5 reasons to turn your book into an audiobook

By Derek Doepker

Audiobook sales are booming.

In fact, Written Word Media said that audiobooks are the number one publishing trend of 2020. With this increase in audiobook popularity, savvy indie authors can reach a whole new audience of readers by creating audiobooks.

Just about every indie author can benefit from having audiobooks. There are a few exceptions, of course, including cookbooks and technical manuals. However, most genres make great audiobooks. This includes fiction, nonfiction, and children’s narrative books.

If you’re in one of these categories, read on to discover five reasons why you’ll want to tap into the audiobook market.

1. You can increase your royalties

I produced a short audiobook for one of my books in about three hours. This audiobook has now made thousands of sales. Imagine generating thousands of new sales by only investing a few hours to create an audiobook.

This is why I’m so passionate about encouraging authors to create audiobooks. What I discovered is, the moment you have an audiobook, you open up a whole new world of potential book buyers. These are people who may never otherwise purchase your books, especially people who are visually impaired and are “audio-only” readers.

It just makes sense to have your book available in different formats to maximize sales.

2. You’ll get into a growing market early

The audiobook market has grown more than 30 percent consistently each year recently. Today, more people consume books while driving, exercising, and doing housework than ever before.

Chances are, as people get busier and busier, audiobook sales will continue to increase.  And during COVID-19, e-book and audiobook sales jumped.

Unlike trends that come and go in a matter of months, the investment you make today to create an audiobook can pay off for years to come. This means audiobooks are likely a “safe bet.” In fact, some authors may find themselves left behind in the coming years if they don’t have their book available in audio format.

3. You can stand out from the competition

Look at the Kindle marketplace. There are approximately one million books published every year. It’s hard to stand out from all of them, isn’t it?

However, audiobooks have significantly less competition. Right now, you have an opportunity to get into a thriving market without as many competitors.

This means that relative to the Kindle market, you may have an easier time getting discovered by new readers.

4. You’ll have a compelling bonus to motivate readers

As long as you own the rights to distribute your audiobook anywhere, you could offer your audiobook as a bonus for people to:

• Sign up for your email list
• Purchase your e-book during the launch
• Fill out a book feedback form to gather testimonials
• Share your book on social media
• Get the next book in a series

This means even if you never sell a single copy of your audiobook, it can still be worth having as an asset to grow your author business overall.

5. You can create audiobooks on any budget

Some authors don’t pursue audiobooks because of the financial investment. For some, it’s because they don’t have the technical know-how. Fortunately, there are strategies that help almost any author create audiobooks on any budget.

One money-saving strategy is to record it yourself. With a step-by-step, hold-your-hand process, even the most technophobic authors can create audiobooks themselves.

In terms of investment, you can get the equipment you need for less than $150. Then, not only will you be able to record your own audiobooks, you’ll have a setup you can use for podcasts, videos, and any other audio work you do.

Plus, some authors even earn additional income by recording audiobooks for other authors.

Learn how to turn your book into an audiobook

Think recording an audiobook is for you? My course, Audiobooks Made Easy, walks you through the process step-by-step.

You’ll learn everything from the equipment you need to editing and producing your book in the right format for audiobook retailers. And the good news is, I offer a no-risk, 30-day moneyback guarantee if this detailed training program that includes access to me isn’t what you need.

Get the details and purchase the on-demand training at the Build Book Buzz compensated affiliate link for Audiobooks Made Easy.

Did you record your own audiobook? What was your biggest challenge? Please tell us in a comment. 

Today’s guest blogger, Richard Rieman of RRVoice.com, is the author of The Author’s Guide to AudioBook Creation. He’s also an audio book self-publishing expert and a top Audible narrator. Richard has narrated dozens of titles on Amazon, Audible, iTunes, and more. He also produces audio books for authors voicing their own audio books and consults authors seeking a narrator.

Guest post: 5 common audio book production misconceptions

By Richard Rieman

Do you ever wonder if an audio version of your book is a good idea?

Maybe you listen to audio books – perhaps a Harry Potter book with Jim Dale doing more than 150 voices – and you think that it’s probably way too complicated or expensive.

Not necessarily!

It’s not as hard as you think if you do a little research and know what you’re getting into first. Like anything else in the book publishing business, the more you know about how to do it, the better your end product will be.

If you’re an audio books rookie, you’ll want to get smart about these five common audio book misconceptions now:

1. Audio books aren’t popular enough to make this worth my while.

E-book popularity is waning, but audio book listening on Audible grew 38 percent last year. Audio book sales growth is up 20 percent worldwide two years in a row.

Smartphone listening is the fastest growing method for enjoying audio books, so automakers such as Honda and GM are now including audio book apps from Audible and iTunes in new cars.

Audio books also have their own fan base, so it’s a way to sell more books.

2. It costs a lot to create an audio book.

As recently as 10 years ago, audio books could cost $30,000 or more to produce. Getting a recording studio, voice actors, audio editors, music rights, and more meant that this was the realm of major publishers, not individual authors.

Now, thanks to the growth of self- publishing in the audio book world and the explosion in the number of narrators with home studios and editing skill, high quality audio books can be produced for less than $3,000. If you’re willing to share your royalties with a narrator/producer, the upfront cost can be reduced to several hundred dollars or less.

Amazon created ACX (the audio book Creation Exchange) to make it easy for you to find narrators for both fiction and non-fiction titles at a relatively low cost.

3. It’s okay to settle for a good voice instead of an actor.

When choosing a narrator, you can easily be seduced by a beautiful voice. But what you need to look for is a voice actor who can distinguish characters by subtly using different vocal tones and inflections and glide easily into the changing emotions of your story. A skilled narrator can hold your interest for hours by talking to you, not by reading to you out loud.

4. You can narrate it yourself easily. 

There are a few good reasons to narrate you own book:

• It’s your book and words, so you can tell your story best. You know your characters, story, or subject, as well as the thinking behind your words, better than anyone else.
• You keep more money. If you pay a narrator, you will either share royalties or pay them upfront to produce your audio book. When you narrate your own, your royalty payments go to you (after your publisher or Amazon take its piece of it).
• You have acting or radio/TV experience or have done lots of public speaking.

None of the above? Then get a professional to do it.

It really is a lot harder than it looks. Do you really want the bad reviews that come from a poor narrating performance when listeners judge you against the professionals?

5. You don’t have to promote your audio book.

It’s great to produce an audio book, but if it falls in the forest, does it make a sound? Your audio book needs to be shouted out to your fans and new listeners.

Here are some tips:

• Include an audio book sample in all promotions. The “retail sample” required by ACX is ideal for this. Your book cover and audio clip can be used in all social media and your website.
• Request listener reviews from all your contacts and use a review service like Audiobook Boom.
• Create a promotional video like this one for my book. You can hire a book trailer expert or use a resource like Animoto for less than $100.
• With future books, try to time your audio book release with the print and e-book versions so all of your efforts can simultaneously share your promotion efforts.

Not all books are suited to audio versions, but many are. Why not take advantage of the opportunity to reach more book lovers through another medium?

What do you notice about the narration of an audio book? What stands out for you?