The Scoop on Advertising: Part 4 ~ The Mighty Sword of E-mail Distribution

By Misty M Beller @MistyMBeller

Free Workshop in Progress: This summer on our ACFW-SC chapter blog we are happy to welcome one of our members, Misty M. Beller, for a special 12-week workshop on Marketing. Misty has experienced great success marketing her first novel and later ones, consistently selling 10,000 books a month. Join this free workshop and be blessed. Be sure to leave a comment and tweet the blogs to your friends. 

Elva Cobb Martin, President, ACFW-SC Chapter  www.elvamartin.com

As we talk through paid advertising that works, we’ve finally come to one of the most successful:

Targeted email distribution.

This is one of my all-time favorite marketing methods, because this is the way I see the biggest spike in sales. It also works well with my introverted personality. :)

The Scoop on Advertising: Part 3 ~ Pay-per-click Ads?

By Misty M Beller @MistyMBeller

Free Workshop in Progress: This summer on our ACFW-SC chapter blog we are happy to welcome one of our members, Misty M. Beller, for a special 12-week workshop on Marketing. Misty has experienced great success marketing her first novel and later ones, consistently selling 10,000 books a month. Join this free workshop and be blessed. Be sure to leave a comment and tweet the blogs to your friends. 

Elva Cobb Martin, President, ACFW-SC Chapter  www.elvamartin.com

As we talk through book advertising options, this week we’ll move into paid advertising. In my opinion, one of the most under-utilized options out there are Pay-Per-Click campaigns!

What is it? This concept has been around for a while, and Google AdWords is probably the most well-known venue. Basically, you create an ad and attach keywords to the ad. When a user types one of your keywords in a search field, your ad competes in a bidding war with other ads that have the same keyword. The ads that are the highest bidder(s) are shown to the user, but you are only charged your bidded price if the user clicks on your ad. Basically, you only pay if they click.

So far, I’ve tried PPC campaigns on Goodreads, Amazon, and Google AdWords, so here’s a quick recap of my experiences:

Amazon pay-per-click options are only available for independent authors who use the kdp.com program for ebooks. If you fall in that category, the program is nice because it shows you how many actual book sales were generated from clicks on your ad. My ratio on Amazon for my first campaign was approximately 1000 impressions (meaning my ad was shown 1000 times) to one click. That’s fairly close to the industry standard, I’ve been told.

It’s extremely easy to create a campaign! Just go into your KDP dashboard, select your book, and it walks you through the process. You’ll need to set a maximum bid amount and a total budget for the campaign, then decide whether you want it to spread the bids over the course of the campaign or use the budget as quickly as possible. Last but not least, you create a headline, then submit! Here’s a glance at a recent campaign I’ve created:

Goodreads has a similar set-up process. My results for my Goodreads PPC campaign has been thousands and thousands of impressions, but very few clicks. That tells me either my ad is not very attractive, or my keywords aren’t hitting my target reader. I need to work on that one! The good news is, it’s getting my book out there in front of a lot of potential readers. Good visibility! However that visibility won’t be as helpful if I’m not hitting my target reader.

One other nice benefit Goodreads offers is a daily email showing the progress of the campaign. The email tells how many views the ad has received, how many clicks, how much money spent, how many people have added the book to one of their Goodreads shelves, and more!

Google AdWords: I tend to have a much higher success rate on clicks per impression with AdWords, so I use this Pay-Per-Click method the most! There is a bit more set-up required, you’ll list keywords that determine when the ads show. The site helps by suggesting a lot of keywords similar to your product, and you can select as many as you want! It also gives great feedback on estimated number of views based on the keywords you choose.

Here’s a quick glance at the results from the last AdWords campaign I ran:

A couple of nice benefits to AdWords:

• They have people available you can call to help with set-up, strategy, keywords, etc. This is available at no extra charge.
• Many website providers provide a $100 AdWords credit (after you spend $25). If your web provider offers this, you ABSOLUTELY should take them up on it!

So now it’s your turn! Have you used a Pay-Per-Click campaign? Did you find it successful? Any best practices you can share? 

Or if you have questions on any of the info I’ve mentioned here, let’s hear ’em!

Misty M. Beller writes Christian historical romance, and is author of the bestselling novels The Lady and the Mountain Man and The Lady and the Mountain Doctor.

