Week by week Audiotuts+ is becoming a more and more useful resource. But as we continue to add more content, you might be finding it harder to find what you’re looking for. Here are four simple suggestions about how you can get the most from Audiotuts+.
1. Don’t Miss Out – Subscribe
You don’t want to miss out on the latest tutorial. We give you four ways to keep up to date.
Subscribe via Email
By clicking the subscribe button at the top of the screen (or this link) you will receive an email whenever there is a new tut available. If you don’t use a feed reader, or just prefer email, this option is for you.
Subscribe via RSS
Receive every new tut in your RSS feed reader by selecting the RSS option from the submit button on the site (or click this link). There are options for receiving the full tut, or just a summary so you can come to the site to read the rest.
If you’re not familiar with RSS, Skellie explains it well in this article.
Follow Us on Twitter
If you’re into Twitter, make sure you’re following @audiotuts. We let you know about every new post, and share interesting links to other audio-related sites from time to time. Retweets are appreciated!
If you already follow us on Twitter, are you happy with what you’re seeing? Would you like more links to interesting articles on other sites? More industry news? Hints about upcoming tuts? Comments on what’s happening behind the scenes? Something else? Let us know in the comments.
Join Audiotuts on Facebook
As Mark Zuckerberg’s dreams continue to come true, the world is flocking to Facebook. You’re probably already there. Look us up and click on “Like” to get our updates in your stream. And if you enjoy a tut, make sure you click on “Like” then too!
2. Find the Tuts That Help You Most
With almost a thousand posts on the site, finding the information you need isn’t always easy. Here are some tips.
Use the Search Box
You’ve probably already noticed the search box at the top of the page, but I thought it’s worth mentioning anyway. The functionality is a little basic, but I use it myself from time to time. It’s the handiest way to find a word or phrase.
For more powerful searches, just include “site:audio.tutsplus.com” (without the quotes) in a standard Google search, along with your other search terms. Note that I’m talking about doing this at Google.com (or your browser’s search box), not in Audiotuts’ search box.
Explore the Navigation Menu
Our articles cover a lot of DAWs. You may be interested in only seeing tuts that specifically target, say, Logic Pro. Our navigation menu makes it easy to filter the articles by what you’re interested in. If you hover over (say) “Tutorials” then click “Logic Pro”, you’ll get a list of tutorials relevant to you.
Take a minute to explore the menu. You may find it interesting to explore the “Freebie” and “Videos” entries if you’ve never clicked them before.
Start with the Basix
If you’re new to audio, start with the Basix – our Audio 101 tutorials that don’t assume you know anything, and move you on from there. They have a friendly tone, a lot of detail, and a generous amount of patience. Click on “Basix” on the navigation menu to get started.
Subscribe to Premium
We’re committed to provide excellent free educational tuts on an ongoing basis. But some of our best content is for Premium subscribers only. These tuts contain twice the detail of normal tutorials, and are normally written by industry professionals.
At only $9 a month it’s definitely worth considering, and it’s also the best way to support your favorite audio site. Find out more here.
Visit the Tuts+ Marketplace
If you’re interested in some of our Premium content, and making a monthly commitment seems like too big a step to take right now, you can inexpensively purchase individual tuts from our Tuts+ Marketplace. Existing Premium content is being moved over now, and additional content is constantly appearing. It’s a great way to support your favorite author – they get at least half the money you pay for each tut.
3. Get Involved in the Community
The sign of a great blog is that you can learn as much from the comments as you do from the tuts. Comments are also a great way to experience a sense of community. Here are three ways your comments can make a difference.
Comment Regularly
Do you agree with a tut? Disagree? Love it? Hate it? Have a story to share? Whenever you read a tut, we’d love it if you took just a moment to comment.
Authors put a great deal of time and effort into the tuts, and absolutely love feedback. They’re literally hanging out for it, and appreciate anything you have to say.
And if you would like to see a follow-up tut, or make a suggestion, please let us know in the comments too.
Give Feedback to a Workshop
Week by week very brave people submit tracks for a workshop, hoping that you will give them some helpful feedback and constructive criticism. I’m sure they feel very vulnerable.
Take a few moments to listen to their track, and leave a comment. Even if you don’t feel like an audio expert, it’s useful for them to hear what you liked and what you didn’t.
Participate in Our Open Mics
Every week we ask a question, and open up the microphone for you to comment. Often they result in threads of very useful information, as well as building a real sense of community here at Audiotuts.
We often wonder who we are writing for – we can’t see through cyberspace to find out who’s listening. Open Mics are a great way for us to get to know you, and for you to get to know one another.
4. Contribute Some Content
We have a great team of regular writers here at Audiotuts+, but a lot of our content comes from you, the readers. We appreciate it! While we’re currently not accepting full tutorial submissions, here are three ways you can contribute.
Contribute a Quick Tip
Quick tips are short tutorials (around 500 words, or 3-5 minutes of video screencast) that focus on a particular technique or concept you find helpful. We pay US$50 for each quick tip we publish. Find out more here.
Contribute a Track for a Workshop
We’ve already mentioned workshops above, so I won’t say too much more about them. For a musician or music producer, they are a great way to get helpful feedback about your track, tips about how to improve it, and also some exposure.
Read more about how to submit a track for workshopping here. And if you have any suggestions about how we could run workshops more effectively, please let us know in the comments.
Contribute a Freebie
You may have created some useful samples or loops that others in the Audiotuts+ community can use. Consider submitting them as a freebie, and we’ll pass them along to everyone for you. Besides being helpful and a really nice thing to do, it’s also a good way to get your name out there.
Well, there are my suggestions about how to get more out of Audiotuts+. Which of the ideas did you find most helpful? And do you have any suggestions about how we can make Audiotuts+ more useful? Let us know in the comments.