Strategy

Before you begin your audiobook production process, I strongly encourage you to create a strategic plan for your audiobook. Pro Audio Voices can be your guide in this process, and the following list of potential Goals is a good starting place. Identify as many of your goals and plans for marketing that you can think of AND that you think you will follow through on – or that you would considering hiring experts to help you accomplish.

Goals

There are many potential benefits to having an audiobook edition of your book and goals you can leverage your audio to achieve. You may have other goals not listed here. I encourage you to write down your goals for your audiobook (and your life). Because without goals, you’ll never know when you’ve succeeded. Following are some examples to get you started. Think S.A.F.E.

S: Sales—Financial

  • Generating more royalty income from your existing book content
  • Increasing cross sales of the other formats of this book
  • Increasing sales of your other books
  • Sales from other related products and services you offer

A: Awareness—Visibility for You and/or a Cause You Support

  • Enhancing credibility as an expert in your field
  • Audience awareness of your other offerings
  • Bringing attention to an issue or cause related to your content

F: Following—Building Your Audience

  • Broadening your audience to include audiobook listeners
  • Making your books more accessible to the blind and vision impaired (about 23.7 million people over age 18 in the U.S. alone)
  • Building your following on one or more social media platforms

E: Engagement

  • Increasing discoverability for your book in all formats
  • Increasing visitor engagement on your website
  • Gaining audio clips to use in email marketing
  • Building engagement on social media with posts from your audiobook
  • Gaining audio to use in creating YouTube videos thus engaging the largest search engine currently in use

Marketing

Social Media

Which social media platforms are you actually active on? Rather than trying to do the scatter approach of being on lots of platforms but only occasionally on each, focus your attention on 1-3 platforms. Pick ones you are already using. If you are not yet using social media but would like to, then pick just one and master that. I highly recommend using Audiograms for your posts.

Public Speaking

Get out there or be on Zoom and share your expertise with the world. It’s is a great way to promote your audiobook. Whether you are a non-fiction writer or a novelist, you have something to share that others will be interested in. Figure out what that is and what groups you’d like to speak to, e.g., Rotary or other service organizations, non-profit groups, writing clubs, high school assemblies, professional organizations, etc.

Public Relations

Is there an article of public interest or human interest that your local community might be interested in? Write up your idea and send it to your local newspaper. Many news organizations now have press release submission info online.

Email Marketing

Do you have an email list of people that might like to know about your audiobook?

Video Marketing

You can use your audio to easily put together a brief YouTube video. Use your Retail Sample or some other highlight section of the book, and for the image you can use your book cover. Be sure to take full advantage of the Description section by using all your keywords and metadata. And, of course, make sure you include your website.