Misty was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. About ten years ago, she made a career change from farm life into the business world, where she now works as a Senior Manager and Director of Process & Training. Her husband and two daughters are gifts from God, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

The Scoop on Advertising: Part 2 - Giveaways!

By Misty M Beller @MistyMBeller

Free Workshop in Progress: This summer on our ACFW-SC chapter blog we are happy to welcome one of our members, Misty M. Beller, for a special 12-week workshop on Marketing. Misty has experienced great success marketing her first novel and later ones, consistently selling 10,000 books a month. Join this free workshop and be blessed. Be sure to leave a comment and tweet the blogs to your friends. 

Elva Cobb Martin, President, ACFW-SC Chapter  www.elvamartin.com

We’re talking through other options for unpaid advertising this week, specifically…giveaways!

Offering free books as a prize can have several different benefits. Let’s talk through several different options:

The Scoop on Marketing, Part 1

By Misty M Beller @MistyMBeller

Free Workshop in Progress: This summer on our ACFW-SC chapter blog we are happy to welcome one of our members, Misty M. Beller, for a special 12-week workshop on Marketing. Misty has experienced great success marketing her first novel and later ones, consistently selling 10,000 books a month. Join this free workshop and be blessed. Be sure to leave a comment and tweet the blogs to your friends. 

Elva Cobb Martin, President, ACFW-SC Chapter  www.elvamartin.com

Advertising has been a sweet spot for me, both paid and unpaid. There are so many great opportunities. So over the next few weeks, let’s talk through the possibilities! 

Before we jump in, I’m reminded of two critical things to consider when deciding which advertising routes to use. 

Sowing Faith in the Hard Times Brings a Harvest of Joy

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

There are times, when life is lived in the dark. The days are long and hard, and the rewards nonexistent. Everywhere we turn—inside and out—the landscape is bleak and barren. It’s times like these that only faith will get us through. There is no proof we’re on the right path, no confirmation that God is at work. Often, even God Himself seems distant and unreachable.

I’ve been through the those times—and come out on the other side. My time of darkness came when our oldest son was deployed to Iraq as a frontline infantry Marine. We don’t come from a military family, so everything about his choice to enlist was an opportunity for growth. Every step in his journey was a time of stretching for our family. Oh don’t make the mistake of thinking we were disappointed in his choice. We were button-busting proud of our son’s willingness to serve.

But as his mother, I didn’t want to face the prospect of my son going off to war.

I’d always assumed I’d have a grace period between childhood and adulthood, some time of transition. College would have been that time. Marine Corps boot camp doesn’t provide that grace period. One minute I was hugging goodbye to my child, my oldest son. The next time I saw him, he was a fully formed man—still a son, but without any trace of the child I’d said goodbye to.

And before that year was out, he’d be half a world away, fighting an enemy whose main focus was on killing him. It was during those deployments that I learned about darkness of the heart. I wanted to protect him, I ached to shield him from what I knew he was experiencing, but I could not. So I did the one thing I could do. It became my course of last resort because I was at the end of my own strength.

I prayed.

And I prayed.

And I prayed some more.

I learned to take my overwhelming fear to the only One who could protect him. And I left my son in God’s hands. The prayers weren’t pretty. Often times they weren’t even words. They truly were the groanings we read about it Romans 8:26-27.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was like a seed, planted deep in the ground. I was surrounded by darkness, by rough, rocky soil, pressing in on all sides crushing the life from me. But through that incredible pressure, the shell of my own strength fell away, and I slowly began to push toward the light that I knew was just beyond the darkness.

And my course of last resort became my strength, and the first place I turned. Instead of praying in desperation, I began to pray in confidence. I learned to lean into God, instead of turning in on myself.

The final harvest of that time of darkness is has come to fruition with the release of my newest book. While My Soldier Serves is a book of prayers for those with loved ones in the military. How I longed for just such a book during that dark time. Now God has taken my time of darkness and is shining it as a light for those who are also facing the incredible stress of having a loved one at war.

Never doubt that God will bring a harvest of joy, no matter how dark the days you’re facing now. 

While My Soldier Serves

Thousands of families send loved ones off to fight on a daily basis. These families spend a lot of time living in a world out of control. This kind of stress can take an incredible toll, but there is hope. When we feel helpless, we can take our fears to the One who loves us more than anything and holds the universe in His hands.

