Category: <span>BookWorks</span>

This is the first of two posts on the changing audiobook landscape.

No part of book publishing has grown faster in the last few years than audiobooks. The numbers of books published, of copies sold, and of audio formats, have been increasing dramatically, opening new opportunities for indie authors.

The growth in audio reflects changes both in how the books are produced and in how listeners use them. Audiobooks have become easier and more convenient for listeners to obtain and listen to, and at the same time have become easier to create.

Audiobook makers have their own trade association (the Audio Publishers Association), magazines and websites, sources and providers for reviews, and the Deyan Institute, “the world’s first school for teaching the art and technology of audiobook production.” There are even independent audiobook awards, the “audies.” Some of these have been around for a few years (the APA dates to 2001), but all have been growing.

The traditional publishers who long have produced audiobooks have begun to invest more fully in audio, which suggests indie authors should take a close look too.

THE KEY CHANGES

Karen Commins, a veteran narrator active in the APA, recalled in a recent article how “In 2003, when I narrated my first commercial book, most audiobook productions occurred in pricey New York or Los Angeles studios. The finished products were packaged, shipped and sold on cassette or CD. Due to high production, warehousing and distribution costs, audiobooks were almost exclusively the domain of the biggest print publishers and reserved only for the bestselling authors and highest-profile titles. As a result, only about five percent of all books published were made into audiobooks.”

Special audiobook players were needed or recommended for many of these audiobooks, which often were produced in proprietary formats. You may remember the long-departed Sony Discman, which was designed for books on compact disc. There have been many others as well, including the Playaway and the Daisy Player.

Many of the old limitations are gone. Audio now can be recorded in a vast number of local studios (many narrators work at least partly from home studios), and equipment requirements for professional results are specific but not necessarily expensive. Professional narrators can be found around the country; audio work can be a form of telecommuting.

Audiobooks traditionally were recorded onto cassette tapes or compact discs (or before that, on phonograph records). Now most audiobooks are sold as audio files (often in the common MP3 format), which can be sent or downloaded online. They can be heard through a range of commonly-used devices, from laptop computers to phones to tablets.

NUMBERS INCREASING

The audiobook industry is objectively large: Worldwide, this year it has been estimated in value at about $2.8 billion. The APA said a July 2015 study showed audio sales in the year before “totaled more than $1.47 billion, up 13.5% over 2013. Unit sales were also up 19.5%, nearly five times the increase of the overall book trade industry.” In 2015, the APA said sales increased again by about 20%, to $1.77 billion.

Part of that increase was driven by the number of titles offered to buyers. In 2010, the APA said that 6,200 audiobook titles were published. Last year the comparable number reached 35,572, according to the APA.

That’s still far fewer than the hundreds of thousands of new print and eBooks being published each year, but a big increase from just a few years ago.

Some categories of books seem to fare better in audio. Research has shown that fiction accounts for more than three-fourths of all audio sales, and adult fiction overwhelmingly dominates audio sales and number of titles.

Downloaded files have become far more popular than other audio formats (such as tape or CD), and a bunch of apps for smartphones and other devices have been developed for listening to those files. Baker & Taylor’s Acoustik is one example of a widely-used app.

Audio seems to be one area of tech advancement in publishing that appeals more to an older rather than younger audience. Still, the APA said that 36% of its survey respondents reported listening to children’s or young adult audiobooks.

Abridged audio versions of a number of books are available, but unabridged versions heavily dominate sales, surveys indicated. New audio variations, with music, sound effects, multiple voices, non-music sound beds, are being tried, but their future is unclear.

FINDING AUDIOBOOKS

How do readers find their audiobooks?

The book news and review site Bookriot in 2014 asked that question of its readers, and got some clear results.

Libraries, often in connection with the audio-providing service called Overdrive, accounted for 687 responses—much the largest group finding their books from one type of source, but split among a vast number of libraries.

Audible, the Amazon.com-affiliated audiobook site, accounted for another 494, becoming the largest single-location go-to source. Audible is a subscription service ($14.95 a month) which lets people download audiobooks.

The next largest single category—53 responses—is brick and mortar bookstores, which still sell various formats of audiobooks. (Other responses covered everything from iTunes to YouTube to illegal downloads.)

Readers can find book descriptions in many of these places, but many readers also rely on reviewers, who discuss not only the text of the book but also the sound and narration quality and other factors. These audiobook reviews have been increasing in number as well. Audio reviews can be found on the AudioFile Magazine as well as many broader sites like Bookriot.

