Three Steps to Stress-Free Teleclass and Audio Recordings

by Barbra Sundquist, Certified Mentor Coach

http://www.BecomeACertifiedCoach.com

If you want to record:
- a client call you are recording to submit for certification
- a teleclass you are leading
- an interview you are conducting
- anything else

You need to be able to:
- Easily turn on the recording system on and off
- get the finished recording in an MP3 format so that you and others can listen to it

Step one: GET A FREE BRIDGE LINE

Go to http://www.freeaudioconferencing.com and sign up for a free bridge line (this is a fully functional bridge line with your own private PIN number)

Step two: CHOOSE RECORDING SERVICE

I’ve done a lot of research on this subject and tried out many systems. In my experience the best two services for ease of use, customer support and value for your dollar are:

1) http://www.freeaudioconferencing.com ($10 per recording). I recommend you choose this option if you only make one or two recordings a month. Please note that this service provides only recording from the telephone (not from your computer).

2) www.coach.audioacrobat.com ($19.95 month for unlimited recordings). I recommend you use if you make 2 or more recordings a month. This service has more more features than the one above. In particular, you can record from your telephone or directly into your computer.


Step three: HOW TO DO IT

Using Option #1 – freeaudioconferencing.com

1) you and your caller(s) phone into your bridge line as usual (it has to be a freeaudioconferencing.com bridge line)

2) when you are ready to begin recording, press *2 on your phone and it will ask you for a recording file number. Just name the file whatever you will remember using your touch-tone phone (example: if you punch in 4545, this will be your recorded file number for this recording).

3) When you would like the recording to end, just press *2 again. Recording also ends when you hang up.

4) To get the MP3 file, just go to the freeaudioconferencing.com website and click on the link “Download Conference Recordings” at the bottom of the homepage.

5) The company will email you your MP3 file, which you can then click on to listen to. You can also email the file to someone else, upload the file to your website, etc.

Using Option #2 – http://www.coach.audioacrobat.com

1) phone into your bridge (it can be any bridge)

2) once you have greeted your participants, you need to “patch in” the AudioAcrobat recording line. This is not difficult.

Here are the steps:
- press the “Flash” button on your phone
- when you hear the dialtone you dial the AudioAcrobat phone number and enter your PIN
- after you have entered your PIN, you will hear some phone prompts. To start the conference call recording press “3” on your phone keypad.
- as soon as you hear the prompt say “Patch this line into your conference call now” hit the “Flash” button to return to your conference call participants.
- you will hear two audible tones when the recording starts.
- to stop the recording process, simply hit the “Flash” button again or hang up.

3) Once you hang up, AudioAcrobat makes your MP3 file which will appear in the “Show My Audios” section of your account. The longer the recording, the longer it will take to show up.

A one hour conference call takes about 10 minutes to appear.

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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

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There are many types of speaker systems for different applications. There are car speakers, stereo speakers, surround speakers, and speaker products for home theater systems. The wireless speaker is becoming very popular for home speakers. It allows you to have a speaker system in every room of the house.

More and more people are using their computer as their home entertainment center, so computer speakers are a popular consumer item. By connecting your speaker system to your computer, you computer speakers can be used for listening to music and for watching movies.

Other popular speaker products include car speakers. A car speaker system often includes a subwoofer for fabulous sound on the road. Audio speakers for your car are specially designed for the unique characteristics of a car interior, and so are different from audio speakers that are used in the house.

People who want audio in all parts of the house are finding that ceiling speakers are excellent speaker products. These audio speakers are easy to install and are convenient way to have a house wide speaker system. Quality can vary greatly on ceiling audio speakers, so for music, you want a good-quality speaker system.



Audio speakers for the home should be able to reproduce the full frequency range without distortion. A good-quality speaker system can enhance your enjoyment but listening to music, so buying the best quality speaker products you can afford is a good investment.

A speaker system is made up of several different components. Most audio speakers have a woofer and a tweeter, and high-quality audio speakers will often have a midrange speaker and perhaps an extra woofer for low-frequency sounds. Computer speakers are usually small, although larger surround sound computer speakers are becoming more common.

Each speaker system has its own special sound, so it's a good idea to listen to many speaker products before choosing audio speakers that you like.

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If you have noticed, a lot of sites these days add streaming audio to their sites.

Those ubiquitous buttons that resemble little orbs with the play symbol on them? I'm sure you must have seen them.

A lot of marketers these days allow their site visitors to hear their sales pitch, or perhaps a testimonial this way.

Before the advent of Macromedia Flash 6, the only way to stream audio was using real audio player which required users to download their bulky software, not to mention a web server that supported streaming.

The advantage of streaming audio is that visitors don't have to wait for the whole sound file to download before they can listen to it. Thus with streaming audio the playback is almost instantaneous.


Using flash 6 it is very easy to create these buttons that stream the audio from your website to the users browser.

A great flash tutorial on how to make these buttons is available at

http://www.flashkit.com utorials/Audio/Flash_MX-Kenny_Be-824/index.php

Now the question is how do you record your voice and keep the file size small enough?

If you were to make a recording of your voice with the "Windows Sound Recorder" that was 60 seconds long and save it, it would be 1.26 mb .wav in size.

But you can reduce this to only 117 kb if you made it a .mp3 file instead. Here's how to do it.

Open sound Recorder by going to Start/Programs/Accessories/Entertainment for (Windows 98)

Open sound Recorder by going to Start/Programs/Accessories/Multimedia for (Windows 95)

Press the "Record button" to start the recorder.

As you're speaking into the microphone your sound recorder should have a voice pattern.

After you're done press the "Stop button".

To hear your recording press the "Play button".

Next Click "File/Save As from the menu enter your file name and then click the "Change button".

Another window opens up.

Here For "Format" click the "Drop down button" and select "MPEG Layer-3".

For "Attributes" click the "Drop down button" and select
16 kBits/s, 12,000 Hz Mono 2KB/s.

Click OK.

