Audiobook Tips

21 Tips to Promote Your Audiobook

It’s no secret that audiobooks are the fastest-growing format for enjoying a book. In 2021, nearly half of all Canadians, accounting for 45%, have listened to audiobooks. For an author, producing an audiobook is essential to gaining popularity and achieving success.

Writing a book poses challenges, as does producing an audiobook. Merely writing a good-quality book and audiobook is not enough. You have to ensure your audiobook is effectively promoted to gain exposure. A well-executed promotional strategy not only boosts the visibility of the audiobook but also augments the reach of the printed copy, attracting new readers who normally prefer auditory experiences.

The first step is to create the audiobook. You might consider using an audiobook production service that helps you with everything from the beginning to the final product. Using an audiobook service will not only allow you to save time but also expand your audience, grow your brand, and benefit from external expertise. Once the audiobook is created, you can focus on promotion. In the following blog, we will look at 21 invaluable tips to help you promote your audiobook.

1) Create a Landing page

A landing page is a central hub for all the marketing related to your audiobook. You should have a landing page for each book you have written and recorded.

The landing page should include links to anything related to your book. It can feature links to websites and retailers where readers can purchase your book, both physical and audiobook. It can also display links to other places where you may interact with your audience such as your email, social media, GoodReads page, blog, and much more.

Through this page, readers will have access to everything related to your book and can learn more if they wish. Make sure to include some reviews to encourage readers to take the next step in buying your audiobook.

2) Gather Reviews

Since your landing page should feature reviews, the next tip we have is to gather reviews for your audiobook. Reviews are important for any book whether it’s an audiobook or printed copy.

You need to leverage any opportunity you can to gather reviews as a vital step in a reader's decision-making process is checking reviews before purchase.

You can gather reviews by sharing free copies of your audiobook to select readers in exchange for them leaving an honest review. You can also reach out to professional book reviewers and ask them to review your book. Audiobook review sites are also useful such as AudioBookReviewer.

Once you have your reviews, use this in your audiobook promotions. Make sure to publicize this everywhere. It should be on your website, landing page, social media, etc.


3) Pick an Audiobook Narrator

The voice of an audiobook narrator sets the tone for the book and cultivates a unique reading experience. If you are an established audiobook author, consider narrating the book yourself. Listeners are already familiar with your voice and associate it with your work.

If you are a first-time audiobook author, consider hiring a narrator with previous experience. This might be an individual who is already well-known within the audiobook realm and is appreciated by listeners for their engaging delivery. Selecting the appropriate narrator can significantly impact the experience your book provides, serving as a unique selling proposition.

4) Announce Your Audiobook is Available for Pre-Order

Making your audiobook available for pre-order is a great way to generate buzz around your book. You likely have a social media presence that you can leverage for this announcement. If not, you should start creating one as it’s essential to marketing your book.

You can also generate an email list from your website. Suppose you are a new author and have not generated an email list. In that case, you can generate one through emails you have collected from your network including friends, family, business colleagues, fellow authors, etc. Once you have collected an email list, send out an email announcing the availability of pre-orders for your audiobook. Make sure to put this out on your social media and website to encourage sales even before the initial launch.

5) Utilize Email Marketing

On the topic of email lists, email marketing is a great tool to use to promote your audiobook. You can gather an email list through your website, social media, at events, etc. If you are having trouble gathering an email list, consider reader magnets such as giveaways, a free audiobook, discounts, etc. You must give readers a reason to sign up for your newsletter.

Once you have generated an email list, use this for email marketing. This serves as an excellent way to sustain engagement with your audience and uphold interest. Through email marketing, you can unveil book launches, extend discounts and promotions, distribute exclusive content, and more. This helps to foster a connection between readers and the author, increasing the likelihood of purchase.

6) Announce Your Audiobook Launch Date

The first week of your book launch is the most important. Sufficient marketing needs to be done before the launch date to ensure a successful first week.

Utilize the email marketing we previously discussed to announce your launch date. This will make readers aware of when the audiobook will be available for purchase. You should also promote your launch on social media and your author page. Make sure to share this everywhere!

You can’t expect one post or email to be enough. You have to maintain consistent messaging leading up to the launch. After making a big announcement for the launch date, make sure to follow up a couple of days after in case anyone forgets. Include the book reviews you have gathered to show the positive comments that others have about your book. You can also consider offering an exclusive discount to those who purchase in the first week. This will help to amp up sales for the launch of your audiobook.

7) Use Social Media

As we previously mentioned, social media plays a pivotal role in promotion. You will use it to announce your launch date, establish your following, author brand, and more. This is why establishing a social media presence and utilizing it well in advance of your launch is so important.

