The entertainment device of the decade
Rolls up its sleeves and goes to work
Apple’s iPod music (and now video) player revolutionized the entertainment landscape. It made downloadable audio a household word, spawned the podcasting industry, and single handedly transformed online video from a geek curiousity into a to a red-hot channel for visual content.
But did you know the iPod can also make you money? (And I don’t mean if you work for Apple!)
Astute entrepreneurs are discovering a treasure trove of techniques to leverage the iPod to boost their own profits.
Think its just a pipe dream? Think again! We’ve got four audacious avenues to making this a reality. And you won’t need an engineering degree to put them to work:
- The iPod Content Catalogue
If you’ve already created a lot of audio content – even if you’ve been giving it away – you can create a high value product by stocking an iPod with your complete MP3 catalogue of your audio products, recordings and podcasts.
If price is a major consideration, you can spring for the latest version of the iPod Nano, with 2 GB of storage for $149. To put that into context, I can place 40-60 hours of decent quality voice recordings onto a 2GB Nano. Since most of us don’t have half that much content, it leaves our customers with plenty of space for their own stuff. - Quality iPod Recording
This all-new capability was hatched literally weeks ago.
If you’ve been hankerin’ after an iPod (or were itching for a good reason to buy one) this may just push you over the edge. The latest iPods can now record in CD quality!
But you’ll want to be careful! First, there are just a few iPods that let you pull this off. Second, the iPod will not record on its own, but requires an added accessory that has just become available. Third, there are several quirks to iPod recording you’ll want to know about ahead of time so you can plan for. These aren’t deal breakers. But if you don’t know about them, and the easy ways to get around them, they can spoil the party fast.
One of the most exciting things about iPod recording is that it gives you a great way to record your live speaking gigs, presentations and workshops, and transform them into lucrative CD products you can sell at the back of the room and online.
And we’ll reveal just how to get this done in our all new Create Your Own Blockbuster Speaking CDs telecourse, starting in a just a few days. As part of the course you’ll receive a 20-page special section with all the details on how you can begin recording terrific, lucrative content right on your iPod. - iPods as Incentives
In addition to selling stocked iPods, you can also provide them as incentives for other revenue boosting activities. For instance, if you have an affiliate program – where other folks sell your products for a cut of the action – you can reward your top-selling affiliates with an iPod stocked with your own programs.
You can even insure this pays off by calculating beforehand how much product they’d need to sell for you to get them an iPod and still be hundreds or thousands of dollars ahead.
For example: reward folks who sell a specific dollar amount of your products with an iPod. Or make it a competition by offering an iPod to the three top-selling affiliates each year . Yep, it will cost you. But you can design this incentive so you are sure to come out ahead.
If you have an elite program – like the monthly membership programs offered by many marketing gurus – you can reward long-time members with iPod premiums: a 2GB Nano for 1 year of membership, 8GB Nano for 2 years of membership or an iPod Video for 3 years of continuous membership. Like rewards points you get for using a credit card, each month of membership in your program accrues points which can be redeemed for an iPod bonus.
Once again you can take the guesswork out of this (the banks do!) by insuring you’re still way ahead even after springing for the iPod. - Podcasting
Sure, you don’t need an iPod to Podcast. But this terrific, automatic way of distributing your free audio content (no spam filters, yay!) can familiarize folks with what you do, build your mailing list and lead to sales. I know a few folks who have built their podcasts from nothing to several thousand downloads a month pretty quickly.
It’s the kind of constant contact that builds customer loyalty and translates directly into increased sales and enrollments.
So while the iPod began as a cool way to enjoy our music, its morphed into a tool that – with careful planning -- can not only pay for itself, but make you a very tidy profit. This isn’t automatic. You’ll have to be creative. But you’ll find there are any number of ways to translate the worldwide profile of this amazing device into an increased bottom line for your own business.
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One of the best ways to put your iPod to work is recording your speaking gigs and personal appearances. And the best source for discovering the secrets to doing just that is our Create Your Own Blockbuster Speaking CDs course. You’ll receive a ton of great information, plus our amazing bonus, "iPod Recording: The Do’s, Don’ts and Delights of Using Your Favorite Electronic Gizmo to Record Your Speaking and Boost Your Profits". Check it out now!
