Audio and E-book Opportunties

by: Ruth Marlene Friesen

I joined a Christian Writers' Group a few weeks ago, and the email exchanges of those members is quite exhilarating. Browsing and skimming them last night I came to one where a writer who has vision trouble and can't read regular print books challenged the others to produce more e-books. E-books are read on the computer, and the greatest thing about them, as I've discovered myself, is that one can enlarge the text so it is easier to read. For those who find even that too difficult, it is possible to get software in your computer which will read the text to you. I'm not sure how digital it sounds, but I believe in many places that software is free to any who are legally defined as blind. What shocked me about the exchange was that a number of writers had admitted a bias against e-books when this other member first asked who all offered their books in this form. The mindset still seems to be, a book is not really published until it comes out in paperback or hardcover. I confess I've learned too, that fiction doesn't sell as an ebook yet, though all kinds of marketing manuals and self-help books do. Fortunately, when this writer explained herself, the others rallied around with offers to help out. One said she'd gladly offer her books to be read on tape if anyone could be found to do it. Another urged that we all consider producing our books in digital at the same time as in print. Thinking about all this today, I suddenly see wide open doors of opportunity for ministry and perhaps a business. Here in Canada, I believe the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) is on the lookout for volunteers to read books on tape. They have a lending library by mail. The US has similar organizations. All you would need is a good clear voice for reading without stammering or hesitation, and with a lively, instead of monotone voice. It wouldn't matter if you sat in a wheelchair, or had no use of arms and legs. The same reading could be put on tape or CD. Besides the audio, the CD might have a graphics or flash movie version as well. If you know, or could learn some web design skills, you could volunteer or make small paying arrangements with various authors to turn their books into e-books. If they have a website they might be happy to pay you a small commission on each downloadable copy sold alongside of their print book. If they don't have a website - guess what - you have the skill, so offer to build that author a simple one or two page website to sell her books. All it needs to be is a terrific sales letter with ordering links at the bottom. You'd think the writer could write up that effective sales letter, right? You'd just copy and paste it into the web page. Should it happen that you have more advanced skills, or they grow on you, why not set up a library, or bookstore of ebooks? Market it specifically to those who need the benefit of being able to read a book on their computer. Hey-hey, before too long even those with 20-20 vision will come snooping around, praising the advantages of digital books. You'll be a trend-setter. The whole publishing world is like it's just had an earthquake, and the after-shocks haven't all hit yet. The dust hasn't settled on all the changes coming. Be a Mover and a Shaker.

Streaming Audio Made Easy

by: Quentin Brown

Internet streaming audio is the most prevalent form of multimedia on the Internet today according to Creative, one of the leading companies in the sound hardware field. Over the last few years, streaming audio has moved from being a curiosity to a business strategy that is adopted by many media organizations. Streaming Audio has always been available to the big corporate sites and techies. Now every one can use simple software to produce their own streaming audio from a web site. Marketers and business people have always known that a well-placed audio stream can increase sales and signups to their products and services. The problem has always been that the average person could not afford the high cost of special servers or programmers to be able to use this technology. There have been a number of products around that provide streaming audio however as they have grown and developed so have the plugins required for listening to the streaming files. With the new software available today anyone can add audio to their web sites without the need for any large plugins and complicated software. Simply add your audio file and choose a component to activate the stream and click go. These programs output all the necessary files, which you can then use to embed in your web pages with a quick copy and paste. The web visitor can simply click and listen, even over a standard 56K modem. So now that you're considering adding the sweet sound of audio to your site, where might you want to use it? Depending on your website's content and theme, there are a variety of ways to incorporate your audio into it. For example: You might place a welcome message on your front page, summarizing your site's highlights, informing visitors of what they'll find, and thanking them for stopping by. If you have an "about us" page on your site, you might want to record a brief message to accompany your background info. This will help people feel as if they're actually meeting you. Since testimonials are a great enhancement to any site imagine if you actually added them in your customer's own voice. If you use one of the phone recording services you could give them the number and they could easily record how they feel about your products/services. If your site has been featured in an online interview or radio show, imagine including this audio in your site. Just think of it as your very own live press room. Perhaps just adding some pleasant music for your visitors to listen to as they view your web pages. There are many features that these new programs provide the user. Produce as many files as you like. No need for expensive programmers Many allow you to host them on your own server - you're in control. Greatly reduce the size of your audio file. Streams over most modem connections Easy to use interface Added components for more variety So now that you're actually thinking of recording something and adding it to your site, how do you do it? There are many different ways, some more expensive then others. Let's examine some of your choices a little more closely. 1) MP3 Sound Stream: http://mp3soundstream.com/ Creates streaming audio from MP3 or Wav files. Produces high quality output for only $39.95. 2) Audio Player Pro: http://www.audioplayerpro.com/ Starting at only $47.00. This produces a code that you can paste onto your website that will enable the viewers' default player. 3) Audio Generator: http://www.audiogenerator.com/ Streaming audio using just your browser. Easy to use, you can phone in your message or use MP3 files. Excellent sound quality. After recording your message paste some code onto your site and a button appears with your audio. $29.95 monthly. 4) Sonic Memo: http://www.sonicmemo.com/ Includes a step-by-step tutorial. You'll have to create your own MP3 files and upload them to your server. If you record WAV files, you'll have to first convert them to MP3 format. This software sells for $97.00. 5) Instant Audio: http://instantaudio.com/ Just record a message by phone and your website or e-mail is instantly audio-enabled. To check their sound quality call the phone number listed on the site, leave a message, then hit the play button on the site to listen. This service will cost you 29.95 a month. Your site has been sending non-verbal messages for years; now it's time to break free and let it send a message everyone can hear. Adding audio to your website is not only easy to do, it can help you gain the trust of your site's visitors, thus increasing your conversion rate. So stop wasting your time and money, and start getting the sales you may be missing. -- Quentin Brown CEO MP3 Sound Stream Streaming Audio Made Easy http://www.mp3soundstream.com Quentin Brown has been involved with Internet Marketing for the past 7 years and continually helps people to resource and equip their online businesses for success. His latest offering is Streaming Audio Made Easy. http://www.mp3soundstream.com

Add Streaming Audio To Your Website

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 Source: www.isnare.com

Audio Speaker Systems

by: Hans Dekker

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. About the Author Hans is owner of Audio Equipment Reviews