Ebook Vs Audio Mp3

Are you thinking about creating your own information product to sell online? Are you wondering which format to use to deliver your valuable content? In this article I am going to compare the advantages and disadvantages of ebooks and audios for you. Then your decision should be fairly obvious and you can get on with the actual business of creating your product and getting it out into the marketplace.

Ebooks

I'll start by looking at the advantages of ebooks. Ebooks are relatively simple to create and generally don't involve any costs. There are two main formats for ebooks: pdf and EPUB. You can find free services online that will help you to convert your Word documents into these formats or you might opt to either buy the appropriate software or pay someone else to convert them for you. Another advantage is that there are lots of places where you can promote your ebooks online such as specialist eBook sites and Amazon.

From the point of view of the customer ebooks can be scanned and skimmed quickly to find the golden nuggets and you can highlight, annotate and print them out easily. They can be accessed on a range of devices.

So what are the disadvantages? Well you've got to write it and writing takes longer than talking. You also need to be more fussy about things like spelling and grammar. Another disadvantage is that they generally don't command very high prices.

Audio Mp3s

So what do audios have going for them? One of the biggest advantages is that they are super quick to create. Basically a 1 hour audio takes not much more than 1 hour to record, allowing time for setting up and saving. They also don't need any costly equipment and you may find you already have what you need. You need a microphone and recording software. Many computers have in-built microphones although it is worth investing a small amount to get an external USB plug-in one to improve the quality. As for the recording software if you have Windows then you will almost certainly have Windows Movie Maker as standard which can be used to record audio tracks (Macs have something similar) or look for a free program called Audacity. Another advantage is that they require less storage and computing power to load and listen to online.

For the customers they have the advantage that they can listen on the go in the car etc and make good use of otherwise redundant time. Finally they command much higher prices for the same information than ebooks do.

I can't really think of too many disadvantages. I guess some customers may not like them because if they want to go back to just one section to review it then it's not as easy as with an ebook. You can solve this, in part, by breaking your audio product down into shorter time chunks.

Conclusion

Both ebooks and audios have their roles. I suggest ebooks are good to use for giveaways or to support audios as part of a package. For a main product that you are actually going to sell then I recommend you go with making an audio product.

How to Create a Three-Dimensional Product   How to Make an eBook Into an AudioBook   Working With Top iPhone Developers for Best Solutions   How Gamification Can Turn Businesses Into Winners   Easy Ways to Find Content For Your Audio Products   

Tips for Editing Your Audio Products

You don't have to be an audio engineer to create a high-quality audio product. All you need to know is how to do basic editing to polish a recording, and that's good enough for most audio products. Here are some tips for editing and polishing your audio products.

Record at high quality

The easiest way to create a high-quality product is to record it at the best quality possible. Although it's possible for a skilled audio engineer to improve a poor recording, it does take a lot of work. So it's far better if you can get it right the first time.

So choose a quiet environment, block out outside noise, use a good microphone, and speak clearly. Also do a short test run to be sure everything is working as expected.

Keep going when you make a mistake

If you make a mistake during the recording, don't stop it and start all over again. Instead, keep the recording going, pause for a few seconds, and then repeat that section. Later, when you're doing the editing, you can identify these sections (because of the long pauses) and delete the mistakes. This is much faster than starting all over again.

Use simple editing software

The world of audio editing has a language all of its own, and it's confusing and daunting if you don't have a background in it. So use simple editing software only - such as Garage Band for the Mac, or Audacity for the PC. You should only be doing basic editing only, so you don't need the fancy features of more advanced software.

Remove mistakes

Play the recording in your editing software, listen for any mistakes (which you've corrected immediately afterwards - as described earlier), and delete them. It should be easy to select and delete that precise section, and the listener won't be able to detect anything unusual in the final product.

Adjust the volume for different speakers

If one speaker is particularly soft or particularly loud, you might need to adjust their volume; otherwise, it can be frustrating for listeners who will be straining to catch one person's words. However, it's better if you detect this in the test run, and adjust the volume during the recording (for example, asking them to speak louder, or moving the microphone closer).

"Top and tail" with music

Adding a short burst of music to the start and end of your audio product makes it seem more professional.

Don't use copyright protected music, though! This means only using music you have explicit permission to use. Search Google for the phrase, "royalty free music," and you will find a number of Web sites that provide music clips that you can then use in your programs. "Royalty free" doesn't mean that the music itself is free; rather, it means you can buy it and use it without having to pay a fee (royalty) every time you use it. For example, you might use one piece of music as the "theme music" for all your products.

Of course, the other way to get music is to have somebody compose and perform it for you. That's obviously more expensive, but if it's something that you're going to use over and over again, then you might consider it a very good investment.

"Top and tail" with a professional voiceover

An alternative is to get somebody to do a professional introduction and close for your products (sometimes this is backed with music as well). For example, if you're publishing a regular podcast, you can have a standard introduction and close, which you simply add to the start and end of each episode.

How to Create a Three-Dimensional Product   How to Make an eBook Into an AudioBook   Working With Top iPhone Developers for Best Solutions   How Gamification Can Turn Businesses Into Winners   Easy Ways to Find Content For Your Audio Products