Well write a good book. Then get good reviews. Then push and push push. I don't know if this helps at all but advertising is tricky.

 

Thanks. I guess I should clarify. I'm not asking about marketing in general. I'm asking about paying for ads specifically (services like bookbub). For example, do you have a strategy when paying for ads? When you purchase ads, do you discount the book or not? Do you purchase a bunch of ads at once or do you rotate through different services? What services have yielded significant results? Which one's didn't bring back any return.

 

I think you're asking for someone to hand you the key to unlock fame and fortune. 

No such thing. If you research through the various threads on this forum you will find that what works for some does not work for others. Sometimes it's related to genre, or to to price, or timing, or how many books you have out, or the size of your existing mailing list, or your relationship with / access to bloggers, or your budget, or your available time, or how you combine your efforts. Prices are all over the place.

I really don't think there is a simple answer to your question. Like all of us, you'll have to figure out what works best for you, and that takes time and money.

 

Here are some threads I bookmarked:

Mailchimp - http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,165780.0.html

Strategy - http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,124433.0.html

Kindle Select - http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,178337.0.html

Getting Reviews - http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,179081.0.html

Bookbub (no link, but that seems to be the sweet spot for a lot of people)

I haven't read some of these threads in a while, but hopefully they'll have some info that'll help you!

 

My advertising method is Facebook, but that is only because my target audience tends to also be fans of Anne Rice and she has an amazing following on Facebook. I always have at least one Facebook ad running in the newsfeed and I've been impressed with the results considering my low budget.  I don't think it's for everyone because not all genres have an active Facebook following.  For my next release, I'm wanting to try some Twitter ads.

 

Well, I don't know how to market stand-alones. So, if you can create a series or two, you might have a chance. The formula that I use for my series is pretty simple - permafree + sporadic promotions. The best ones I have tried were BookBub (of course) and Freebooksy. You combine the permafree, with the promotions on the permafree, and you add in Mailchimp and linking your permafree with your other books in your series through your call to action in the back of your book, and you might get some traction.

But for standalone novels? That's a toughy, I admit.

 

My advertising can be expressed in a two sentences: Get every Bookbub ad that I can. Supplement with a Kindle Books & Tips ad and Ereader News Today ad if possible in the same week.

If anyone knows of a better strategy (although I'm not sure that's worth the word), I haven't heard about it.

 

1) Write a great book, preferably the first in a series. Get at least one other person to read it and tell you either it's great or what's wrong so you can fix it. Preferably get five or six beta readers to do this. Get someone whose grammar and punctuation skills are good to proofread it. Fix the errors.

2) Format the book correctly. I recommend the Smashwords Style Guide, but look up formatting threads on KBoards and you will get 100 different opinions. Just get it formatted correctly.

3) Write a book description that makes potential readers want to read the book. Do not write a summary of the book. Write a teaser that gets them interested.

4) Figure out which genre your book is.

5) Figure out which keywords a reader interested in books such as yours would likely enter in a search engine. Look up Amazon categories in your book's genre to find out which keywords you need to enter in order to get in the sub-categories that will best showcase your book.

6) Get a book cover that tells potential readers which genre your book is and what the mood of the book is, and makes the book intriguing. Get this professionally done ($50 - $500) or buy a professional's pre-made cover ($25-$100).

7) Set up a website that houses a way for readers to sign up for your mailing list. This can be a free blog that readers subscribe to or a fancy pro website with a fancy mailing list. Look up mailing list here on KBoards for 100 different ways to do this.

Put back matter in your book(s) that includes a link to your mailing list sign-up and encourages readers to sign up for new book release alerts. You can also include Facebook, Twitter, your email address, your Goodreads profile, and any other way readers can communicate with you. But for sure have a mailing list sign-up link in the back matter of your book.

9) Now get it proofread and formatted. Sorry, jumped the gun on that earlier.

10) Publish to Kindle Direct Publishing, Kobo Writing Life, iTunes, Google Play (but read tk's Google Play thread before you publish there), and Smashwords to distribute to Nook Press so you can go permafree there. You can publish at a price other than permafree to see if your cover etc will float you. If it sells, great!