Click Save and you see the conversion of the file to a .mp3

All done !!

Now all you have to do is pass this mp3 as the source to the flash file and you have instant audio on your site.



About the Author

About The Author
Satyajeet Hattangadi is the Owner of Novasoft Inc.
If you want to know more about how to add audio to your website, check out our free ebook that has lots of resources and tips on recording, software, free professional voice overs and also includes a set of free flash buttons that you can use to stream audio at no cost.

http://www.novasoft-inc.com/ebook.asp

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Audio conferencing provides a way for businesses and other groups to interact, without having to travel to each other’s offices.

The savings in time and travel expenses quickly make up for the cost of audio conferencing services and equipment. Audio conferencing usually involves other types of teleconferencing technology, such as video and collaborative software.

Collaborative software is software that one user may send to other users for simultaneous viewing and modification. For example, if the group wants to work on a diagram, it can be seen and drawn upon by anybody in the conference via a special electronic whiteboard.

An audio conferencing system can be rented, bought from a vendor or reseller, or hired as part of a full audio conferencing solution. Such full-service packages include human support services like management, marketing, and tech support.


When audio conferencing services are rented, the communication is routed through the vendor’s server software. The client is charged according to the number of users or “seats” who will be participating, the length of time each seat will be participating, and any initial equipment rental or purchase costs. The vendor can charge a per-seat and per-minute fee (for example, $0.15/seat/minute). Alternatively, a client can rent the service by the week, month, or year, with a maximum allowed number of seats per conference or session. For example, a one-week service for five seats could cost $100 a week, while a one-year service for 100 people could cost a few thousand dollars. Rental audio conferencing services are best for small to medium sized businesses where the initial equipment purchase costs would far outweigh the savings on travel.

When audio conferencing services are bought, the communication is routed through the client’s server software, which is bought and licensed from the vendor. The client chooses how small or large a package he or she wants. For example, the client can buy software that allows for 100 seats, 1000 seats, or much more. The client can decide whether to include any of a number of high-tech add-ons such as whiteboard capabilities, and whether expandability is important. The client buys all the necessary equipment and software to run the system. The initial cost can be tens of thousands of dollars, so these are best suited to larger numbers of seats over the long term. However, tech support will always be a necessity, so the client should subscribe to the vendor’s expertise.

http://www.e-audioconferencing.com/

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Capturing audio from your camcorder into your computer might be a main step to consider when transferring video data.


This process might become complicated if you are transferring audio from a camcorder which does not support digital technologies and therefore this step would not be as easy to be achieved as if the camcorder would directly transfer digital audio.

When we have audio or video which origin comes from a camcorder that doesn't support digital video, we would need an extra device to capture it before being able to transfer it to the computer. This way, if we have analog audio and wish to capture it with the computer converting it into digital, we would need to go through an extra step.

There are special devices which were specifically created with the purpose of allowing its users to capture analog audio or video from their camcorders and turn them into digital compatible qualities. Once you have achieved this step, you could easily capture such digital audio or video with your computer the same way you would have done from a digital camcorder.


If you wish to capture video recorded with a camcorder into your computer, you would need to convert it into MPEG or MPG digital files in order to turn them into a digital technology compatible with those which your computer would read. Therefore, you would need a device which could achieve this objective and take this step before you are able to actually capture the files with the computer.

Many of these digital capturing devices would allow its users to capture audio as well as video and edit them together. This way, if you have captured video and wish that it has music or any other sounds; you can easily do so by capturing such audio files in different audio tracks, and then edit them in any way you might wish. These devices would allow you to learn what steps to take in order to achieve your capturing goals through their user’s manual and you could learn all the capturing possibilities it would bring through the instructions as well.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snapjunky.com

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The beauty of digital audio is its promise of pristine quality. No clicks, hiss or scratches that were the norm of vinyl and tape recordings. That’s not to say that all digital audio is noise-free. Far from it. Poor recordings can still be made in the digital medium and recordings that have been transferred from analog (vinyl records or cassettes) to digital will retain some of their noise.


Fortunately, cleaning up digital audio is a fairly easy process. There are many software packages on the market specifically designed for reducing specific types of noise in digital recordings. Not all of them are suitable for all types of noise, so it’s important to analyze the type of noise you are trying to get rid of.

Most noise reducing software has a function for removing background hiss. This works by capturing a profile of the background noise. The profile is used to create a filter that matches the characteristics of the noise. To use this function you must select a quiet section of the audio to get a sample of the noise you want to reduce. A good place to take your sample from is between songs or the first second or two before the audio actually starts. The sample does not have to be long – half a second is all you need – but it can’t be music or voice – it should represent a silent section.


This noise profile will help you to reduce exactly the right kind of noise from your audio recording. It is useful for reducing background hiss, but clicks and pops need another kind of processing.

Pops and clicks are of two flavours – digital and analog. Digital clicks can be caused by processor overload as you make a digital recording. The recording “stops” for a moment and the resulting skip creates a very short click. Digital clicks are easy to detect and most noise reduction software does this automatically.

Analog clicks and pops are caused by scratches and imperfections on vinyl and their duration is much longer than digital clicks. To remove this type of noise, a special filter is needed to automatically detect and remove the unwanted sound. Settings can be adjusted to match the size and frequency of the noise.

There are several audio packages on the market that are specifically designed to reduce noise from vinyl and cassette recordings. They allow you to capture the audio digitally by connecting a turntable or cassette deck to the sound card on your computer. Once the audio is stored on the computer, it can be processed to remove background hiss and clicks. Most presets will give you adequate results and you will be able to enjoy your old recordings in the digital domain.

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If you are chasing the latest and accurate opinion in relation to audio visual.
Sometimes when you're trying to find better information on audio visual, you'll find it's complex separating quality information from inexpert audio visual submissions and support so it's prudent to know ways of moderating the information presented to you.

Machine Dreams: Audience Response & Presentation Equipment
Featuring The Communicator, with built-in wireless microphone. This advanced audience response system increases interaction, learning, team building.