You must start early to build a following and establish your author brand. This is especially important for new authors who don’t have a following yet. Social media is an outlet where you can share everything with your followers. You can post snippets of your audiobook so readers can experience the quality and voice of the narrator. You can also share quotes from your book, reviews, exclusive content, audiobook covers, announcements, etc. All of this contributes to generating engagement and interest in your brand and audiobook.

8) Share Audio Snippets

A vital part of an audiobook is the voice of the narrator. When you listen to the book, you can hear the emotions and detect verbal cues that curate a unique experience. It’s important to leverage this uniqueness in your marketing.

Using your email newsletter, website, and social media page, you can share snippets of your audiobook also known as audiograms. This will allow readers to get excited about your book before launch. This can also be used as a reader magnet to get more sign-ups for your newsletter.

9) Produce an Audiobook Trailer

Similar to how we watch a trailer before a movie, an audiobook trailer can also serve as a great tool to intrigue readers into reading your audiobook.

Your audiobook trailer should be short and sweet. It should give readers a taste of the narration style, and storyline and highlight the best elements of your book. This trailer can be used across all your marketing platforms including your landing page, website, social media, etc.

10) Paid Advertising

It can be a lot of work to produce an audiobook and promote it. That’s why using paid advertising can be very effective. There are a multitude of avenues for paid advertising including Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Chirp, etc. You will have to do some experimenting to find the right one for you.

There are a few things you need to consider before using paid advertising. You need to define your target audience to create more targeted ads. You likely have already established one while writing your book, and making your website and social media. Once you have done that, you will pick the platforms you want to use for advertising. You also want to set a budget that is reasonable as paid advertising can be expensive. Many steps will follow in the paid advertising process but these are some of the first steps to take.

11) Audiobook Promotion Services

Sometimes, it’s not enough to do it on your own. You might want to consider the help of audiobook promotion services. A good example is Chirp which is a special form of paid advertising. They use extensive email lists to promote your audiobook. To use Chirp’s service, your books must be discounted as they usually favour discounted authors. Discounts can be used as a promotional tactic so this can actually provide more benefits than just qualifying you to use Chirp.

12) Influencer Partnerships

Prior to the launch of your book, make sure to reach out to influencers in the audiobook space to promote your book. You can also reach out to those who are not in the audiobook space but are well-known to your target audience. For instance, if you are writing a book about the cosmetics industry, you should ask a beauty influencer to promote your book. You can ask influencers on TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, bloggers, and much more.

These influencers can share your audiobook with their audience and talk about their review of your book. This will help to increase the reach of your audiobook by leveraging the credibility of a well-known influencer in the space.

13) Online Audiobook Communities

Many online communities exist for audiobooks, authors, and literature. This is a great way to make connections with other authors or readers in the community. Ensuring you stay active on these platforms will get your name out there and help you to establish genuine connections.

When the time comes around, you can use these communities to share your audiobook and reach out to readers, or other authors to help promote your book. Make sure you offer your help to others in the community so that when you ask for help, they are willing to lend a hand.

14) Link it Everywhere

Since you have a landing page, you need to make it known. Link it everywhere. This can be in your social media bio, blog, email signature, etc. You can also utilize QR codes and feature these on your business card, at in-person events, and much more. This makes it easier for individuals to stumble across your site and discover more information about your books. If you don’t promote your pages, people might not know where to find more information which can deter them from buying your audiobook.

15) Audible Author Page

With Audible being a top player in the audiobook space, you will likely release your audiobook on this platform. While you are at it, an Audible author page will act to be an important marketing tool.

Your Audible author page is a reader’s one-stop-shop for learning more about you. It will feature your author image, bio, and all your works. It’s important to establish this page early on so readers who use Audible know where to find you. Make sure your author branding is consistent between your image, bio, and all your other marketing platforms.

16) Go On Podcasts

Podcasts and audiobooks go hand-in-hand. They both allow people to listen to something on the go. That is why it makes so much sense to promote your audiobook on a podcast.

Take the time to do your research and find a podcast that is suited to your brand. If your book talks about being a first-time mom, go on a podcast hosted by moms who talk about their life experiences. Through this, you can reach a similar target audience that isn’t identical to yours allowing you to broaden your reach. The episode can feature your audio snippet, you can talk about your book, and the process, and provide exclusive content. You can also use this as an opportunity to share your audiobook with the podcast host and gather another review.

Also, if you’re a company owner/leader and want to start your own B2B podcast to meet top decision-makers in your industry to grow your business, while at the same time gaining an audience in your niche for your audiobook, you can work with a podcasting partner. They can handle the entire process, all you would need to do is have one conversation weekly or bi-weekly, fully remote.