Readers can be approached in other creative ways. The site Tryaudiobooks approaches listeners according to what else they’re doing while absorbing a new book: “Do you listen to audiobooks during your commute? Or do you prefer listening while working out or crafting? Whatever your activity, we have the perfect listening suggestion for you. Audiobooks are a great companion for activities such as cooking, gardening, coloring, running, and many more! You choose your activity and we’ll provide the entertainment.”

Next: Is an audiobook right for you?

New BookWorks post on the many mergers, acquisitions, agreements and more reshaping the environnment self-publishers work within.

It begins,

“On May 10, the R.R. Bowker Company, the main source in the United States for ISBN numbers and other services, said it plans to ally with two other publishing-related companies, FastPencil and Infinity Publishing, to offer a suite of services to help authors “write, edit, collaborate, format & publish your book.” It also indicated “distribution partners” would include Barnes & Noble, Amazon and others. Bowker said “this solution makes it easier to go from concept to manuscript to market.”

It’s the most recent example of many agreements, mergers, acquisitions and other connections in the book publishing environment. Headlines in the last few decades have pointed out the swallowing of one major national book publisher by another, but those are only the most visible instances. Indie publishers would be well served by maintaining awareness of other connections between companies with which they work. Sometimes these can help their interests—and sometimes not so much.

The major organized programs for helping authors give away copies of their books – as a way to promote them – until now have limited their options to print books. Giveaways in the well-established Goodreads and Amazon programs have not allowed eBook giveaways, frustrating authors who write only in that format.

This is changing. As of this month, Goodreads is expanding their giveaway program to include eBook as well as print books.

Author Anna DeStefano has become one of the first to explore the new eBook giveaway option – and report success with it.

As author of a score of romance and supernatural novels, she has participated in several past print book giveaway programs, especially those run by the readers’ and writers’ site Goodreads. Like others, she has found the programs a useful way to gain more attention for her books, to gain more readers quickly and to drive sales.

But DeStefano told BookWorks, “My impression is that over the last few years print giveaways have had less and less overall effect, unless you advertise them heavily. So many authors are doing them now, it’s easy to get lost in the glut of content.”

In that context, the addition of eBooks to the giveaway programs may bring some fresh attention and interest to this piece of marketing.

Why or Why Not to Give Your Books Away

The whole approach may seem odd if you’re a writer who after all is trying to sell books, not simply disperse them.

Still, as a May 5 article in Publishers Weekly said, “Speaking to the power of giveaway programs, in a Goodreads case study, Kate Stark, marketing v-p at Riverhead Books, said that the Goodreads site as well as its giveaways promotions, “played a major role” in the success of bestselling novel Girl on the Train. (The house used multiple giveaways for Girl on the Train).”

Goodreads itself has noted “The primary benefit of running a giveaway on Goodreads is generating excitement for your book. Many giveaway winners review the books they win, meaning that you can build word-of-mouth buzz early in your book’s life. The ability to offer up to 100 copies of a book will greatly increase your chances of receiving a good number of reviews.”

The Old Rules for Giveaways

Since July 2015 Amazon.com has operated a print book giveaway promotion, in which authors pay for printing and shipping – tasks undertaken by Amazon – copies of their print books to randomly-chosen winners of a giveaway contest. That followed a longer-standing book giveaway program at Goodreads, which Amazon owns. The Goodreads contests are similar to Amazon’s but less costly to the author per book, because the author personally is directly responsible for supplying and shipping the books, and usually can keep those costs down.

Goodreads has not allowed giveaway of eBooks, however, until this spring, when it launched a “beta” – experimental – program allowing for digital giveaways. Initially it is limited to Amazon’s own new publishing imprints, but is expected to be opened more broadly soon. (Goodreads hasn’t disclosed exactly when.) The links to both Kindle and to Amazon’s own publishing operations provide ongoing evidence of a tightening relationship between Amazon and Goodreads, which was bought by Amazon in 2013.

The Goodreads Digital System

Under the new Goodreads system, authors can give away as many as 100 digital copies of their book, for a flat $119 fee. It is available for now only in the United States. Goodreads manages the listing and the delivery to the winners. “Prerelease books are listed for giveaway by publishers and authors, and members can enter to win. Winners are picked randomly at the end of the giveaway,” Goodreads says on its giveaway page.

Explaining the $119 fee, Goodreads said, “With a Kindle ebook giveaway, we give you the opportunity to offer a large number of free books, reaching even more readers. We also save you on both costs and hassle. No more printing books, hauling them down to the post office, filling out address labels, and paying to ship them off to winners (which can cost hundreds of dollars for a 100-copy giveaway). No more delays in getting your books in winners’ hands. The readers who win your Kindle ebook giveaway will get their Kindle ebook instantly and will be able to start reading right away, which means you can get readers talking about your title faster than ever.”

