How To Make Money Publishing Audiobooks On Audible (3 Ways)

Summary

In this informative video, Dane discusses strategies for successful audiobook publishing on Audible and ACX. He emphasizes the importance of creating audiobooks of five hours or more to stand out in a saturated market, ensuring the content is suitable for audio format, and conducting keyword research with profitability criteria. Dane also introduces a bonus tip: creating series and bundling books to maximize revenue and appeal to listeners, offering a comprehensive guide for authors looking to monetize their work in the audiobook industry.

Takeaways

• 🎧 Making audiobooks with a duration of five hours or more can help you stand out in the market, as three-hour audiobooks have become saturated.
• 📚 The length of an audiobook should be determined by the content's suitability for the format; some books, like cookbooks, do not translate well to audio.
• 📈 Focus on listener preferences and ensure that the audiobook format makes sense for the content being presented.
• 🔍 Use keyword research to find profitable niches with less competition, aiming for keywords with around 100 results or less, under 100 reviews on competitors, and a Best Seller Rank (BSR) below 10k.
• 📉 Avoid niches with too many results or too few, as this can indicate either high competition or low demand.
• 💰 Longer audiobooks not only rank higher on platforms like Audible but also offer a higher price tier, leading to higher royalties.
• ✍️ Consider the cost of production when creating longer audiobooks, as they may require more investment in writing and narration.
• 📊 Use tools like BSR Master to analyze the market demand and competition level for specific keywords in the audiobook industry.
• 📝 Create a series of audiobooks to maximize profits by bundling shorter books into longer, more valuable packages.
• 📚 The script suggests that creating a series allows for the repurposing of content into different formats, potentially increasing revenue without additional costs.
• 👍 Engage with the audience by asking for video suggestions and feedback to improve content and cater to viewer interests.

Q & A

What are the three main ways to make money with audiobooks on Audible and ACX according to Dane?

The three main ways are: 1) Making audiobooks that are five hours or more in length, 2) Focusing on what listeners want and ensuring the book makes sense in audio format, and 3) Using a keyword profitability criteria list to select niches and keywords for the audiobooks.

Why is making audiobooks five hours or more beneficial for standing out in the market?

Audiobooks that are five hours or more are less saturated than those around three hours, which are more common. Longer books can rank higher and sell at a higher price point, thus adding more value and potentially leading to more sales.

What is the approximate word count for an audiobook to be around five hours long?

An audiobook is typically around five hours long if it contains about 40,000 to 45,000 words, although this can vary depending on the narration speed and style.

Why might it be more expensive to produce a longer audiobook?

Producing a longer audiobook can be more expensive because it requires paying for more words to be written by a ghostwriter and more hours to be narrated, which is often billed per finished hour.

How does the price of an audiobook on Audible relate to its length?

Longer audiobooks, such as those five hours or more, are often priced higher than shorter ones, with a three-hour audiobook typically priced around $14.99, while a five-hour book might be priced at $19.99 or more.

What types of books might not translate well into audio format according to Dane?

Books that require visual elements, such as cookbooks and how-to tutorial style books with pictures, may not make sense in audio format because listeners typically want to see the images and follow along with the content visually.

What is a keyword profitability criteria list, and how is it used to select audiobook topics?

A keyword profitability criteria list is a set of factors used to assess the potential profitability of a niche or keyword for an audiobook. It includes checking for a certain number of results, review count of competitors, and the Best Seller Rank (BSR) to ensure there is demand but not too much competition.

What is a good range for the number of results when researching potential audiobook topics?

A good range for the number of results is around 100 or so, indicating a balance between having a niche with enough demand but not too much competition.

What is the significance of the BSR (Best Seller Rank) when evaluating a niche for an audiobook?

A lower BSR indicates that an audiobook is more popular and sells better. Dane suggests aiming for a BSR below 10k for audiobooks, as this suggests a good balance of demand and competitiveness in the market.

What is the bonus way to make money publishing audiobooks as mentioned by Dane?

The bonus way is to create audiobooks that can be part of a series and then bundle them together to form longer, more profitable books. This allows for maximizing the value of the content and potentially increasing sales.

How does bundling audiobooks from a series potentially increase profits?

Bundling allows for the creation of longer audiobooks without additional content creation costs. By combining two or more books from a series, publishers can offer longer listening experiences at a higher price point, thus increasing potential profits.