An idea for you all: Create Audiobooks to make some passive income?

[Winston]

Hey guys. I got a good idea for u if u wanna make a little money or side income. I thought of it after listening to some radio archive collections that i downloaded.

1. Pick one or two topics that u know a lot about and are passionate about.

2. Record a lecture series about it on your phone audio recording app or laptop or tape recorder. Divide it into chapters with interesting titles that arouse curiosity or sound useful. Use click bait sounding terms if u can. Record many audio files about it, each with a subtitle, so it looks like an audiobook. Try to cover a lot of topics and common questions and make it comprehensive.

3. Save all the audio files as mp3 files and zip them all up into a zip file or rar file using 7z software (which is free) or windows if it does that.

4. Upload the zip file to your server or to a file hosting service. Put your audiobook or lecture series up on amazon.com audiobooks or use affiliate programs like ejunkie or affiliate commission or on your blog or website.

5. Put a PayPal button on the webpage or blog so that people can pay a fee to download it. Unless your very famous u cant charge a lot. So I'd charge something like 5 or 10 dollars to download it. Something small that people wont mind paying.

Use the .99 marketing trick too. Everyone uses it so it must work. They say its well documented that $9.99 works better than $10 for some reason and always gets more sales. So list it as $4.99 or $9.99.

If u are on amazon or affiliate junction or ejunkie, they will have their own payment button system that allows users to pay and download instantly. So u may not need PayPal if u use those platforms.

6. This isnt going to make u a lot of money of course. But it may create a little residual side income or passive income for you if u appeal to at least a niche market, if its not mainstream.

If u wanna charge more u can try to increase the price but unless you are famous you probably wont get many sales if u charge too much. So i would stick with between 5 and 10 dollars.

Sometimes psychological tricks work too. Like if u charge $7.77 people associate it with a jackpot so it looks more enticing to them. Lol

If u can also put up an into video or promo video on the webpage introducing the audiobook or lecture series. Ask some leading questions in the promo video to entice curiosity and interest.

One more thing. I find that when recording an audio talk, it works best when i go out to a nice scenic place like a lake or park where i can clear my mind and think clearly and deeply and gather my thoughts. Don't do it in a noisy area full of distractions. Or if u feel relaxed in your bedroom then do it there as long as its quiet. But personally i find it easier to think and talk when in front of a lake or park or quiet open landscape. Like when i made that YouTube video "5 reasons to go overseas" while sitting in my car in front of a quiet lake in Arizona, for example. Thats my tip.

Anyway, hope this idea inspires some of you if u got free time to kill during the lockdown. This will allow u to do something constructive and create some content to share with the world that allows u to share your knowledge and wisdom and experience while making a little money on the side too. Of course u gotta pick a topic that u know a lot about of course and feel passionate about too.

What do u guys think? Is it a good idea?

Another thing. On the sales page where u put a promo video for your audiobook, also include a table of contents showing the title of each audio chapter of your audiobook or series. Make the titles sound catchy and interesting so that they will arouse curiosity. Including open ended questions in the titles too, which a person may want to ask. Etc. So the person can see the whole list of chapters and promo video on the sales page. Make the titles interesting so people will want to download it and pay the small fee.

One more thing. The advantage of selling an audiobook rather than an ebook is that many people are too lazy to read a whole book or stare at a screen for hours to read an ebook. Its also bad for your eyes to stare at a screen for hours and results in blurry vision. Many would rather listen to an audiobook in the background while driving or working or doing chores. So audiobooks sell better to many people. Also of course its much easier to create an audio file than a video file which requires a lot more work and takes up a lot more digital space as well.

Also, no offense to anyone out there, but unless you are good looking and visually appealing, a looker in other words, i dont see the point of making videos of yourself (unless you are famous and have many fans already). People usually only want to watch videos of people who are good looking or very charismatic. Thats why to be in movies u usually have to be good looking and have on screen charisma and be able to express feelings and emotions well with your eyes and micro facial expressions.

So if you're not very attractive theres no point in making videos of yourself. Unless of course you are famous and have a lot of fans already. But if youre new and unknown and not especially good looking, then you might as well show informative slides and captions and images while narrating it with your voice. Your voice and speech is something u can train and hone to speak well and clearly and project enthusiasm. Its a lot more controllable than your looks.

Either way its easier to make audio files. Plus u dont have to worry about ur looks and clothes and appearance when u make audio files or audio books. Its a lot more simple and trouble-free overall.

Also of course a lot of people are very private and dont want their face online but they dont mind their voice. For example most people i take photos of will tell me not to put their pictures online. And some of my expat friends like rock dont want their face online but dont mind having their voice online in an interview.