Do Talking Websites Generate More Sales?
By John Weisenberger
Posted Sunday, September 26, 2004
Ever since I listened to the Andy Jenkins audio interview of Brad Fallon (the million dollar "wedding favors" Website owner that I wrote about in my last article) I've been pondering the question of whether or not adding audio content to my RomanceBiz.com website would help me increase my sales.
Basically, I began researching what it would take to implement this technology because I was completely captivated during the interview Andy did with Brad. Not knowing how long the interview was when I started playing it, I was shocked when I realized that 50 minutes had gone by before it was over!
Now I don't know about you, but how many of us can claim we're keeping the attention of our Website visitors for almost an entire hour? Imagine what that type of "stickiness" might do for your website's conversion rates!
Anyway, as I began to research how to implement audio on my Website, I came across a good eBook that explains everything webmasters need to know about the various audio technologies. It's called "How to Add Audio to Your Website for Free" and it's written in a clear, non-technical, language that almost anyone can easily understand.
If you're interested in getting a free copy of this useful eBook for yourself, I've made it available in the download area of my RomanceBiz.com website which can be accessed by clicking here: (http://www.RomanceBiz.com/members/)
Talking Websites: Trend or Necessity?
As a result of my research, here's some of the basic statistics I uncovered about people's general attention spans and their information processing/retention abilities:
* People remember only 10% of what they read
* People remember only 20% of what they hear
* People remember 50% of what they both read and hear
* It has been found that audio increases a website visitor's attention span by 45%
* 79% of Internet users have computers with audio capabilities
* 83% of Internet users have the Real Audio Plug in and 96% have the Macromedia Plug in.
* When used in an eCommerce application as a help guide, audio may increase sales by as much as 33%
Now let's take a look at that last claim: that audio may increase your sales by as much as 33%.
The validity of the above statistic is not easily verified. However, during my research I also uncovered a "proven in use" investigation done by someone I know and trust: Mr. Jim Daniels.
A few months back Jim, the owner of a very well known Internet Marketing website, conducted a little experiment to determine if "talking Websites" were just a cool new novelty or a breakthrough tool that could really improve the sales of his marketing course.
After adding an audio welcome message to his home page and several "click-on" audio testimonials from a few of his customers, here's what he determined:
In the two months since adding audio to his website, Jim has seen, in his words, "a very tiny increase" in his conversion ratio.
Now Jim's affiliates provide him with a steady stream of traffic and sales on a regular basis so changes to his website are relatively easy to measure. And while his own results may not be indicative of what others might experience, I do believe he has the traffic volume and online experience necessary to make a realistic assessment of the audio's contribution to his conversions.
So what's Jim's final recommendation? Well as he puts it "If you have a website that's already making decent sales, not much can change the fact that conversion is really a result of the quality and quantity of your traffic.
And every website's conversion numbers are dependent on that. Sure website enhancements [like audio] can make a small difference... but you need to look at changes like this as just that, enhancements."
So, all in all, I guess the results are really inconclusive. The question still remains whether or not adding something like a sexy voice with a seductive welcome message would really increase sales at an Online Dating or Relationship Oriented Website? Or would being the first to offer streaming audio Romance Novels make someone the next romance industry online millionaire? It's really impossible to say.
What I can say, however, is regardless of what business you're in, adding audio to your Website may help you increase your sales. This makes streaming audio technology something you really may want to investigate further using the information sources listed in the resources box at the end of this article. I hope you find them useful.
About the Author
John Weisenberger is the author of "Making Money with Dating & Relationship Oriented Websites: The Facts, Statistics and New Business Ideas You Must Have to Get Started in This Fast Growing Marketplace. For more information on the products and subjects covered above, please visit any of the following links: (http://www.RomanceBiz.com/801), (http://www.RomanceBiz.com/brad/), (http://www.RomanceBiz.com/andy/) or (http://www.RomanceBiz.com/jim/)
