I remember soon after recording it that my sister called and asked me about it. Apparently she’d been to a salon to get her nails done and they were playing it while doing her nails. Not the relaxing, escape-from-it-all experience she’d been expecting!

It’s funny where these things can crop up. My other sister texted me recently and said she’d been having a shower and suddenly heard my voice on the radio telling her about the local Balti restaurant. And I’ve had the same experience with one of my colleagues whose voice has followed me across the world (she was the voice of Otis lifts for many years) – there’s nothing more distracting than arriving at your holiday hotel to find your friend telling you what floor to get off at!

Anyway, with all the voiceovers I’ve recorded over the years I’m sure I can find a few more, if you’re interested. I’ll post them here as I find them.

P.S. I had no idea what wrapping nails was until I recorded this

But, I swap between computers often depending on what I’m doing, and these headphones are pretty cumbersome with a long cable that, even with my makeshift cable tie shortener, means they get caught up in things they shouldn’t.

Anyway, this cartoon that Allison had drawn of me for the Trouble with Freedom Podcast website got me thinking that it was time to get another set of headphones…preferably a red pair!

Along comes Groupon with a deal.

If you haven’t checked out Groupon yet, it’s a site that offers you a different deal each day…some specific to your area and some UK wide (or whichever country you live in). I’ve bought a couple of their deals already and been pleased with the results, so when the offer came for some £70+ Audio Chi W-Series headphones for under £30 I was sold!

Audio Chi W-Series in Pink

Yep, they were all out of the red ones already so I had to go for pink. They’re pretty stylish to look at and, next to the Sony headphones, much smaller, and more compact and lightweight.

While they are very comfortable with a nice padded headband and ear protection, they’re not quite as comfy as the Sony headphones – after an hour of editing I was starting to notice them (but not enough to have to take them off). The sound quality is excellent and they will be much more useful than my others for packing in a bag and using away from the house (as well as having a sensible length, woven cable that won’t get tangled up with things and can be detached from the headphones if necessary).

Plus, they look amazing

It came out today so naturally I have already found a version on YouTube.

I had a private buyer interested but he has chosen not to buy after all, so it is going back to 7 day auction (and will then go to private auction if it doesn’t hit the reserve price).

I won’t go into any more detail, as I wrote in depth about why I’m selling Audible Marketing earlier on the blog. Interestingly, since the last listing it has risen to a Page Rank 3 so has even more authority!

If you are an audio expert (voiceover, audio marketing, podcasting, audio production) – or want to establish yourself as one -  this is a great site to add to your portfolio and increase your credibility.

Head over to Flippa now to take a look at everything I’m offering…

Since I announced this at the weekend a few people have approached me telling me I’m crazy and offering suggestions for how I could continue to use it myself. I welcome that interest and support – so thank you if you are one of those people.

This blog post has been written to explain to those of you who have followed me and Audible Marketing over the years why I’m selling, as well as offer a deeper insight into what I’m offering for potential purchasers.

In case you’re unaware of AudibleMarketing.com, it’s the website I set up as a lead generation site for my voiceover business. It’s full of information on creating audio and videos, podcasting and related topics, but also promoting my voice and audio production services.

And the site was useful when promoting myself on sites like Elance, to give a professional image and the impression of being more than a one-(wo)man-band.

Why am I Selling Audible Marketing?

A couple of years ago I had a problem with my voice which meant I had to diversify my business because I couldn’t work as a voiceover for the best part of a year. As a result, I have veered more towards helping other businesses with their online marketing as well as creating my own niche websites. I still do voiceovers daily but I can’t voice for the long periods of time I used to.

Audible Marketing has taken a back seat in my business and, as you can see, I haven’t posted there since January and have sorely neglected my list.

Over the years, the suggestion from many people has been that I create info products on related audio topics. I can absolutely see the wisdom in this, and have mind mapped my ideas for this in the past. But, nothing has been created and this speaks volumes. I love creating audio…I love the process of editing and mixing audio…but I just don’t have the desire to teach it to others (beyond the screencast videos I have already made to give some basic help).

I’ve realised I am not going to use the site to its full potential and I think there are many others out there with a passion for audio who would be able to build on what I have already done.

Who is this Site Perfect for?

If you are a voiceover, audio producer or teacher of audio related information this site is perfect for you. Topics on the site include creating a podcast, mixing audio, interviewing techniques, using audio online and voice care.

The site gets a lot of traffic from YouTube (41%) through the Audacity videos I created, so anyone wanting to teach “how tos” on audio recording and podcasting will find a good proportion of visitors are seeking more of that kind of information.

The site also ranks well for “audio marketing” (number 2 in Google globally) which is why it received interest for voiceover/production type work. If you are a voiceover looking to promote yourself, especially if you can offer the full voice and production package then the site is a great vehicle for this.

