If you want to learn about Converting your articles and/or eBooks to Audio products, this is a good place to start. Why would converting these products be of benefit to you and your business?

Almost anyone can create an audio product. (If they know how to proceed)
Most marketers won’t do it. (So you are already ahead of the game if you do)
Most marketers don’t use the right techniques. (They don’t have or ever have considered using a director/producer)

Here are a few tips you should be able to apply right away, which will give you a good start at converting articles and eBooks into quality audio recordings.

If you can understand that almost anyone can create an audio product, then you will have the confidence to make your product a success. You just need to know the process.

The equipment you will need is important. Now you probably know or already have a good microphone and audio recording software, but did you consider your “studio environment”. By studio environment I mean a place or room that:

Is quiet
Not to big and has very little or no echo
Has a chair that is comfortable, but in which you can sit in an upright position
And has a music stand or table top for your script.

Once you have set this up. You now have your “studio” that you will record in.

Now… How do you improve your read?

Here are a few techniques directors use and you can use right away, to improve your audio narration.

Pretend to talk to someone across from you – A big mistake that most non-professional narrators do when reading a script is reading to a “crowd”. In most cases 1 person is listening to your narration at a time. So imagine that you are explaining your content to a friend or business associate. Be conversational and not just read the text.

A mirror in hand — When I was recording voice-overs in professional sound studios, we didn’t always work with professional narrators. And the best way to get someone to give the right style of read was to have them read a few lines while referring back to their facial expression while reading.

For example, a serious read put on a serious facial expression, upbeat and happy, then smile while you read, etc.

Use hand gestures — Be free with your hands. Use them to express yourself as you read. This will give more dynamic variation in the read. This is one reason why these article to audio software programs don’t really cut it… unless you are only interested in making a one time sale and then having customers who are less than impressed.

Also, print out your script and go over it and add or remove anything that will help you accomplish a better read.

Bonus tip: Don’t be afraid to use some natural pauses and put in a few seconds pause after a main point that you want your listener to really absorb.

Now this brings us to why most marketers won’t do it:

Lack of confidence in their own voice
Too time consuming
Too much work

However, you now know that a few of the principal “director’s techniques” will build your confidence. And these same techniques can also be applied to on-camera narration in video. So get yourself setup and start applying these tips for better quality recordings.