In other words, it’s a convenience fee.

The eight books in the current eBook giveaway roster all are fiction, though that may change as the roster expands.

The Results

As a new program, the digital giveaways may provide a new jolt to book promotion. After DeStefano tried it for her new novel, His Darling Bride (published on Amazon’s Montlake Romance imprint), she said “the early response for His Darling Bride’s digital giveaway has been very positive. Much more effective already (this contest was put up on May 5) than the entire print giveaway my publisher sponsored (for 20 books) which ran for a month.”

She was less certain why the response was strong, but speculated that since “there are fewer titles/releases available in the digital giveaway program at this time, GoodReads is promoting it as a new opportunity, and a smaller pool of contests are running for readers to participate in. “

So far the giveaways have generated significant activity. Broken Angels by Gemma Liviero, for example, will be giving away 50 copies (after May 26, when the giveaway ends), and 3,773 people as of May 9 had sent in requests. All of the other beta books for May also generated at least 1,000 requests.

Keep in mind that while the Goodreads and Amazon giveways are the big options, there are others, and some of these are lower in cost. Authors can run giveaways on their own web sites, possibly with the help of a technical provider like Rafflecopter. Twitter has the hashtag #bookgiveaway, where loads of giveaways directly from authors are listed.

Either way, the world of book giveaways and the world of digitals is coming together, and at least some writers are starting to take advantage of it.

Not so long ago, advertisers and viewers communicated mostly on three television networks and other mass media aimed at almost everybody.  We called it “broadcasting.”

Reach Your Target Audience Through Narrowcasting

To reach our target audience, we now need to narrowcast.  We choose among hundreds of communication options that connect with narrow audience segments.  The implications of narrowcasting are especially important for nonfiction indie authors advertising and promoting their books.

Narrowcasting is useful for an indie author with limited marketing funds.  It means you can forget about media that reach a wide range of people and focus on those interested in your specific niche.  The more narrowly you can define avenues for reaching the specific people most interested in your subject, the more effective your advertising can be.

In my last two posts on book advertising I wrote about paying for exposure through websites, email lists and sellers of price-discounted eBooks, and targeted advertising in social media such as Facebook.  Nonfiction authors can use these approaches, but still other narrowcasting alternatives may be just as useful.

Narrowcasting on Amazon

One of those, which may work better for nonfiction than for fiction and can be used most directly for eBooks, is advertising on Amazon.com.  Because nonfiction books are placed in so many subject categories, you may be able to get your Amazon advertising in front of readers specifically interested in your topic.

Author Chris McMullen last year tried a new Amazon program which allows authors of Kindle books which are enrolled in their KDP Select program to advertise, using “bids” (somewhat like Facebook does in its advertising options) from two cents to $1.01 for each click they receive.  McMullen has posted a long article detailing the experience.  He concluded that the system has potential for some books if used carefully.

His central observation: “You really have to judge your target audience well to make the most of your targeting . . . It pays to spend extra time contemplating the probable habits and interests of much of your target audience (and it may take some trial and error).”

McMullen’s point about knowing the target audience also applies beyond Amazon and off-line.  In considering non-digital places to advertise, think about places, either physical or defined in some other way, where your audience and only your audience show up to converse and socialize.  Cost-effective advertising may be practical there.

Advertising Where Your Niche Readers Are

Here’s an example.  I’m helping a writer who has drafted a book about how his city’s greenbelt was started and grew.  Because the greenbelt and the parks it runs through are public property, advertising options right there are limited.  However, if the parks department has any regular publications, there’s the possibility of getting a “sponsored” announcement or submitting a guest article or opinion piece.  A number of special events are held annually around the parks and greenbelt, and promotional giveaways of book copies are possible.  Another alternative is sponsored notices placed in the event materials.

A number of businesses provide services for greenbelt users, from renting boats and other equipment to drinks and snacks.  They might agree to post flyers about the book, maybe for a small fee, or help host a promotional event.  Recreation stores around town may catch the eye of other greenbelt users.

People interested in the history of the city may also have an affinity with the book, so the city’s historical museum – and its publications – may be a useful place to advertise.

This author’s city also has, as many cities do, popular websites which focus on local issues.  Those websites might be approached for carrying a guest post or other content, but also could be good prospects for advertising, since ad costs for many of those sites are low.

