Audio is a very powerful selling tool. Some people aren’t very good at reading, or really hate to read, but they don’t mind listening as they multi-task. Using audio on your site is a great way to capture their attention and sell to people who really can’t stand reading long sales pitches.
Audio instantly captures attention. Some people see this is a bad thing, because audio can be very startling if someone has their speakers turned up loudly and aren’t expecting a verbal pitch. This is why some marketers choose not to have their audio start automatically, but have a “play” button instead.
Other marketers say audio loses its power if it’s optional. It’s probably better to test both options on your site to see which performs better for you. Audio is also very good for selling to those with visual impairments. Many of the visually impaired use the Internet frequently. By adding audio to your sites, you’ll make it easier for them to understand your product.
You can also use audio to provide tutorials. These can be tutorials that you place on your website or allow people to download. Some people learn better when they hear instructions than when they read them. Providing your tutorials in audio format will help reach these people in a way that written tutorials might not be able to.
Audio testimonials are a very useful selling tool. By having people give you their testimonials in audio format, you help lend credibility to the content. A lot of people feel that since anyone could write a fake testimonial, they often don’t trust them as much.
But if you offer your testimonials in audio format, they’ll be more likely to believe they were provided by real people, because they’ll hear different voices in each audio file. Remember, if you’re using audio for multiple testimonials, make sure you don’t have the audios all start automatically.
It may sound obvious, but there have been cases of marketers forgetting this and ending up with several audio files all playing at once! This would definitely chase off a lot of visitors.
If you’re going to offer audio on your site, it’s important to use the best quality audio you can.
If your audio quality is poor, people probably aren’t going to want to listen to it. In fact, if the audio is bad enough, people may just hit the back button to get away from it! You don’t have to record your website audio in a professional recording studio, but you should use a decent quality microphone and minimize background noise as much as you can.
You should make sure you create your audio in a room with decent acoustics. It’s best if you make it in a room with carpeted floors and a lot of plush, soft furniture. If you create your audio in a room with hard floors and little soft furniture, there may be a hollow, echo-like quality to the sound.
You should also make sure the room isn’t full of crying babies, screaming children, and barking dogs. Any background noises can be very distracting, so close the door and turn off the television!
If done well, audio can be a remarkable tool for selling and teaching. You can even take a simple PDF file and turn it into a batch of downloadable MP3 files that your customer can take with them on the go.
[note – this article has been updated – it was previously published.]
I love the idea of audio and making it a choice for my readers. Like you said many people prefer it over reading plus they can multi-task while listening.
Thanks for the great tip!
Thanks, Shawn! By the way, there are even some plugins that will read your posts to visitors of your site!
I’m not a great fan of the plugins with electronic voices that read out blog posts. Perhaps it’s just me but I find them irritating and would rather read.
I have been experimenting with audio – working from home it’s finding a quiet time when the dog isn’t clattering on the wooden floors!
I understand, Jan! I played around with one on one of my other sites – it was pretty good, and it offered the choice to others. One thing that I learned online is that it is not always about what I think 🙂 I have tried things that I thought were the best thing around, only to discover no one liked/wanted it! On the other hand, there were things that people ate up which I put up reluctantly!
Just something else to think about 😉
Be Well.
I hear everywhere I “go” online that audio and video are what everyone loves, but I don’t love it. I would MUCH rather read any day. I am an auditory person and a visual person and audio or video completely engulfs me, distracts me. I can read much faster and don’t feel like I waste so much time. Because of that it really bothers me when there is something I’d like to read and find out it’s only an audio or video file and does not include a transcript or post. – So, I would say, don’t rule out the readers. It’s still smart to include the written along with any audio/video.
Different strokes for different folks! You are right – some folks love audio – others do not! You can offer both if you wanted and by doing so you can appeal to a broader audience!