Audio Blogs: The Future of Content Creation
So, what is driving the dynamic rise of audio content?
There are several factors that have contributed to audio content emerging from the shadows and becoming a real asset. The primary one being the ease at which people can interact with audio content. The fact that an individual can listen to audio wherever and whenever, whether at the gym, in the car, at home doing chores, or out and about running errands serves as a big plus. Unlike video and text content, which requires us to be planted in one place with our full attention, audio enables listeners to engage with it while multitasking. In addition, the rise of smart speakers and voice-automated searches have only made it simpler for consumers to engage with audio content and incorporate it into their day-to-day routines.
To say audio has piqued the interest of consumers is an understatement. People are feasting on audio content in more ways than one—from audio catalogs to weekly podcasts, audiobooks to spotify ads, and more. However, there is a new, exciting format that is taking the audio content world by storm: audio blogs!
What are audio blogs?
In essence, an audio blog is a weblog that includes sound files—in the form of recordings or a spoken journal—in .mp3, .wav, or other audio formats with either a short summary of the blog or a full long-form description of the blog as well. To put it simply, an audio blog is the audio version of a blog post.
Audio blogs not only increase customer engagement but also help visitors understand the written content in a better way. You can also monetize your blog through streamlined audio advertising. The other benefits of audio blogging are:
- You can reach a wider audience that is not already engaging with your blog.
- You can improve content accessibility for people with learning and visual disabilities.
- Since audio blogs are portable, it enables listeners to time-shift and consume the content on their own time, and in their own environment.
- Flexibility is an added plus in the case of audio blogging; you can simply develop content by uploading a sound file.
Audio blogs are also a great alternative to podcast production, which usually takes a lot of time, effort, and commitment. A fundamental difference between podcasts and audio blogs is that with the former, the listener has less freedom to choose what to listen to and is at the mercy of what the content creator is broadcasting at the time. On the other hand, when it comes to blogs, the author usually authorizes other users to add comments or audio clips in the same gallery to complement the content initially published. That said, while an audio blog can include a series of podcasts, podcasting does not include audio blogging.
Harnessing the power of audio in the publishing industry
Audio in its digital form has been around for quite some time, playing a modest role in the publishing industry. It helps publishers bring new life to their stories, and, through audio, gain extra credibility. Another significant feature of audio content is that it enables publishers to easily reach a wide range of readers and target a saturated market where the competition is usually less. It also aids in increasing publishers’ potential earnings.
More than ever, consumers want information readily available to them, both in audio format as well as by vocal request. Reading articles, however, is an activity that requires total focus. By incorporating an audio player into a blog post or website, publishers get the best of both worlds—a medium that multi-taskers can enjoy as well as the ability to serve up their carefully crafted content in its entirety.
From a marketing perspective, audio blogs offer an engaging form of content, one that helps businesses truly stand out. With a seamless implementation of a text to audio converter, a whole new world of opportunities to monetize a blog opens up. Moreover, when you enrich the content experience with audio, you stand to draw audiences closer to your brand. This is because, with audio, you can deliver the richness of tone, inflection, emotion, and personality, all of which cannot be gleaned from words on a page. It brings the audience closer to your product and brand. Furthermore, when people listen to something, they can be easily convinced to perform a certain action rather than reading through it.
Audio blogs: A media-first approach to content marketing
Blogs have been the go-to source of information for all ages. By incorporating text to speech in blogs, businesses can make their content as accessible as possible. Among the other advantages of having a blog text to speech are it's a great way to improve website accessibility, increase engagement, generate more revenue and analytics, and maximize audience exposure.
Adding audio content to a static page can drive five times more engagement. And, the more engaging and entertaining the content, the more likely the message will stand out and gain the target audience's attention. Audio blogs are also a more convenient source of information. Brands can generate revenue by selling unique audio ads. In a nutshell, audio blogs help businesses drive more traffic, deepen engagement, and connect with audiences in ways the written word can’t.
There is also a lot of room for creativity in converting your written content into an audio journey. Each strategy or tactic you decide to implement could create very different results for your content marketing efforts. In fact, brands don’t have to limit themselves to one voice when audio blogging. You can use multiple voices in order to attract audiences’ interest and allow for flexibility.
Despite the many perks of audio blogging, it's important to realize that not all content works well in audio form. Content that converts well to audio, includes but is not limited to, long and short-form storytelling, news, testimonials, inspirational content, how-tos for aspirational content, and FAQs.
Turning a blog post into an audio post
The first step to creating an audio blog is getting your content ready on a reliable hosting site. Sift through the content piece by piece and ensure it is fully optimized for search engines. It's also vital to add in as many relevant keywords and key phrases as possible. The second aspect is the tone of voice. We recommend using a conversational tone in your writing. The third step is to select your go-to audio software. There are plenty of online resources to help get your feet off the ground and craft compelling audio content in less time. As the next step, choose the voice and language for the audio blog. To appeal to a wider audience, selecting different voice styles and accents is crucial. The last step is to generate the audio file for the blog.
If your blog is one of the millions of WordPress blogs, embedding the audio clip onto your post is a walk in the park. There is a plug-in for the same. Even if you’re not on WordPress, most other CMS systems offer similar capabilities. And tada! You have an audio blog at your disposal in no time.
Convert your blog to audio with Murf text-to-speech
Murf, our online text to audio tool, is one of the most effective software out there that can help businesses convert their blog into high-quality speech audio in five simple steps.
Step 1: Copy-paste your blog on Murf’s text editor. Edit or modify the content, if needed.
Step 2: Choose an AI voice of your choice from Murf’s library of 120+ male and female text-to-speech voices.
Step 3: Fine-tune the voice with dynamic features like emphasis, pitch, pronunciation, speed, pause, and more.
Step 4: Build the audio file, render it, and the voiceover for your blog is ready. Export the file in an mp3 audio format.
Step 5: Integrate your audio file to your blog page and you have an audio blog ready.
Murf takes away the hassle of manually recording a voiceover for your blog; it saves time and money spent on creating the voiceover. An added advantage of using Murf for your audio blogging is that the platform offers a wide range of natural-sounding AI voices—from a regular conversational voice style to a newscaster style to a narrator style—for the user to choose from. In short, Murf enables you to create a unique audio storytelling experience for your audience.
Undoubtedly, the audio revolution is here to stay. If you are a publisher of a brand that wants to grow your business faster by producing double the content in half the time, an audio blog is the key. It will not only help fast-track your results but also give you the edge against your competitors.
So, get into action and start audio blogging!
