Audiobooks are the fastest-growing content medium for publishers today. While many publishers have jumped on the bandwagon, the ratio of books (including ebooks) to audiobooks for most subjects—e.g., the Keto Diet on Amazon—is still only about 20 to 1. So while audiobooks are a hot market, there’s still very little competition in some categories. It’s a prime field for enterprising authors and publishers to get in on.
While I highly recommend publishing audiobooks, it’s equally important to promote them using the right tactics. That’s why this chapter deals with running Audiobook Giveaways through Audiobook Boom and garnering reviews by using dedicated services.
Examples of Success
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Example: Ashton Cartwright Ashton Cartwright of Paidauthor shared his results using Audiobook promo codes and giveaways for one of his biggest clients in the contemporary romance/erotica genre in 2019 on his website. His efforts resulted in around $6,000 in extra royalties. Thumbnail (February 10, 2020): https://youtu.be/WMhU3bWf-YI |
Example: Wiley Brooks Author Wiley Brooks ran a promotion with Audiobook Boom (January 1, 2020) and secured 3+ fresh reviews on Audible within the next 28 days. Thumbnail (February 10, 2020): https://www.paidauthor.com/audible-or-acx-codes-and-where-to-give-them-away/ |
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Thumbnail: Audiobook Boom Newsletter, https://mailchi.mp/audiobookboom/your-free-audiobook-boom-for-123119 |
Thumbnail: Audible Audiobook page, https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Next-Best-Thing-Audiobook/B0831CL9M4 |
Application
- Make your book available as an audiobook. I recommend using Amazon’s Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) or Findaway Voices.
- When you publish, think “audiobook first.” Don’t just pass on a print/ebook manuscript to a narrator—adapt the original text or create a dedicated manuscript for an audio version.
- Get promo codes from ACX (25 in the US, 25 in the UK) or Findaway Voices (100 with Voices Plus) and run audiobook giveaways through sites like audiobookboom.com, which will share your giveaway with as many as 10K people. If you’re especially tech-savvy, you can also organize your own giveaway on Facebook using Gleam.io. Currently Audible even pays royalties when readers listen to your audiobook by redeeming a free code—an amazing deal!
- Get reviews by making your audiobook accessible through dedicated audiobook review submission services.
- Submit your audiobook for consideration as part of a featured deal on Chirp Books (run by Bookbub). See chirpbooks.
Resources
- 25 Ways to Market Your Audiobook: A Quick Guide: https://katetilton.com/25-ways-market-audiobook-quick-guide/
- How to Market an Audiobook: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/how-to-market-an-audiobook/
- Audible or ACX Codes and Where to Give Them Away: https://www.paidauthor.com/audible-or-acx-codes-and-where-to-give-them-away/
- Get Cookin’ with New and Improved Promo Codes: https://blog.acx.com/2019/05/09/get-cookin-with-new-and-improved-promo-codes/
Book Sales Explosion : The 25 Best Tactics For Skyrocketing Your Book Sales Today
Albert Griesmayr
Founder & CEO of the book publishing startup Scribando & Novelify.
Previously Albert was Head of Digital at Dorotheum and consults companies and authors in digital strategy, digital marketing and book promotion.