In this blog post, we will be considering whether it is worth making an audiobook version of your self-published book. We will start by considering what the potential benefits of having an audiobook are and when it is suitable. Hopefully, this will help you decide whether it is right for your situation.
The advantages of having an audiobook are considerable, so if you possibly can manage it, it is an excellent idea for a self-publishing author. We will now look at what some of these benefits are, so you can decide how they apply to you.
What are the Benefits of Having an Audiobook?
Expand your Audience
One of the key reasons that you may have an audiobook is because of their recent rise in popularity. Increasingly, people are turning to audiobooks to listen to while they cook, walk the dog, or exercise, so the demand is definitely there for audio. Listening to things is hands-free and means that people can carry on with other things at the same time. This ability to multitask while listening means that reading a book is suddenly much easier to fit into a busy schedule.
Therefore, having an audiobook version can breathe new life into your book, with some readers preferring the audio version and so being more likely to buy your book. In addition, listing your book as an audiobook can help you to reach new audiences who may not have considered your work otherwise. This can bring in a stream of new fans, helping you to build your audience.
In addition, you will presumably still have an ebook or physical copy available, so will be able to appeal to this type of reader as well. This allows you to diversify your marketing and increase your fanbase. More options should lead to more readers.
Less Saturated Market
Another advantage of audiobooks is that there are simply a lot fewer of them out there. While there are thousands of results for most topics if you search in ebooks, there is nothing like this number of audiobooks. Try this yourself on Amazon with one of the keywords you are using for your book — the difference should be huge. If you narrow down your search further, you may get to the point where your book would be one of only a few.
The advantage here is significant. If your book is only competing against a few tens or even hundreds in its genre, this makes it a lot easier to find than in amongst a crowd of thousands of ebooks. Greater visibility means more people coming across it, increasing sales for you. It also makes people more aware of you in general; they may then be tempted to buy any other audiobooks (or even ebooks) that you have available as well. This might also encourage them to share your books with their friends, helping your fanbase and audience to grow.
Audiobooks may also be more appealing to buyers because of the fact that, as of yet, there aren’t as many of them as there are ebooks. The ebook market is now exceptionally popular with both buyers and sellers, to the point where it is getting hard to find what you want. There has also been an influx of quickly produced, low-quality ebooks, which makes it difficult to tell at a glance which ebooks are worth it. As there simply aren’t as many audiobooks, it is easier to sort through them and find the best ones.
Diversify your Earnings
You will also be able to diversify your earnings with audiobooks. As you will be attracting a different market, your sales should increase, along with your profits. Not only will you be increasing your sales, but you will also be getting them from a different source. This helps to give you a more reliable source of income. When ebook sales drop, you should still have some money coming in from audiobooks, and vice versa. You can also increase sales of both by doing a bundle of the ebook and audiobook, selling them together for a slightly reduced overall price.
Extra Credibility
Finally, having an audiobook version available can give you extra credibility as an author. The market for self-published books is rapidly becoming overrun as it becomes easier to self-publish. However, much fewer self-publishing authors have their own audiobooks, so this makes you stand out as someone who is especially dedicated to the publishing process.
Wrapping Up
I hope that you now know some of the advantages of having an audiobook and might even create your own. In my next blog post, we will be looking at whether you should stay exclusive to one platform with your self-published book or sell across multiple platforms, so come back in two weeks for that!
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