What I learned from Advertising

They say, "It takes money to make money." Well, that may be true for advertising. But how much money does it take to make it to USA Today's Best Seller list? I've read one man's story on how he made it, but I don't have thousands of dollars to spend to 'maybe' make it to the top. It's a big risk for anyone and very time consuming. However, there are perks that go with it.

After working on Amazon Ads and Facebook Ads, I realize that I'm not cut out for that kind of thinking. It's more analytical than creative and it stresses me out. It's like doing taxes. I'd rather let someone else do it that loves that kind of challenge.

So, here's what I did. I chose Amazon Ads for Amazon.com under the Marketing tab. Since I had already lowered the price of the bundle to 9.99 from 25.99 under the Kindle Countdown Deal, I went to the tab for Ad Format and chose Custom Text Ad. My bidding strategy was Dynamic Bids down. My campaign name was Angel Chronicles Bundle. The Ad Group was the same for Ad Format (Custom Text Ad). I added the product which was an image of the bundle.

Then I chose how much to pay for clicks (each time a customer clicks your ad, the bid amount is subtracted from the daily budget) The daily budget divided by the bid amount equals number of clicks per day. Then I selected the keywords to help the ad appear in search results. After that, I customized the text and selected automatic targeting. I think my total budget was $100 for a two-week period. I believe I spent $72 total. While I don't have the image of the results, I think it was over 5,000 impressions on Amazon and something like 1,000 impressions on Facebook and no sales. On Facebook, which seemed simple compared to Amazon, I spent over $50. Needless to say, it was a bust.

I took a course in the Amazon Ads where they said, if the custom text wasn't working, change the text. I had tried every book I had written up to that point with at least 4-6 different texts. I had a ton of clicks, but no sales. Then, the instructor suggested changing the covers of the books. Well, after spending $400 on a cover, that wasn't going to happen. My thinking is, they wouldn't have clicked on the ad if they didn't like the cover, right? So, now I have to re-think how my books are showing up on Amazon. That may be the key to all of this. Who knows? It's back to the drawing board in any case.

In the meantime, I will attend a few out of town conventions, vendor booths, and festivals. At least, that way, I get to meet people who love to read and introduce them to my books and my crafts. If you are into Sci-fi conventions, check out the http://MidSouthCon.org, going on March 22-24, in its 39th year. I'll be there with my books and some crafts. Hope to see you at the convention.