How to Make Money from Sound Effects

By SFXsource

A well put together sound effect library can generate sales online as downloadable single products. With the advent of higher internet speeds and downloadable products, purchasers of sound effects seem to be moving away from bulk purchases of CDs filled with hundreds of effects to downloads of one to ten sound effects that specifically fit a particular project. By using the following tips, a sound designer can create a sound effect library that will be able to tap into this new internet revenue stream.

1. Rule number one for a marketable sound effect library is to create hundreds, if not thousands, of sound samples for sale. A good goal which will provide a broad amount of choices for potential clients is to make three thousand sound effects.

2. For sounds that qualify, such as a longer ambiance tracks, create loopable segments that editors can use to fit to a particular scene.

3. Give your clients diverse groupings of sounds and go for many types of sounds with three or so clips instead of one type of sound with fifty redundant choices.

4. Since sound effects are used for a variety of purposes, create 44.1 16bit .mp3s for use on the internet, 48k 24bit for film, .aiffs for Mac owners, and .wavs for PC users.

5. Market your sound effect library through as many online distributors as possible in order to reach the broadest range of possible customers and maximize your sales.

6. In the long run it may be worth the trouble and effort to build your own site for selling your effects. You can self-promote this site via link building, forum participation, and article writing.

As more and more internet users arrive online, the number of buyers for sound effects will only increase and the above tips are general fool proof guidelines for increasing the attractiveness, and thus the sales, of your library.

About the Author:

Search vast amounts of royalty free production music at Royalty Free Music and check out SFXsource's sound effect library and demo great sound effects at Sound Effects