• Book Printing Prices
• Editorial Service
  
• Book Layout & Design
• Self-Publishing Newsletter
• Bookstore Distribution
• Online Bookstore
• Website Design & Hosting
• Self Publishing FAQ
• Contact
  Self Publishing

What is an Audio Showcase Podcast?

An Audio Showcase Podcast is an Interview about you and your Products and/or Services that you want to focus on.

The purpose of an audio showcase is to create a deeper level of "connection" between you and your website visitor. It provide more complete information in an "easy to obtain" and entertaining way. Listeners learns more about you and therefore trust you more. They spend more "mind time" around you and your message so they are more likely to remember you when they are ready to purchase.

In short, because they receive higher quality information and "really get a feel" for what you are about they are much more likely to purchase the products and services that you offer.

A Podcast is an Internet deliverable audio file that is configured to be both listened to on the web and downloaded from a web page into a portable media device such as an Ipod, Mp3 player, audio enabled Cell phone, PDA or laptop. It's appeal is that it can be "time shifted", or listened to when the person has the time to listen rather than when they are sitting in front of a desktop computer. The audio file is typically shared and passed along to others within the original listeners network greatly expanding it's audience, reach and influence.

How Do I Utilize an Audio Showcase Podcast?

• You place a direct link to your audio showcase podcast on the front page of your website and on main product pages.
• You mail out an announcement to your customers and prospective customers that you have been featured in an Interview.
• You include a "Click Here to Listen" link to the interview in your e-mail signature so that every one you send and email to will be aware of the Interview and be able to refer it to people they think might be interested
• Refer your audio showcase podcast to key prospects

Read this recent article in USA TODAY about Selling Books with Audio

How is an Audio Showcase Podcast created?

First of all I review materials and links that you send me. Then we have a pre-interview discussion on the telephone for me to get clear about what things you want to highlight in the interview. You can send me a list of questions if you wish but it's not necessary. I don't script the interview because I want it to be as spontaneous as possible.

The interview is conducted over the telephone. We'll record 20-30 minutes with the goal of getting a good solid 15 minute interview when it's finished. After the initial take is done we'll fill in anything that was missed or that you want to say over again.

Following the recording I edit the interview word by word. This is the time consuming part and the key to a strong presentation. I take out all the umms, ahhhs, clicks pops, double questions, double answers and.... unusual pauses. Sometimes I'll add a pause, sometimes I'll shorten one up by 1/4 of a second. It can take several hours to edit a single Interview. Usually it is shortened by about 10%.

The result is a clean, quick paced, smooth flowing interview that will capture and maintain the listeners interest.

Then, l mix some music onto the front and back of the interview and encode it in two formats, Windows Media and Mp3 and upload those files to our enterprise level media servers.

You receive by e-mail link to the audio file for your website and signature file plus a CD in Mixed format meaning that it will play on both your home/car stereo sound system and on your computer. The CD's are not copy protected so you can duplicate them as much as you want and give them out to customers and prospects.

What does an Audio Showcase Podcast cost?

The costs are split up into two packages, one for the creation and production of the Audio Showcase and one for additional marketing and promotion (Optional).
Creation and Production

• Pre-Interview Analysis of Materials and Website.
• Preparation of Interview Agenda and Notes
• Recording of the Interview and Additions
• Editing, Pacing and Sound Dressing of the Audio File
• Encoding in Two Formats for broadcasting on the net and as a podcast
• Storing, Hosting and Bandwidth of the Audio File on a Media Servers
• Url Link to the Audio File
• A CD of the Interview in CDAudio, Mp3 and WMA formats

Creation and Production Fee $1050
SPECIAL SELFPUBLISHING.COM PRICE $450 (paid prior to editing of Interview)

(Quantity Discounts are available for Publishers, Publicists and PR Firms)

Marketing and Promotional Program

The Creation and Production Package is for current and past visitors to your website and people who read your emails. To broaden your reach and exposure consider the Marketing and Promotional Package. In this package we hand place links and listings about the Interview in a number of strategic places that will generate interest and traffic to your website and Interview.
Here is a partial list:

SuccessTALK Channels
Your interview will be featured on the front page of the SuccessTALK Channels for 30 days and also available in the Channel Library for the next two years. SuccessTALK is one of the largest providers of audio based life enhancement programming on the world wide web with over 51 Channels, 89 Hosts and 1600 hours of archived content

Podcasting Directories
There are 16 Podcast Directories so far with new ones forming every month. Podcasting is a word that describes the evolution of audio from the desktop computer to portable devices like Ipods, Mp3 players, PDA's and Cell Phones.

How big is podcasting? BIG! Podcasting has totally captured the imagination of the Internet. A search of “podcast” on Google on May 01,2005 provided 4,800,000 responses. On June 26th (57 days later) there were 7,360,000 responses. On July 27th the number of references has reached 12,100,000. As of September 21st, just past the first anniversary of the invention of the word there were 54,300,000 Google listings. People are listing to spoken word podcasts!

To create a podcast of your audio interview we create what is called an RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication) and then input a link to your audio file into it. People who subscribe to the RSS (free) download and listen.

Apple Itunes
One of the largest Podcast directories is Apple Itunes. Currently there are about 40 million people who regularly download music and spoken word into their Ipods and Mp3 players. We list your interview through an RSS located on Itunes.

Marketing and Promotional Fee $350
(if purchased within 30 days of the completion of the interview else $450)

Availability and Delivery

Typically we only do a maximum of 2 Audio Showcase Podcasts per week. I like to conduct the Interview first think in the morning (about 9:00 am my time (PST) when I am fresh and I can focus exclusively on the Interview.
The editing and post production will take at least two days. You can expect the process to take about a week from beginning to end and I am often booked up for two-three weeks in advance.