Muse Feedback Please- Niche Service

[RBA]

First listened to Tim's book a few months after the Audiobook version came out. The idea for our muse came in a classic 'DUH!' moment, when we realized we were basically addicted to Audiobooks after really looking at how much money we were spending on them each month.

We've been visiting these boards for a few months while we worked on, and tweaked, our muse. Didn't see any point on posting anything until we had something of substance to show.

Now we're looking for additional feedback on our muse- a Niche Audiobook Rental Service for only Business & Investing Titles. We already have a few members and we've received good reviews, comments and referrals so far. But we wanted to get input from the 4HWW community. We appreciate you taking the time to look:

RentBusinessAudiobooks.com (http://www.rentbusinessaudiobooks.com)

Thank you in advance for your comments...


Have FUN!

RBA

[webgal]

So it's basically netflix with business audio books? Nice idea.

I think some sort of mailbox icon to make that point right away would be helpful.

I think your audience will be heavily weighted to business-minded people who are auditory in their primary modality. Not always but that would be a springboard to ideas you might have regarding your audience. To that end some audio clips would be a thought although it's a severely underdeveloped thought.

Define your target market and who they are and you could really get that landing page TALKING to your audience.

This is fine for now. But I think it could be more tailored to your audience.
Save Gas. Save Time. Save Money. Rent Business & Investing Audiobooks!

You also need to point out how others LISTEN to these. In the car on a business trip, on their computer while they work (auditory types can often work with background), on a walk or jog. Many may already do this but reinforcing that and adding new ideas gives your audience a reason to buy or buy a plan that includes more books. Inspire the "Oh yeah I never thought of that." Business travelers? If you see potential in other markets you can pinpont other advertising channels and do some advertising that caters to this audience.

Perhaps start by asking customers to tell you how they use audiobooks so you can share their ideas. That will help you isolate specific info about them.

If you get quotes and put them on your site, however, make sure you get written permission to use them (a release).

[froldt]

As a library-goer, I wonder why I would pay for something that I can get for free? I know that I'm not really your target audience, but that's something I thought of (especially as I'm sitting in the library right now).

Ahh... I see that you have a response to this question (and the Rent vs. Buy question). They're tucked away at the bottom of the page. This might be considered one of your main selling points. If you think so, stick it at the top, somewhere easily noticed.

[lovinglife]

Great idea. I would suggest a change in your rent vs. borrow section. It is true that you have to drive to pick and a return items to a library and they usually have a limited selection - and you should definately stress that as it can be a pain. But just about every library now has a website that you can search, place holds and renew items from the comfort of your home/office so that part is no longer true unless you have a library that is still in the "dark ages" - even the small town that's about 20 minutes out in the country from here and has a population of 1,500 has an on-line library catalog (though they probably don't have more than 1,500 books - lol).

[froldt]

But just about every library now has a website that you can search, place holds and renew items from the comfort of your home/office so that part is no longer true unless you have a library that is still in the "dark ages" - even the small town that's about 20 minutes out in the country from here and has a population of 1,500 has an on-line library catalog (though they probably don't have more than 1,500 books - lol).

I'm from one of those small towns and we have the ability to download ebooks. The selection isn't just great, but it's growing, and you don't have to go anywhere to access it!

[RBA]

webgal & froldt:

Thank you both for the feedback!

webgal- The mailbox icon & audio clips are both good ideas. We have added the mailbox pic and updated the main phrase so there is no question on this.

The audio clip idea is something we're already working on- most publishers have started to offer these. They are fairly easy to get when you are SELLING new audiobooks, but not so easy to get the rights to when you are RENTING them.

We also like the idea of getting ideas where people listen to the audiobooks! We'll have to send out a survey question about that...


froldt- We appreciate the suggestion about putting the Rent vs Buy and Rent vs Other Options closer to the top- we debated this one. After your post and additional discussions- we added links closer to the top of the main page.

I do have an additional question for you froldt- How is the selection of Business/Investing Audiobooks at the library you frequent? Here in the DFW area (Texas)- even the larger, well-financed, libraries have poor selections. Most of the posts, articles and other library information available online suggest the same in most parts of the US.


Thanks again for the feedback.


Have FUN!

RBA

[RBA]

lovinglife:

Thank you for your observation.

We have revised the the Rent vs Borrow section to include the online options of some libraries. Although a little more convenient- we found one with this option- and (not a big surprise) patrons still have to request extensions online by a certain date to avoid late fees.

