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I always tell my clients, the best way to get off to a great start with your self-produced audio products, is to set yourself up for a few easy wins. The problem is once folks find a way to create audio easily, they immediately complicate matters by trying to create a highly complex product right out of the box.

Can you say “Setting yourself up for failure” boys and girls?

When you’re starting out – confidence is key. So resist the temptation to swing for the fences. The best way to ensure your second and third and fourth project will be incredibly successful is to get your first one out the door.

So here are five quick and easy audio starter projects. And the good news is each of these can run 15 minutes or less:

ONE – THE WEB MESSAGE

The best way to get up and running with audio is to cut out the packaging and distribution hassles. And the best way to do this is to offer a streaming audio message right on your website. When combined with a head shot (photo of your smiling mug), and a suggestion (to opt-in to your very valuable ezine) you personalize your contact with them AND build your stable of potential customers.

A word of warning – please avoid the quickie 30-second fluff pieces so many coaches and consultants are putting up on their web pages. The worst thing you can do is to make yourself indistinguishable from the pack, and these superficial messages will do nothing but turn off potential clients.

There are two ways to get around this land mine.

First, consider a message at least two to three minutes in length. This will give you time to talk a bit about yourself AND to state your case on how what you offer is DIFFERENT. The worst thing you can do is to take a medium – audio – that immediately distinguishes you, and then reduce it to the same tripe everyone else is saying. You don’t need to put time into crafting a lengthy message. You do need to put time into making sure what you say sticks with your listener.

Second, consider starting with a short initial ‘teaser’, that raises the listener’s curiosity and entices them to click a link to a second, more detailed message. By requiring listeners to ‘opt in’, you’ve already gotten their vote and they’ve become much more than a passive observer.

TWO – THE FIVE SECRETS RESOURCE LIST

A sure bet is what I call the “Five Secrets” Resource List. This can be in any format –CD, MP3, streaming audio – that spells out five secrets to the results your potential customers are hungry for, that showcases your own unique approach and point of view. Examples include “The Five Secrets of Passive Revenue”, “The Five Secrets to Happier Kids”, or “The Five Secrets to Doubling Your Profits AND Your Free Time.”

You get the idea.

The key here is compelling content, not the format. You also want to be sure to include your contact info at the end of the audio, and suggest several ways your listener can take their next step towards an ongoing business relationship.

THREE – THE THREE STEPS AUDIO

Secrets are cool. But people want to know what they have to do to make those secrets come alive in their own lives and businesses. Again, the actual format this type of audio is delivered in is not important. What is important is that your steps are sequential, easy to follow, and give the listener a small taste of what you can really do for them.

These steps should detail how to obtain a highly desirable result that is eluding your potential customers. Examples include “The Three Steps to Losing 15 Pounds by Summer”, “The Three Steps to Quicker and More Lucrative Real Estate Deals.”

FOUR – THE FIVE MINUTE VISUALIZATION

Aw, come on, you’re saying. I’m a business consultant. Isn’t this visualization stuff wishy washy? Well, if you consider 300-pound football players wishy washy, you’d better be the one to tell them.

Cause the truth is visualization has gone mainstream. While it may have begun with therapists, healers and spiritual counselors, its now used by athletes and top business performers.

Yes, you can do more than five minutes. There’s nothing magic about that number. What is important is that these can be done very quickly, with a minimum of writing and preparation. And rather than just talking at people, these kinds of short programs involve people. And when you can get people to become involved with you, its much easier to take them to the next step.

FIVE – THE 15-MINUTE MARKETING CD

These short CD programs – often given away at your live, in-person appearances – not only introduce what you have to offer, but give folks an actual sample of you in action. And you would be surprised how much people like free stuff. Even if you’ve never been on Oprah (and that’s most of us) you’d be surprised the crowd you’ll draw speaking or at a trade show by giving away a free CD.

Use the opportunity to involve people with your business. I often give away free CDs in exchange for signing up for my mailing list. You can also offer a free gift that’s prominently featured on the packaging of your CD. And the only way they find out about the free gift is to listen to your CD! If you use this strategy take care to make sure your gift has value, and isn’t just a ruse to get folks on your mailing list. Remember, we’re not manipulating people here. We’re giving them a taste of what they can expect by taking advantage of everything we have to offer.

Audio products are powerful. But most folks who want to do them will never do them because the think they need to put out a mini-series. By getting started with one of these simple but powerful ideas, you can take your first profitable steps towards discovering everything audio products can do for you and your business.


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copyright (c) 2005 by Robert Schultz. All rights reserved.