An LPC author recently asked my thoughts on investing in an Amazon ad. Here is my response.
For every dollar you invest in your book you earn back two dollars. That’s not the case with every title, but with your book it is. (The per-click percentage for your book is actually 69.62% but I round it down to 50% because I know an ad for your book also generates “pages read” and those “pages read” earn royalties. The “pages read” royalties cannot be factored into the per-click percentage. Amazon only sees actual sales.)
“With regards to your question about spending $10 a month for an Amazon ad. That sum works out to be thirty cents a day and the per-click charge for an Amazon ad runs around fifty cents. Thus, your ad would only run for a couple of minutes each day. Basically, you’d be wasting your money. Many top-selling Indie authors spend hundreds of dollars each month on Amazon ads. These authors often own the tops spots in their book’s category.
For my own books I spend around $100 a month and my books aren’t nearly as good as yours. (Well, they may be as good, but I’m writing middle-grade fiction for boys and that’s a small market. There’s not even a category for it on Amazon. I spend the money to make my books known because I am serious about making it as a writer and in order to do that readers need to read my work and become familiar with my voice and style. )
The old business model of writing a book and hoping it sells died in 2008 with the Great Recession. Book publishers began to retreat and book stores closed. That trend continues. Authors who enjoy success today are those who invest in their careers and market the devil out of their book. Even James Patterson, the top selling author of my generation, promotes his books. He advertises on TV, YouTube, and on Amazon.
At LPC Books we seek authors who are serious about their writing. We want to launch careers, not just publish one novel for an author. If one novel is all an author wants, they should self publish. That’s the main market for self-publishing firms – the one-book author.
Write great stories, write fast, and invest in your writing career. If you aren’t willing to work hard at your craft and career, then do something else. This business is hard. Only the dedicated succeed.
And to succeed you need to sow seeds.
Here are some suggestions from Linda Glaz’s Facebook post: “Indie and smaller press authors: how have you found the marketing environment?”
“I’ve used short-term marketing like Robin Reads, EReader News Today, Faithful Reads, Bargain Booksy, Agape eBooks, ebooksHabit, etc with very minimal short-term gains. They just don’t have the volume of readership to really build your list. Marketing companies, like Ryan Zee and LitRing are great for a swift add to your newsletter list or followers.” ~ Kari Trumbo
Do you have a marketing tip that works? Please share!
I loved “D” Month. I gave cookies and candy and cash to my customers. I wore “D” Month garb. To earn sympathy orders, I made sales calls with my son. (I had to pull him out of pre-school.) On my desk (I’m looking at it right now) is a button issued during one “D” Month that says, “Positively Outrageous Service.” (We had a different D” Month theme each year.) I still try to live by that motto and offer more than what the consumer expects.