Here are several guidelines which we believe you should use when you are trying to find information about audio visual. You need to understand that the guidance we put forward is only appropriate to internet info about audio visual. We do not give you any assistance or guidance for conducting research offline.

ARS Technologies: Visual & Audience Response Equipment
Provides interactive audience response solutions using wireless response keypads during meetings, conventions, trade shows, and more.



A great hint to follow when you're presented with help and advice regarding a audio visual page is to ascertain who owns the site. This may divulge who is behind the site audio visual integrity The easiest way to reveal who owns the audio visual web site is to find the sites 'about' page.

Any reputable site providing information concerning audio visual, will almost always provide an 'about' or 'contact' page which will list the people behind the site. The details should tell you major points about the website owner's expertise. You can then decide for yourself about the site owner's knowledge and skill, to offer help regarding audio visual.


About the author:

hugh campbell is the webmaster for http://www.audio-visual-1st.info

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Are You Getting The Highest Possible Profits From Your Ebay Auctions? Here's a tip: Add audio to your auctions.

According to a recent report, adding audio to your eBay auctions could increase bids by as much as 22% over auctions without audio.

A recent trend showing up on a lot of websites is the addition of an audio clip. The clip is a personal message by the author or the website owner encouraging you to take advantage of what they offer.

The psychology behind this technique is really Marketing 101. It's called personalization. An audio clip added to your eBay auction allows you to personally tell the potential bidder about the product. Using your own voice allows you to make contact with the bidder on a personal level that written words cannot. Because, that's what your eBay auction really is...It's just a long written classified ad asking the bidder to make an offer to purchase your item.

Prior to the advent of the telephone the only reliable way to communicate long distance was by writing letters. It was not unusual back then for lovers to write each other daily or weekly. The decline of letter writing is a well documented event that coincides with the advent of the telephone.

With audio you can describe the item, tell the bidder why you are selling it or even communicate with them about your refund policy or provide your contact information. The possibilities are almost unlimited as a way to establish a rapport with the bidder.

But, the most important reason to add audio clips is that it makes it easy to convey excitement and invoke emotion, giving you a really powerful selling-edge.

How to add audio to a web site:


The simplest way is to upload a .wav or Mp3 file to a website and provide a link to the file. When the bidder clicks on the link his or her computer will automatically recognize the file and play it with the audio player on the bidders computer.

There are some drawbacks to this method. If the bidder's computer doesn't recognize the file it won't play. The overall effect is not as professional as it could be and it distracts the bidder. If you are a reasonably tech savvy type you can easily deal with the drawbacks of this approach.

For the rest of us, there are a number of software solutions and websites that will simplify the task of adding audio to our eBay auctions.

Here are two:

Audio Maker Pro - http://audiomaker.thynke.com - (The one I use and recommend)

Sound Streamer - http://soundstreamer.thynke.com - (Less expensive)

Different programs and websites range from charging a one time fee to monthly fees for the use of the program. The good news is that many will let you test them for as little as $1 for a trial basis or let you download a demo version to see how well it will work for you.

Mike Nalbone is an author, editor, publisher and webmaster who earns a living full-time on the Net. For more, exclusive eBay profit tips like this one, visit: http://auction-tips.thynke.com
About the Author

Mike Nalbone is an author, editor, publisher and webmaster who earns a living full-time on the Net. For more, exclusive eBay profit tips like this one, visit: http://auction-tips.thynke.com

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by: Hans Dekker
Although MP3 is the most popular format for encoding music, it is by no means the only one. There are two basic methods for compressing audio – lossless and lossy, and for each of these methods there are many formats.

Lossless compression means that none of the audio data is removed during compression. Lossy compression means that audio data is permanently removed from the audio file. Lossy compression results in smaller files, but there is no way to rebuild the audio data to its original format. MP3 is an example of lossy compression.

Lossy Compression Formats

There are many alternatives to MP3 when it comes to encoding audio files. Microsoft reportedly developed the WMA format to avoid the licensing costs associated with MP3. WMA files can be played with the Windows Media Player that is included with the Windows operating system as well as many other audio players. It features similar encoding rates to MP3 and similar file sizes.

AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is the format preferred by Apple and is used for its popular iTunes and iPod products. AAC files can be smaller than MP3 files because it uses more efficient encoding technology. A 96 kpbs AAC file is similar in sound quality to a 128 kbps MP3 file.

Ogg Vorbis is another type of lossy compression and uses .OGG as the file extension. It is an open-source product and unlike MP3, there are no patent restrictions on its use.

Lossless Compression

For the audio purist who insists on the best quality sound possible, lossless compression offers CD quality sound. The tradeoff is larger files sizes – while MP3 can compress audio in the range of 80% - 90%, lossless compression typically compresses the file by half.

Popular lossless formats include FLAC, Monkey’s Audio, and SHN (Shorten). These formats are supported by many audio players and are popular for archiving CD collections as well as for trading music.

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by: Nell Taliercio
Adding streaming audio to your web site can help you enhance the message you send to your customers and can serve as a wonderful confidence-building tool. In the past, audio was used primarily as a decorative effect, but advances in technology and the increased use of the internet by consumers have made it easy for you to add streaming audio to your web site and create a personal bond with your clientele. You can also add streaming audio to your newsletter or blog for a personal touch that will keep the interest of your readers and subscribers.

Streaming audio can be used in welcome messages placed on the first page of your web site. Adding a personal welcome message to your readers and explaining some of the features they can explore on your web site is an excellent way to enhance the experience of the customer. You may also want to add streaming audio to your web site in the form of testimonials from satisfied customers. Most computer users have the capability to hear audio messages and will find it a refreshing change from monotonous text that may or may not hold their interest. Your newsletter or blog will benefit from the use of streaming audio as well. You may want to add a new helpful tip in audio form each day to your blog, or include audio product updates in your newsletter.