10)a If your book does not sell right out the gate (and most books do not), I would make it free right away in order to start getting people on your mailing list. If this is you, then as soon as your book is permafree, hit up some of the free sites in step 14, one each day maybe, while you complete steps 11-13. Look up how to go permafree here on KBoards if you need to.

11) Get at least 25 good reviews on your first book. If your reviews are not good, then repeat step 1. The more the better. Once you start advertising, you will get drive-by one-star reviews and they really hurt your review average unless you have at least 25 good reviews. This varies by genre. In thrillers and romance you should probably have 50. There are many threads on KBoards on how to do this. You can do this and step 12 at the same time, but they both must be done before you lay out any money in step 14, for best results.

12) Repeat steps 1-11 with at least one sequel before you advertise. This is so that your readers have something to move on to once they finish reading your one book. All the rest of this is marketing, too. It may not seem like it is, but it is. That is what I have learned in my two years here on KBoards. Marketing is everything you do to get your book into the hands of readers. Tell your mailing list each time you publish a sequel.

13) Make the first book free if you haven't already. Or plan on 99 cent sales. Free works much better.

14) Advertise. The best places to do this vary. Bookbub is king right now, followed by Kindle Books and Tips, Booksends, Freebooksy, Ereader News Today, and Pixel of Ink. Advertising sites wax and wane, though. Keep your eye on this board to keep on top of which sites are doing well. Here is a list of 100 sites to try.
http://www.andrew-butcher.com/100-websites-for-kdp-select-free-days---submit-your-ebook.html

 

1) Write a great book, preferably the first in a series. Get at least one other person to read it and tell you either it's great or what's wrong so you can fix it. Preferably get five or six beta readers to do this. Get someone whose grammar and punctuation skills are good to proofread it. Fix the errors.

2) Format the book correctly. I recommend the Smashwords Style Guide, but look up formatting threads on KBoards and you will get 100 different opinions. Just get it formatted correctly.

3) Write a book description that makes potential readers want to read the book. Do not write a summary of the book. Write a teaser that gets them interested.

4) Figure out which genre your book is.

5) Figure out which keywords a reader interested in books such as yours would likely enter in a search engine. Look up Amazon categories in your book's genre to find out which keywords you need to enter in order to get in the sub-categories that will best showcase your book.

6) Get a book cover that tells potential readers which genre your book is and what the mood of the book is, and makes the book intriguing. Get this professionally done ($50 - $500) or buy a professional's pre-made cover ($25-$100).

7) Set up a website that houses a way for readers to sign up for your mailing list. This can be a free blog that readers subscribe to or a fancy pro website with a fancy mailing list. Look up mailing list here on KBoards for 100 different ways to do this.

Put back matter in your book(s) that includes a link to your mailing list sign-up and encourages readers to sign up for new book release alerts. You can also include Facebook, Twitter, your email address, your Goodreads profile, and any other way readers can communicate with you. But for sure have a mailing list sign-up link in the back matter of your book.

9) Now get it proofread and formatted. Sorry, jumped the gun on that earlier.

10) Publish to Kindle Direct Publishing, Kobo Writing Life, iTunes, Google Play (but read tk's Google Play thread before you publish there), and Smashwords to distribute to Nook Press so you can go permafree there. You can publish at a price other than permafree to see if your cover etc will float you. If it sells, great!

10)a If your book does not sell right out the gate (and most books do not), I would make it free right away in order to start getting people on your mailing list. If this is you, then as soon as your book is permafree, hit up some of the free sites in step 14, one each day maybe, while you complete steps 11-13. Look up how to go permafree here on KBoards if you need to.

11) Get at least 25 good reviews on your first book. If your reviews are not good, then repeat step 1. The more the better. Once you start advertising, you will get drive-by one-star reviews and they really hurt your review average unless you have at least 25 good reviews. This varies by genre. In thrillers and romance you should probably have 50. There are many threads on KBoards on how to do this. You can do this and step 12 at the same time, but they both must be done before you lay out any money in step 14, for best results.