In this book you’ll find the words to usher you into His presence. These prayers are a place to visit again and again as you take your own fears to God. They’re just a starting point, written to help you find your own voice as you call out on behalf of the one you love.

As the mother of a frontline infantry Marine, Edie Melson lived this book before she wrote it. Edie understands what it is to face adversity and come out triumphant on the other side. Her years as a wife, mother, and ministry leader have given her a unique perspective to reach out
to others facing the same struggles.
She's the Military Family Blogger for Guideposts.org, social media director for several writing websites, and a popular ministry and conference speaker. Connect with her on her blog, The Write Conversation, Twitter, and Facebook.

What makes an Amazon Bestselling Novel?

By Misty M Beller @MistyMBeller

Doesn't it seem crazy how some books leap to the top of Amazon's bestseller ranking and others stay somewhere around 75,000? I've studied hundreds (maybe thousands) of books on Amazon.com, and have come to the same conclusion as many other great authors and publishers. There are four basic ingredients to success in the cyber world of the Amazon Bookstore.

1. Good cover that sparks interest and/or emotion.

The cover is your hook. Before title, before craft, before all those weeks, months and years you’ve spent perfecting the story. Your cover art will most often determine whether a potential readers skims past, or clicks your book thumbnail to read more.

So what makes a good cover? I won’t list everything here, but in my opinion one of the most important jobs of a successful book cover is to spark interest or emotion. Skim the top books in your favorite categories on Amazon.com and you’ll see what I mean.

A successful book cover must spark interest or emotion with @mistymbeller #amwriting 

(Click to Tweet)

As you can imagine, developing an amazing book cover is not easy. If you’re traditionally published, you may have little say in the outcome. But I would encourage you to make every effort possible to ensure your cover will stir the emotion that draws your target reader.

2. Good product description (back cover blurb) that shows interesting characters, a great story, and plenty of tension.

We’re all writers, correct? Crafters of words. So putting together fifty words to share the opening highlights of story should be a piece of cake. I’m sure you’re chuckling with me. J

If you were successful in drawing a potential reader with your emotion-generating cover art, this is the place to hook them with your “Product Description.” (Such a bland name for a powerful text box.)

Spend focused time on this blurb. Run it through your critique group. Seek feedback from a variety of people, especially those in your target reader demographic. Tweak it until it shines!

(Note to authors who publish independently or through small publishers: You are most likely writing the final draft of the Product Description, so you’ll want to include as many of your keywords as you can.)

3. High number of reviews and average rating.

Here's where we talk about craft and producing a well-written novel. You were afraid I wouldn't mention it, weren't you?

We all hear word of mouth is what sells books. The Amazon review is one of the most powerful word-of-mouth tools you'll ever encounter. Is your book well-researched? Your readers will appreciate that and mention it in their reviews. Did you forget to tie up loose ends in your story line? You'll be called out on it, I guarantee. Potential readers often look at the reviews to see if they're willing to spend precious money and time to read your story. Hone your craft and write the best story possible, and your reviews will reflect it.

How many reviews do you need? Many writers say it seems there's something "magical" about reaching twenty-five. After that, they seem to come so much easier and quicker. The more reviews you have with a four- or five-star rating, the more comfortable a potential reader will be taking a chance on your book.

4. Visibility (discoverability) - readers can't buy the book unless they know about it.

Now we hit the meat of it. You need a good cover, good blurb, and lots of positive reviews to help the reader make the decision to buy. But how does the reader actually find your book among the millions available on Amazon?

Great question! I'm going to mention the highlights here, but I encourage you to attend the ACFW-SC class I'll be teaching in Anderson, SC on May 23. I'll talk through these in detail and answer any questions.

In a nutshell, the ways to increase discoverability are:

• Advertising (both paid and unpaid)
• Social media (blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• "Personal" appearances (online and in-person)

There's so much more I'd like to mention about tips and tricks for book-selling success on Amazon, but I'll have to save them for another blog post. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts on anything I've shared!

Misty M. Beller was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. Her family has always been close-knit, and her husband and two daughters now add another dimension to her life, keeping her both grounded and crazy.

God has placed a desire in Misty’s heart to combine her love for Christian fiction and the simpler ranch life, writing historical novels that display God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.

You can find Misty on her website, blog, Goodreads, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest, and see her latest release, The Lady and the Mountain Doctor.