Adding streaming audio to your web site, newsletter, or blog is no longer a frivolous addition. It is not difficult or expensive to add audio to your web site and you will find that your customers enjoy this new feature. The audio content should be conversational and pleasant, and sound as natural as possible. You can write down the topics and points you would like to cover in your streaming audio message, but record your message as if you were speaking to friends and family. Adding streaming audio to your web site, newsletter, or blog is the perfect way to give your customers a personal message that will give them confidence in your sincerity and integrity.



About the Author: For more information about home based business go to http://www.mommysplace.net

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by: Steve Nichols
What do you do with your intranet or internet site once you’ve added words and pictures? How about adding audio as well?

Audio is friendly, direct and ideally suited to getting complex messages across in a short space of time.

It's now getting easier to add audio to the net, thanks to increasing bandwidths and innovative new ways of compressing data.

The problem has been that CD-quality audio has traditionally been the preserve of ISDN- and ADSL-equipped users. Basically, there has been too much data to fit down the pipe.

But, borrowing on the same techniques that are used to compress digital photographic images, it is now possible to compress sound to make it fit down a standard dial-up 56KBps modem line.

The trick is to compress the audio in a way that doesn’t sound offensive to the ear, but can still pass along the line at about 3 kilobytes per second, given that a dial-up modem downloads at about 4-ish kilobytes per second.

The next trick is to use streaming technology that can start to play the audio while it is still downloading. As a long as it is downloads fast enough you don’t get annoying stops and starts. You should also end up with a “buffer”. In many cases, the whole audio file will have downloaded long before the user has finished listening to it.

The volume of online streaming audio grew by 118 per cent last year, according to market researchers US-based AccuStream iMedia Research and the top ten internet radio stations received an average of 137.5m tuning hours in the same period, up from 63m in 2003.

Typical audio formats are Real’s Radio Player (as chosen by the BBC), the ubiquitous MP3 (as featured on thousands of youngster’s personal hi-fis) and Macromedia Flash.

MP3SoundStream (http://www.mp3soundstream.com/cgi-bin/cppro/go.cgi?snichols1)uses Flash and works well as 98% of computers already have the Flash plug-in and the rest can easily download it. Flash takes the MP3 file, combines it with an audio controller button and streams it for you off any server, which means low-cost and ease of use.

So once you have the technology in place, what can you record? The answer is anything. Adding audio to an intranet lets you record a weekly message from the CEO or a sales message. Or why not have a weekly news round-up?

The audio can either be recorded straight into your PC via a microphone and soundcard, or recorded on a Minidisc recorder and then digitised into the computer. Once there you can add music, voiceovers, cuts and fades with a program like Adobe Audition or Sony Soundforge. Music can be bought online for just a few pounds and you can even use free audio editing programmes, like Audacity.

What was once the preserve of the BBC and other high-end radio studios is now available on a desktop computer near you – but only if you have the skills to match.

FAQs (291 words)

Q. What is streaming audio?
A. It is audio delivered to your computer that can be listened to while it is still downloading.

Q. What’s the advantage over other audio formats?
A. You don’t get an annoying delay while the whole file downloads.

Q. What do listeners need to have on their computer?
A. A soundcard and speaker(s) or headphones, their normal browser software and a so-called plug-in – a small piece of software that converts the data into sound.

Q. This all sounds expensive – is it?
A. Not really. You can get free programs to record your sound, a computer microphone costs less than a tenner and there are free audio editing programs available on the net. You then need to convert the audio file to a streaming format, but there is an increasing amount of software available to do that too. You also need to think about a MiniDisc recorder as these have superseded cassette tape for most applications. Royalty-free background and intro music is available on CD and via the web for a small fee.

Q. What is the quality like?
A. Judge for yourself – visit www.infotechcomms.co.uk/info10.htm and listen to the demonstration programmes. The trick is to get the quality as high as you can, but still make it playable on an average modem-equipped home computer. Once everyone has broadband it will be CD-quality for all.

Q. How do I find out more?
A. There is a list of useful links at http://www.infotechcomms.co.uk/info11.htm

ENDS


About the Author

Steve Nichols (steve@infotechcomms.co.uk) runs InfoTech Communications, which specialises in online communications. He has acted as consultant and trainer for many blue-chip companies including Aviva, AWG, Shell, Standard Life, HBOS, BNFL, AstraZeneca, Diageo, Accenture and Australia New Zealand Bank.

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by: Felix Gossamer
The Ten Commandments of Using Streaming Audio On Your Website

When it comes to placing audio on your website there are Ten Commandments you absolutely must follow. Break one of these Commandments and you can watch your website drive visitors away faster than the speed of sound. Fortunately, if you follow the Ten Commandments you can get people to stay at your website longer, inquire about your product or service more often, and even buy more of what you are selling. Doesn't that sound good?

So without further ado, here are the Ten Commandments you must follow when placing audio on your website.

Commandment #1

Don't set your audio to play automatically when people arrive at your website. Your visitors all have different computers with different speakers, some have the volume turned all the way up, some are already listening to music, some don't even have speakers to begin with. If you start playing your audio automatically you risk losing potential customers. It's much easer to leave a website or hit the back button then it is to search around for how to turn off your audio. One exception to this Commandment is the use of pop-up windows. Pop-up windows can be closed by the visitor yet they still leave them at your website. The same goes for exit pop-ups, these windows can be very effective at grabbing the visitors attention, although some people may not like it, it has proven to be very successful in some uses.

Commandment #2

Sounding like a Pro! You must have professional sounding audio on your site. Anything else will make you look like an amateur. If you are showcasing your own poetry, or telling a personal story, or marketing yourself, then you should use your own voice. But, if you are trying to sell something and your voice doesn't quite cut it, then have a professional voiceover person record your audio. It will make all the difference. WebAudioReviews.com has a list of several affordable voiceover professionals.