12) Repeat steps 1-11 with at least one sequel before you advertise. This is so that your readers have something to move on to once they finish reading your one book. All the rest of this is marketing, too. It may not seem like it is, but it is. That is what I have learned in my two years here on KBoards. Marketing is everything you do to get your book into the hands of readers. Tell your mailing list each time you publish a sequel.

13) Make the first book free if you haven't already. Or plan on 99 cent sales. Free works much better.

14) Advertise. The best places to do this vary. Bookbub is king right now, followed by Kindle Books and Tips, Booksends, Freebooksy, Ereader News Today, and Pixel of Ink. Advertising sites wax and wane, though. Keep your eye on this board to keep on top of which sites are doing well. Here is a list of 100 sites to try.
http://www.andrew-butcher.com/100-websites-for-kdp-select-free-days---submit-your-ebook.html

Great list, but it's missing one thing that can drive sales and free borrows and that is to pay attention to your catagory list as they are what will give you visibility on various genre lists during promos and beyond if your cat rank sticks. Most of the catagories your book is given at upload are created automatically from your BISAC CODE and keywords by Amazon and most are hidden. They only give you five or six, with only two or three showing on your sales page, but you are allowed 10. Basically you could be missing out of getting seen on 4 to 5 genre sub-cat lists that could apply to your content, some of which could get you a high ranking.

Note: Keywords as you say are important for discovery in searches, but not all translate to catagories by Amazon. Keywords meta data plays a lessor part to searches against your title, subtitle, and author name on Amazon than they do on say browser sites such as google who make full use of the meta data keywords for searches.

If you search the internet, there are sites where if you enter the ASIN, it will list all your catagories listed for your book. You can do this on any author book so you can get ideas from other authors. Took me 10 years to find this out. Simply copy and paste the ones you want in a contact email from your dashboard and they will add them providing they consider them apt for your story.

 

1) Write a great book, preferably the first in a series. Get at least one other person to read it and tell you either it's great or what's wrong so you can fix it. Preferably get five or six beta readers to do this. Get someone whose grammar and punctuation skills are good to proofread it. Fix the errors.

2) Format the book correctly. I recommend the Smashwords Style Guide, but look up formatting threads on KBoards and you will get 100 different opinions. Just get it formatted correctly.

3) Write a book description that makes potential readers want to read the book. Do not write a summary of the book. Write a teaser that gets them interested.

4) Figure out which genre your book is.

5) Figure out which keywords a reader interested in books such as yours would likely enter in a search engine. Look up Amazon categories in your book's genre to find out which keywords you need to enter in order to get in the sub-categories that will best showcase your book.

6) Get a book cover that tells potential readers which genre your book is and what the mood of the book is, and makes the book intriguing. Get this professionally done ($50 - $500) or buy a professional's pre-made cover ($25-$100).

7) Set up a website that houses a way for readers to sign up for your mailing list. This can be a free blog that readers subscribe to or a fancy pro website with a fancy mailing list. Look up mailing list here on KBoards for 100 different ways to do this.

Put back matter in your book(s) that includes a link to your mailing list sign-up and encourages readers to sign up for new book release alerts. You can also include Facebook, Twitter, your email address, your Goodreads profile, and any other way readers can communicate with you. But for sure have a mailing list sign-up link in the back matter of your book.

9) Now get it proofread and formatted. Sorry, jumped the gun on that earlier.

10) Publish to Kindle Direct Publishing, Kobo Writing Life, iTunes, Google Play (but read tk's Google Play thread before you publish there), and Smashwords to distribute to Nook Press so you can go permafree there. You can publish at a price other than permafree to see if your cover etc will float you. If it sells, great!

10)a If your book does not sell right out the gate (and most books do not), I would make it free right away in order to start getting people on your mailing list. If this is you, then as soon as your book is permafree, hit up some of the free sites in step 14, one each day maybe, while you complete steps 11-13. Look up how to go permafree here on KBoards if you need to.

11) Get at least 25 good reviews on your first book. If your reviews are not good, then repeat step 1. The more the better. Once you start advertising, you will get drive-by one-star reviews and they really hurt your review average unless you have at least 25 good reviews. This varies by genre. In thrillers and romance you should probably have 50. There are many threads on KBoards on how to do this. You can do this and step 12 at the same time, but they both must be done before you lay out any money in step 14, for best results.

