Analyzing the Ad Performance of AI-Generated Art
By: Ginger | Posted on October 25, 2024
As authors, we’re often balancing our creative principles with the need to embrace new technologies that might boost book sales. That’s why, after recently expressing his dislike of AI-generated art in book ads, Ginger decided to run a small experiment to see how effective these ads truly are. By comparing ads using AI-generated artwork with a similar set featuring traditional art, he was able to draw some surprising conclusions. While this sample size is small and not meant to prove anything definitively, the results could be useful for any authors still debating whether to stick with traditional imagery or explore the AI route in their marketing efforts. A couple of weeks ago, I published a rant about how much I loathed seeing ads for eBooks in my Facebook feed that used AI-generated artwork, and it seems from the responses that many of you agreed with me! However, the debate raised… Read More >
Grow Your Author Platform Organically on Facebook in 2024
By: Ginger | Posted on August 30, 2024
While newer social platforms like TikTok often steal the spotlight, Facebook remains the king of the hill when it comes to author engagement and audience connection. With its unique ability to foster deep, meaningful interactions and its unparalleled reach, Facebook is still a critical tool in an author’s marketing arsenal. But how can you make this platform work for you, especially when organic growth feels like an uphill battle? In today’s blog, Ginger offers actionable strategies to transform your Facebook presence from a stagnant page into a thriving community of engaged readers. Plus, he shares a treasure trove of relevant hashtags to use in your posts, helping you draw in future fans, not just the ones who have already discovered you. So read on for a quick guide on how to use your Author Page to supercharge your social game. Recently, I was asked why most of the articles I… Read More >
From the Mailbox: Direct Sales Success
By: Ginger | Posted on August 2, 2024
Once in a while, a topic discussed on the blog generates more questions than usual and sharing the answers with the community would be more beneficial than simply replying directly to the author. Ginger’s recent Direct Sales series is one such example of this, where the interest in the topic has been high and some of the questions being asked are shared by many. Skipping the big online book retailers to sell directly to readers is a beefy topic, but one that is becoming more popular these days. Still, direct sales success is by no means a given, even if you can navigate your way through the complexity of the initial setup. There are other factors that go into whether it is right for you, and the questions Ginger is answering today reflect some of those concerns. I recently completed a series of blog posts outlining my experiences with direct… Read More >
Breaking Free: Why Direct Sales Might Be For You – Part Four
By: Ginger | Posted on July 26, 2024
This month we’ve been discussing the Direct Sales model of book selling, as many authors look at alternatives to the downsides that come with using the big online retailers. As we’ve mentioned, selling direct isn’t for everyone, but there is a lot of potential for those that can make it work and are willing to put in the effort at getting it all running. Ginger has been our guide throughout this journey, and in today’s blog he is wrapping up this series by sharing and analyzing the results he’s seen after his first month of experimentation. Not only does he provide some raw numbers, but he also notes a surprising result and discusses whether or not he is going to continue forward with the Direct Sales model in the future. As this is the final installment of a four-part series, I would urge you to start at the beginning (if… Read More >
Breaking Free: Why Direct Sales Might Be For You – Part Three
By: Ginger | Posted on July 19, 2024
If there’s one thing that the big online eBook stores have going for them, is that they are relatively easy for authors to get started on. Entering product information is straightforward, and things like billing and content delivery are handled automatically. Yet, there are a host of downsides that make authors hungry for alternatives, which is why Ginger has put together this series on Direct Sales. Today in part three, Ginger goes into detail about what exactly authors are giving up, and taking on, when making the decision to switch to the direct sales model – and it can be significant. Authors that want to follow this path must be prepared for a variety of technical tasks, added expenses, and a setup that can take weeks as opposed to the days or even hours that they’ve grown accustomed to. But for those that follow through, the reward at the end… Read More >
Breaking Free: Why Direct Sales Might Be For You – Part Two
