Top Ten Ways to Use Audio on your Site

by Jeanette S Cates, PhD
The Technology Tamer

Audio can provide an added dimension to your site. It creates a warm atmosphere where visitors feel like they know you. And it can enhance your reputation as an expert. Here are the top ten ways you can start using audio on your site.

1. Welcome people to your site. Toward the top of the page, add your photo or a short statement saying "Listen to a short welcome message" then a button to start the audio. Keep it brief and tightly targeted to the people you've brought to the site.

2. Make your bio more personal. If you're using a one-page sales letter site, there's a section on why they should listen to you and probably a photo. Add a caption to entice them to click. For example, "Here's 3 ways I can help" with the audio button. This audio doesn't have to echo what's on the page - it can actually have an anecdote or an example to illustrate the written material.

3. Provide client testimonials. One of the most powerful techniques for using audio is to ask your clients to record a short audio testimonial. Ideally you can capture this with a tape recorder at a live event or have them call and record it on the phone. The audio testimonial, combined with a photograph, gives a powerful picture of who you are and why a newcomer would like your services or product.

4. Answer questions. If you have FAQs, consider answering some of them with audio. Sometimes it's easier and faster to explain something verbally than to write the entire explanation.

5. Offer a guarantee. Let them hear the warmth and sincerity in your voice as you share your guarantee.

6. Give

It's 'Shatner's World' And He Wants You To See It
he wild range of roles played by William Shatner over the past half-century goes well beyond Captain Kirk. Host Scott Simon speaks with the pop culture icon, who's returning to Broadway for a one-man show, <em>Shatner's World: We Just Live In It</em>.

Stephen Sondheim: Examining His Lyrics And Life
In this rebroadcast from 2010, the musical theater legend talks about writing the lyrics and music for several of his productions, including the 1981 musical <em>Merrily We Roll Along, </em>which is currently in the middle of a two-week run in New York City.

Asian-Americans: Why Can't We Get Cast In NYC?
A coalition of performers complains that except for a handful of shows, Asian-American actors have had dramatically more trouble landing parts than their white, black and Latino colleagues. At a roundtable Monday, they unveiled the statistics they say prove them right.

Colonial History, Through The Eyes Of The Colonized
Danai Gurira's play<em> The Convert </em>interrogates the experiences of the indigenous population in 1890s Rhodesia. Jeff Lunden talks with Gurira about her and her family's experiences in Zimbabwe, and the play's relation to the country today.

New Staging Of 'Yentl' Tells A Transgender Story
Singer-songwriter Jill Sobule is best known for her hit single "I Kissed a Girl." But today she's taking on a new kind of project: writing original music for a new staging of the play <em>Yentl</em>. Her version shares little with Barbra Streisand's movie musical.

7. Provide the latest information. Record a weekly update on news from your industry, then add it to your site. It gives people a reason to return to your site and gives you the status of being the most up-to-date expert.

8. Offer a mini course using email with audio explanations. Instead of all of the material being written, you can change the pace and put a lot of information into a short space by offering some segments via audio. This is especially effective if you want to share a short meditation or visualization exercise.

9. Demonstrate your coaching or consulting techniques by using a short audio clip from a client call.

10. Walk them through a process. If you have a form you want visitors to complete, use audio to walk them through the sign up. Remember to pace your remarks so they can easily complete the tasks as you're talking.

Audio is easier than ever to add to your site. For a complimentary report on How to Add Audio to your Site, send an email to mailto:audioreport@TechTamers.com.

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Dr. Jeanette Cates works with solo entrepreneurs to help them turn their knowledge into gold. She is a professional speaker, consultant, and author of Online Success Tactics: 101 ways to build your small business.

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