12) Repeat steps 1-11 with at least one sequel before you advertise. This is so that your readers have something to move on to once they finish reading your one book. All the rest of this is marketing, too. It may not seem like it is, but it is. That is what I have learned in my two years here on KBoards. Marketing is everything you do to get your book into the hands of readers. Tell your mailing list each time you publish a sequel.

13) Make the first book free if you haven't already. Or plan on 99 cent sales. Free works much better.

14) Advertise. The best places to do this vary. Bookbub is king right now, followed by Kindle Books and Tips, Booksends, Freebooksy, Ereader News Today, and Pixel of Ink. Advertising sites wax and wane, though. Keep your eye on this board to keep on top of which sites are doing well. Here is a list of 100 sites to try.
http://www.andrew-butcher.com/100-websites-for-kdp-select-free-days---submit-your-ebook.html

This should be written in pure gold ink. Do it for best chances.

 

11) Get at least 25 good reviews on your first book. If your reviews are not good, then repeat step 1. The more the better. Once you start advertising, you will get drive-by one-star reviews and they really hurt your review average unless you have at least 25 good reviews. This varies by genre. In thrillers and romance you should probably have 50. There are many threads on KBoards on how to do this. You can do this and step 12 at the same time, but they both must be done before you lay out any money in step 14, for best results.

12) Repeat steps 1-11 with at least one sequel before you advertise. This is so that your readers have something to move on to once they finish reading your one book. All the rest of this is marketing, too. It may not seem like it is, but it is. That is what I have learned in my two years here on KBoards. Marketing is everything you do to get your book into the hands of readers. Tell your mailing list each time you publish a sequel.

This is a great list....but I don't think you need quite so many reviews before running ads....just based on my experience, every situation is different. I write romance and my approach was to advertise the first book the minute I got the minimum amount of reviews, which was in the 5-10 range. Romance readers are voracious and if you have a great cover, they'll snap it up when you do a .99 promo. My other book is a mystery/thriller and I did the same thing, as soon as I had the reviews, I ran some ads. All the ones listed. One reason to advertise sooner, rather than later is to build awareness for your brand, and use the .99 promos to get on the first few pages of your top 100 genre lists which gives you good visibility. When your second book is coming out makes a difference too. If it's within a month or two, it may be more effective to hold off on ads, and then run them on the first book when you release the second so both books will benefit.

 

@Cherise Kelley
Right on the money with your list! That's all the crucial highlights. Everything else is merely a bonus. Might I add a few little details as well?

1) Turn that generic website into a service site, for example a free book review blog, to attract more traffic.
2) Run your promotions in campaigns rather than one-off events. Each timed to hit a week or so after the last. Just as the bounce is fading.
3) Become a data junky. Whenever possible, use affiliate/tracking links with your promo pitches. Keep careful track of how much time you spend marketing and to where. Combined with the conversion rate you learn from the links, you'll find out what's working and what's not in a hurry. Never stop conducting After Action Reviews and feeding those Lessons Learned back into your operation.

 

Thanks, Pamela, Pete and Cherise! I'm just getting started planning advertising and this is very helpful.

 

Bookbub and My Romance Reads were very effective for me - massive boost in sales that lasted several days. I've advertised several other places where I saw absolutely no boost in sales or ranking whatsoever.  And note - Bookbub and My Romance Reads won't help you as a brand new author or with a brand new book.  You need to already have a lot of positive book reviews in place before they will promote your book.

 

bookmarking!

 

If you're going to use advertising, you're going to have to spend money to find out what works for you.  Set aside a budget for it.  Don't expect results from it. (Consider it to be gambling money.)

For instance: I used to try the advertising venues touted as "high-results" here, but I found that they did not work for me at all.  I mean zero, zip, nada.  However, I found a few venues on Project Wonderful that would sell a steady trickle of a particular one of my books.  But only that book.

Given that the big ebook advertisers don't work for me (and therefore what I do may not work for you), I found that the best advertising for me was ultimately a combo.  I advertised my blog, and I blogged steadily with my audience in mind.  That was a very high labor method, but I had higher sales overall when I did it.  (I just had no time to write new books.)