By: Ginger | Posted on July 12, 2024
Last week, Ginger began a series on direct sales – the idea of selling a book directly to readers from your own website, instead of through one of the traditional online retailers. Today we continue this discussion with part two, where Ginger walks us through his personal reasons for wanting to give the direct sales route a try. Through disclosure of some of his actual historical sales numbers, he provides context that may help others decide if selling direct is right for them. These numbers will also be useful to compare against in the future, when he takes us through how well his direct sales experiment actually went. Last week, I started a series about how I’ve spent a month selling my books directly to readers on Facebook, rather than sending them to my product page on Amazon. The direct sales model isn’t for everyone though, so it will help… Read More >
Breaking Free: Why Direct Sales Might Be For You – Part One
By: Ginger | Posted on July 5, 2024
Welcome to the first part of Ginger’s ongoing series about direct sales. In this series, he’ll explore why self-published authors should consider selling books directly to readers, rather than relying solely on traditional online book platforms. As we’ve discussed before, authors face significant challenges in gaining visibility on sites dominated by advertising. Even when readers click on an ad, making an immediate purchase isn’t always straightforward, and the delay in receiving payment can be frustrating. Direct sales offer a way to bypass these obstacles, presenting an appealing alternative to traditional eBook stores. However, it’s not for everyone. Over the next few weeks, Ginger will guide us through the benefits of the direct sales model, his personal reasons for choosing this path, the steps involved in setting it up, and the actual results he has seen since starting. Back last year, Craig and I were excited to have Steve Pieper as… Read More >
Determining the value of Newsletter Promotion Sites
By: Michelle Hazen | Posted on June 14, 2024
I’ve worked with Michelle quite a bit over the last few months, and have come to realize that she’s one of the most organized author’s I’ve ever met. She keeps stats and spreadsheets on all of the marketing and advertising she does, which gives her invaluable insight into what is working and what isn’t. I recently asked whether she’d be willing to share some of this knowledge with our community, and she graciously agreed. After years of using a variety of newsletter promotion sites to market her novels, Michelle has come up with a simple metric to assess their price-to-subscriber value. In today’s guest blog, Michelle explains this metric and uses it to rank the value of close to 20 different newsletter promotion sites. Even if the list below is missing some of the newsletter sites you use, you can easily use her metric to rank them yourself and determine… Read More >
People DO still read during the “Summer Slump”
By: Ginger | Posted on May 24, 2024
As the summer sun heats up, the temptation to take a break and relax becomes irresistible. But while it’s commonly believed that book sales tend to dip during these warmer months, there’s a golden opportunity hidden within this “summer slump”, especially for self-published authors. It’s possible to turn this seasonal slowdown to your advantage, ensuring your books become the go-to reads for vacationers everywhere. From understanding the summer reading habits of your audience to crafting compelling marketing strategies that resonate with the season’s vibe, Ginger covers everything you need to know to boost your book sales during June, July, and August. So read on to discover new ways of making your book stand out in a less crowded market, and transform the next few months into a season of sales success! I don’t know about you, but my ideal vacation is pretty simple. I want to sit outside by the… Read More >
Using Facebook Ad Rules
By: Ginger | Posted on April 19, 2024
If you’ve ever wondered why some of your carefully crafted Facebook ads seem to rarely get shown, while others are capturing all the spotlight, you’re not alone. The ad giant’s algorithms are perplexing, and often leave authors both puzzled and frustrated as they struggle to promote their books. That’s why today, Ginger is diving into some of the reasons why not all of our ads are treated equally and what might be happening behind the scenes to cause this apparent imbalance. Fortunately, he’s also giving us some ideas on how to level the playing field. One of the most powerful tools to make strategic adjustments to your ads is Facebook ad Rules, but very few authors are even aware that these Rules exist, much less what they’re used for. Yet by tweaking them, you can transform the way you manage your campaigns, giving you greater control over which ads are… Read More >
