How to Make Money on Audible – Earn Money and Gain Audience
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Do you own books you haven't read? We've all been there: you bought a book, never got the time to read it, and when you did manage to find crumbs of free time, something else came up unexpectedly. Yet, you continue to pile on books in the hopes that one day, you'll find enough time to go through a few chapters.
Audiobooks fix this problem. They allow you to consume a writer's work in a manner that's just not doable with hardback copies of your favorite books. As the name suggests, an audiobook is a book reading, which means you can listen to it anytime. While driving to and from work? Yes, please. When you're resting your eyes in the evening? Sure, why not?
And the audiobook market is gaining traction. According to Grand View research, the global audiobook market size was estimated to be $4.22 billion in 2021 and should reach $5.36 billion in 2022. And the younger age group makes up the largest user base of audiobooks, pointing to the industry's sustainable growth in the future, Fortune Business Insights has said. Smartphones and tablets are the go-to devices for listeners.
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What is Audible?
Audible is a company that offers digital audiobooks and audio versions of magazines and newspapers. It was founded in 1995, and the company received an $11 million investment from Microsoft a few years later. Currently, Audible offers more than 180,000 audiobooks to its customers.
Amazon has owned the company since 2008 (the deal was worth $300 million), and it is one of the world's top audiobook and digital publications sellers. It also has its own audiobook streaming platform called Audible Channels. The service allows subscribers to access audiobooks from other publishers, which can be accessed via a smartphone app or the website and are compatible with most mobile devices. The company also offers audiobooks in many languages, including Spanish, Chinese, French, and Italian as well as English. Audible has more than 1,500 employees worldwide and has offices in London, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, and Berlin, among other major locations. Don Katz, the founder of Audible, is still involved in the business and serves on the board of directors.
Audible offers a good commission structure and has excellent growth opportunities. However, it can be very demanding and time-consuming, so you need to be serious about your business if you want to make it successful. It is a good idea to have a plan before you start so you can set goals for yourself and work out how you will achieve them. You may also want to consider whether you will be better off going it alone or working with a partner.
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Prep work to do
There are two main ways to make money online through Audible: those that involve audio and those that don't. For example, you can narrate full-length novels, nonfiction books, and short stories, or you could become an affiliate and direct people to Audible. These can be done both part- and full-time.
For audio-related content
If you're looking to narrate a book or create a podcast, you'll need to invest in a few items:
- Time: Yes, anything that involves earning money requires a significant time commitment. In this case, you'll need to find time in your current schedule to narrate a book. Or, if you're looking to start a podcast, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the topic and come up with a unique point of view. What others aren't doing that I can? What will my listeners learn? These are all things you should consider before starting a podcast; to do this, you'll need plenty of time.
- Money: Audio recording equipment isn't cheap. You'll need a recording space, preferably soundproof, a reliable laptop, a good microphone, recording software such as Garageband or Audacity, and a pair of good headphones, among other things.
And once you have completed editing your audio files, you can publish them to Audible and wait for your listeners to begin listening and downloading the content. Make sure you provide a link to your podcasts in all your social media posts, as these will serve as advertisements and help you increase your content's popularity and attract new listeners.
For nonaudio content
Because there's only one nonaudio way to earn money through Audible, this one at least does away with huge monetary investments. But affiliate marketing may require a time commitment from your side, so you're equipped with the right information before you go down this path. Compared to other options, affiliate marketing is low cost and low risk, and it's easy to scale as long as your website generates decent traffic.
A piece of advice: manage expectations. Affiliate marketing can be a lucrative business model, but Benjamins don't start rolling in from day one. It takes perseverance, hard work, and time to reach that level. Also, know that competition is stiff: the number of bloggers in the U.S. was 31.7 million in 2020, but at the same time, a vast majority of internet users turn to blogs daily. This means the opportunity is there, you just have to find the right niche appealing to customers.
Why did I tell you this? Because when you're thinking of joining an affiliate program, the kind of website you run will make all the difference. If a bigger competitor is doing the same thing, they'll like generate more leads and thus take all the money. So you have to choose your niche carefully. Keep your topics tight, build an audience and work hard to improve your search engine ranking.
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How to make money on Audible
Become an audiobook narrator – Earn money while reading books
Hundreds of thousands of audiobooks are available to download from Audible, and many of them feature audio narrations produced by members of the company's membership community. Narrators generally charge per finished hour and take a royalty share with the rights holder. If you are interested in becoming a member of this community, you can earn money by reading these books and recording their audio versions. To do this, you must be at least 18 years old and have a suitable microphone to record your recordings. You will also need the skills to produce high-quality audio, which will need to be uploaded to the Audible website, where it will be listened to by customers worldwide.
Once the audio is uploaded, it will take about 48 hours before it is approved and available for you to sell through the site. It is up to you to decide which books you want to read and record, but you should try to choose titles with a wide appeal to maximize the amount of income you can generate from the site.
The pay structure varies according to the size of the audio file you produce and the amount of time it takes you to read it. Generally, the longer the book and the more chapters it contains, the more you can earn per audio hour. You can also increase your earning potential by writing reviews for the books that you read and posting them on your social media accounts. This will encourage people to listen to your books. You should also take the time to interact with your listeners and ask them to leave reviews for your content.
