Posted on Monday, July 19, 2021

Announcing Book Deals!

A Book Promotion Site for Readers of Christian Fiction and Nonfiction

In March of this year I wrote:

There is the need for a site where authors can feature all works that honor and respect God and Christ, offer online chats with readers, stream live video events, feature video trailers and promotions, and publicize events. Imagine if Goodreads married Bookbub and their offspring produced a site similar in appearance to Amazon but without the commerce aspect. That is my vision.

This vision actually came to me last year. I’ve noodled on it for almost twelve months. I kept looking for someone to launch such a site. I certainly didn’t want to take on such a huge task. And yet here I am, attempting the impossible.

This link is a sneak peek of what I’m working on: https://bookdeals.app/

There is still work to be done, but in the weeks ahead we plan to roll out Book Deals with a soft launch. Our goal is one million subscribers. When we reach that goal, then upon a book’s release we should be able to push it to “best seller” status within days.

When I was at LPC our FREE Kindle newsletter ranked at the top of our promotion tools. It was free marketing for our authors and if the title was new to subscribers, the email blast always generated sales. Often it pulled in sales for other books by that author.

With BookDeals.app (and yes there will eventually be an app) should Amazon ever kick Bibles and Christian books from their site, there would still be a way to communicate new releases of Christian titles and general market titles written by Christian authors to the masses.

Later we hope to expand the offerings to audiobooks, Christian music – movies – TV shows. Not sell, but point to places where music, shows, movies can be purchased or streamed.

If you would like to know how you can help grow this area of God’s kingdom, email me.

Posted on Wednesday, July 14, 2021

“It Is Out of Love We Took Your Church”

UMC Split

It Is Out of Love That We Shut Down Your Church

In China, the government moves into a church, removes the pastor, and installs one of their own. Same with the United Methodist Conference in Georgia.

In China, if a church refuses to submit to the government approved pastor, the government moves in, padlocks the doors, and takes possession of the facilities and property. Same with the United Methodist Conference in Georgia.

In Canada, if a church refuses to abide by Canadian laws, government officials padlock the doors and place a fence around the building.

The singular difference between China and Canada is that neither the Chinese government or Canadian officials claim to be doing this “out of love” for those in the church. The North Georgia Conference issued the following statement on July 12:

Acting out of love for the church and its mission, the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church’s Central West District Board of Church Location and Building, the Bishop, and the eight District Superintendents have unanimously determined that “exigent circumstances” have threatened the continued vitality and mission of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church. Given this determination, all assets of the local church have transferred immediately to the Conference Board of Trustees of the North Georgia Conference.

It seems only the United Methodist Church’s North Georgia Conference claims to cast out an entire congregation in an act of love.

For another perspective on this skirmish in the UMC split visit:

A Deeper Look at the Mt. Bethel UMC Conflict

Analysis by Pete Fleming, July 19, 2021

Books I support—authors I trust.

Posted on Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Cost of Amazon Ads Keeps Increasing

Why Last Year's Marketing Strategies No Longer Works for Your Book

I recently informed several author clients that I no longer recommend Amazon ads. For almost ten years Amazon ads have been the best advertising investment, but now the ROI is upside down. You might spend a couple hundred dollars per month to earn fifty in royalties. It seems my gut instinct was correct. A recent article in MarketPlace Pulse confirms that too many ads are chasing too few clicks, thus increasing bid prices.

According to Marketplace Pulse research, the average cost-per-click (CPC) was $0.85 in 2020. It reached the lowest point of $0.70 in early May when the pandemic caused supply chain disruptions, resulting in some brands running out of stock and pulling back on advertising. However, it recovered by mid-September and then hit three distinctive peaks: Prime Day in October, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November, and holiday shopping in December. After that, CPC settled at around $0.90 for most of Q1 2021.

My experience suggests Amazon ad pricing will only rise. As a way to combat the limitations Christian authors face, in the months ahead look for a new BookBub like site / app for Christian Readers. The ministry of Christian Devotions continues to work in new ways to make books found.

Books I support—authors I trust.