17) Giveaways

Some audiobook distributors will provide a set number of promo codes to authors. This allows for authors to get free copies of their audiobook to their listeners. Although it might seem small, this is important to leverage.

You can promote this on your social media as a giveaway. In exchange for engagement such as a like or follow, followers will be entered into a draw for a promo code. Not only will this improve your social media presence allowing for more effective social media marketing, but it will also generate buzz for your book and increase interest from potential readers.

18) Reach out to Libraries

Libraries love to work with local authors. Go in person to a couple of libraries near you and leave a copy of your business card that links to your landing page. This will give them the chance to learn more about you and your work.

If they are interested, they can promote your audiobook at the library and on their website where customers can find a link to purchase your audiobook. You can also arrange an in-person event to promote your audiobook and meet some readers.

19) Discount Your Audiobook as an Upsell

Customers who opt for your audiobook may still desire an ebook or hard copy. For such readers, providing a discount on the audiobook when they purchase the ebook or hard copy can boost overall sales and further promote your audiobook, particularly to those who initially preferred the ebook or hard copy.

For audiobook and ebook promotion, Amazon has an option built-in through Whispersync. It allows users to switch between the ebook and audiobook without losing their place.

20) Bundle Your Audiobooks

Once you are no longer a first-time audiobook author, you might consider bundling your works. By this time, you've probably cultivated a devoted fan base keen on exploring all your creations. You can bundle multiple works into one discounted set. This might attract readers who initially planned to purchase just one book but are now enticed by the bundled discount. This tactic not only boosts sales but also enhances exposure for your other audiobooks, potentially reaching readers who might not have considered them individually.

21) Upload a Sample Chapter

While your audiobook trailer provides an overview of your book, uploading a sample chapter can further your promotion by hooking readers into the storyline. This gives readers a taste of what the narration and book are like. Usually, a sample of the first chapter will be the most effective as it starts the story and will draw readers in without revealing too much.

Conclusion

You’ve made it this far in creating your audiobook, now it’s time to take the first step in promotion. Make sure to start early and carefully craft your plan. A well-thought-out promotional strategy can truly make a significant impact. It's time for you to take the first steps toward a successful audiobook launch.

Written by Kaitlin Duong

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Jony Studios is a client-focused media production studio offering audio/video production, B2B podcasting, and audiobook services. They have worked with a wide range of clients from small businesses to larger organizations such as Penguin Random House, Amazon, University of Waterloo, Freakonomics Radio and many others.

 
 

How to Publish an Audiobook without a Print/Ebook Edition

Many of our clients have always wondered if it is possible to publish their audiobook without having a print or ebook version out for sale, the answer is YES.

Submitting an audiobook for distribution can be exciting, allowing authors and publishers to reach a wider audience through various platforms. While some distribution channels have specific requirements, it is possible to submit an audiobook even if you don't have a print or ebook edition available.

In this article, we will explore the process of submitting an audiobook without a print/ebook edition, highlighting the exceptions and guidelines for each distribution platform.


1) Understanding the Audible Exception

Audible, one of the leading audiobook distribution platforms, has a specific requirement for authors and publishers. To distribute an audiobook on Audible, it is mandatory to have an ebook or print copy listed on Amazon. This requirement ensures that Audible users can access the companion ebook or print version of the audiobook.

If you do not have a print or ebook edition available on Amazon, you will be unable to distribute your audiobook on Audible. Therefore, it is crucial to meet this prerequisite if you plan to target Audible's large audience.


2) Exploring Other Distribution Channels

Fortunately, Audible is the exception rather than the rule when it comes to submitting an audiobook without a print or ebook edition. Most other audiobook distribution platforms allow authors and publishers to upload their audiobooks without any accompanying print or ebook versions.

We reached out directly to Findaway voices, the world's largest audiobook distributor. They said:

If you do not have the print/ebook on Amazon.com, you would not be able to distribute to Audible and would have to leave them unselected from distribution. This is the only exception; every other distributor allows for you to upload the audiobook without a print/ebook edition.”

This means you still have an opportunity to distribute your audiobook and reach a diverse range of listeners!


3) Step-by-Step Instructions for Submitting Audiobooks

To submit your audiobook without a print or ebook edition, follow these general instructions:

Research Audiobook Distribution Platforms:

Explore various distribution platforms such as Findaway Voices, Author's Republic, and many more. Understand their submission guidelines, pricing structures, and royalty options.

Prepare Your Audiobook Files:

Ensure that your audiobook is professionally recorded, edited, and meets the required audio quality standards. Convert your audiobook into the preferred file format specified by the distribution platform. Also, we have audiobook production services that can help you throughout this entire process.

