Author Update: Behind The Scenes Of My CHIRP Audiobook Deal
Originally Published on NewShelves.com September 30, 2021
The audiobook industry is booming loudly and at various playback speeds. US publishers reported audiobook sales rose to 1.3 billion dollars last year according to Publisher’s Weekly.
So how does an indie author profit and get their book heard amongst all the noise? By chirping.
Chirp, a new way to promote audiobooks
Chirp, an audiobook retailer, powered by the famed discount eBook site BookBub (with twenty million readers), allows readers to purchase audiobooks à la carte, and unlike Audible, there is no subscription fee required.
Every day Chirp sends an email to their subscribers with audiobook deals in their favorite genres and links to purchase wherever the audiobook is sold. They also highlight a new selection of limited-time audiobook deals every day on their website.
What are the rules regarding Chirp?
Deals are submitted by authors and publishers and curated by the same editorial team behind BookBub’s Featured Deals for ebooks.
You must have discounting rights for the title and be willing to discount your book to $4.99 or less.
Competition is fierce, as they receive over three hundred submissions a day, so I was delighted when my debut thriller, Emergence, was chosen.
So how did the four-week promotion go?
Chirp confirms the promotion dates and coordinates the discount with Findaway Voices, making the set-up process seamless for the author.
On my feature deal day, my book was sent out to thousands of Chirp subscribers interested in my book genre. Getting an email from Chirp with Emergence as their feature deal was surreal. (And thrilling.)
Chirp promoted my book in the United States and Canada.
Did I mention this promotion was free to me? Chirp requested no advertising fees for their service.
Sales started rolling in. By the end of the four-week promotion period, I had sold six hundred audiobooks through Chirp.
Using Chirp as a more extensive book marketing strategy
To bolster the Chirp audiobook promotion, I also dropped the eBook to $2.99 for the four-week duration of Chirp’s promo and purchased BookBub, Amazon, and Facebook ads to drive sales further. I did see a very modest bump in eBook sales; however, not enough to justify the expense of these ads. If I had to do it over again, I would purchase only Amazon ads.
How much are authors paid if they offer their books through Chirp?
I received a $1.35 royalty per audiobook sold at the $2.99 promo price. My audiobook sales soared, specifically in the first two days of the promo, similar to the BookBub spike I’d seen during a previous eBook promotion.
How does Chirp stack up compared to BookBub?
In my genre, audiobook sales typically account for one-quarter of all book sales for an individual title. My Chirp deal met this prediction––it got precisely one-quarter of the sales compared to my domestic eBook promotion with BookBub.
Are you interested in hearing from an insider at Chirp and BookBub?
Carlyn Robertson, a Product marketer at BookBub, discusses the process for being selected, as well as advice on BookBub ads, in this free webinar: https://selfpublishingformula.com/episode-283/
Chirp – worth the effort?
Chirp audiobook deals can significantly spike audio sales, find new fans, and market digital audiobooks directly to consumers. As a bonus, the increase in sales will almost always result in new reviews for your audiobook. (My audiobook received over eighty during the promotion period alone.) Considering this is currently a free service, I highly recommend authors submit for the chance at a Chirp deal. It is worth the effort.