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I knew we’d be in for a fun ride this week as we talked to Evo Terra, one of the creators of Podiobooks.com, a service that syndicates audiobooks for free via podcast feeds.
I (Johnny) became interested in Podiobooks and mentioned it first in SPP episode 7 as yet another underexploited guerrilla tactic to go out and get more readers.. So did Sean and Dave, but while they sat on their audio files (Dave’s fault. He claims an excuse involving goths), I published mine.
So, as of today, right now, my book, The Bialy Pimps, is available at Podiobooks. Check it out. It’s free, yo.
But what’s the point of a podcast audiobook as a publicity tool for self-published authors? Why would we do this? Why should you consider doing this? And how did the Podiobooks guys get the idea for something so nutty in the first place?
Evo is a long-time podcaster (he’s one of the authors of Podcasting for Dummies), so when a few author friends became frustrated with their inability to distribute their work, Evo came up with the idea for a Podiobooks, which allowed authors to distribute their stuff in a totally grassroots, totally without-gatekeepers kind of way that nobody was really doing. It allowed readers, on the other hand, to follow the books in installments, for free, via whatever listening devices they wanted. Serialization came to audio fiction. The authors (the best known of which is Scott Sigler, who has had mondo success thanks to Podiobooks) got the audience they were looking for. Win freakin’ win.
The way it works is like this:
1. People looking for interesting podcast and/or audiobook stuff find your audiobook via search on a podcast directory or online. (Or, today, now that Podiobooks has its own audience, people also simply find you right on the Podiobooks.com site).
2. These people subscribe to your audiobook using iTunes or another podcast directory in the way they’d subscribe to any podcast. (SIDE NOTE:If the idea of subscribing to a podcast confuses you, here’s a video showing you how to find and subscribe to something in iTunes. You should now test it by searching iTunes for “The Bialy Pimps” and subscribing to my podiobook.)
3. People get to know you, your name, your personality, and all of the other stuff we talk about.
4. These people, now interested in you, become fans. They might buy the text version of your current book or they might buy later books.
5. Phat stacks of cash ensue. (Okay, maybe not always.)
It’s just one more way to get out there in a DIY way. And it’s pretty cool.
We’ll of course update you on how well our Podiobooks experiments go right here, but in the meantime, be sure to get the free Podiobooks version of The Bialy Pimps. And tell your friends!
To view the video version of this episode, go to: Self Publishing Podcast Episode #14 – Using Free Distribution to Build Your Readership w/ Evo Terra
BTW, if you haven’t yet listened to Re: Your Brains, you really need to.
I’m heading out the door right now, but DO rest assured that I’ve pulled it up in a new browser window and have thus made a note to myself re: watching re: Your Brains.
what a cool discovery – I never would have thought about doing something like that – but then again, audio books are perfect to listen to at the side.
Besides having the coolest Sci-fi name ever (Evo Terra is the Harry Potter of the future), this guy is both fun and informative.
I’m curious to see how it works out for you, Johnny, and if it actually leads to more results (e.g. sales).
PS- that “out of the closet” joke should have gotten more laugh. Seriously.
About 2000 downloads so far. But the trick is that there’s no clear line of sight. So I get a bunch of downloads, say… does that ultimately benefit me? And if so, how? I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to answer that, but I do like seeing the interest. Stay tuned.