Outside the city, even outside the United States, people interested in park development and expansion may want to learn about a case study of how this particular park area was developed (from unpromising beginnings).  I’ve found several national associations, such as the City Parks Alliance, which regularly communicate with hundreds of public and private people and organizations interested in just that subject.  Advertising options in one or more of those organizations may be a good possibility.

Searching out these advertising prospects will send an author back to some of his original research sources, which may be a useful exercise.  You can think back to your original work on the book for answers.  What organizations did you contact?  What were your sources of information?  Where do the people interested in your subject congregate?  If you researched your subject thoroughly, you probably already have the answers to those questions.

Think about this carefully, and you may have a good idea where and how your advertising should be placed to reach your target audience.

Readers & Writers: I look forward to your feedback, comments and critiques, and please use BookWorks as your resource to learn more about preparing, publishing and promoting self-published books. My blogs appear every other week.

A Bookworks member has asked about targeted advertising strategies: what works (or doesn’t)?

Here’s the first in a series of posts we hope will help answer that question.

Targeted Advertising Strategies

Advertising of some kind or another is all around us, and many people develop strategies for tuning out much of it.  At least one web browser, Firefox, has a one-button tool allowing readers to crop out everything but the main core of text on a web page: Great for reading news stories, not so good for the advertisers who pay for space there.  In many ways, this is becoming a more challenging age for advertising.

Should indie authors nevertheless look seriously into advertising?

They should, although that doesn’t mean throwing money at whatever mass medium comes your way.  A great deal of advertising is wasted, but very carefully targeted advertising can help you sell your books.  Sometimes good ideas can come in unexpected places.

I’ve pondered, for example, the idea of using a billboard to sell a book – a very specific book that doesn’t yet exist.

I live about an hour inland from Oregon’s highly popular ocean beaches.  Two highways leading there bear almost all the heavy traffic from the east, sometimes enough to create jams, as people head to the coast in search of something to do.

Suppose you had published a travel guide to the Oregon coast, and made it available on eBooks as well as print.  Now suppose you rented a billboard along one of those two highways advertising that book, offering an inexpensive, coast guide eBook available by wireless download to travelers right now, minutes in advance of arriving at the coast?  Might that sell enough copies to make a profit?

It might, because that billboard would be precisely targeting the exact audience of that particular book, at a moment when the subject is of great interest, and in a way that would allow immediate purchase.

One of the most important points about advertising (for books, but not only books) is to reach your specific audience, without wasting money reaching the masses of other people who aren’t and never will be your readers.

It can be done.

Facebook, for Example

Indie novelist Mark Dawson, who is estimated to have sold more than 300,000 books, has done it.  He uses a number of marketing approaches but has doubled down especially on advertising in Facebook.  An article in Forbes reports that he spends substantial amounts daily on Facebook advertising for his books.  His advertising is so carefully targeted that he more than makes the money back while building a long-term reader base.  The precision of his advertising is the key: He has worked out in detail what his readers have in common, and sends his message to those people.

Dawson expanded his reach by using a feature in Facebook called “look-alike audiences.”  This allows him to submit an audience list to Facebook, which will find a second base of people whose attributes closely match those of the first.  It’s almost like replicating a highly responsive audience. The potential sizes of these audiences that Facebook can provide ranges up to the millions.  (As they get larger, of course, they also get more expensive.)

He has used that advertising strategy to help create a growing fan base, with which he keeps in close contact.

To use some of these advanced Facebook features, you first need to create a Facebook business account, which is separate from your individual account.  If you want to set up an author page, choose “Artist, Band or Public Figure” and if you want to set up a page for your book, select “Entertainment”.  From your account page, click “create ad” which takes you to an “ad manager” page.  The Facebook ads creation tools, also let you target (and test) your intended audience by location, interests, behaviors and demographics.  However, people who have used these features point out that either a considerable time or money, or both, is often needed to get good results.  Extensive market testing is equally important.  This may not be a form of advertising practical to newcomers, but is worth bearing in mind (and exploring further) for future possibilities, since Facebook is a vast potential pool of readers.

Other Places for Advertising

Not every form of useful and highly targeted advertising is as well-known or high tech.

One writer remarked in an online forum that, “I actually like placing ads in conference program books like Sleuthfest, Bouchercon, RavenCon (I write cross-genre so try to mix it up), horror conferences, etc.  Sometimes it’s difficult to determine the outcome since sales sometimes aren’t always the day or week the ad comes out, but for the nominal fee I think it’s worth it.  By nominal I’m talking under $250.”

Targeted advertising works differently for different kinds of books, of course.  I’ll be back soon with more on targeted advertising strategies for fiction and nonfiction books in Part Two of this series.