I'm Jess ("Jessica", if you're the formal type), founder of The Audiobookworm and Audiobookworm Promotions. I'm 29-years-old and a native North Carolinian. I've been blogging for more than 6 years across multiple platforms and have had an active social media presence for 14 years. The Audiobookworm was founded in October 2015 as an audiobook review blog.
I launched Audiobookworm Promotions in July 2016 and haven't looked back. As of May 2017, I have coordinated nearly 30 audiobook promotional events, with a dozen more already in the works.
Audiobookworm Promotions™ is a multifaceted service aimed at providing marketing, event planning, and design services for the audiobook industry. This billion-dollar industry is immensely popular across the globe, but does not receive the same marketing attention granted to the traditional book industry.
Audiobookworm Promotions’ goal is to provide authors, publishers, and narrators of audiobooks with services comparable to those available to the traditional book format.
How It Began
From what I saw, there weren’t any book tour websites that regularly work with audiobook bloggers. So, I began scheduling my own promotional services. Promotional services are something that I am very eager to offer. I am excited about the possibility of working with authors, narrators, and publishers to promote amazing audiobooks! That’s one of the primary reasons I launched The Audiobookworm in the first place. I’m also excited at the prospect of promoting the very format of audiobook listening to new audiences.
Why should you work with Audiobookworm Promotions to promote your audiobook?
Listen, I’ll tell you upfront: I’m not a corporate-style book promoter. I don’t have a degree in public relations, business, or marketing. Please don’t expect someone in a business suit to be sitting behind this computer.
I’m a blogger, reviewer and an audiobook lover. I’m the exact type of person you are trying to market your audiobook to, so who better to help you do that?
I have over five years of experience with blogging on multiple platforms and 14 years of experience with social media. I have an active presence on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, and Bloglovin’. I am easily reachable because I understand how important communication is to successful collaboration.
My personality is very evident in all of my reviews and throughout my websites. If you like what you see and think we could work well together, shoot me an email and I’ll answer any questions you have for me. I understand if you want to get to know who you’re dealing with before making a decision. I would, as well.
What’s the difference between book promotion and audiobook promotion?
I write a lot about the similarities between book readers and audiobook listeners, but the differences between the two groups are most evident when selecting a story to consume.
Readers and listeners have to consider different things when deciding on a purchase, so it makes sense that books and audiobooks should be promoted differently.
Audiobook listeners tend to demand very different things than book readers do. Although there is some overlap, I’ve found that avid audiobook listeners are generally much more particular about their selections, possibly because there are more factors involved.
With Audiobookworm Promotions, all aspects of an audiobook are reviewed, including production, sound quality, and narration. Narration is frequently a key deciding factor for potential listeners. It is often said that a narrator can make or break an audiobook experience. As a listener, I can attest to the truth of this statement. A narrator that has been highly touted online can greatly improve the sales performance of an audiobook. Audiobookworm Promotions makes a concerted effort to give audiobook narrators the attention they deserve.
Working with Audiobookworm Promotions to promote your audiobook is a great way to ensure that your audiobook promotion targets the right audience. Audiobookworm Promotions is a site about audiobooks, for audiobook enthusiasts, and by an audiobook enthusiast.
Since I am fond of food analogies, and indulge me for a minute: You don’t generally go to a steakhouse when you want seafood and you don’t go to a seafood shack when you want a good steak. Although, a seafood option may be on the menu of a steakhouse, you wouldn’t expect it to be that great because it’s not that restaurant’s specialty.
Audiobooks are my specialty. I know how to promote them and to whom. I understand the audiobook community because I am active in the audiobook community.
Why am I promoting audiobooks?
Simply put, because no one else seems to be. At least, not in the same manner that I am.
All of the websites I’ve seen that offer similar promotions explicitly cater to and target traditional book readers. I initially approached several of the more popular book tour websites, looking for review and promotional opportunities. I was consistently told that there were unlikely to be many audiobook opportunities available.
That doesn’t make sense to me. I know there are opportunities out there for audiobook reviewers. I get review requests almost on a daily basis now. The promotional methods used for traditional books can so easily be adapted to facilitate successful audiobook promotion. Why can’t narrators do blog tours or promote their talents with audio excerpts? Why can’t authors celebrate the day of their audiobook’s release with blitzes and giveaways?
With Audiobookworm Promotions, audiobooks can receive all of the same promotions that traditional books do!
I didn’t launch The Audiobookworm with the intention of getting into formal audiobook promotion. I started it because I love audiobooks and I wanted to find a new way to express that love. Therefore, I don’t view Audiobookworm Promotions as a job, but as a way to help the audiobook community progress.
Of course, I can’t promise that all promotions will be successful. But I can promise that I will bend over backwards to try to make that happen. A successfully promoted audiobook isn’t just a win for those directly involved with its production, but also for the audiobook community as a whole and that includes me.