Audiobook Series (Part 4): Marketing the audiobook

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If you thought the InstaScribe series on Audiobooks(Parts 1, 2, 3) had come to an end, well no, it hasn’t. No series is complete without a guide on how to promote your book. Every writer would love it if the book went viral. Unfortunately, videos of the Annoying Orange, Sneezing Baby Panda and biting siblings go viral, but books don’t. No book has ever gone viral, at least according to Google.

This means work hard and get marketing! Make a list of the InstaScribe manual of audiobook marketing suggestions.

audiobook-02Reviews

Get some people to review your book. One possibility would be to work with a group of other Indie authors. One or more from the group review your book and post the reviews on their websites. You link to these.

You can also try your luck with publications and websites that focus on audiobooks.

Have a look at Books For Ears: Audio Book ReviewsEargasms Audiobook Reviews | Reading with happy ears!, and  AudioFile Magazine

NetGalley is also an option, perhaps. This site enables book reviewers and professional readers to read or hear, in this case, your publication before it is released. That they are professionals count in your favor; unless they say bad things!

Fancy Previews

Here you will have to combine luck, wisdom, good timing and a secret ingredient.

Find a famous voice to read the first chapter. Go the Fuck to Sleep, excuse the language, is perhaps the most famous example. Samuel L Jackson’s f-word filled reading of this book has received millions of views on Youtube, Vimeo and wherever.

Sachin Tendulkar and Michael Jordan have all retired, and might just have a few minutes to spare for you!

Social Media

As many as one billion people accessed Facebook on Monday the 24th of August, the time of my writing this story.

Facebook has a very good system that allows you to target specific people with your ads. Instead of  focusing on people who indicate that they READ, Facebook allows you to aim your marketing gun with greater accuracy. Age, gender, specific interests, etc. all make sure that a potential reader sees your ad and not just any billions of people!

Remember that Goodreads and LinkedIn can also be used when it comes to social marketing. And do not forget about Twitter!

Giveaways and Bundles

An audiobook is a valuable product in its own right. Do not market an audiobook as a mere afterthought.

Instead of giving a free copy of the audio version away with every eBook bought, do it the other way round. Give free eBooks with every audiobook.

Team up with another writer or writers and give a copy of your audiobook as a gift when the other author sells a copy of their book.

Blogs

That you should write about your own audiobooks and eBooks is so obvious we shopuldn’t even  mention it. But do it! Also get others to write about your books. Remember that, according to the latest, most accurate and most scientific research, there are many indie authors out there who need publicity for their own books.

By offering to write about them, 99% will return the favor.

Book Clubs

Offer free copies of your book to book clubs. Let them do the marketing for you!

Conclusion

Marketing is hard work, unless you know Samuel L Jackson. But it is a crucial step in your selling process. And the rewards are sweet. Many of you write to make money, but at InstaScribe we are convinced that you write for a much deeper reason.

Maslow called it self-actualization. To be truly self-actualized requires community, and the positive results from your marketing systems will contribute.

Share your promotional experiences with us!

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