Recap: Lunch & Learn with Lee Hooyboer / Libro.fm

October 15, 2026

Posted By: Nicki Leone in Events and Networking,

The final Lunch & Learn session of 2026 was a deep dive into the services and opportunities provided by Libro.fm, the indie bookstore-forward audiobook platform. The presentation was led by Lee Hooyboer, Libro.fm's senior manager of bookseller partnerships, and someone whose own long career as a bookseller was still so forward in their mind that they admitted they often still use "we" to mean booksellers rather than their colleagues at Libro.fm. Hooyboer gave a rundown of the tools and resources the platform provides booksellers to market audiobooks, punctuated by some real-world examples of how bookstores have used them to generate revenue without adding to their operating or inventory costs.

Some of the main takeaways:

Ensure that a customer in your store can tell you sell audiobooks. Use store signage, displays, and/or a listening station.
Get your whole staff involved. Get them signed up on Libro.fm and creating their own "playlists." Booksellers handsell the books they have read. Libro's extensive "Advance Listening Copy" offers provide them with access to books they might not get as review copies, extending their knowledge of store inventory.

Hooyboer noted that according to Libro's own data, bookstores with $500 or more in revenue growth all do one or both of these things, emphasizing that the audiobook market is a growing sector of the book industry, and the main hurdle is not a lack of demand, but a lack of awareness.

Other topics covered include:

Templates and QR code generators for in-store signage and social media graphics
Upgrades to the Libro.fm "Bookstore Hub" designed to better integrate audiobook purchases with the store's own website
Materials for marketing business-to-business accounts, allowing bookstores to become the audiobook supplier of local organizations
A holiday gifting toolkit to promote gifting audiobooks during the fourth quarter.

Download the slide deck with links to all the resources mentioned.

Hooyboer also gave a sneak peek into Libro.fm's upcoming expansion into the ebook market, which will integrate ebooks into the Libro.fm listening app, allowing readers to sync their reading between audio and ebook formats. Bookstores can pre-order 2,500 free bookmarks customized with their own store brand and affiliate-linked QR codes for both audiobooks and ebooks. Orders must be placed by December 4.