Create an Account:

Sign up or create an account on the chosen distribution platform. Provide the necessary information such as your name, contact details, and payment preferences.

Upload Your Audiobook:

Follow the platform's instructions to upload your audiobook files. This typically involves selecting the appropriate file format, naming your audiobook, and providing any additional metadata required.

Set Pricing and Distribution Preferences:

Determine the pricing for your audiobook, taking into consideration the platform's suggested retail price and your desired royalty rate. Select the regions where you want your audiobook to be available for distribution.

Review and Confirm:

Carefully review all the information provided, including pricing, distribution preferences, and any terms of service. Once you are satisfied, confirm your submission.


4) Maximizing Your Audiobook's Reach

While submitting your audiobook without a print or ebook edition opens up numerous distribution opportunities, it is essential to consider other formats as well. Creating a companion print or ebook edition of your audiobook can enhance the overall reading experience for your audience. Additionally, having multiple formats available allows you to reach a broader range of readers who may prefer different mediums. Therefore, if resources permit, consider creating a print or ebook edition alongside your audiobook to maximize your reach and potential revenue streams.


Conclusion

Submitting an audiobook without a print or ebook edition is possible, with the exception of Audible, which requires a companion print or ebook listed on Amazon. However, most other distribution platforms offer authors and publishers the flexibility to upload audiobooks independently. By following the step-by-step instructions outlined in this article, you can successfully submit your audiobook and reach a wider audience of listeners.

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If you need help turning your book into an audiobook, we offer remote audiobook production and editing services that will help you reach a wider audience and increase your book sales. 

Listen to some of our audiobook samples here to get started.

 
 



How to Get Your Audiobook on Spotify

Great news for all authors, Spotify is now carrying audiobooks! This means you will be able to easily reach an entire new audience of listeners. Spotify has over 400 million active users and keeps growing, this is an amazing opportunity for your audiobook to be discovered.

We help a lot of our clients get on Audible going through the ACX, as that has been the standard market place for Audiobooks and continues to be so. However it is advisable to be in as many places as possible to meet listeners where they are at.

Wether you already have an audiobook on audible (with a non-exclusive deal), or you are an author that is in the process of wanting to create an audiobook, this step by step guide will make it simple for you to get on Spotify!

If you are an independent/self-published author, the easiest way to get on Spotify is using Findaway Voices.

What is FINDAWAY VOICES?

Findaway Voices is the world's largest audiobook distributor. They give you access to the entire listening world through retail and library partners ranging from major global brands to fresh new startups. The company is now owned by Spotify, to grow in the audiobook space.


How to Upload Your Audiobook on Spotify

In order to upload your audiobook on Spotify you will need to sign up for an account with Findaway Voices here. Then you'll need to provide some basic information about yourself like your Name, Email, Password, etc... It will also show this:

 
 

Make sure to select Author if you already have an audiobook and you just want to use their distribution platform. If you are an author and don’t have an audiobook yet, you can narrate it yourself using our innovative audiobook production services, or we can handle the entire process with one of our narrators. We’ve worked with top publishers like Penguin Random House, Scribe Media, and Amazon.

  1. Once you've signed up, you'll be taken to the dashboard. Click on the "Upload" button to begin the process.


  2. Findaway Voices will ask you to provide some information about your audiobook, including the title, author, and narrator.


  3. Next, you'll need to upload your audiobook files. Findaway Voices accepts a variety of formats, including MP3, WAV, and FLAC. You can either upload the files directly or use an FTP client to transfer them.


  4. After your files have been uploaded, you'll need to review the metadata for your audiobook. This includes things like the cover image, the description, and the pricing.


  5. Once you're satisfied with the metadata, you can choose which distribution channels you want to use. Make sure to select Spotify as one of your distribution channels.


  6. Findaway Voices will then distribute your audiobook to Spotify, as well as other platforms like Audible, Apple Books, and Google Play.


  7. After your audiobook has been distributed, you'll be able to track its sales and earnings through the Findaway Voices dashboard.

Conclusion

I hope this guide was helpful! Remember that in order to upload your audiobook to Spotify you will have to have a non-exclusive deal with Amazon (ACX). There is pros and cons, because if your audiobook is exclusive with amazon you will be on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes, and get to keep much higher royalties, however they set the price of your audiobook and you can’t sell it anywhere else. That’s a decision you will have to decide, let me know what you end up going with in the comments below!

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If you need help turning your book into an audiobook, we offer remote audiobook production and editing services that will help you reach a wider audience and increase your book sales. 

Listen to some of our audiobook samples here to get started.