Commandment #3

When using audio to sell or promote, keep it short! Long audio messages have their place online and rarely are they on the main page of a website. Keep your messages short, concise, to the point, and easy to follow. This can make all the difference in your audio message. Try to keep your promotional audio message around 30 to 90 seconds. Commercials are only 30 seconds and get their point across very well, follow their lead and do the same thing.

Commandment #4

Be prepared! If you or someone else is recording your audio then write out a script. Write out a complete word for word script, practice it out loud and change it as necessary. If you just "wing it" then it will sound like it. Have others listen and critique your script before you record it. Fine tune your script by removing unnecessary wording, trimming down the overall length, and wording it for maximum impact.

Commandment #5

When recording your own audio, smile! It will come across in your voice. But remember, if you don't sound like a pro even when you smile, then get one!

Commandment #6

Don't overload your site with audio. If you have too many audio buttons to choose from most people will choose none. Whereas when you only have a few audio buttons on your website it will encourage people to listen to your audio message. A single audio button done right is usually enough to get your point.

Commandment #7

Use music! Using music in addition to your voice will make your audio sound 100 times more professional and engaging. Add some easy listening intro music that fits the theme of your site, even sound effects if done right can make a tremendous difference in the way your message sounds. Remember to use music that is royalty free music or music you have created and own rights to. Placing your favorite Beatles song on your website could get you in trouble.

Commandment #8

Have a point! This may sound obvious, but many people place audio on their website just because they can and for no other reason. No one cares about how fancy your audio is if it doesn't have much of a point to it. Have a purpose and reason for using audio.

Commandment #9

Tell people to listen to your audio! Just having an audio button on your website isn't good enough. You need to tell people what they will hear, what it's about, how long it is, and where to click to listen. Don't assume people will figure it out on their own, people need to be told what to do online, and the same goes for telling them to listen to your audio. Also, by telling visitors the length of your message they won't be afraid to listen to it because they will know how long it is. Research has shown that sometimes people will not listen to an audio message in fear that it may be too long. If it is a long message then tell your visitors so they will be prepared for an hour long audio message.

Commandment #10

Test your audio! Don't just place audio on your website thinking it will increase sales. Test it out, get opinions from your visitors, friends, and family, and then do split testing. Find out if the sales are greater with your audio. If you don't split test your site with different audio messages and without audio then you will never know if it's helping or hurting your website.

To place streaming audio on your site, as well as find a wealth of information, voiceover professionals, audio hosting, recording tools, and more, visit Web Audio Reviews.

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Most visitors to your website are using computers with audio capabilities. Recently introduced techniques make it easy to take advantage of this capability.


In the past, web audio was primarily decorative, consisting of musical fanfares or other clichéd sound effects. Now, you can use audio to multiply the impact of your message and create stronger bonds with your visitors.


Audio’s power comes from its ability to engage more of your visitor’s senses. The more senses you engage, the easier it will be to effectively communicate. Instead of just reading your words and looking at your picture, you can communicate with your voice – and the voices of your clients.


The power of audio can be appreciated by comparing the newspaper column version of Tom and Ray Magliozzi’s Car Talk with the program aired each week on National Public Radio. Although the newspaper column and radio program address the same topics, it’s far more fun to listen to Car Talk – where you can experience Tom and Ray’s intonations and phrasing – than to read the same words.


Here are some of the ways you can employ audio on your website:



Welcoming messages. You can create closer emotional bonds with website visitors by personally welcoming them to your site and introducing some of the features they should explore.


Testimonials. Audio testimonials are far more powerful that written testimonials, especially if you include a photograph of the individual speaking the testimonial. The next best thing to a face-to-face referral is a recording of a client explaining their satisfaction with your product in their own words.


Guarantees. Your satisfaction guarantees gain impact when you deliver them in your own voice. Place them on your order form, at the point of sale. People are inherently cautious about ordering products and services from the Internet. Reassure them that their credit card and personal information are safe with you.


Seminars and teleconferences. Short excerpts about upcoming events can make your event even more appealing. Snippets from past seminars can whet visitors’ appetites for more.


Tips. Add interest to your site by describing an audio ‘tip of the day’ or ‘tip of the week’ in your own words. Be sure to offer access to previous tips, too.


Audio postcards. You can include audio invitations and testimonials as links in email sent to clients and prospects. To arrange an audio testimonial, simply provide your client with a phone number and password, and invite them to call up and express their satisfaction with their purchase from you. Audio postcards are a great way to stay in contact with your clients and prospects with an announcement of an upcoming product or service. They are also a quick way to acknowledge a special occasion.


Streaming audio can be used to allow visitors to playback longer events, like seminars or teleconferences.



When you add audio to your website, allow your visitors to maintain control. Don’t begin playing your message when the webpage loads. Instead, invite visitors to ‘click here’ to hear your voice. Keep your messages as short and concise as possible.


And avoid ‘scripting’ your introductions and guarantees. Write down the key ideas you want to communicate, but deliver them in your own words as conversationally as possible.


Web audio is no longer a futuristic luxury. Web audio is here now and it’s as close as your telephone. It is an affordable and easily added feature that can set you apart from the competition and help communicate your message with added impact.






Roger C. Parker is the $32,000,000 author with over 1.6 million books in print. Do you make these marketing and design mistakes? Find out at www.gmarketing-design.com

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Audio conferencing is a way for two, three, or more people to talk to each other across infinite distances. Oftentimes, along with audio interchange, audio conferencing involves photo or video conferencing, so that people can see each other moving and talking. Furthermore, audio conferencing can also utilize personal computers to allow users to work on the same document or other software application at the same time. Whatever on one user’s screen will also show up on all of the other screens in the conference. With the use of a digital whiteboard and a special pen, users can even draw pictures and diagrams for each other to demonstrate visual ideas.

Audio conferencing uses one of two main types of oral communication tools: a regular telephone or a computer telephone. With regular telephones, each user dials in and everyone can hear each other on the line. With computer telephones, special software called VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is installed in the computer. The user dons a microphone-and-earphone headset that is plugged into the computer’s USB port. The user’s voice is carried along the Internet to the other users, and vice-versa, just as if it were a conventional telephone (but costing a fraction of the usual long-distance charges.)