However, that again really depends on experimenting with different strategies and venues.  One of my best sites for advertising my blog stopped offering ads since, and I have no idea if it would work this year like it did a few years ago.

Camille

 

Just to add to the opinion that what works for some, doesn't work for others:

I get more of a sales boost from releasing a next installment in a series than I ever have from any paid ads.  There's really no one-size-fits-all.

 

Great list, Cherise!

 

Bookbub and My Romance Reads were very effective for me - massive boost in sales that lasted several days. I've advertised several other places where I saw absolutely no boost in sales or ranking whatsoever. And note - Bookbub and My Romance Reads won't help you as a brand new author or with a brand new book. You need to already have a lot of positive book reviews in place before they will promote your book.

Thanks for that! Never head of "My Romance Reads," but am checking it out now and will advertise there when Broken becomes permafree. Thanks again for that recommendation!

 

My pleasure.  The only other thing that works for me is sending out an announcement to my newsletter group - but that only works now that I have about 3000 subscribers to my newsletter.

Basically, what worked for me was everything I did BEFORE I released my books (which are under a pen name): studied all the genres to see what was selling well, picked the genre that I thought I could write well in, spent a long time perfecting my craft and reading bestsellers in my genre, spent a long time studying story structure, studied the blurbs of successful books so I could write good blurbs...

Even with advertising on Bookbub and My Romance Reads - that gave me an amazing boost for a few days.  It didn't make or break me. I do it because it exposes me to new readers, and hopefully some of them will come back and buy more books, but it wasn't what made me a success in the first place.

 

In addition to building a mailing list, doing some free giveaways will help you generate customer reviews. And you don't have to spend a lot of money on this There are a lot of websites that, if they have room, will promote your freebie at no charge, or for a very nominal fee.

 

You're welcome, everyone who liked my list. That basically sums up what I've learned here these past two years. Great additions, too, everyone! I love this place. 

 

BTW one thing I'm planning on doing in future isn't an advertising thing, but it is a kind of marketing:

I'm planning to do the reverse of common wisdom on pricing.  Price the backlist at regular price, and discount the new release.  At least discount it for a period of time.  This rewards your most loyal readers -- because they know about your book as soon as it comes out, so they'll buy in that earliest window (especially if you have a mailing list).

(When I have a bunch more books in any one of my series, I might also discount the first.)

Camille

 

Very solid. And I can personally vouch that #11 will happen, and you'll be shaking your head when it does, so you'd best be ready for it. I let "Beacon (Part I)" organically acquire good reviews on its own before I ever started really pushing the series.

I think the end goal should be this: build a cohort of loyal readers. Once you have that in place, they'll start doing most of your advertising for you, and it'll be the most effective form: personal recommendation.

I'm nobody right now, but my goal is growing my reader base, and I'm cool losing money now while I lay that foundation.

 

I've never been able to get a Bookbub, so that option is sadly removed from me. I have found a mailing list has really improved things. It isn't huge, or even big, or even "medium sized." It's quite small, but it slowly grows with each book I put out. Also, with each book, it means I make a few more sales that I didn't make before. It's not magical pixie dust and it's not stunning or anything, but it's small, steady, and easy - and it does help.

 

Well... People of course, often fight over numbers and money. I was at one point not long ago asked to colab with a low-level CIA operative (Demi Bom) who made it to the top seller on Amazon, and she got stuck in Venice during the very first major lock-down there (was a technical consultant to Tom Cruise's latest 'MI' shoot which also got postponed). ...But yeah, I have info and 'data maps' from er, er, er 'unnamed resources' so if there is anyone who wants to NOT fight over things, but can also write VERY creative short notes 'with desirably a futuristic vision' or 'spin' let's say, AND be moderately co-operative without asking dumb questions all the time that are frankly, quite pretentious but claim to be 'skeptical' but are really, just argumentative without honest bases (there are a lot of 'voices' like this around), then, for sure, I'd be happy to discuss and maybe extend some key details. I won't be giving away too many details about who I am. That should be a given.