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As an audiobook narrator and producer, I often get asked about the best way to market audiobooks. That’s why I thought I’d give my secret tip to making an audiobook a best seller. Just kidding. But let’s be honest, many of us have the hope in the back of our minds that a secret like that exists and we just need to find it. The truth is, there is no one easy way to market audiobooks – or anything for that matter. It takes work and can also cost money. Getting a lot of audiobook sales can also take a bit of luck. Though it’s the kind of “luck” that seems to happen more often to those who are at least doing some of the work.
The responsibility of marketing an audiobook (or any book) generally belongs to the rights holder or publisher. That’s not me, so most of the tips I will give here are based on the experiences of indie authors and publishers that I’ve learned from.
The first rule of audiobook marketing is that it’s not much different from marketing books in other formats. Mention the audiobook whenever you advertise the book. The same rule applies in reverse. Often, your audiobook release date is later than that of your e-book or print book. No problem! You can use the audiobook release as an excuse to remind people about the book in all formats.
Word of mouth is the best form of advertising. When more people know about your audiobook, more people will tell their friends. Don’t be stingy with promo codes. If you have cultivated a list of reviewers and book influencers, give them your codes first. If you have any left over, be generous with them. There is a tendency to believe that if you give away an audiobook for free, you are losing out on that sale. In actuality, unless your book is a best seller, the likelihood that the person you give the code to would have otherwise bought your book is slim. Even the big publishers give promo copies out before the release date to get some reviews and buzz going. ACX gives rights holders Audible promo codes for exclusive titles. If you distribute wide through Authors Republic, you can get codes from them for Audiobooks.com and Spotify. Other distributors may also give out codes, so be sure to ask about them.
I’ve been to a few conventions recently, including the World Science Convention (Worldcon) and LitRPG con. I always attend the indie author panels at cons and conferences. One recent takeaway is that the way you should market is dependent on whether you are a “wide” author, or are exclusive (to Amazon/Audible, and Apple Books). I would also add a third category for publishing public domain works. If you plan to distribute your audiobook wide, which means it’s for sale on all the smaller platforms, like Chirp, Kobo, Google Play, etc., don’t spend money on Amazon ads. For exclusive authors, writing more books will advertise your other books. That’s how Amazon works, and probably Audible as well.
One tip that successful indie authors are constantly preaching is to grow your email list. It’s great to have a ton of social media followers, but what happens when your favorite platform gets bought by an eccentric billionaire intent on burning it to the ground? Sometimes they even just get replaced by newer, cooler platforms. (remember Myspace?) That is not to say you shouldn’t advertise on social media. You absolutely should! It’s free, so why not use it? You don’t have to put your audiobooks on your personal social media profiles. You can make separate accounts for your author persona, or even for your particular books. (I’ve had a lot of luck with this for a public domain title I published). Many authors say that the various platforms are genre dependent. Right now in 2025, Tiktok is huge for Romantasy, and LitRPG fans go to Facebook and Reddit to find out about popular titles. That said, focus on the one or two social media platforms you are comfortable with. Ask your audiobook producer for a 40 to 60 second sample from your audiobook to turn into a reel with Headliner or Canva. You can use the cover art and a moving waveform image for the visual.
One tip I learned at Seattle Worldcon surprised me. A panelist said “don’t have your friends and family buy your book. It will ruin your algorithm. This makes sense, especially for the Audible exclusive titles. Let’s say only a couple of people buy your book in the first week. One of them is your sister. She is a new mother who doesn’t read Fantasy, but suddenly finds herself with a lot of time to support her indie author brother by listening to your audiobook. Amazon will promote your Fantasy title to people who recently bought “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and “Parenting for Dummies”. They won’t promote it to the listeners who actually listen to Fantasy. You also don’t want to guilt your friends and family into buying your book for a few measly sales. Focus your energy on your target audience instead.
On my way to and from LitRPG con, I read the book “Perennial Seller”, by Ryan Holiday. It gave me great insight on how we need to think about marketing as a long term strategy. The panels at LitRPG Con reinforced this. The authors there tend to write series, rather than standalones. They also publish a lot of books each year because their newer books advertise their other books. For Indie authors, this is extremely important- mainly due to algorithms. My other key takeaway from “Perennial Seller” is that a one time ad, no matter how much reach it has, won’t do any good. People need 8 “touches” (some say 7, and some say 9) before they remember a thing. Big ads, like superbowl commercials, serve as a reminder for established customers. They aren’t trying to gain new ones. You need to build your following with repetition. (And freebies).
Thanks for reading!
Rebecca H. Lee
Visit my narration website at becksvoice.com!
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