7 Reasons to do An Audiobook

1. The Industry Is Exploding

If you have published a book, doing an audiobook in today’s market is a no-brainer. That’s because the audiobook industry is exploding. It has been rapidly expanding over the past 10 years and it is not slowing down.

It is now a 1.8 billion dollar business in the U.S. market, double that globally— the fastest growing segment within book publishing. The global audiobooks market is expected to reach 39 billion dollars by 2032. That's a 25.7 percent compound annual growth rate over the next decade.

We are truly living in a new golden age of audio. The majority of audiobook listeners, (57%), are between the ages of 18 and 44. Fiction and science fiction are the two biggest genres at the moment, with non-fiction quickly catching up.

If this wasn’t true, none of my other reasons would be relevant, which is why I’m making this #1 on the list. If your hard copy or ebook are already doing relatively well, and your marketing strategy is smart, doing an audiobook will contribute to your momentum, and help you generate an additional revenue stream.

2. Get Discovered By A Whole New Audience

There is a huge constituent of readers now who listen to audiobooks more than they read words on a page. I would be one of those people.

For many, it is all audiobooks all the time and so that means having them in the market is a chance to reach a whole new audience of readers who would never have found you otherwise. This is about discoverability, being easy to find, being available in as many places as possible and in as many formats as possible.

By the way, I've discovered so many authors this way. Writers I never heard of, I find their work in audible form and then I end up buying hard copies. Before I know it, I'm on their website, following them on Instagram and suddenly I know who this writer is.

Not everybody has the same kind of brain. We all process information differently. A lot of people, it turns out, are auditory learners and consumers of entertainment. So that is another reason why doing an audiobook is a good idea. There’s a whole new audience out there just waiting to find you.

3. Accessibility & Convenience

Remember when people used to say, “oh I haven't read a book in so long! I just don't have time!” Well, we don't have that excuse anymore. Anyone with a phone can push a button, download an audiobook, and begin listening while… you know… doing pretty much anything: commuting, doing laundry, working out, walking down the street.

And this is because of convenience.

With audio, we are not beholden to a screen. It allows us to be handsfree. So people may not have time to read, but they do have time to listen.

The other way that audiobooks have become increasingly convenient is because of the subscription service model. For a fixed monthly fee, you can get access to huge, extensive audiobook libraries. And this is the direction the business is going. Spotify just rolled out their audiobook model this year. Whether it’s a good thing for narrators is another story altogether, but the point is: no major corporation wants to miss out on this upward trend. Statistically, after committing to a subscription, users are more likely to stay loyal. (I've been a member of Audible since before Amazon acquired it in 2008.)

I’d rather not think about how much money I’ve given Amazon over the last sixteen years. But it was worth it.

4. It Helps Us Emotionally Connect with our Audience

When I was but a cute, little, bowl-headed child, I would climb into my parents' bed at night wearing my red bathrobe and my little, red, gay slippers, and my mom would read to me from Francis Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden.

I know, I was so well cared for.

I don't remember much about the book itself, and my mom was depressed and on a lot of Valium at the time, so she probably doesn't remember much either. But all I knew was that I loved it. I loved being read to. It felt good.

Whether we're aware of it or not, it still does! And this isn't just because it takes us back to our first storytelling experience as children. This goes back two million years to when the very first humans were sitting around fire and trying to communicate. Receiving story in the oral tradition is so deeply embedded in our DNA as the most natural way to learn, be entertained and to grow as people.

Many think of reading and listening to audiobooks (or any form of entertainment) as luxury. I would ask you to consider that it is more necessary to our physical survival than you might think. And here's why. When our souls are not fed, we have a hard time functioning. When our souls are not fed, it's very easy to not want to get up and go to work and do  all the boring things that we have to do in order to live.

I know it's deep! But that's why audio storytelling is so vital. It is deep. It is appeals to our subconscious mind, our subconscious need to connect with other people and relate to other people's stories. And this is true if you're listening to an audiobook about woodworking, or about caring for a parent with dementia. It's especially true though, if it is a personal memoir.

As I've said before, there's something very intimate about the act of storytelling. Not just writing, but telling. It's a different art and your audience gets to share in that.

5. Marketability

When you have an audiobook out there, it is another opportunity to market yourself and everything you've ever written.

Because one format is linked to another, the hardcopy and ebook and audiobook are all linked together on the author's home landing page, which means you have the chance to cross-promote. In fact, you're not really doing it, it's just happening.

If you ever read reviews on Audible, (which I am always doing because I'm always looking for audiobooks), you often see people say, I loved this so much, I bought the print version. Some people want to listen while they read.

Another marketing benefit of having an audiobook is that you can use it to create content. You can create videos using audio excerpts. You can have animation created over it. You can interview your narrator or cast of narrators. It just mixes up your digital marketing with more exciting, more moving, more engaging content.

Finally, an audiobook just makes you look better. I'm not sure how else to say it. It contributes to an overall positive impression of you as an author or entrepreneur. When people see that your work is available in multiple formats, they see that an investment has been made. Even if you were the one who made it, it really doesn't matter. It telegraphs that you are well-established, that you're already being read and listened to, and therefore, you are worthy of being read and listened to.

6. The Power of your Voice

The voice resonates. Literally. And it affects us emotionally.

Anne Fernald, a professor of psychology at Stanford said “sound is touch at a distance.” It's really true. Here’s how it works: sound waves go into your eardrum, vibrate and then send messages to your brain. And if it's a story that you love, just like if it's a song that you love, the brain releases dopamine, which is a feel good chemical.

Another reason the voice is so powerful is because, as an instrument, it’s such a huge part of what makes us who we are as people, as characters in the world.

You might be reading this and thinking, Yes, but what if I hire a narrator? Even though a narrator is not you, they will create an interpretation of you or an interpretation of the characters that you've created. Having a voice speak your words makes you, as a writer, entrepreneur, or leader, more real because it's bringing a new instrument into the picture that makes up someone’s concept of you.

Let's say it's a memoir and you are the one actually narrating it. Then it gives potential readers a chance to hear and know you. If they feel they know you, the chances are greater that they will go in search of you (your website, social media page or other work.)

Have you ever experienced that? You’ll be reading a book, and then decide to listen to an interview with the author. All of a sudden, it’s an hour later and you’ve gone down a rabbit hole. Now, you’re not only fascinated with this person, but you feel like you know them. It’s a kind of never-ending cycle of interest: curiosity breeds knowledge which breeds more curiosity. Recognition breeds familiarity. Familiarity breeds comfort and trust.

All of this, from the vibrating sound waves that make up your voice.

7. A New Way to Tell Your Story

When you do an audiobook, you get to take a creation, your creation, and make something new with it. You make a new vehicle for your story. In doing so, you bring it to life in a new way. And what’s exciting is that the creative possibilities are limitless. You can make something that's compelling to listen to, but also completely original.

The narrator is a very big part of this, but so is sound design, music, multiple voices/perspectives, and bonus features. These are all decisions to be made along the way that can make the listening experience more immersive.

The podcast producer Erica Heilman talks about how unique audio is. She says, with film, people come together, (or they used to), and they look out. Film is projected out. But “…the thing about audio is, you have no where to put your eyes,” Heilman says. “And in a way, that's what makes it better than video. With audio, you have to actually join it.”

What does that mean?

Audio engages our brain in a different way. It stimulates the imagination more, prompting you to come up with your own personal images. Have you ever noticed that when you're reading or listening to an audiobook? You're creating your own personal movie in your mind, and that’s what makes audio a very intimate internal experience.

Want to talk about turning your story into an audiobook? Send me an email here.