Audio can be the perfect vehicle for business owners, especially speakers, trainers, consultants, coaches, and other info-entrepreneurs, to spread their message and promote their business. It makes a stronger connection than just written text, and it’s easier to produce than high-quality video.

In the past, it was expensive and difficult to provide audio online. The internet was slow, special software was required, and the quality was poor. But that is no longer the case. Now it’s easy to deliver fast-loading, high-quality audio content to your website.

Why audio?

Here are some of the benefits of using audio on your website and in other ways:

• Make a personal connection: Audio creates a more personal connection than written text, because the audience hears your voice.
• Create an experience: You can combine music, voice, sound effects and more into an experience richer than written text.
• Portable Audio Devices – People don’t have to listen on their computer and can do so while multitasking.
• Easy to create: it’s easy to record audio; all you need is a microphone.
• Teach something: Some of your educational material could be well translated into audio.
• Take control: It’s relatively easy to record, edit, and publish audio yourself.
• Gain a competitive advantage: Despite these many advantages, most businesses don’t use online audio effectively.

Because right now?

Three things now make online audio feasible and attractive:

• Better tools: There are simple tools to create high-quality audio clips and publish them on the Internet. You no longer need specialized complex equipment and software.
• Broadband Internet: The cost of broadband Internet has decreased and more and more people have access. In the past, the problem with audio was that it took a while to download and the audio quality was terrible – muffled, choppy sound. Broadband has now made it possible to have high quality audio streaming and easier downloading of large audio files.
• MP3 and built-in players: In the past, there were many different audio formats and players. So it was a bit hit or miss if your users could hear your audio clips. Now this has been classified into two standards: MP3 as the de facto standard for audio files; and HTML5 or Flash as the commonly used technology to play audio on websites.

What content works best in audio?

There are many types of content that you can post; these are just a few:

• Items: Read your newsletter articles aloud.
• teleseminars: Record your teleseminars and publish the recordings.
• webinars: If your webinars aren’t very visual, you can also publish them as audio.
• CD excerpts: If you have already created CD products, convert them into downloadable MP3 files.
• interview: Interview other experts or ask them to interview you.
• book reviews: When you finish reading a book, record a short review of the book.
• Presentations: Record your workshops, seminars and other presentations.
• consultation sessions: Record private coaching, mentoring or consulting sessions.
• Audiobooks: Read your book aloud to turn it into an audiobook.
• new stuff: Create new material!