Word Witch Wednesday - the final ad's results

I'm throwing them right out there, so I can scream cry discuss my promoting experiment.

This final ad was with Bargain Booksy. It was my most expensive one at $70. I sold 7 books that day.

Here's what I learned from using book ads:

- They are unlikely to have a great affect on sales unless you're offering your book for free. There is so much free content out there right now, and good free content, readers won't even consider dropping 99c for an author new to them.

- They may have a decent affect on sales if you're offering a novel for over 75% off its normal price. This won't attract any attention if it's a short work. Novels do sell better.

- Ads work best for books that are part of a series. If readers pick up something and they like it, they will want more.

From my experience, I can conclude:
a) Readers who might enjoy my books don't read ads, or don't subscribe to those venues I had ads with.
b) The indie publishing world is going through a major slump.
c) My cover and/or blurb aren't strong enough to draw readers in.
OR
d) I suck.

Some days, I just want to quit. I'm not a marketing-minded person. I'm a writer. That's all I want to do! But authors have several hats they must wear these days, and it's depressing at times.

Don't worry. I won't give up. I'll keep on trying new things, and maybe one day, I'll find out what works for me. (What I think would really work is if Joss Whedon made my books into a TV series!)

Have you tried anything new with promotions recently?

Word Witch Wednesday - the second ad's results

As you know, I've been trying a few new things with marketing my books. Two weeks ago, I ran an ad for a sale on my urban fantasy novel, Of Blood and Sorrow. It didn't go as well as I'd hoped, but I did learn from it. (Still no new reviews for the book.)

Yesterday, an ad for my newest release, Dark Dawning (Totem #1) ran in The Fussy Librarian. This was a nicely economical choice. I put the book in both the urban fantasy and paranormal romance genres for $22. The Fussy Librarian was quick in responding, efficient in setting it up, and sent an email making sure the info was correct two days beforehand.

But I didn't make my money back. In fact, this ad fell far short of expectations. The book is only available on Amazon. I had 2 sales yesterday.

This book is part of a series, so that wasn't the problem. I'm starting to come to the conclusion that ads probably only work if you're putting your book free for a limited time or you're already famous.

My final ad will be in Bargain Booksy on Monday. This is the most expensive one, and it is also the release date of the second book in the Totem series. Fingers crossed!

Another new marketing venture I've been trying is newsletter swaps. What this means is that I promote an author's book in my newsletter and they promote mine in theirs. I haven't noticed any effect on sales or newsletter subscribers from previous swaps until the one I did on Monday for the MegaSale. I got a couple of sales from it, but I got over 100 new subscribers to my newsletter.

Did it help that the sale was accompanied by a giveaway with a prize of a $100 Amazon gift card? I can guarantee you it did.

When someone subscribes to my newsletter, I offer up a free ebook (The 13th Floor Complete Collection) as a thank you. I would say only 10% actually responded and took the book. They were excited to get a new read, and every one of them were polite about it. I'm hoping that if readers like The 13th Floor series, they're going to love Totem.

Do you sign up for newsletters just to get an entry in giveaways? Do you take free ebooks when they're offered to you?

Word Witch Wednesday - the first ad's results

I ventured into the world of book ads recently. My first one came out last week for my Of Blood and Sorrow sale. The novel is usually $2.99, and I put it on sale for 99c. It's highly rated. It has a professionally done cover. And it has vampires.

The sale was five days (12th-16th). I bought an ad with Ereader News Today (ENT) which went out on the 13th. Here's the link to that day's books. It was in the Paranormal section on the site. It cost $35.

I shouted out about the sale on all my social media, and some wonderful friends shared it too. It was easy to keep track of the sales because I've had zero sales with the book in the past two months. I did not make enough to pay the cost of the ad. Perhaps if I get some reviews, it will make it worthwhile.

Here are the numbers:
Amazon - 57
B&N - 4
Smashwords - 2
Kobo - 1

The great majority of the sales came the night of the 13th after the ad went out. Very few came after that.

Would I use ENT again? Perhaps if I had a book that was part of a series and it was free.

And yes, I do think if Of Blood and Sorrow were part of a series, it would have gotten more sales.

Next year (or the year after!) when the next two books in the trilogy come out, I will put the novel on sale again. Oh, yes! There are two more books in the works. Don't worry, Abdiel fans. He will be back!

Next week, I have an ad on the 25th with The Fussy Librarian for Dark Dawning. And a second one with Bargain Booksy on the 31st. This book is part of a series. So we'll see if that makes a difference.

Have you ever used book ads? If yes, what has your experience been like?

Hey! I'm over there!

I'm over at the Untethered Realms blog today with five tips on creating book ads! Surf on over and chat with me about ads.

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