On this week’s show, return guest Michael Cooper (author of HELP! My Facebook Ads Suck under his name and more than fifty novels in his science-fiction Aeon 14 universe as MD Cooper) gave us a lot of great information on what’s working and what’s not right now when it comes to ads for books. He first joined us on Episode 147 where we extensively covered Facebook ads. This time, Michael branched out and gave us information on Amazon ads, Bookbub ads, YouTube ads, and Pinterest ads, as well as updating us on Facebook stuff.
Here are some of the specifics that we covered:
How Michael started taking on collaboration partners to help him tell all the stories he wants to tell in his universe (and put out books more frequently).
Some of the challenges of collaboration and writing multiple series that jump around in a timeline while sharing the same universe.
Why Michael has a lot of his stuff in KU but made one series available in all of the stores.
The idea that there’s no “algorithm” on Amazon and that our fate as authors shouldn’t live and die based on whether Amazon decides to promote our stuff.
Using BookTrackR to monitor sales, rankings, reviews, etc. across all the major store sites.
When running Amazon ads, targeting authors (as keywords) who aren’t in KU to potentially attract readers who pay more for books.
Dealing with “peak author” and saturation of the ebook market going forward.
Learning to be more creative about marketing as there are more and more books out there for the same number of readers to choose from.
Advertising in print genre magazines.
Gauging sell-through for a series and determining how much you can afford to spend on advertising.
Doing Facebook video ads for cheaper clicks than regular ads.
Video Hive as a place where you can buy stock footage to use in video ads.
Using Etsy to ship paperbacks and other swag (they’ll generate shipping labels to help make it easier).
Making an art book of your covers.
How to get into advertising on Pinterest and if the ads are useful for science fiction and fantasy authors.
Choosing the right tagline for your ads and book description pages.
How Michael uses his KDP Select free days and countdown deals.
This week, we’re joined by fantasy and science fiction author Nicholas Erik, who also writes and experiments under the pen name D.N. Erikson. He’s an analytical guy who’s always observing what’s working and what’s not, both for his own work and for others. Before we jump into the details of the show, here are links to his site where he’s got some great foundational material up:
Now, here are some of the details we discussed in the show:
Reasons for launching a pen name and whether it should be secret or not.
Trying a new series and new genre when you’re not getting the results you hoped for from your first effort.
Nick’s “trifecta of indie success” — marketing, craft, and productivity.
Tips for increasing productivity and getting more novels written.
Linking writing with a certain time of day (i.e. when you get home from work or when you first get up in the morning), so it’s easier to turn it into a daily habit. Here’s a guest post Nick wrote with more details on the habit linking: https://thewritepractice.com/daily-routines
Timed writing sprints to help get the words down.
Why so many people’s marketing efforts end up failing, because the craft wasn’t there and readers didn’t continue past Book 1.
Whether you should wait to start marketing until you’ve finished your first novel or start “building a platform” while you’re still working on it.
Some of the basics of setting up a mailing list and where to find cross-promotional opportunities to start gaining subscribers.
Using Prolific Works (formerly InstaFreebie) to find promo opportunities and give away free stories for sign-ups.
Another give-away site he’s found useful is Ryan Zee’s Book Sweeps (this was down at the time of recording, but we’re including the link in the hope that it’s up again soon).
If there’s a number to aim for when it comes to acquiring email subscribers.
Whether you should have multiple lists if you write in different genres and/or under different pen names.
Whether there’s truth to Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 true fans” essay — is that all you need to become a full time author, and what’s a true fan, anyway?
If promo sites are still worth it in this age of Facebook/Amazon/Bookbub PPC ads.
Nick’s big list of promo sites and his rankings for how effective they are (updated a couple of months ago): http://nicholaserik.com/promo-sites/
Some of the fundamentals of advertising and at what point it has the potential to become profitable (it’s tough these days to even break even on a stand-alone book), assuming you do enough things right.
Debating the ideal length of a series.
The advertising advantage people in Kindle Unlimited have, from KU reads even on free books to making things appealing through Countdown Deals. (Nick mentions that there’s a lot more information on using the Kindle Countdown Deals effectively in David Guaghran’s free book, Amazon Decoded, which is a bonus when you sign up for his newsletter (sign up over at his site: https://davidgaughran.com/).
Some of Nick’s tips when it comes to Facebook ads.
This week, humorous science fiction author James R. Tramontana joined the guys on the show. He’s podcasting his Ace Tucker Space Trucker novels, and we asked him all about how he’s gaining fans that way, people who go on to buy the books.
Here are some of the specifics from the show:
What’s involved with podcasting your novel or podcasting original audio fiction (and why you might want to).
Getting set-up (equipment and software) for recording and editing.
Adding music, sound effects, etc. and creating more of a production than a simple narration of a book.
The challenges of selling niche stuff like humorous science fiction.
How James uses social media, conventions, and other methods to get the word out about his podcast.
The challenges of being found when you upload fiction podcasts, since the searches aren’t always great when you’re not using typical keywords.
Going for a comic-book vibe with humorous fiction.
Monetizing your fiction when you’re doing something more than just the written word.
Why James likes “sitcom length” podcast episodes of less than 30 minutes.
Jo and Lindsay recorded early this week, since Lindsay is off to the 20Booksto50K conference (inspired by Michael Anderle, as Lindsay said in the show, but put together by Craig Martelle, which Lindsay should have said!). While Jeff was busy packing up his house to make his move to Phoenix permanent, Jo and Lindsay offered some tips on how to do well if you choose to go exclusive with Amazon to enroll in Kindle Unlimited. They also answered some great listener questions related to the topic.
