Audiobooks with ACX – Marketing
This is part 5 of my series on Audiobooks with ACX.
When you get the notice from ACX that your audiobook is ready, go to Audible, Amazon, and iTunes and get the buy links and/or affiliate codes. Add these links, your audiobook cover, and a story blurb, to your Website. Add the audiobook to your author accounts at Amazon Author Central, Goodreads, and LibraryThing.
Prepare a list of tweets and posts to promote your new audiobook. Use hashtag #audiobooks to gain followers. Post new release notices on all your sites and send out a newsletter. If you’re also an audiobook listener, post reviews of the books you’ve finished. On your various sites, put “audiobook” into the Search feature and add bloggers and reviewers to your promo list. Search for interest groups with this tag on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Goodreads, and Google Plus.
Decide how you are going to give away your free promo codes. You can post a request for reviewers on your various social media sites or in your newsletter. You can go to specific audiobook sites as listed below and solicit reviewers there. Or you can hold a contest and give away the codes as prizes.
If you’re a blogger, post about your new release, the audiobook process, and working with a narrator. You and your producer can interview each other if she is interested.
Use Clips
https://blog.acx.com/2016/03/17/a-new-way-to-promote-your-audiobook-audibles-clips/?=blog
Clips are samples you can record while listening to your book on Audible. First, use one of your promotional codes to download your own book.Then either play your audiobook, or search ahead of time for passages in your pdf file that you’ll want to clip. Note the chapter, then bring up your book on Audible and click the Chapters button. Go to the chapter where the passage is located. Hit the Play icon.
When you hear the portion you want to keep, tap on the Clip button in the lower right corner. Pause the playback so the audio doesn’t keep playing. Click on the dots in the upper right corner and go to Clips. Click on the clip you just snipped, then hit Edit to change the start and end points. Label your clip in the box on top and then tap Done. There might be a simpler method, but this is how I did it. Each clip can be as long as 45 seconds. Do more clips until you have five minutes total, which is the limit. Use these clips in posts and tweets to provide samples of your audiobook. To Share the clip, click Share and choose your social media buttons. Also email yourself a copy so you can save the link and use it elsewhere.
Listen to Permed to Death Clips Here
Goodreads
Goodreads has a group for audiobook lovers. Be sure to read the rules, and only post promotions or review requests where permitted. https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/596-audiobooks
Audiobook Ads and Reviewers
When you go to these sites, read their submission requirements. Note the genres preferred by the reviewers. Keep track of your promo codes as you give them out. Later, check off which recipients actually posted a review so you’ll know who to approach next time. Be sure to post self-promo only in places where this is permitted.
http://audiobookboom.com/authors For $10, you’ll get an ad in their weekly email newsletter. Your audiobook is listed as available for a free download in exchange for a fair review. This ad did get me a number of responses.
http://audavoxx.com/ Your book must rate an average of 4.0 or higher on reviews to be accepted on this site.
https://audiobookreviewer.com/review-submission/ For $25, your book can be a Featured New Release in their weekly blog.
http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/contact/
http://www.eargasmsaudiobookreviews.com/
http://audiobookjukebox.squarespace.com/solid-gold-reviewer-program/
http://audiothing.blogspot.com.au/
http://booksforears.com/
http://www.audiogals.net/
https://theaudiobookworm.wordpress.com/
http://audiobookjungle.com/about/review-policy/
http://briansbookblog.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mysteryaudio/
https://www.facebook.com/AudaVoxx
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AudaVoxx/
https://www.facebook.com/eargasmsaudiobookreviews
https://www.facebook.com/groups/EverythingAudiobooksE.A.R.S/
https://www.facebook.com/AudioBookReviewer/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1014732691885069/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/freeaudiobookgiveways/ This group is for you to offer your promo codes in exchange for a fair review.
Twitter (#Audiobooks)
https://twitter.com/acx_com
https://twitter.com/AudioBooksBS
https://twitter.com/audible_com
https://twitter.com/audiobkjkbx
https://twitter.com/audavoxx
https://twitter.com/AudioBookRev
https://twitter.com/AudioGals
https://twitter.com/audiobooks_com
https://twitter.com/AudioFileMag
https://twitter.com/Audiobook_Comm
https://twitter.com/AnAudiobookworm
https://twitter.com/listenbooks
https://twitter.com/grapeapril75
Audio Books and Libraries
Audiobooks are provided to libraries through OverDrive, Hoopla, and Recorded Books.
Resources
http://katetilton.com/25-ways-market-audiobook-quick-guide/ (Kate Tilton)
http://blog.acx.com/?s=marketing (Karen Commins)
https://twitter.com/KarenCommins/lists/audiobook-blogs-reviews (Karen Commins)
http://bit.ly/1QXFAhI (The Creative Penn)
Coming Next: Audiobooks with ACX – Optimize Your Novel For Audio
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Permed to Death audiobook, book #1 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries, is available at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Narrated by the talented Mary Ann Jacobs from Voice Over Visions. Hairstylist Marla Shore is giving grumpy Mrs. Kravitz a perm when her client dies in the shampoo chair. If that isn’t enough to give her a bad hair day, handsome Detective Dalton Vail suspects Marla of poisoning the woman’s coffee creamer. Listen to Sample Clips.
BUY NOW
Audible: http://adbl.co/293g3Lk
iTunes: http://apple.co/299427t
Amazon: http://amzn.to/294EC94
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Giveaways and Bargains
July 1-31
Body Wave (Bad Hair Day Mystery #4) is on sale for $1.00 at Smashwords until July 31. Use Coupon Code SSW75. Marla the hairstylist goes undercover as a nurse’s aide to help solve the murder of her ex-spouse’s third wife.
July 11-Aug 8
29 Days of Summer – Cozy Mystery Giveaway
Enter to win 40+ cozy mysteries, PLUS a Kindle Fire! Click Here to Enter
Good advice. I’m very lax about marketing, but with new books for audio coming up later this year, I need to pay attention. I’ve never done the clips (probably because they’re new), but I use SoundCloud for excerpts. Now, if I only remembered how I did that! I know I never had to use a promo code to get the audio.
So how did you get the audio for your own book? And how did you get the excerpt for SoundCloud? I saw one of my advertisers obtained and embedded a five minute excerpt from my book, but I am clueless as to how to do this.
Thank you, Nancy, this is very informative.
You are welcome; I hope it helps. Let me know if you learn anything that I haven’t listed here.
Hello Nancy! I am a listener. But I’m also planning to make an audiobook, I dont really know how these things work before but thanks to you, now I do. I also enjoy the “teasers” that come with these clips.
I’m glad my articles have been helpful. Hair Raiser, #2 in my series, is now available in audiobook as well,
Hi, on occasion I see a 400 server message when I arrive at your page. I thought you may wish to know, best wishes
That’s weird. Do you subscribe and get these posts in your email inbox or just visit on occasion?
Hey, sometimes I see a 500 server error when I arrive at your website. I thought you may wish to know, best wishes
That’s my website, and not this blog site, right? If so, I will inform my webmistress.