https://podcastfasttrack.com/
Jim Kukral is quick to say that his new service, Book2Pod is not a service that creates audio books.
So I’ll say it for him. ;) Because that’s EXACTLY what it is… except for a few differences…
Jim and his behind-the-scenes business partner have a pretty cool system in place that anyone who has a book, whitepaper, story, series of blog posts, etc. - can make it into a podcast.
It’s really interesting - and the possibilities are very intriguing. Take some time to hear what Jim has to say. You can even hear the robots doing their thing!
Main Points : Done For You Audio Books To PodcastThis was one of the very first questions I had for Jim because books are typically made into books in order to sell them as books. Putting them into podcast form and broadcasting them freely via an RSS feed doesn’t seem like a good way to promote book sales.
But it’s actually the exact opposite that happens.
One of the reasons I believe podcasts are so popular is because they are a low-friction introduction to a topic, resource, or expert. A person can listen and learn and get to know you without ever having to let you know they are interested.
No risk of being “sold to.” No email opt-in required. In other words, it’s entirely safe for you, the listener, to check out a content provider by listening to the content they provide (a podcast, in this case).
Authors haven’t made good use of this aspect of podcasting… at least most haven’t. That’s because they are focused on selling books - and podcasts OF their books seem a bit non-intuitive at first.
But there are ways to make the entire text of your book(s) - fiction or non-fiction - available as a audio book(s) and use them as a lead-in to your sales process.
And according to what Jim shares on this episode, it’s working for many authors already. Listen to learn more.
I’ve got a handful of books I’ve considered making into audio booksThe problem thus far has been the cost of making it happen. If you check out the plans ACX has for putting any book in to audio book format, it’s pricey… no matter which way you slice and dice it.
But what Jim Kukral has going on here makes the process of putting a book into audio format a whole new ballgame. If I’m satisfied with a robot voice reading the text of my book (a very GOOD robot voice… listen to this episode to hear an example) then there could be a much more affordable option available, now..
And it’s got at least one added perk: the ability to set it up as a podcast
64% of people are now familiar with podcasts, a stat that continues to climb each year. Combine that with the fact that 44% of people are listening to audiobooks and the idea the Book2Pod folks have come up with promises to be an excellent merger of two growing technologies. (stats from Infinite Dial 2018).
So… do you have a book you’d like to get into audio book format? This may be the way you can finally do it..
Here’s how I think I can use an audio book podcast to sell more booksHere’s my brainstorm/theory/thing… I’ll use my 3 book Dragonslayer series as an example.
Book one is complete. Book two is complete. Book three will hopefully be finished by the beginning of May 2018.
As part of the launch strategy for book 3, I could put together book one (at least) in an audio book podcast format using Book2Pod or by doing it myself using the same Amazon Polly technology (lots of work, but possible).
As the call to action in the audio episodes of that podcast I could encourage listeners to get the print copies of book 2 and 3 from Amazon. It really feels to me like people who like the audio would be interested in knowing what happens in the other two installments.
Am I crazy, or could it work?
Naturally, I’d have to follow best-practices for launching a new podcast - including great looking cover art, optimizing the name and author fields of the podcast and its episodes, etc. in order to get organic exposure through Apple Podcasts and other directories. But I think it would work.
And who knows… I may even find it profitable to put all 3 of the books into audio book / podcast format because many people who buy audio books also buy the print copy.
I’ll likely get to this in the next 6 months. I’ll let you know how it goes.
So you don’t have books to make into podcast audio books? There are other opportunities here.Not every podcaster has a book to turn into a Book2Pod project. That’s OK, Jim and I took a bit of time on this episode to brainstorm other options. Here are a few we came up with…
And likely others we weren’t able to come up with. And the same principles I’ve already mentioned apply. You are giving your potential clients/customers/fans a low-risk opportunity to get to know you, to hear your expertise through what you’ve created.
And in time, as they become convinced that you know what you’re talking about - they may step through the door even more - by joining your email list - or buying a product - or hiring you to do whatever it is you do.
I think Jim has an amazing idea and I’m eager to hear the kind of success that comes from it. Join Jim and I for this interesting conversation - and shoot me a message to let me know what other possibilities you see for this kind of technology.
Connect with Today’s guest: Jim Kukral of Book2PodCarey(AT)PodcastFastTrack.com
On Facebook
On Twitter
Subscribe to Podcastification here!
35: A podcast hosting made simple – SHOUTENGINE
33: Podfading: What I’ve learned working with over 20 clients
32: Podcast music that is LEGAL for you to use!
31: 1 thing you should ALWAYS mention on your podcast episodes
30: Crafting GREAT Episode Titles
28: YET ANOTHER way to repurpose your old podcast audio
27: The one hack to “must listen” podcast interviews
26: Increasing the lifespan of your podcast episodes with social media
25: Who listens to podcasts? Survey results you can use to determine your podcasting strategy!
23: Show notes: Step 3 – Writing social media blurbs to promote your podcast (and how to craft a great title)
22: Podcast Show notes – Step 2 to making them epic!
21: Show notes: Step 1 to making them epic
20: Show notes: The top 4 reasons your podcast needs them
19: Better podcast audio from a bad room, 5 Tips to improve it NOW
18: A little known shortcut for Libsyn and WordPress users that will save you time
17: Recording Skype calls for podcast audio
16: How to eliminate filler words in your podcast without editing
15: 2 Simple ways to get the best sound quality on guest interviews
14: How to create call to action links for your podcast
13: How to use and set explicit tags for your podcast and its episodes
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Insight Story: Tech Trends Unpacked
Zero-Shot
Fast Forward by Tomorrow Unlocked: Tech past, tech future
The Unbelivable Truth - Series 1 - 26 including specials and pilot
Lex Fridman Podcast