by Dave Chesson
Wondering if publishing audiobooks is worth the time and money? Well, audiobooks are one of the biggest new markets for authors and it’s a great time to jump in, especially if you want to stack up to other bestsellers in your genre. In this article, we’ll look at the biggest audiobook distribution platform on the planet, Audible, and its benefits for self-publishers.
What is Audible?
Audible is one of the most popular audiobook publishing sites out there. While it started as an independent company, in 2008 Audible was bought by Amazon for an estimated cost of $300 million and became one of Amazon’s subsidiaries. Since then, the platform has really taken off.
While Audible is mainly a retailer, the name is so popular that it’s practically interchangeable with audiobooks — like how the brand Coke has replaced the word ‘cola’ in our vocabulary. You’re likely to hear someone call an audiobook an ‘Audible’ version on occasion, as a result.
Basically, if you’re looking at potentially creating an audiobook version of your next novel, publishing to Audible is a great way to get new readers (or listeners so to speak).
What Type of Books Make Great Audiobooks?
There are plenty of types of books that make awesome audiobooks, such as:
- Mystery
- Thriller
- Sci-Fi
- Fantasy
- History
- Biography
- Health and Fitness – as long as it isn’t too reliant on images
- Romance
- Business
- Self-Help
- Other Genre-Fiction
However, audiobooks aren’t for every author. While there are some books that make great audiobooks, others don’t suit the platform as well. Audible actually recommends flat-out avoiding turning some types of books into audio.
These include the following:
- Travel guides
- Cooking books
- Reference books
- Books that are image-heavy (think home and garden)
- Children’s picture books
- Quote books or joke books
The Benefits of Creating an Audiobook
Creating an audiobook is a great way to reach new readers. Here, we’ll look at some of the key benefits that you can make the most of when you start publishing audiobooks.
More Book Sales
Okay, the first point is obvious, but having an audiobook gives you another potential revenue stream. Audiobook sales are skyrocketing, rising 25% a year.
Yet there was only a 5% increase in audiobook creation from 2017 to 2018. That means the demand could be outweighing the supply at the moment–which is an ideal situation for self-publishers.
I know there have been times that I’ve checked Audible for a particular type of book and just chose something ‘close enough’ when I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted. If you’re an Audible user, you’ve probably found yourself in a similar situation too.
At the very least, having your book available in the audio format is having another fishing line in the lake–adding to your chances of getting a catch.
Reach New Fans Who Don’t Like Print Books
When you release an audiobook, you can get more sales as mentioned above. And many of these sales will be from audio-only customers. There are a lot of audiobook listeners who don’t own an eReader or don’t enjoy reading physical books.
So, publishing an audiobook version of your novel will open your work up to a whole new audience who aren’t readers. Furthermore, with Audible subscriptions, you get a particular credit amount per month–so every subscriber has a monthly download to use. Once you get a listener hooked, you can easily get return-customers.
Improve Your Amazon Rankings
You’ll find that by having more book format options, you’re going to have a higher conversion rate–this is important for Amazon.
For example, let’s say I’m an audiobook guy. I go looking for my next sci-fi military book and click one I like, looking for an audiobook version on Amazon. If they didn’t have an Audible version, I’m probably going to click back to the search page. That is telling Amazon’s algorithm that a user typed in a keyword, clicked a particular book but didn’t buy it.
Then, let’s say I find your book further down the search results page, and it does have an Audible version–I’d download your book straight away! Now, Amazon’s algorithm is saying “Hey, this guy typed in a particular keyword and actually paid us for this book rather than for the first or second option.” This signals Amazon that your book could be better suited to that keyword–which can help your rankings all-around.
Target Amazon’s $50 Bounty
Another great initiative for growing Audible is the bounty program Amazon is offering authors and publishers. Basically, if your book is the first book a new user downloads on Audible, you’ll be in line to earn a ‘bounty’ of around $50 if they stay on Audible for over 61 days!
So, if you’re an author who has a platform elsewhere, like a blog or YouTube channel, or even if you’ve just got a great email list, you should be trying to encourage readers to pick up your audiobook. Think about it, if you can get only ten new Amazon signups a month, that’s an extra $500 a month straight into your pocket! Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.
Even better, when someone signs up to Audible, their first book is free anyway. So it won’t cost the listener a thing. If they decide to continue with their subscription after the free period ends, you get paid.
As mentioned above, the bounty fee is usually around $50, but it can sometimes be up to $75 depending on various terms. There is some more information on the bounty program here.
Create Made-For-Audio Versions of Your Book
Finally, creating an audiobook version of your work gives you an opportunity to be creative. One of my favorite audiobooks is Malcolm Gladwell’s Talking to Strangers. Gladwell, who has a background in podcasting created an ‘audio experience’ for his audiobook.
In the audiobook version of Talking to Strangers, you hear the actual voices of the people Gladwell interviews throughout the book. You hear direct quotes from scientists, criminologists, military psychologists and more. Furthermore, court transcripts are re-enacted to bring life to the book. You hear real audio from arrests and direct quotes from people involved in some of the biggest scandals and tragedies in recent memory.
The book even has its own theme song!
The audiobook was a huge hit and instantly shot up to be a bestseller. I loved the way Gladwell combined the best of his podcasting experience with a book to create something truly unique. This is a great idea because there’d be a large crossover of podcast listeners who prefer audiobooks. I’d also love to see the numbers on how many people who read the book also listened to the audio–by offering the audiobook as its own piece of work, you could get some superfans who buy both versions!
Think if this is a method you can use in your own work. Perhaps you can use a range of voice actors for your different parts, or another method that sets the audio version of your book apart from the written version.
Should You Narrate Your Own Audiobook?
One of the downsides of creating an audiobook is the investment you’ll have to make either financially or of time. On the other hand, though, that’s why there aren’t as many audiobooks out there as there are Kindle books. The barrier to entry is way higher with audiobooks.
A main barrier to entry is the recording phase. The cost can be high if you hire a narrator.
Alternatively, you can record your own audiobook, and while it isn’t the fastest solution, it is usually the cheapest. Also if your audience is used to hearing your voice, like if you host a podcast or a YouTube channel, you might want to record your own audio.
If you do want to hire someone to record your audiobook for you, there are a few options for this. The most popular is Amazon’s program ACX. You can submit your own audio, or find voice artists to help you record your work. ACX has two pricing options too:
- You pay the voice artist upfront
- A ‘profit-share’ option where you split book profits 50/50 for a seven-year period
One thing about ACX though is that it isn’t open to all countries. You’ll need to be in the US, Canada, the UK or Ireland to use the platform. If you’re outside these countries, I recommend Findaway Voices as a cool platform for finding voice artists and publishing audiobooks. I have a buddy from Australia who uses the service for his books.
Final Thoughts
Recording audiobooks is a big step. Before you start, make sure you see if your book fits the criteria for the process to be worth your time. And if it does, be strategic to make sure you maximize your results.
Cheers!
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Dave Chesson is the founder of Kindlepreneur.com and creator of Publisher Rocket, a software that helps authors market their books more effectively.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DaveChesson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KindlePreneur/
Image by Alphacolor on Unsplash