Audiobooks and audience diversification

Audiobooks tend to be an afterthought for most authors I talk to, but there are some compelling reasons to create one. That can mean reading and recording your book yourself, hiring a professional, or pushing your publisher to do it for you. Whatever the method, it can help you increase sales, diversify your marketing and generally expand your author platform online. 

Why create an audiobook?

• Increased sales: It's a 1 billion dollar industry. Unit sales have been growing for close to ten years and show no signs of stopping.

• WOM recommendations: Audiobook mavens are go-to people for book recommendations. The people who listen to a lot of audiobooks are the same people who are always talking about books with their friends and networks. That's a unique way for you to do some high-quality word of mouth marketing.

• Higher visibility: Author Media reports that There are over 100,000 books on Audible.com while there are millions of books on Amazon. Your chances of being found and standing out are much higher. Joanna Penn notes a similar state of affairs in her great post on how to create an audiobook. She writes: "I heard Don Katz, the CEO of Audible.com speak at the London Book Fair back in April. He explained the huge growth in audiobook consumption and said that there are simply not enough audiobooks to satisfy the demand."

How many parts of publishing can you name where there is less content than demand? Exactly. So clear your throat and pay a little more attention to the newest incarnation of the oldest of art forms: Oral storytelling.

Where to start if you want to make one?

There are many companies that can help you with creating an audiobook, including ACX, Podiobooks and SpokenBookPublishing. For a great walk-through on one man's experience, check out Brendan Foley's guest post on The Creative Penn.

Then what?

After you create an audiobook, it can help with your social media and blogging outreach by differentiating your book and offering another route in. Here are a few ideas:

• Blog posts: Include readings of different chapters or stories in your blog posts. You can use them as a jumping off point to talk about your writing style, characters or just to let people hear your own voice.
• Reading promo: Use a clip from your audiobook as part of the invite or promotional materials for your next reading- it will give people an idea of what they're coming to see and hear!
• Book reviews: Just as there are a lot of book review blogs out there, there are blogs dedicated to reviewing audiobooks, like Just Audio Book Reviews and Books for Ears.
• Facebook & YouTube: Ask a friend or hire a professional to create a video that goes with your short reading. You could do anything from hiring or recruiting actors to act out the scene while you read it to posting additional book art that didn't make the final cut. Turn that clip into a video and get it out to your readers as an extra.

What do you think? Do you have any other ideas about creating an audiobook or how to use it as part of your social media outreach?

Image courtesy of jeff_golden via flickr