Audiobook Marketing Strategies: Insights from the ACX Author Summit

On May 20, we held the ACX Author Summit, bringing together audiobook authors to explore ACX and Audible's latest product innovations, new features, and discovery strategies. We're sharing the key learnings from our sessions on how these updates can help grow your audiobook business. In our marketing-focused panel, three bestselling authors shared their distinct approaches to brand building and audiobook promotion—from advertising-heavy strategies that minimize social media to personality-driven content that thrives on platforms like TikTok and Instagram—proven techniques that can help you expand your reach, increase discoverability, and drive sustainable sales growth in the competitive audiobook marketplace.

Three Approaches to Building Your Author Brand

The Social Media Minimalist: L.T. Ryan's Advertising-First Strategy

Thriller author L.T. Ryan proves you don't need to be a social media star to sell books. "I do not like social media. I really don't have the time for social media," he shared. "Despite this, I still sell a lot of books." His approach focuses on strategic advertising rather than organic social media:

• Heavy investment in Amazon advertising - Both display and Amazon Ads to get his name where readers shop for books

• Brand awareness over immediate sales - "Not always just to get a sale" but to ensure recognition at airports and bookstores

• Genre-specific strategy - Targeting thriller readers who still have "a massive traditional reading audience"

The Relatable Approach: Amy Daws' Personality-Driven Marketing

Romance author Amy Daws keeps her marketing "relatable and real," bringing readers along on her journey. "If I don't have makeup on, I don't care. I'm just trying to bring the readers or listeners along on the journey with me." Her strategies include:

• Behind-the-scenes content showing the authentic author life

• Platform-specific approach

  • TikTok for “cold audiences” (people who don't know her yet - always including book name, narrator names, and narration style). TikTok's algorithm excels at helping new people discover content on their "For You" page, making it ideal for educational content that introduces her books to potential new readers.

  • Instagram for “warm audiences” (existing fans who already follow her work). On Instagram, where content is more likely to be seen by existing followers, she can be more casual and personal, sharing behind-the-scenes moments and assuming viewers already know her books.

• Explainer content about the audiobook experience to help print readers try audio formats

• "Magic moments" marketing - "As authors, a lot of what we do is like a magic moment... We have to look at all these little things we do every day and see the magic in it"

The Brand Building Strategy: Creating Memorable Elements

New York Times bestselling author Mariana Zapata demonstrates how to create memorable brand elements that help readers remember you in a crowded market. How to develop your three key brand pillars:

• Choose a distinctive writing approach - Identify what makes your storytelling unique, like Zapata's slow burn romance specialty. She's leveraged this so effectively that "it's the name of my group, I have it on t-shirts."

• Incorporate a personal connection point - Select something authentic that creates conversations with readers. As Zapata notes, "Half of my readers come to me and want to talk to me about their dog, their cat" because she's made Great Danes part of her brand identity.

• Maintain visual consistency - Choose a signature color or visual element that appears across all platforms. Zapata's purple color scheme (from her former purple hair to her tablecloth at events) creates instant recognition.

"Pick three things that people can remember you by," Zapata advises. "There's so many of us, especially in the romance genre... just find little ways of having people remember you." Action step: Identify your three potential brand pillars by listing: 1) What's distinctive about your writing style or stories, 2) A personal interest that could connect with readers, and 3) A visual element you can consistently incorporate across your marketing materials.

Audiobook-Specific Marketing Strategies

Narrator Partnerships That Drive Results

Both Amy and Mariana emphasize the importance of treating narrators as marketing partners. Amy's approach:

• YouTube Lives with narrators doing duet narration on the spot

• Fun videos for narrator reveals

• Educational content explaining duet narration to convert readers to listeners

Mariana's approach:

• Co-hosting release day events with narrators to leverage both audiences

• Creating behind-the-scenes content showing the recording process

• Featuring narrator interviews in her newsletter to introduce listeners to the voices behind her stories

The investment reality: While duet narration is expensive, both authors confirm readers now expect it. "As soon as I announce a book, there's the title, the cover, and then someone will literally be like, who are the narrators?" Amy explains. Mariana adds, "When I partner with my narrators on marketing, we both win. Their followers discover my books, and my readers learn about other projects they've narrated."

Cross-Format Promotion

Whisper Sync opportunities: Amy reminds authors promoting ebook sales to mention the Whisper Sync discount: "People that maybe downloaded the book for free... this is maybe an affordable way to try [audio], especially because those people maybe don't have a subscription yet to Audible."

Staying Relevant in a Changing Industry

Adaptability Over Consistency

L.T. Ryan's philosophy: "The most important thing in this business is flexibility and adaptability... I've adjusted my advertising strategy seven times over the last decade." He emphasizes focusing on one platform initially: "Focus on one specific place where you can really grow that audience, grow that brand, bring people in, and then use your success from that to learn or hire out someone else."

Merchandise as Brand Extension

Mariana's merchandise philosophy focuses on creating connection: "It's just a very human thing to find joy in something and kind of want to cling to it... wearing your favorite shirt makes you feel good because it reminds you of something that you're passionate about." Her most successful items are subtle references only book readers would understand, making fans "feel like you're part of a club."

Building for the Long Term

Mariana's surprise release strategy: Following an unconventional approach of releasing books without extended marketing campaigns, inspired by the music industry. "Sometimes I'll go... a good book will take me eight months to write. And my last one took me two and a half years. So... as soon as I'm done with it, I just want to put it out there." Amy's consistency advice: "Keep talking about audio, keep reminding people you have audio, keep thinking of new ways to showcase your audio." L.T. Ryan's reset approach: Taking strategic breaks to optimize systems - "I took a year off" which led to developing better operations with "a company... employees... a lot of co-writers." Strategic delegation models: Mariana works with family members ("Most of the people who work for me are my family members"), while Amy uses selective outsourcing for graphics and Mariana outsources TikTok ("I'm just like, that's for you guys"). Sustainable practices philosophy: Amy emphasized reader loyalty despite inconsistent schedules: "Take care of yourself and your mental health and your family above work sometimes because that's how you fill your cup to feel inspired to write." Mariana agreed: "This is like the only life that we get to live. So it... took me a very long time to be able to find people that I could trust to delegate work to."

Key Takeaways for Your Audiobook Marketing

• Always mention audio: Consistently promote your audiobook version and narrators when marketing your books

• Think beyond immediate sales: Build brand recognition and memorable elements for long-term success

• Partner with your narrators: Treat them as collaborators in your marketing efforts

• Focus on emotional moments: Whether in content or marketing, emotion drives engagement on social platforms

• Stay flexible: Be willing to adapt your strategy as platforms and reader behaviors change

• Build sustainable systems: Create support structures that allow for creative renewal and long-term success

The audiobook market continues to grow, and these strategies from successful authors prove there are multiple paths to building a thriving audiobook business. The key is finding the approach that aligns with your strengths and consistently executing it while remaining flexible enough to adapt as the industry evolves.

For more learnings from the first ACX Author Summit, check out our recap of the panel on writing and producing immersive audio here.