11 Ways to Use Audio Online

In the first blog post of this guest series, I wrote about why audio is so important in marketing and also highlighted a few of the reasons you are probably shying away from using it. In this post I will be explaining some of the many uses of online audio and, hopefully, stimulate your interest enough for you to start seeing the possibilities for your business.

11 Ways to Use Audio Online

1. Website Greetings: Personally welcome visitors to your website and point out the most important features of the site. The benefits this offers are two-fold firstly you are creating a personal connection with your visitors, and secondly you are directing them to take the action or actions you most desire
2. Audio Testimonials: In the same way that your voice can add sincerity to your message, so too can the voices of happy, satisfied customers. Despite our attempts to make written testimonials as transparent as possible with photos, full names and locations they are still often perceived as being fabricated by the website owner. An audio testimonial from a customer immediately removes the doubt from a potential buyer’s mind.
3. Audio Guarantees: Guarantees are an important aspect of any selling process. Imagine if, instead of seeing a standard written guarantee, your potential customer heard you explain the guarantee and make the promise out-loud of what you will do if they are not happy with the product or service. They are more likely to believe you, and subsequently more likely to buy.
4. Audio Postcards: These can be sent as a link within an email, and offer another method for reaching your customers and prospects that will stand out. The audio postcard can be a simple holiday greeting, a new offer or testimonials from your happy customers whatever is most appropriate at the time.
5. Audio Books: Do you have an ebook that you sell or give away for lead generation? An audio book has a much higher perceived value than a standard pdf ebook and can be a higher-priced product on its own, a packaged product with the ebook, a bonus product, or an upsell.
6. Interviews: Interviews have many uses and if you know an expert or number of experts in your field then you could be sitting on a goldmine. You can use interviews to create podcasts, audio products to sell, lead generation products, and bonuses. They are also an excellent way to create a product quickly you can record and upload an interview in a matter of a few hours.
7. Podcasts: Podcasts are an excellent lead generation tool and a way of keeping in contact with your current leads and customers. The important aspect of any podcast is to offer something of value and not use them simply to sell to the listener.
8. Teleseminars: These are another method for generating leads and new customers, but can also be used as bonuses (either live or recorded) or to enhance a membership program.
9. Audio Tutorials: Again, this is a matter of increasing perceived value and/or connecting with customers. Offering a tutorial program in both written and audio files (and video too, if appropriate) will appeal to more people and enhance their experience of buying from you.
10. Seminars/Conferences: If you hold a conference or feature as a guest speaker at one, a recording of all the speakers or just your presentation can be made into a product in its own right or offered as a bonus. You could even stream the audio on your website or blog as a teaser for the next conference you are holding or speaking at (with an affiliate link, of course!).
11. Video: OK, not strictly audio on its own, and I did say in my last post that I wouldn’t go into detail on video, but simply adding audio to a series of pictures can make an effective video for posting on the video directory sites, like YouTube. It doesn’t even have to be your voice you can use royalty-free music instead. All you have to do is upload it, add your website link, create a good description, and put in some keywords, and you have another traffic generating string to your bow!

I hope this list of ideas has whet your appetite for using audio online, and has helped you think creatively about how you can apply some of these applications to your own business or niche.

The wonderful feature of all these applications is that the audio can be used more than once. If you are looking to work smarter rather than harder online (and you should be) then audio is perfect. Just one interview can be used to create material for a podcast, a sales product, an audio postcard and even an eventual bonus product sometime in the future. An audio testimonial can be streamed on your sales page and as an audio postcard. Teleseminars can be used for lead generation, packaged into a sales product, used as a bonus or upsell, edited for a podcast, or added to a membership site.

Imagine the possibilities!