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How to Produce an Audiotape - on your own!

by 

Jeanette S. Cates, Ph.D.
The Technology Tamer™ 

• You need product.
• You don't have a lot to spend or you don't want to spend a lot.
• You have a tape that has good information on it, but it's timely and you need to get it out.
• You have a tape that has limited life span - for example, with technology or Y2K - and you don't want to overproduce.
• You don't want to store 100's of audiotapes in your garage.

If any of these statements describes you, then you may want to consider producing an audiotape on your own. Here is the process that I recommend. The [optional] steps are designated. These will add to the quality of your final product, but may be added later in your production career.

1. Record the program on a minidisk player (I use a Sony model, but there are others. Approximate cost is $350, plus $2-5 per minidisk cartridge. A cartridge holds 74 minutes of mono recording - what you need for voice.) You can also use a regular audiotape recorder.

2. [optional] Record the intro, outro, and turnover for the audiotape - better yet, have a fellow speaker with a great voice do it for you.

3. [optional] License music. There are numerous sources for royalty free music. Look for a studio in your area that has a sound library or email me. Ask them to record your music on a CD, if possible, for the best sound quality.

4. [optional] Buy a mixer at your local Radio Shack. It needs at least 3 inputs and one output.

5. Connect the pieces. If you are moving it directly from your original recording to the master audiotape, you don't need the mixer, announcer, or music. If it doesn't take any editing, you can use your original recording as the master - but keep your first copy as a backup!

Minidisk of your speech
Audiotape of your announcer	Mixer	Audio recorder on which you are recording the tape
CD player with music

6. Record the master audiotape.

7. Duplicate the master audiotape.

8. [optional] Purchase audiotapes of the length of your speech. For example, if you gave a 30 minute speech, put it on a 30-minute tape. Otherwise, you have a lot of dead space - and your customer questions your credibility and professionalism.

9. Create a tape label. You can purchase audio tape labels (Avery 5198) at your office supply. Use your desktop publishing program or the Avery label program to create your labels. If you have a color printer, use your logo, photo, and other enhancements.

10. Purchase boxes for your tapes.

11. [optional] If you are using the hard plastic boxes, you'll want to add a J-card. This is the card that fits inside the tape case. It adds a professional tone to your product and makes it more saleable back-of-the-room. To create a J-card, take one of an existing commercial tape. Measure it and duplicate that size in your desktop publishing program. Now start designing. Be sure to include copyright information, as well as contact information. If you would prefer a professional desktop designer do this for you, contact the TechTamers Design Department.

12. [optional] Apply for a barcode and ISBN number. These are requirements if a store is going to sell your tapes. For the latest on where to find these items reasonably, search SpeakerNet.

13. [optional] Design a receipt for back of the room sales. If you preprint it with the price already on it, it makes it easier to provide that to your customer and makes sales faster. You can actually put the receipt into the tape, if you like.

14. Advertise your products.

• Create an order blank that includes all of your titles - even if they're not finished yet!
• Put them on your website. A picture of the audiotape cover will attract more people than just the description.
• Send out a postcard announcing your new product.
• Include the announcement in your email signature file.
• Email an announcement.

15. Go back and repeat the process - again and again!

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Jeanette S. Cates, PhD. is Founder and CEO of TechTamers, an Austin-based technology implementation firm that works with companies who want to use their technology more profitably and with professionals who want to reduce their technology learning curve..

© 1999 Permission is granted to reprint this article in print or on your web site so long as the paragraph above is included and contact information is provided to www.TechTamers.com.

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