Here’s what we discussed, swiped straight from Lindsay’s notes (they aren’t too tidy; you should definitely listen to the show!):
Is KDP Select/Kindle Unlimited right for you?
Personal considerations (supporting Amazon and possibly hurting other retailers, bowing to their demands for exclusivity, having all your eggs in one basket) + can you do better exclusive and in KU than wide = your unique answer!
Lindsay’s strategy and why?
Staying wide with the back catalogue and launching new series into KU, then eventually moving them out when sales/borrows slow down. How this has resulted in a nice boost in income for her without having to have all of her eggs in one basket.
Launch strategies –
Rapid release and advantages – momentum, less reader attrition, possibly more visibility, something in the hot new releases every month, possible to get the All-star bonuses by focusing your efforts into a couple of months.
Slow and steady – maybe releasing two-four books a year on a regular schedule – we’ve had people who have kept things rolling with promos and sales and just consistently releasing new books. KU can still be useful if you’re able to keep your books selling… these folks often invest more time and money into advertising to keep from falling off the face of the planet
Pricing considerations –
99 cents vs. full price – More non-KU people may pick up a 99-center, which helps with rankings, but at that price you’re making less on a novel if people buy instead of borrow.
$4-$5 – People get away with this and are more likely to get a book to stick in KU because of the borrows buoying things up. BUT if your book isn’t to market or really going to appeal to a lot of people, this can make you sink more quickly than a 99-cent Book 1.
Launching with your 5 free days – I haven’t tried this but I’ve heard from several people now who had some good momentum by trying this right out of the gate.
Remember, if you’re doing a series, it’s about what you can earn over the course of the series, not just from one book.
Focusing on one genre and releasingfrequently or at least consistently –
This is an area where I fail a bit, and I would struggle more if I wasn’t fairly prolific. It’s also why I’ve started focusing on one series to completion – drop three quickly and then one more a month or as close as possible. This gives you some of the “sticking to one genre” advantage even if you fully plan to write in another genre next year.
Writing to a hungrymarket –
Look in the Top 100s you’re interested (Chris Fox style) and see what’s selling. What sells steadily year in and year out? What’s come on strong in the past year? Think less about trends and more why is something working – because trad publishing isn’t fulfilling a demand? There’s a possible market.
When examining potential niches, also consider looking at the Amazon AUS/CA store, etc. to get a feel for what’s selling without AMS ads, since that can really obfuscate things – you have no idea how much the publisher of that perennial bestseller is paying to stay in their Top 100.
Can niche stuff work?
Depends on the niche – is there a hungry market that isn’t being served by trad pub or is it just kind of out there? Something that’s only going to appeal to a small audience like a steampunk fantasy lesbian romance? KU isn’t going to be great for something that a large portion of people just won’t pick up because they’re not into X thing. This is the kind of case where I like going wide with a series because you can do a permafree book 1 and reach a global market (sometimes things that are hangups in one country are less of a big deal in others!), so you just have much more potential to find the people who DO want X.
However, if there’s a hungry market, it can do super well in KU even if it’s niche. You need it to be niche in a way that it’s not off-putting to the majority of readers. That’s when KU is useful. “Well, I’m not sure LitRPG is my thing, or even what it is exactly, but huh, it’s about gamers, and I gamed as a kid… enh, let’s try it.” That’s where KU is ideal because the readers can check out the books for free with their subscription, so they might pick up things they wouldn’t have bought because they’re a little outside their wheelhouse.
Making more money from page reads
Everyone wants this, but Amazon is watching for people gaming the system, so be careful not to do anything wonky with formatting or bonus material. Be safe with that stuff so you won’t be penalized, because you don’t want your attempt to earn a couple hundred extra month to suddenly result in you earning nothing.
Probably okay to add the first chapter of the next book (less than 10% bonus material) and a Q&A or afterword, something the reader will genuinely want to read. But remember the litmus test: ask yourself if you would be adding this bonus material if this book weren’t in KU.
Legitimate ways (craft stuff):
Write a page turner!
Write a sprawling epic (it still has to turn pages).
Teaser/cliffhanger endings to get them to move on to the next book.
Listener Questions:
Dale: I’m currently wide, but I’m considering KU for my next series. So, my question: What are some approaches/tactics etc for succeeding in KU when you are *not* rapid releasing?
Greg: (1) Is there a “sweet spot” for how many books to have in a series before profits/page reads start falling off? (2) Better to offer a “standalone” freebie or a more “sequel-lite” novella for funnel, list-building, etc.?
MJ: Would you lean more towards FB or AMS ads if you wanted to focus on drivin up page reads and brand building?
Tara: Pricing strategies, especially for romance, especially for books that can be read as a stand-alone. I don’t like pricing at 99c, but it seems to be the popular way to rank well.
Tara: Oh, any insight into sweet spots for word count, though I do understand that it varies by genre.
Jammie: Thoughts on current “glitches” reflecting zero or low page reads and instances of book disappearance. Seems some (usually successful) authors launch to silence or messed up promos. How do you handle Amazon’s glitches and recover from a bad launch as a result? Wait it out?
Jammie: Watching fb groups and feeling skittish as a newcomer. Investing in marketing and promos with Amazon sort of feels like playing the stock market.
Vale: If you’re exclusive to KU on a pen name but want to release a reader magnet standalone novel set in the same world as the main series, would you make it 99 cents and exclusive for the page reads or go the wide route for just that book to get Amazon to price match it to permafree?
Jon: Since KU subscribers can’t preorder, what’s a good way to get KU subscribers interested pre-launch?
Beth: How do you determine that a series has run its course for page reads and should be removed from KU to go wide?