Internet marketers can deliver products for use with computers, PDAs, PSPs, MP3 players, mobile units, and CD players. It can be confusing and daunting.



As a publisher your first consideration is your market. Are your customers mobile? Do they watch PSPs? Or are they a CD crowd? Your first release should be to the hardware of highest use. In other words, the hardware your crowd uses the most. You can branch out afterwards to publishing to other media.

Publishing with .pdf files is fairly simple and straightforward. You can use Adobe Acrobat to convert a simple word file to the .pdf file or you can use one of the free services on the Internet. These services do a simple job of conversion with some encryption. If your file is large or complicated you may want to invest in the Adobe program. You can also download Open Office which is an open source word processing program that will export files as .pdf files maintaining the integrity of all your links. You should consider encryption to prevent changes to your work that will protect your credibility and integrity.

Publishing to mp3 files is simple and economical. You'll need a decent microphone and a free shareware program called Audacity. With Audacity you can record directly from your computer, manipulate the files and export as an MP3 file. If you have customers who will want a hard CD copy you can use an MP3 to CD converter. You'll find a conversion program at mp3-cd-converter.com that you can use up to 10 times before purchase.

A growing number of people are reading their files on their portable PDA's. You can tap into this growing market well before your competition. eCriteria makes the conversion and hosting issues simple.

If your product has video potential you'll want to consider translating the video so that it can be viewed on a PSP. These hand-held devices are a powerful source of digital information. Video products, both streaming and screen capture, can be formatted for both the computer and the PSP unit. You will acquire more of your market by making your product available to a greater audience.

The new kid on the block is the .mobi. This extension is used exclusively for mobile units. Just release on September 26, 2006 for general registration, it already is coming under attack for allegedly breaking the principles of device independence. Originally sponsored by a consortium of Microsoft, Google, Nokia and others .mobi sites are intended to provide programming and services restricted to mobile devices. Unfortunately they cannot be read across different platforms and are not readily adapted for different platforms. For instance, html, GIF, JPG and PDF are formats that are adaptable across platforms.

Mobile devices are new and hold an incredible financial potential for the astute marketer. However, don't feel as if you are left behind if the technology is a bit scary at this time. As with everything else in just a few months the programs and services will be more consumer friendly for both the programmer and the end-user.

The intent is to take a hard look at your customer base and your information product. Define which formats are most accessible to your clients and which are more cutting edge. Then go after publication in the arenas comfortable to your clients and reserve the newer technology for later versions of your product.