Hello, BFFs (that’s BookFunnel Fans)!
If you’re new here to BookFunnel, welcome. If you’ve been here before, welcome back.
We’re always working hard here at BookFunnel HQ to improve the lives of our authors. What can we build that will help authors sell more books? What do our authors need? How do we make sure we’re going to be where our authors need us in the future? Skating where the puck is going to be, as the saying goes.
But, no matter what we do, we never rush things. Our whole team takes great care to make sure that, when BookFunnel puts something out into the world, it’s the best it can be. For our authors and readers alike.
Which sometimes means things take a little longer than we expect. Especially when those things come with a lot of unknowns. Like, say, delivering audiobooks when all you’ve ever delivered is ebooks. If you didn’t already know, we launched BookFunnel audiobook delivery back in November of 2020, and here it’s the summer of 2024.
We laughed when we launched audiobook delivery that at least we’d be able to say we weren’t in beta as long as Gmail, and we’re happy to say that we did it! Gmail was in beta for five years! Take that, Google!
We’re finally ready to take the beta wraps off of audiobooks! With Damon leading the way, the BookFunnel engineering team has been working hard to know the previously unknowable and ensure a solid backend and frontend experience for audiobook delivery. So, after a few years (but not five!) of beta testing, getting feedback from beta users (readers and authors alike), and improvements, BookFunnel is officially launching our audiobook add-ons with new pricing plans.
The Plans
For author plans we have two audiobook pricing options when billing begins on August 20th, 2024:
- 5,000 Delivered Hours of Audio (DHA) per month for $15/month or $150/year (
$15$10/month for Early Audio Adopter authors or$150$100/year). Going over simply charges you an additional monthly fee of $15. - Unlimited DHA per month for $25/month or $250/year (
$25$20/month or$250$200/year for Early Audio Adopters)
For publishers, it’s even simpler:
- 20,000 Delivered Hours of Audio per month for $50/month or $500/year
- Each additional 20,000 DHA block is the same price, $50/month
The early adopter rate is available only until August 19th, and we’re making the early adopter rate a lifetime discount for as long as you keep your audiobook plan. Choose a plan any time between now and August 19th, and you can keep that early adopter rate forever. No matter when you choose your plan, be it today or on the last day of the offer, we won’t start charging for audiobook plans until August 20th.
If you’re not already signed up, head over to our pricing page to get started. If you’re already using BookFunnel, select Change Plan in your Account page on the Dashboard.
Questions
How are Delivered Hours of Audio metered? Audiobooks are metered by the minute. So, if you have two 30 minute books, then that’s only 1 hour of delivered audio. You’ll start seeing this on your Dashboard in the next 4-6 weeks. You’ll also receive an alert when you get near your limit.
What happens if I’m in the beta now? If you are currently in the audiobook beta but do not select an audiobooks plan by August 19th, your account will lose the ability to deliver audiobooks, and your subscription price will remain what it is today.
What happens to audiobooks delivered during the beta? Any audiobooks already delivered to readers will be accessible forever. Even if you choose not to pick one of the new audiobook plans, all delivered audiobooks will remain in your readers’ libraries.
Wait, I thought Audiobooks were included already? During the beta period, the Audiobook Delivery feature was free, but it was always intended to be a paid add-on once we were ready. Authors who signed up for the beta had to confirm that we would not charge for the beta, but would eventually. We’ve been serving audiobooks at our expense the whole time. Now that we can officially launch, we’re keeping the rate for early audio adopters as low as possible and are giving 2 more months free before we start.
I’m currently in the audiobooks beta but don’t want to continue. How do I downgrade so that I’m not charged? You don’t need to do anything! Since the new audiobook plans are opt-in, if you don’t choose a plan you won’t be charged, your audiobook delivery will simply stop working on August 20th, and your audiobooks will disappear from your BookFunnel dashboard.
I’m on an annual plan. Do I need to use the annual option for audiobooks? Yes. The way our billing works is that you have one subscription, either annual or monthly. If you want to switch to a monthly plan, it’s best to wait until your renewal date and switch then.
Okay, will you prorate the audiobooks add-on? Yup, absolutely. If your renewal date is more than 30 days from August 20th, 2024, then you will be charged the prorated rate between then and your renewal date. If, instead, your renewal date is within 30 days of August 20th, then it will be moved to August 20th and you will get a small credit on your account for any remaining time on your current subscription.
What’s a DHA? Delivered Hours of Audio (DHA) get counted when an audiobook is added to a reader’s BookFunnel library and is based on the regular speed of your audiobook. Readers can then listen to the audiobook on various devices, as many times as they like (or even download it if you allow that). These actions do not count against the DHA – only the initial claim and delivery. For example, you have a 7-hour audiobook and you sell it directly on your web site. 10 readers purchase the audiobook and claim it for their BookFunnel libraries. That’s 10 readers X 7 hours = 70 DHA. All 10 of those readers listen on their smartphone and half of them also listen on their laptop. One even downloads the audio files because you allowed downloads. That’s still only 70 DHA. You’re only ever charged for the initial hours delivered.
Can I give away audiobooks? Yes! You can deliver audiobooks to your “beta listeners” or ARC teams (Advance Listener Copy?), making it an invaluable tool for gathering feedback and reviews before an official launch. BookFunnel acts the same way if your sell your audiobook or give it away, so these do still count as DHA.
I use BookFunnel’s Short Audio feature. Is that impacted? No, Short Audio files are not impacted at all. You can continue to use Short Audio as you have been without any additional charge.
Looking Ahead
We have a lot more features coming for audiobooks in the future. Audiobooks continue to be one of the largest growth sectors for authors, and we’re so excited to be a part of that. BookFunnel is already the go-to service for authors who want to sell audiobooks directly to their audience or deliver crowdfunding rewards, and it’s only going to get better from here!
Stay tuned for more audiobook updates from BookFunnel later this year!