Good point. Thanks again.



Have FUN!

RBA

[dking]

One question I have is how you work your way around the fact that many distributions of audio books are explicitly not meant for resale; because of this it is illegal to do so. How are you doing this and keeping yourself legal?

[webgal]

By the way, our library system has a pretty lame selection. And even with the library right down the street, I'll rent movies over the internet. Although we just go through comcast now.

[RBA]

One question I have is how you work your way around the fact that many distributions of audio books are explicitly not meant for resale; because of this it is illegal to do so. How are you doing this and keeping yourself legal?


Good question dking! This was the one area where we spent the most time (and legal fees) researching and understanding the law.

To answer the first part of your question- we are not reselling the audiobooks. We are renting/lending them. You do not keep them forever. We mail the original CD's to you. By being a member of our service, and agreeing to the RBA Terms of Service, you have agreed to not make any illegal digital or CD copies of the works. When you finish listening to them- you mail them back to us.

Some publishers (such as Brilliance Audio) require purchase of "library" versions of their audiobooks only for rental purposes. And although those versions are a bit more expensive upfront- they are unabridged versions (which most people prefer anyway).

However, The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has deemed audiobooks based on literary works to fall under "Copyright's First Sale Doctrine" in regard to rental services. We can't rent the latest rock CD's (although according to the most recent court decisions- that may soon change too)- but as of right now- audiobook rentals are legal. So as long as we have proof we legally purchased the original audiobooks from an authorized reseller or directly from the publisher- because they agreed to sell it to us in the first place- we are within our rights under the law to rent or lend those recordings as we see fit under the First-Sale Doctrine.

For a more detailed explanation- visit the Stanford Law School website discussion about that case (http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/packets/200703/record-rental-exception-to-first-sale-doctrine-only-applies-to-musical).

We, and our legal counsel, continue to watch these cases closely. If, in the future, a court reverses these First-Sale Doctrine decisions, we will take the necessary steps.

We were wondering who would bring this up first...


Have FUN!

RBA

[AntonTheKhan]

I personally think your idea is great. Given that there is a huge market for business oriented self-help, etc. If you have tested this properly and are already having members it will probably only grow.
Perfect example of taking two ideas and putting them together. My only question is this. Dson't you think that it is still fairly expensive to rent an audio book for $12 a month. I think some of the prices might still be a little too steep, but Im not that familiar with the market. I read your copy and see how much I can save but then I still don't own any of the stuff.
Just some food for thought. Maybe you want to experiment with different price points.
Good luck.

First listened to Tim's book a few months after the Audiobook version came out. The idea for our muse came in a classic 'DUH!' moment, when we realized we were basically addicted to Audiobooks after really looking at how much money we were spending on them each month.

We've been visiting these boards for a few months while we worked on, and tweaked, our muse. Didn't see any point on posting anything until we had something of substance to show.

Now we're looking for additional feedback on our muse- a Niche Audiobook Rental Service for only Business & Investing Titles. We already have a few members and we've received good reviews, comments and referrals so far. But we wanted to get input from the 4HWW community. We appreciate you taking the time to look:

RentBusinessAudiobooks.com (http://www.rentbusinessaudiobooks.com)

Thank you in advance for your comments...


Have FUN!

RBA

[lovinglife]

Dson't you think that it is still fairly expensive to rent an audio book for $12 a month.

I did a quick search on "rent audio books" and the prices seem to be right in line, actually cheaper than other sites (I didn't read all the details). The main difference is that the other sites are not business book specific and have a far larger selection of books in general. But, if RBA is able to maintain competitive rates and offer great service, I don't see why they couldn't be successful. I suspect that their site probably has a larger business selection than the other sites since that is their focus which is what their "edge" would be.

[badhank]

I think your audience will be heavily weighted to business-minded people who are auditory in their primary modality.

Have you implemented any similar NLP type suggestions? I would have to say that i love audio books due to convenience not modality. You will find very very few ppl to be a true auditory modality, and the vast majority to be (primarily) visual (with the kinesthetic trimmings).

[webgal]

People who are auditory as their primary modality rarely admit it. And yes, they are often blended. But I'm talking about PRIMARY modality which means the first one they'd naturally default to.

However, there is the convenience factor and it is important. Every one listens to something in the car. Sell the benefit of driving to work and improving your business skills at the same time so it's not wasted time.