The type of work I have done as a result of Audible Marketing is also varied. I get many offers to record ebooks but, after doing one, I declined any further jobs like this (for various reasons – payment in dollars while GBP too strong, not being able to voice in 1998, and generally not enjoying this type of work).

Apart from that, voicemails and telecoms audio jobs have been a popular request, as well as podcasting-type jobs. I have one ongoing client for whom I record monthly audio newsletters.

If you’re interested in buying Audible Marketing and want to find out more, click here for the Flippa auction and here is the video I made to take you through some of the info…

You can also post questions at the bottom of the auction, or feel free to comment below. If you’d like to contact me in private then you can use the Contact Form.

To contact me re: voiceovers please use my Contact page

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As promised, although a little later than expected, here are my Winter Warmer Special Offers.

It actually warmed up a little in the UK, especially here in Plymouth, but it sounds like the cold weather is heading in again, so I think you need some nice warm, fuzzy feelings.

The aim of the sale really is to enable you to try out some of the audio marketing products you may have been putting off because of the cost. I’ve come up with some of my best and most popular services/products and given a full 50%+ discount on them.

But there is a catch.

So that I don’t over commit, I have limited the number of each product I have on offer and it’s first-come-first-served. The sale will end at midnight 28th January.

If you want one of the following, fill out the contact form on this site with your contact email and any pertinent information. I’ll then connect with you by email and sort out the details.

Winter Warmer Offer #1

Me Interviewing You About Your Business

Visitors to your business/website want to know who you are and what you do. What makes you stand out from others? How can you help them?

Having a free audio download can explain all those things to them and:

• help them connect to you and your business
• answer any questions they may have about your services/products
• reassure them as to why you are the best person to buy from
• help your company stand out from the rest

Oh, and you can even use it for lead generation by giving it away in exchange for an email or physical address (why not offer to send it to them on CD – along with your sales material, of course?)

I will liaise with you about what your primary aim is and what information you would like to get across. I will draft some questions, including any that you want to include, perform some background research, and then record the interview with you via Skype (up to 1 hour).

I will then edit the audio if necessary and provide it to you in an mp3 file.

I normally charge $250 for this but during the Winter Warmer this will cost only $125 (50% off)

Maximum 3 2 Interviews available

(If you want examples of my interviews, check out some of my podcast interviews at the Secret Women’s Business Network)

Please note, this is limited to me interviewing you. It does not include me interviewing a third party.  While I do offer this service I find the logistics are usually more complicated and take more time to arrange.

Winter Warmer Offer #2

Video Voiceover

You may already know that I create small business videos over at We Make Videos for You, but I also provide video voiceovers for people who want to make their own – everything from online business video commercials to inspirational videos and video blog posts. Only yesterday I recorded one for a musician to promote his new album.

If you aren’t video marketing you should be: YouTube is the 2nd biggest search engine; nearly 3.5million people visit YouTube everyday; and the search engines love the video sites.

I will liaise with you about the sort of video you are creating and record a video voiceover for you (up to 2 mins long). This will be only a voiceover recording – you will be responsible for any music you wish to include.

I normally charge at least $80 for a video voiceover but during the Winter Warmer this will cost only $40 (50% off)

Maximum 5 video voiceovers (up to 2 mins long)

Winter Warmer Offer #3

Professional Voicemail

Make your company sound professional by branding your company phone line with a professionally recorded voicemail message.

Too many businesses have a message recorded “in office” that sounds like someone has created it on their coffee break. A professional voicemail will make your business sound good!

Let me know what you want me to record; keep it short and simple but make sure you include all vital information like the company name (you’d be amazed how many forget this bit), how callers can leave a message, what information they need to leave and how long it will be before you call back (listen to some examples below for inspiration).

I normally charge at least $50-60 for a voicemail but during the Winter Warmer this will cost only $25 (over 50% off)

Maximum 5 3 voicemails available

So, if any of these take your fancy make sure you get in toiuch a.s.a.p via the contact form and make your booking.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Lisa

*All offers are in USD. Payments must be made via PayPal (unless you are in the UK, in which case GBP bank transfer or cheque will be accepted).

**Offers end Thursday 28th Januray, 2010. I reserve the right to refuse material I do not deem appropriate or am uncomfortable with recording. If you are not happy with my services for any reason, you will receive a full refund via PayPal. All audio is licensed to Lisa Hartwell and cannot be used for any other purpose except the purpose for which it was stated without her express permission.

So, I decided it was time for a Winter Warmer Sale.

Next week, I’ll come up with some special offers for you, but in the meantime let me know what you’d like to see in the sale.

Naturally, I’m thinking of products or services in the voiceover, audio, video or marketing areas (not hot water bottles and woolly hats)!

Tell me what you have been holding off buying for just such a moment, and I’ll see if I can set it up and offer some good prices.

Perhaps I’ll even give myself a new tagline: “the voice that melts snow”