Book Advertising $: Where to spend them? (Part 1-Facebook)

Facebook Ads
Since Smashwords is having their “Read an EBook” week this week, I thought I would coincide that with my book giveaway. (so there can be an extra week of free!) I saw a Smashwords post on FB, and thought, why not share and boost an ad post on FB? At least they give a total budget and potential reach of customers. If only want to spend a few dollars on this, I can. Plus, it’s one post boost–it’s practically harmless, right?

So far I’ve got a couple of downloads.  I’m not sure exactly where those leads came from, because I have posted this announcement all over my social media accounts, and not too many of these have the same tracking/statistics as WordPress. But I have noticed the spike in sales since that FB post was put up.

FaceBook “Boost Post” Function to get awareness out there about my book

There are 7 more days for this ad to run, so I will keep you updated on my progress. So far I’ve learned.

Lessons Learned:

  • Advertising gets you exposure out of your own circle. (And you wouldn’t believe how big your circle really is (and how small it is in comparison to your target reader.).)
  • A little $ can go a long way, so invest in a marketing budget.
  • Again, a great book cover is halfway to a great advertisement on digital platforms (I didn’t have to create a commercial or even do anything but be myself and I had an ad.)
  • Look for advertising plans/vendors with specific data and potential reach and targeting information. In other words, know how much each $ of advertising will buy.