Become an affiliate – Earn extra money for referring people
You can get a commission for referring people to Audible. The best part? You don't have to look further than Audible itself or Amazon. You can earn commissions from referred sales.
How it works
While other ways to earn money through Audible aren't rocket science, becoming an affiliate requires a little knowledge of how it works.
To sign up, you will need to provide the company with basic information about yourself and your business when you sign up as an Audible affiliate. This will include your name, email address, physical address and contact details, and website address if you have one. You will also need to confirm that you are over 18 years old and provide proof of your identity in the form of a copy of a photo ID and a scan of your passport or driving license. You will also be asked to confirm that you own all the intellectual property rights to the content you promote on the platform. This means that if you own the rights to a book you post on your website, you must ensure that you have permission to use it before it can be promoted through Audible.
Once you submit this information, the company will conduct a background check before allowing you to become an affiliate. This usually takes less than 48 hours but if the process takes longer, you can contact customer services for help.
Audible Creator Program
When you sign up to become a partner with Audible, you will be assigned a unique referral link that you can use to refer other people to the site and earn a commission. How much money are we talking about? $15 each month, you hit the $30 threshold. Before we get into the program's details, it's pertinent to note that Audible isn't free to use. The service charges users $7.95 per month for Audible Plus, $14.95 monthly for Audible Premium Plus. Both tiers come with a 30-days trial period.
Now that that's out of the way, here's how the Audible Creator Program works: when someone signs up for a 30-day trial period using your custom URL, you get a $15 commission. And every time you generate $30 worth of trials, you'll be paid half of that amount.
Amazon Associates Program
You may want to consider the Amazon Associates Program to earn advertising revenue if you have a website that attracts some traffic. Sounds technical? It isn't. You don't really need to possess the advanced technical knowledge to make this work. You can simply copy-paste the ads to your website page that generates the most traffic to maximize your earning potential. All that's required is for you to show ads on your website, and when visitors click on the link to buy an Amazon or Audible product, you earn advertising fees. The Amazon Associates Program is free to join and allows you to earn up to $10 in commissions.
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Create podcasts – Earn money while talking about your favorite topics
A podcast is like a radio show you can stream on the internet. Through Audible, you can host a podcast where you can do interviews and discuss your favorite books and authors. You can create a show about anything you'd like and attract listeners through advertisements and social media. There are two ways to get paid for podcasting. You can receive royalties when listeners purchase access to podcasts through the Audible website or app. You can also receive royalties for each download of your show by the listeners themselves.
To start making money as a podcaster, you must sign up with Audible. You can then upload your podcasts and make them available to listeners worldwide. It is up to you to decide what you want to talk about in your podcasts. Still, choosing a topic you are passionate about is a good idea, as this will make it easier for you to come up with interesting and engaging content regularly. It is also a good idea to keep the subjects of your podcasts narrow, as this will allow you to focus your attention on the topic and provide your audience with high-quality content that they will find interesting and useful.
Share your knowledge – Build an audience of loyal readers
If you are knowledgeable in a certain field, you can create an audio program and sell it as an audiobook. You can also create your own show and be your own boss. To build an audience of loyal readers, you can start by creating a series of short books that provide step-by-step instructions on how to complete various tasks and activities. For example, you could write a short book that provides tips on creating effective marketing videos for your business or do an audiobook explaining how to set up your own website. As you get into the rhythm, you can learn from your mistakes and share experiences with others. This is a great way to grow your audience and increase your earning potential.
Creating audiobooks for Audible can be a very rewarding and profitable experience if you approach your project correctly. When publishing items on Audible, you should consider creating a range of titles that appeal to various audiences. This will allow you to reach a wider audience and increase the demand for your content. You should also try to cover valuable information that cannot be found anywhere else. This will help you build a community of loyal listeners and generate a significant income.
The bottom line
Audiobooks are exploding in popularity, and Audible is one of the world's most popular audiobook distribution platforms. The company has attracted a massive audience of listeners. The Audible platform is a great place to start if you are a writer or a publisher looking to earn money from your hard work. Audible allows you to tap into a wide audience of potential customers and generate significant income in the process.
Beginners and experienced people can leverage the Audible platform to generate a reliable income stream in various ways. For example, you can lend your voice by becoming a voice actor for shows or doing voice-over work like narrating a book. This also includes selling audiobooks directly to customers, publishing audio versions of eBooks (on Kindle, for example) that you have created (maybe it'll be a best-seller), and creating your own podcast. Affiliate marketing is another way to earn money through the platform. Earning money through Audible is a legit side hustle and offers a great opportunity for passive income, especially if you choose to make money through the referral system.
But before you choose a method, make sure you can put in the work and that it's enough to sustain you. You wouldn't want to start working on something only to realize it's not for you. Losing steam midway can be extremely demotivating; this is why you should give it some thought before pulling the trigger.
Earn Real Money with Solitaire Cube
- A Modern Take on The Classic Solitaire
- Compete in Cash Tournaments to Win Big Prizes
- Go Head-to-Head with Other Players
- 1-2 Minutes Per Round
- Get $50 When You Deposit $50
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Writer
Jasir Jawaid is Joy Wallet's Assistant Editor. He has more than 13 years of experience as a journalist covering Wall Street, equities, financial policy and regulation, and cryptocurrency and blockchain.
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