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AUDIOBOOKS
For A Good First Impression With Audiobook
Producers, Share Your Audible 'Customer Rating'
April 7, 2015

By Karen Commins

Voice Actor & Audiobook Narrator/Publisher

Audiobook publishers and producers look for and listen to a narrator's work on Audible.com.

Here's a tip about controlling the presentation of your work to ensure you make a good first impression.

THE TIP:
Share the link to your Audible titles sorted by Customer Rating, not the Audible default option of Relevance.

THE EXPLANATION:
I link to my Audible titles everywhere I can and include it in my email sig line. If I just send people to Audible, my titles will be shown in order of Relevance.

"Relevance" is actually showing the order of the books in terms of those most recently purchased. When you sort by Relevance, the first book that shows up is the current hottest seller.

In my case, my hottest seller these days is one that is associated with a permafree ebook. It's one of my earliest audiobooks. It's not my best-rated book, and it has the most negative (both in numbers and vitriol) listener comments of all of my books.

In short, this book is not a true reflection of my current skills or listener enjoyment. Why would I want prospects to click on it first and perhaps form the wrong impression of me?

Instead, if I change the sort to Customer Rating, my highest rated books will show up first. My hottest seller will change. My new releases will change. Even my ratings will change.

However, linked this way, I know that people will always see my best-rated books FIRST.
------------------------
ABOUT KAREN

Karen Commins is a voice actor based in Atlanta specializing in narrations, e-learning modules and audiobooks. With over two decades of experience as an information technology professional, she is a subject matter expert in performing technical scripts about computer-related topics. She records in a soundproof studio and writes A VOICE Above The Crowd, an insightful and entertaining blog about working and marketing oneself in the voice over profession.

Web & Blog: www.KarenCommins.com
Email: Karen@KarenCommins.com

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Comments (6)
Jon Eric Preston
1/22/2018 at 2:56 AM
Thanks for the insightful tip Karen! Much appreciated!

Respectfully,
Jon Eric Preston
Clay
4/13/2015 at 4:47 PM
May be confusing as to where one should go (ACX doesn't make it any easier, and they want us to market our own recordings!)

Try

https://mobile.audible.com/search.htm?type=search&narrator=Firstname+Lastname&cache=1%20title=

and substitute Firstname and Lastname (initial caps)
Karen Commins
4/10/2015 at 1:34 PM
Hi, Darla! Thanks for the good question. Use the steps below to implement the tip in this article.

1) Go to Audible.com and enter your name in the Search box.

2) When the search results show up, click in the "Sort by" pull-down menu shown under your name and the number of results.

3) Choose one of the 6 options for display:
-- Relevance (My Relevance and Bestselling sorts usually show the same list.)
-- Release Date
-- Best Selling
-- Title
-- Length
-- Customer Rating (I choose this option.)

4) When you change the sort criterion, the URL for the page also changes to reflect the option you chose.

5) Copy the new URL for the page and use it whenever you want to send people to look at your Audible titles.

Thanks again for the question, and best wishes for your continued success!

Cordially,
Karen Commins
Darla Middlebrook
4/9/2015 at 10:50 AM
Sounds like a good idea, but I am not sure HOW I would change that setting. Can you explain that a bit more, please?
Karen Commins
4/7/2015 at 8:52 PM
Greetings, Howard! Thanks for the comment. Since all of the samples on Audible have the same quality, I don't worry about them.

More importantly, it's highly unlikely that I would be hired only on the basis of my Audible samples. Any new project would probably require a custom audition and multiple approvals.

I see Audible more as a good place to start a conversation with prospects. A publisher or producer can quickly and easily verify my work history and gauge listeners' opinions of my audiobooks.

Some people choose to sort by "Best-selling". My "Best-selling" and "Relevance" sorts usually show the same list. The point is to sort your titles in the way that you feel best showcases your work.

Thanks again for the comment, and best wishes for your continued success!

Cordially,
Karen Commins
Howard Ellison
4/7/2015 at 9:28 AM
What helpful info, thank you. I do have a presentational concern: the sample thumbnails on Audible can sound truly dreadful. Does a mere narrator have any comeback on that?
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