Audiobook Metadata 101: Why Book Metadata is So Important

   

It might not be as exciting as a book launch party or a press tour, but ensuring your audiobook is supported by well-crafted book metadata is one of the most important things you can do to get your audiobook discovered by new audiences and boost your audiobook sales. Whether you’re an author, a publisher, a producer, or a distributor, anyone involved in bringing an audiobook to market should learn how to effectively manage audiobook metadata to make their books more discoverable and give them a competitive edge. 

What is Book Metadata?

So, what is book metadata, actually? Simply put, it’s the information describing a book that readers use to find it and retailers use to sell it. It can include (but isn’t limited to) your book’s title, author, category, genre, keywords, description, reviews, and more. Audiobook metadata also helps distribution platforms to appropriately categorize your work so that potential new audiences can discover it. 

Book metadata can include many different fields, but the required metadata fields for submitting your audiobook to Author’s Republic are:  

• Audiobook title
• Author
• Narrator
• Language
• Genre
• Description
• Audiobook owner’s name
• Copyright information
• MSRP
• ISBNs

   

Tips for Writing Effective Audiobook Metadata

• Keywords: The best place to start with keywords is to put yourself in your readers’ shoes. What might they search for if they were looking for a book similar to yours? Be sure to include the book’s genre, time period, setting, main themes, and other distinguishing features.
     
  Need help thinking of keywords for your audiobook? Use this book keyword brainstorming exercise to help you come up with some ideas:
     
  
  

     

• Consistency is key: Make sure that your book metadata is exactly the same across all audiobook distribution platforms. A common author error is slightly changing the way their name appears (adding in a middle initial, for instance), or how the book’s title is formatted. 
• Additional details: Whenever possible, include details that will increase the sales potential of your audiobook. This can include well-known narrators, co-authors, or other contributors that will increase the discoverability potential for your book, or audience-specific criteria such as recommended grade-level that may help your book better reach its intended audience.
• Formatting: This one is easy. Because our partners require audiobook metadata be sent to them in different formats, authors can enter their book metadata into the Author’s Republic platform once, and our team will package it up with a pretty bow for them.

    

Metadata in Publishing: What NOT to Include

To make sure your audiobook metadata is as effective as it can be and does its job in increasing readership and sales, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Avoid entering your audiobook metadata in ALL CAPS. Title case or lower case for book metadata is just fine – no need to scream what your book is about.
• Don’t use time-sensitive language, such as latest, newest, or coming soon. Audiobook metadata should be as evergreen as possible.
• Don’t use HTML formatting. Keep your audiobook descriptions in simple, plain-text format to ensure consistency across all platforms. 
• Avoid overly complex language. The more straightforward and easy to understand your audiobook description is, the more effective your book metadata will be. 

   

Why Audiobook Metadata is So Important in Publishing

Metadata in publishing is crucial because it enhances discoverability, increases marketability, and boosts sales. Because readers search using key components of book metadata, including author name, genre, title, and more—ensuring that your audiobook metadata effectively utilizes those fields will help you rank better and be found more easily. Together with a well-crafted audiobook description (a key component of metadata), these essential audiobook metadata elements are critical in helping your work become the next bestseller.

Need help getting it right? Our Help Center walks you through how to set up your audiobook metadata within the Author’s Republic platform.