audio server. For testing however, a basic Web server should work fine.

Create Links --
Add a link to your test audio file on a simple test HTML page. Click on the link and see how it sounds.

Seems like a lot to do, I know. If you don't feel comfortable with digitizing audio, resolution, sampling rates, file format, compression rates, and other nuances of audio production, don't despair. Let's look at a few audio production alternatives.

Ready, Roll Tape. -- Your Production Options

There are several ways to add an audio health experience to your health site. You'll need to consider your expertise, available time, and budget to determine the best solution for your situation.

They range from a do-it-yourself approach to total outsourcing to licensing audio health content. Here's a run-down of some of the possible solutions.

D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself):

If you, or someone at your organization, has the necessary skills, your could create, produce, and deliver the content yourself. Most marketing teams don't have the resources available for this route, but it gives you the greatest control. Recording audio on your PC has become so easy that it's worth looking into.

Script and Outsource:

You could develop and script the content on your own, and then outsource the narration, recording, audio encoding, and delivery. This allows you to take advantage of the writing skills of your marketing staff and hand off the more technical details to other professionals. Just remember that writing for the ear is different than writing for the eye.

Outsource Everything:

If you're used to working with advertising and public relations-type agencies, then you'd probably be comfortable with outsourcing to an audio house for scripting and creating professionally produced audio content. Just be sure your project management expertise and budget are up to the task.

License Audio Content:

You can also license free or fee-based audio health content for use on your site. In many cases the licensing also allows you to link to the files on the content provider's site, which saves you from dealing with most of the technology issues and allows you to get up and running quickly.

How Are Your Ratings?

Now let's say you've included a few audio tests on your Web site for a month or longer. What kind of feedback have you received? What do your server logs tell you about the number of hits your audio features have received? Are more people bookmarking your site?

If Web visitors liked what they heard, and your content is fresh and interesting, they probably bookmarked your site and will return for another listen -- sort of like setting their car radio presets to a favorite station.

You CAN use audio to improve your "ratings" and keep Web visitors coming back. The longer they are at your site, the greater the chance you have of communicating key messages, selling products, raising awareness, and pursuing other important marketing and public relations objectives. Done well and used creatively, audio could be another secret weapon in your online marketing toolbox.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Kevin Richardson is a healthcare marketing consultant, executive coach, and writer who provides fresh perspectives and expertise about online healthcare marketing. Sign up for his FREE "MedRocket Ezine" newsletter and discover how to profitably attract and serve healthcare consumers online. Subscribe at http://www.medrocket.com .