Why are there no ads for audio books?
When I sat down to write this, I was actually thinking, “Why don’t book publishers promote audiobooks more?” And then I realized they don’t really promote anything at all.
Maybe I’m missing something, but there seem to be darn few ads for books, let alone audio books on CD or MP3. I made (and lost) a bet with a friend last Superbowl that there would be no ads for beverages or cars in the next 2 minute ad segment. I figured the chances were 50/50. Not so. For the next 10 ad segments, there was always an ad for a car or a beverage. So that settles who advertises the most.
But what about books? Movies get advertised, in fact you can tell how good a movie is going to be by how few ads you see for it. Video games are now getting advertised too, as if I didn’t already have enough to occupy my free time…
So what is it with the books? I hear about books through my friends, and through in-store displays. Sometimes it’s the “people who bought this, also bought…” feature on our website, or at Amazon. But often, I don’t hear about them at all. Much to my surprise, Frederick Forsythe, one of my favourite authors, came out with a (not so) new audiobook, “The Afghan”. I would’ve bought or rented it instantly, but had no idea it existed.
A lot of books get sold every year. There are bestseller lists, Oprah’s recommendations, book clubs… but no advertising. Is it because the market is too small? At $20 billion/yr I don’t think so. Music gets advertised incessantly – it’s called the radio. No such thing for books. I’m starting to find it amazing that people read books at all, given the dearth of promotion.
The only time I hear about books when I’m not actively looking is when a new Harry Potter comes out, or a movie based on a book comes out. There’s something very odd going on here. Every other form of content I can think of gets tons of advertising – music, movies, video games, DVDs, television shows… but not books. I’d love to end this blog entry with an answer, but I don’t have one. Maybe someone out there will think of something and enlighten all of us.
January 26th, 2007 at 9:58 am
[...] I was thinking about a recent question lately and it has baffled me. Lately, I have taken up more reading. I think it is a New Years resolution or something. However, I got to thinking to the days when we used to listen to audio books in the car. We would usually listen to them on vacations, but my mom listens to them now when working out or even driving to work! Many of these audio books can be rented at your library, yet not many people use them. I found an article on the subject of audio books and why they are not advertised. It seems like this blog writer has quite a knack for rants. The author pretty much sums up what I feel about audio books. I can see there are negatives to audio books like reversing the effect of teaching kids to read. For example, they listen to audio books and then they feel that audio books are the equivelant of regular books, which they are not. However, I would argue they still stimulate the mind and are a good educational base. I mean, it can’t be worse than the blaring rap music they listen to. [...]
March 1st, 2007 at 5:09 am
There are adverts for audio books, but perhaps they occupy more electronic media than other products and services. I’ve seen numerous advertisements on Google et al eg, try entering “audio books” or “download audios” in a search engine and you’ll find dozens, if not hundreds of advertisements.
The unabriged version of “Next” you were looking for can be found here: http://www.download-audios.com/Title.aspx?titleId=7853&srch=crichton
Audio books ARE being advertised, you just need to look in the right place. Admittedly, finding the right place may not be that easy.
March 1st, 2007 at 10:20 am
Well, I meant advertised somewhere in the traditional media of print, billboard, radio, or TV. You’re certainly right about audiobooks being all over the internet.
I’ve realized since the original posting that the explanation for the dearth of big-budget ads is that there are no companies with a large vested interest in audiobooks in the offline world. Audible, who does have such an interest in the online, downloadable world, has recently started to do print advertising. But the rest – the Barnes & Nobles and Random Houses of the world – their bread is buttered with paper, not the plastic of CDs.
March 6th, 2007 at 1:11 am
Audio books ARE being advertised, you just need to look in the right place. Admittedly, finding the right place may not be that easy.Well, I meant advertised somewhere in the traditional media of print, billboard, radio, or TV. You’re certainly right about audiobooks being all over the internet.It is very interesting article visit us /Sellingaudiobooks