Audio conferencing is not just for large corporations; almost any kind of group can benefit from it. City councils, fire departments, and transit authorities have been known to engage in audio conferencing. NASA uses audio conferencing to stay in touch with hundreds of scientists for such sensitive projects as remote exploration of Mars.

The benefits of audio conferencing are numerous. First and foremost, audio conferencing can lower transportation costs. Commuters spent $60 billion dollars on gas driving to business meetings and other work-related appointments in 2003.

Secondly, with audio conferencing, a meeting can be set up in only a few minutes. In the real world, planning can sometimes take months!

Most importantly, audio conferencing promotes frequent and effective communication. And with today’s constantly evolving technologies, audio conferencing is becoming more and more customizable.


About the Author

Audio Conferencing Info provides detailed information about audio conferencing services, equipment, software, companies, plus online audio conferencing, and more. Audio Conferencing Info is affiliated with Original Content.

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NUMBER 1 : INTERNET USERS REMEMBER WHAT THEY HEAR

Did you know that Internet users remember only 20% of what they read while remembering an amazing 70% of what they hear? Audio on your website will help your message stay with fresh your visitors for longer.

NUMBER 2 : AUDIO INCREASES SUBSCRIPTION RATES

Using audio to convey a personal message to entice visitors to subscribe to your newsletter will result in up to 400% more subscribers than using traditional subscription marketing methods.

NUMBER 3 : AUDIO WILL KEEP VISITORS ON YOUR SITE FOR LONGER

Using audio on your website helps to keep visitors on your site for longer. The longer visitors stay the more informed they are about your product and services and the more likely they are to buy your product or service.

NUMBER 4 : AUDIO ADDS CREDIBILITY TO YOUR WEBSITE

Adding your own voice to your website helps prospects identify with you personally, warming them to your products and services in a way that cannot be achieved by any other existing marketing technique and converting more prospects to buyers.

NUMBER 5 : AUDIO PUTS YOU MILES AHEAD OF YOUR COMPETITORS

While your competitors still hang around in the dark ages of Internet marketing, placing audio on your website gives you an enormous competitive advantage. Visitors will trust you more than your competitors and trust is the number one vital ingredient for making visitors part with plastic.

NUMBER 6 : AUDIO EHANCES EMAIL AND NEWSLETTER COMMUNICATIONS

Used in emails and ezines, audio allows you to communicate personally with your clients and subscribers, creating rapport and warming your market in a way not possible with text and graphics.

NUMBER 7 : AUDIO IS CHEAP

Basic streaming audio buttons can be put on your website for as little as $19.95. Even the most advanced solutions cost aroundr the $97 mark! Considering the uumph these little audio buttons give your site, a once off payment of 97 bucks is not a lot to part with!

NUMBER 8 : AUDIO IS SIMPLE TO USE

You don't have to be a techie geek to put audio on your website. Most of the solutions out there require no html or flash know how at all. They are designed to be user friendly so even the technophobe should have no problem getting the job done quickly and easily!


About The Author

Tracey Meagher is the founder of QuickandEasy Audio, a website that reviews all the latest resources and tools available for adding audio to your website. Visit www.quickandeasyaudio.com to receive free audio resources that will help you add audio to your website in less than 60 minutes!

This article may be reproduced in its entirety only if unaltered and the resource box is included.

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by: Brian Holte



How Audio can Influence Sales


Audio can enhance your website by letting your visitor listen to your voice, which is the next closest form of marketing besides a face to face meeting.


Who can use Audio?


Anyone can use audio, it all depends how knowledgeable you are when it comes to designing your site. For those that need help there are plenty of tutorials on how to place audio on your site all over the internet.


Audio and Affiliate Programs-Cause a ripple effect.


One commonly used strategy is to have audio reviews of the different affiliate programs you are associated with.


Find a product that pays a decent commission, write up a review of the product that you are promoting, use your written review as a script. Record the script in either .mp3 or .wav file. Upload the sound file, the website, and your done!


Audio can Increase Conversion Rates

If you are going to use audio clips for the affiliate programs you’ve chosen to promote, you may very well find that using audio can definitely increase your conversion ratio.


Keep your Audio file as small as possible. One important part for you to keep in mind is the size of your sound file, if the file is to large it will take “forever” to download and the majority of web surfers are impatient. Try and keep your audio review to 60 seconds or under. This should allow your webpage and sound file to download at the same time.


Keep in mind that you can place an audio clip on your site or inside an ebook, some people like audio some don’t.


How Audio helps the visually impaired.


It all depends on your preferences, one benefit of using audio on your site is to accomodate the visually impaired.


Audio-Learn one step at a time.


Granted, creating an audio clip may seem a little confusing at first because you have to get familiar with the software you’ve chosen to use. But like most other tasks in life, practice makes perfect.


Audio-How is the file activated?


There are a couple of ways in which your visitor can activate the audio on your site. One is by clicking on a link, the other involves placing a small amount of code on your site that automatically downloads everytime you get a visitor to the page you’ve placed the audio clip on.


Audio-How about pop-up’s and popunders?


You can also create pop-up’s or pop-unders with an audio clip that downloads as the pop-up or pop-under window activates when your visitor goes to exit your site. An example of this would be to use your clip to encourage sign-up’s for your ezine.


Audio-Where can you get tutored on this subject?


There are many tutorials on the net that teach people how to create pop-up’s or pop-under’s, there are also software programs that make the creation process a whole lot easier. There are also plenty of audio recording software programs out there, some are fr**, others cost money.


Final Comments:


By no means am I encouraging you to place audio on every page of your site, leave some pages as just plain text, others with text and a picture, and then text, picture and audio. What works for me may not necessarily work for you, but it never hurts to test. You won’t know until you try.


Good luck,


Brian.






Brian Holte is a freelance writer who owns www.theebookking.com He publishes a monthly ezine covering topics related to creating ebooks, he shows you what works for him in hopes of helping you.

