Learn about some of the countless ways available for you to market your book.
It seemed like it took forever for me to write my book, create a cover, format and number the pages, have the book copy edited, order an Amazon proof and approve it. When I was finally done, I realized I had just completed the easy part. Now I needed to figure out how I was going to get people to buy my book.
I have been told many times that unless I am famous or infamous, I most likely wouldn't get an agent to help me promote my book. I knew the odds were against me, so I watched YouTube #book marketing videos, told my friends, built a website, and passed out business cards. A few of my other methods are listed below. Along the way I may have picked up a few readers.
To further complicate the issue, it was important to me to find ways to advertise without spending a lot of money. I knew Amazon had a large network of readers and their startup costs were minimal. The downside was that I also knew that they promote 48.5 million books. Many were written by famous authors and celebrities. No doubt, I was out of my league and felt somewhat discouraged, but I refused to give up without trying.
I needed to figure out how people were going to find my book among the millions of other books Amazon has to offer. As a newbie, I was certain that the only way people were going to find it was if they knew the book title or my pen name. Then they could search for it. Without question, I needed to do a lot more research. I knew there must be a way!
Regardless of the known challenges, I decided to go the Amazon route. I followed the requirements posted on their publishing site and hit the send button. A few days later, my book was approved to go live. On Thanksgiving morning, 2017 I saw my book on the Amazon site for the first time. It was exhilarating. At that moment, I didn't care about much else. I want to take a little time to revel in the fact that I had made it that far. For me, it was truly a day to be thankful!
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POSTCARDS
I had 1,000 two-sided postcards printed. They looked great. The cost to mail them was expensive. Since I had already purchased them, I sent them out. I have no idea if any of the postcards generated a single sale. There is no way to track your sales with this method. This is one I won't try again.
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PAID REVIEWS
I paid for a professional book review. It wasn't cheap. Online Book Club gave my book four out of four stars. I still haven't figured out how to use it to promote my book or get it to generate sales. However, it made me proud, and I posted it on this site twice.
I got another paid book review. Honestly, I am convinced they never read my book. The information in the review did not correspond with my book in any way. I think they confused it with some other title. Obviously, it was a waste of money. Anyway, these options are costly. Until I figure out how to use paid reviews, I won't repeat this one again either.
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JOIN FACEBOOK GROUPS THAT ALLOW YOU TO POST YOUR BOOK FOR FREE!
Don't take advantage of these sites. Join in and be a part of their book group. Participate! They are trying to help authors promote their books. Help them when you can. I found a few at the time of this writing.
They are as follows:
CRAZY FOR BOOKS - https://www.facebook.com/groups/182637088529255/about/
FREE AUTHOR BOOK PROMOTION - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1952000205050970/
WRITER AND AUTHORS PROMOTIONS - https://www.facebook.com/groups/writersauthorspromo/about/
THE NEW WRITERS AND AUTHORS - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thenewwriters/
BOOKS GO SOCIAL READERS' GROUP - https://www.facebook.com/groups/booksgosocialreaders/about/
PROMOTE YOUR BOOK HERE - https://www.facebook.com/groups/688665924494877/
BOOK LOVERS - https://www.facebook.com/groups/Bookloves/
NEW WRITERS, NEW BOOKS - https://www.facebook.com/groups/189617114403577/
YA BOOK CLUB & BOOK TALK - https://www.facebook.com/groups/YABookClubandBookTalk/
AUTHOR, PUBLISHER, EDITOR, BOOK READERS - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1419400298292728/about/
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KINDLE DIRECT PUBLISHING CAMPAIGNS
I decided to try one of them. At the time, there are two categories and four options. The two categories included: Product Display Ads and Sponsored Products Ads.
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Product Display Ad-Targeted Interests
This was the first one I tried. It generated four sales in three months. It is not my favorite.
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Automatic Targeting-Sponsored Products
I tried the Automatic Targeting-Sponsored Products Ad using the suggested bids. Within a short period of time, I knew I was on to something. I sat impatiently and waited. Some of the keywords were profitable, some too expensive, and some never generated clicks or sales. With this information, I created a new campaign.
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Sponsored Product Ad and Creating Your Own Keywords
I set up a Sponsored Product Ad and created my own keywords. I liked this method best. I added the profitable keywords from my previous Automatic Targeting Campaign. With the help of the online Keyword Multiplier Tool, I added variations of the profitable keywords. Over time, I created a nice list of keywords.
Use caution when you use Amazon's suggested keywords and bids. Try their suggested keywords, but monitor them carefully. Reduce the suggested bid if you are losing money. Some of them cost me more money than I will ever disclose, because of embarrassment. Shut the keyword down if you see that the adjustments in your bids are not going to make it profitable.
Amazon's Maximum of 4,000 Keywords
It took three years for me to finally start making a profit. Unfortunately, over time, I archived 4,000 keywords. When my archived keywords reached 4,000 keywords, I was no longer able to add additional keywords. I had to start a new Sponsored Product Ad campaign.
Although I mirrored the successful campaign, the new campaign isn't profitable and starting over has cost me more money. My guess is it is an algorithm issue and will take time for the campaign to become profitable again.
I have not received a good answer as to why Amazon cut off a good campaign at 4,000 archived keywords. That was a lot of work and a lot of history that is of little value to me at this point. Sure, I printed a copy, but it's not the same as referencing it when entering a new keyword. It creates more work for me to look through numerous pages of printed keywords, to see if it had been used previously and what the results were. Their Customer Service has been challenging.
SUMMARY
Amazon charges my credit card, and I may never recover what I have spent. However, the benefit is that my book is getting reviews. Although making money was not my primary goal, I am hoping I will someday make a profit again. As you can tell by this post, I am a bit discouraged.
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UPDATE
I enjoy learning new things. Sure, this book has cost me money, but it taught me invaluable lessons that I expect will benefit me with my future writings. Hopefully, my next book will help me recover my losses on this one.
I spent four years of running ads, and trying every possible method I could find. I also spent much more trying to figure out what does and doesn't work. I have had many trials and errors, and there have been some hard lessons. However, I intend to use everything I think I know when my next book goes on sale:
My Charming Husband
Stay tuned for an estimated publishing date. I will provide a copy of the E-book to ten readers for free when I am ready to promote my book. The only thing I will ask of those readers is that they provide constructive criticism and make honest comments. Tell me what I need to do to make the book better.
Sign up on this site for "My Charming Husband" updates.
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SUMMARY:
It took me a lot of time to find profitable keywords. You need to monitor your ads carefully to make sure you don't end up broke or in debt. If you want exposure and reviews, Amazon can get that for you. If you are looking to make money, make sure you have realistic expectations.
Going the Self Published route and managing your own ads/promotions can be intimidating if you are just learning. Here is what I've learned, my trials and errors, so take from it what you will. Facebook: I decided to create a separate Author Account and Page as a means of connecting with other authors, readers, reviewers and promoting to them and their followers. If you are writing Fiction or Romance, you will have no problem finding a following. Nonfiction is a tougher nut to crack, so don't give up, you will find your tribe. Facebook Ads, I found to be user friendly and affordable. You have the option to "Target" your ad to those that have a similar interest. These ads will help t…