Many authors have asked me how to raise funding for their audiobook. I mean, you’ve shed a lot of blood, sweat and tears to write this thing. If you’re going to make an audiobook, you need to do it right. A bad audiobook will simply not sell. You need (and deserve) a top notch audiobook that will garner positive ratings and be a credit to your work. This will cost money. But if you’re short on cash, you can raise the funds you need using some of the free (or nearly free) digital tools we have available to us now.
NOTE: This is work, and it takes a long time. But it is possible. Set aside some time each weekday, and tackle one of these items for 50 minutes. Just chip away at the list, and keep moving forward. You’ll get there.
- Find out how much you’ll need
- Take your word count, and divide it by 9,300. Most audiobook narrators average a reading rate of 9,300 words/hour. So, if you take the word count for your book, and divide it by 9,300, then add 10-15% for a cushion, you’ll have a good estimate of the running time for your audiobook.
- Example: 80,000 words ÷ 9,300 = 8.6 finished hours. (tip: 8 hours is the sweet spot for audiobooks. Your audiobook is more marketable if it’s over 8 hours minimum. This is largely due to the current subscription model of audiobook retailers like Audible. If folks are using a credit, they want to feel like they are getting a good value for their money)
- Now, take your word count, and multiply it by the PFH (per finished hour) rate of your preferred narrator/producer. This should be at least $285/PFH
- If you budget for less than $250PFH, it is very likely that you will get an unsatisfactory audiobook.
- I recommend budgeting for a narrator that charges $300/PFH.
- The better the quality of your audiobook, the faster you will get a return on your investment.
- A weak audiobook will garner bad Audible reviews, and fail to showcase your work appropriately.
- Create a Patreon account to accept funds for your project
- You can use any crowd funding site you like, but Patreon is geared more towards artists and creatives.
- Join social media groups and listen and learn
- Seek for social media groups in your genre, indie author groups, indie audiobook groups, etc.
- In each group, take some time and search and read their previous posts. Look to see what other authors did to raise funds. See what worked, what didn’t. Don’t begin by asking questions. Get the lay of the land first.
- Create social media pages as a professional author in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and post regularly. Direct everyone to your Patreon account.
- Post 3 times/week.
- 1 personal (activity, outing, interesting thought, etc.)
- 1 meme (something you find amusing and light)
- 1 professional (how your writing is going, how many words you’re getting done, etc.)
- Buffer can help you do this easily. There are other apps/programs out there to help you do this with one step, so you set it up once, and it automatically posts for the week.
- Write up a video message about your project
- Write up a 1.5-2 minute video message about your project.
- If you’re comfortable using your face or image, that is most effective.
- Make it friendly and interesting
- Include a call to action to your Patreon account.
- Create a video for your project
- Make it as polished and professional as possible.
- Have good lighting and a nice background.
- Speak clearly and passionately about your work.
- Use the high quality cover art for your book.
- Create a YouTube channel and post your video
- Include a detailed description and lots of meta tags.
- Share your video on all of your social media platforms, including your social media groups where appropriate.
- Most groups will have a “brag” post, where it’s appropriate to post your accomplishments, or market your book. Don’t post it in the main group feed unless it’s specifically approved. If you don’t see any approval, don’t post it there.
- Seek out podcast interviews.
- These are great ways to get free advertising. Find podcasts that talk about your genre, or another area of your expertise.
- Hold periodic giveaways.
- Give away pdf files of a short story you’ve written.
- If you can mail a physical product (i.e., a signed copy of the book), that can be particularly effective.
- Hold periodic live social media events
- Read a portion of the book
- Talk about your genre
- Talk about why you wrote the book
- Talk about the themes of your book, and why they’re important.
- NOTE: even if a lot of people don’t attend the actual event, the live event can remain on your feed, so people who discover you later can check it out.
- Mail “Thank You” cards whenever you can.
- For every Patreon donation, send at least a personal email to say thanks. It doesn’t need to be long, but it does need to be sincere and as specific as possible.
- Again, physical products are more effective. Have stickers designed, and send them out to your supporters as a “thank you” gift.
- Or use traditional thank you cards, but have some printed with your name, and include “author of ____”, if you like.
- Continue to use your social network after you get the necessary funding to market your audiobook.
- Post about what it’s like to work with a narrator
- Get your audiobook reviewed wherever possible.
- Encourage your social media followers to review the book on Audible and elsewhere (Nook, Google Books, etc.)
- Submit your audiobook for an Independent Audiobook Award, and other awards as appropriate.
- Nominations are a fantastic way to gain relevance in your genre. You can then post via social media, make another video about the award and share it, etc..
- Take your word count, and divide it by 9,300. Most audiobook narrators average a reading rate of 9,300 words/hour. So, if you take the word count for your book, and divide it by 9,300, then add 10-15% for a cushion, you’ll have a good estimate of the running time for your audiobook.
Now, go, and make your audiobook a reality. You can do this! Like I said, just chip away at this list regularly, and you’ll get there!