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by: Quentin Brown
Creating your own audio studio has never been easier. There are so many great products around today that will allow you to produce high quality audio for a fraction of the price it used to cost.

HARDWARE

The first thing you will need is a compatible computer. Today every new computer is already set up with everything you will need. A basic sound card with a mic and line in jack. If you do not have a sound card they are very cheap and you can get a good one from any standard computer shop.

Next you will need a good mic. These come in all sizes and shapes with different configurations however a general all round mic like the Logitech Noise-canceling microphone is fine for beginners. I suggest you get a desk top one to start with as you may want to move into video later and so you wont want a headset in your videos.

Of course you could go up a stage and get a preamp with a professional mic but this will start running into dollars and the whole aim of this article ids to help you get started.

Next you will want to get some cables to connect up your tape recorder and other audio equipment. Again the computer stores now have packs that will connect up pretty well any device into your computer to digitalize your sound.

SOFTWARE - RECORDING

Recording your audio is probably one of the most critical parts of this process and again you can get software that ranges from free to many thousands of dollars. For this exercise I suggest you download the free copy of Audacity. This is an excellent software package that will allow you to record from your mic or any equipment you have.

It provides excellent editing capabilities and also will allow you to edit multiple tracks and then combine them into one single track. For a wuick overview of how to do this you can watch this video.

http://www.msincome.com.au/sound/testaudio.html
Download the software here. http://audacity.sourceforge.net

SOFTWARE - CONVERTING

The next piece of software you will need for your studio is a converting program that will allow you to convert different formats. For example you may have a real audio file and you want to convert it to mp3. dBpoweramp is like the swiss army
knife for the audio industry and will convert just about any file to any other file format.

Convert from one format to another, just about every audio type is supported: mp3, mp4, Windows Media Audio (wma), Ogg Vorbis, AAC, Monkeys Audio, FLAC and many others whilst preserving ID Tags. It will also rip CDs for you.

http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm

SOFTWARE - REDUCTION

If you are going to stream an mp3 direct then you may want to recompile the file to a smaller format. RazorLame is a so-called "front-end" for use with LAME. LAME is a great MP3-Encoder: it's very fast, it produces high-quality files, has many advanced features (like Variable Bitrates and Joint-Stereo), and it's open source. Unfortunately, it is a command line utility, and that is where RazorLame comes in: It provides an easy-to-use graphical user-interface which makes MP3-encoding even easier!

The best way to use this software is to get one file and compile in a number of different formats to test the size against quality. Very similar to working with graphics.

http://www.dors.de/razorlame/download.php

SOFTWARE – STREAMING

There are a few different ways of streaming your new audio files. If you have Macromedia products you can simple organize this your self however there are some great third party programs around that will do it all for you at a fraction of the cost.

MP3 SOUND STREAM

This is a simple piece of software that takes any mp3 or wav audio and converts the whole file into a swf file and then attaches a button so that viewers can listen on a web page without needing to download any extra software. This is because the flash plugin is on 98% of computesr and if not it will automatically detect and load the small plugin. This is great for anyone not wanting to get ino all the technical aspects of streaming audio.

You will not need to reduce your files at all with this program as it doers it all for you. This is perfect for anyone wanting to stream one file at a time and wants to do it quickly and efficiently. It will stream even over most modem connections.

http://www.mp3soundstream

MSIJUKEBOX

For people wanting to stream a number of files then msijukebox is a great alternative. This software lets you choose any number of mp3 files and then organizes them using an XML file. By using the above free programs you can significantly reduce the size of these files to save on bandwidth.

Because MSIJukebox streams the actual mp3 you can also have a lot higher quality playback including stereo files. This is much better for those wanting to stream a number of very high quality mp3 audio files.

http://www.msijukebox.com

SUMMARY

So there you have it. A complete studio set up for under $100. Just download all the free software and purchase any of the streaming audio setups that you want. You can then create, edit and manipulate any audio files you like. You will also be able to add these audios to your website.
With the web surfer becoming much more "web savvy" than they were a year ago, they are expecting not only information but an entertaining web experience.

About the Author

Quentin Brown has been helping people add audio to their web sites for the past two years and provides a wealth of knowledge and expertise for those who are technically challenged but want to make use of new technology without spending a fortune. http://www.quentinbrown.com

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by: Terry Telford

Audio increases your sales. Point blank. Period.

Recent studies claim that audio can increase your sales up to 300%. Independent studies by Terry Telford, from The Business Professional, have shown sales increases of 163% on one website and 79% on another. Both tests were run over a 3 week period.

Regardless of your expectations for adding audio to your website, it won’t hurt your response rate for whatever you are selling or giving away. In most cases it will increase it.

One possible reason for the increase in visitor response is the human factor. We’re social animals and like to interact with each other on a personal basis. Audio on your website is similar to picking up the telephone and talking to the person “live.”

There’s something about hearing another human’s voice that instils a certain level of trust, even if it is a very small amount. It brings us that one little step closer to each other.

The next question in your mind should be, “How do I get audio on my website?”

You’ve got several choices; the majority are covered in The Definitive Audio Report. You can download the report for free from http://www.thebusinessprofessional.com/theaudioreport.htm

Very briefly, audio comes in two flavours. You’ve got the vanilla download or streaming strawberry.

The download version is very simple to configure. You upload your MP3 file onto your website and point a URL at it, like http://www.thebusinessprofessional.com/mp3files/webintro.mp3

When you click on the link, it automatically opens the audio player on your computer and you hear the recording.

The alternative to downloadable audio, is streaming. Streaming is useful if you want your visitors to listen to your audio without the ability or need to download it.

Setting up streaming audio is a bit more complex than the download version, but offers your audio a more secure environment since visitors can’t download it.

To set up streaming audio, you need an MP3 file and software that can hide the actual location of your file. The software also needs to create Flash buttons for you so your visitors can push a button to listen to the audio.

