Download Lesson 4 - Paid Advertising

Lesson 4: Paid Advertising
Let's talk…Paid Advertising!
This is one of my all-time favorite marketing methods, because this is the way I see the
biggest spike in sales. It also works well with my introverted personality. :)
Paid book advertising can take several different forms.
Targeted email distribution: Some of the most popular are websites with large email
distribution lists. You pay a fee to have your book sent to readers who have signed up
to receive notification of books within the category you list.
By far the most successful email marketing site is Bookbub.com. They accept a very
small number of books submitted for their daily email blast, and the pricing isn't cheap.
But don't let these factors discourage you! A Bookbub feature almost always earns at
least three or four times the cost of the submission. Almost all books featured in a
Bookbub email are rocketed to the top of the bestseller list in their Amazon genre
category, which makes your books visible to even more buyers. From there, if you've
done a good job with the prerequisites (cover, description, and reviews/craft), sales will
usually taper to a higher consistent level than before the ad.
Ereadernewstoday.com is another site that does well, although not quite as well as BB.
Most people see returns of at least double or triple their ad investment when using ENT.
There are hundreds (possibly thousands) of other sites that offer this same targeted
email marketing. Make sure you vet a potential advertiser before spending money on
them. Look at the number of subscribers (especially email, not just Facebook or Twitter
followers) compared to the price they charge. I am attaching a list of sites I've either
used or considered using (there are only so many hours in a day and so many dollars in
my checkbook!). Please know I'm not endorsing these specific sites, but I don't feel like
any of them are scams. They are just a starting place if you'd like to test the email
distribution list waters.
Also keep in mind, some sites do better with specific genres than others.
Pay-per-click ads: This concept has been around for a while, and Google AdWords is
probably the most well-known venue. Basically, you create an ad and attach keywords
to the ad. When a user types one of your keywords in a search field, your ad competes
in a bidding war with other ads that have the same keyword. The ads that are the
highest bidder(s) are shown to the user, but you are only charged your bidded price if
the user clicks on your ad. Basically, you only pay if they click.
So far, I've tried ppc campaigns on Goodreads, Amazon, and Google AdWords.
Amazon is nice because it shows you how many actual book sales were generated from
clicks on your ad. My ratio on Amazon was approximately 1000 impressions (meaning
my ad was shown 1000 times) to one click. That's fairly close to the industry standard,
I've been told.
My results for my Goodreads ppc campaign has been thousands and thousands of
impressions, but very few clicks. That tells me either my ad is not very attractive, or my
keywords aren't hitting my target reader. I need to work on that one!
I tend to have a much higher success rate on clicks per impression with AdWords, so I
occasionally run a new AdWords campaign.
Sidebar advertising: You see these all the time, on Amazon, popular blogs and
websites—they're everyone online! Seek out websites where your target readers spend
time online. Most sidebars are purchased for a month, although some sell for a week at
a time. Most have opportunities for either horizontal or vertical ads. You supply the ad
graphic. The ad should usually be different dimensions than a typical meme, and often
(but doesn't have to be) something your original cover designer would create. Some
sights only want your book cover art. However you produce the sidebar ad, make sure it
looks professional and stirs emotion in your target reader!
Facebook Advertising: They offer several different options, from paying to boost one
of your Facebook posts, to ad campaigns similar to pay-per-click campaigns that show
in either the newsfeed or right sidebar.
No matter what type of paid or unpaid advertising you choose, I would encourage you to
keep detailed notes of which advertising sources you used (including deal type or
package name), how much you spent, dates ad ran, and what your sales increase was
(or Amazon ranking increase if you don't have access to real-time sales data).
Also, compare notes with other authors on which sites have been successful in your
specific genre. I'm part of a Christian Indie Authors Facebook group (I'm sure many of
you are, as well!) where we're always sharing results from advertising venues. This kind
of personal feedback is tremendously helpful!
Homework time! Because this class is all about developing the strategy that's right for
you, begin to play with some of the paid and unpaid advertising methods I've shared.
Perhaps you'd like to create a quick meme and post to a few Facebook groups. Or
maybe you prefer to choose an email distribution site you're comfortable with and
submit for your book to be featured. Choose one or several, but get started! :)
Blessings!
Misty M. Beller