The simplest software I’ve used to stream audio is Sonic Memo, from Jay Jennings. It takes all of 5 minutes to set up the software and then you can create unlimited streams on your website in 30 seconds flat.

You can get more information about Sonic Memo from the info sheet at http://www.thebusinessprofessional.com/sonic.htm

Whether you choose the download or streaming option to add audio to your website, the bottom line is the same. You add a touch of humanity to an otherwise cold computer screen and you increase your response rates. It’s worth a listen.


About The Author

To download The Definitive Audio Report – free, visit http://www.thebusinessprofessional.com/theaudioreport.htm.

The report and this article were created by Terry Telford, from The Business Professional.

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by: Steve Nichols
What do you do with your intranet or internet site once you’ve added words and pictures? How about adding audio as well?

Audio is friendly, direct and ideally suited to getting complex messages across in a short space of time.

It's now getting easier to add audio to the net, thanks to increasing bandwidths and innovative new ways of compressing data.

The problem has been that CD-quality audio has traditionally been the preserve of ISDN- and ADSL-equipped users. Basically, there has been too much data to fit down the pipe.

But, borrowing on the same techniques that are used to compress digital photographic images, it is now possible to compress sound to make it fit down a standard dial-up 56KBps modem line.

The trick is to compress the audio in a way that doesn’t sound offensive to the ear, but can still pass along the line at about 3 kilobytes per second, given that a dial-up modem downloads at about 4-ish kilobytes per second.

The next trick is to use streaming technology that can start to play the audio while it is still downloading. As a long as it is downloads fast enough you don’t get annoying stops and starts. You should also end up with a "buffer". In many cases, the whole audio file will have downloaded long before the user has finished listening to it.

The volume of online streaming audio grew by 118 per cent last year, according to market researchers US-based AccuStream iMedia Research and the top ten internet radio stations received an average of 137.5m tuning hours in the same period, up from 63m in 2003.

Typical audio formats are Real’s Radio Player (as chosen by the BBC), the ubiquitous MP3 (as featured on thousands of youngster’s personal hi-fis) and Macromedia Flash.

MP3SoundStream (http://www.mp3soundstream.com/cgi-bin/cppro/go.cgi?snichols1) uses Flash and works well as 98% of computers already have the Flash plug-in and the rest can easily download it. Flash takes the MP3 file, combines it with an audio controller button and streams it for you off any server, which means low-cost and ease of use.

So once you have the technology in place, what can you record? The answer is anything. Adding audio to an intranet lets you record a weekly message from the CEO or a sales message. Or why not have a weekly news round-up?

The audio can either be recorded straight into your PC via a microphone and soundcard, or recorded on a Minidisc recorder and then digitised into the computer. Once there you can add music, voiceovers, cuts and fades with a program like Adobe Audition or Sony Soundforge. Music can be bought online for just a few pounds and you can even use free audio editing programmes, like Audacity.

What was once the preserve of the BBC and other high-end radio studios is now available on a desktop computer near you - but only if you have the skills to match.

FAQs (291 words)

Q. What is streaming audio?
A. It is audio delivered to your computer that can be listened to while it is still downloading.

Q. What’s the advantage over other audio formats?
A. You don’t get an annoying delay while the whole file downloads.

Q. What do listeners need to have on their computer?
A. A soundcard and speaker(s) or headphones, their normal browser software and a so-called plug-in – a small piece of software that converts the data into sound.

Q. This all sounds expensive. Is it?
A. Not really. You can get free programs to record your sound, a computer microphone costs less than a tenner and there are free audio editing programs available on the net. You then need to convert the audio file to a streaming format, but there is an increasing amount of software available to do that too. You also need to think about a MiniDisc recorder as these have superseded cassette tape for most applications. Royalty-free background and intro music is available on CD and via the web for a small fee.

I recommend MP3SoundStream (http://www.mp3soundstream.com/cgi-bin/cppro/go.cgi?snichols1). Its great, very easy to use and only costs $39.95. Another alternative is Sound Streamer at $34.95 (http://hop.clickbank.net/?snichols/soundstrmr).

Q. What is the quality like?
A. Judge for yourself - visit www.infotechcomms.co.uk/info10.htm and listen to the demonstration programmes. The trick is to get the quality as high as you can, but still make it playable on an average modem-equipped home computer. Once everyone has broadband it will be CD-quality for all.

Q. How do I find out more?
A. There is a great ebook available called Audio C4 (http://hop.clickbank.net/?snichols/audioc4). It only costs $29.95 and is worth its weight in gold. There is a list of useful links at http://www.infotechcomms.co.uk/info11.htm

ENDS

Q. This all sounds expensive - is it?
A. Not really. You can get free programs to record your sound, a computer microphone costs virtually nothing and there are free audio editing programs available on the net. You then need to convert the audio file to a streaming format, but there is an increasing amount of software available to do that too

I recommend MP3SoundStream (http://www.mp3soundstream.com/cgi-bin/cppro/go.cgi?snichols1). Its great, very easy to use and only costs $39.95. Another alternative is Sound Streamer at $34.95 (http://hop.clickbank.net/?snichols/soundstrmr) or Audio Maker Pro (http://hop.clickbank.net/?snichols/audiomkr).
You also need to think about a MiniDisc recorder as these have superseded cassette tape for most applications. Royalty-free background and intro music is available on CD and via the web for a small fee.

Q. How do I find out more?
A. There is a great ebook available called Audio C4. It only costs $29.95 and is worth its weight in gold.

Q. What is the quality like?
A. Judge for yourself - visit www.infotechcomms.co.uk/info10.htm and listen to the demonstration programmes. The trick is to get the quality as high as you can, but still make it playable on an average modem-equipped home computer. Once everyone has broadband it will be CD-quality for all.

About the Author

Steve Nichols is a freelance journalist who runs InfoTech Communications (www.infotechcomms.co.uk). A background in radio means that Steve was ideally placed to take advantage of the arrival of streaming audio via the web.

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