Brilliant - I agree with every word. Especially that the types of marketing that will work depends on the author and where they are in their careers. In my case, having been in the business since 2012 (though only seriously since 2016), I'm now splitting my books between KDP Select and wide. This has a big impact when it comes to promo platforms, but the foundation is the same: mailing list + website. Everything else has to be built on that, otherwise it's like spinning plates. I regularly recommend your stuff, and this video is now on the list.
I'm a Kindle Unlimited author, and I advertise exclusively (and successfully) on BookBub. I bought David's book, BookBub Ads Expert, and put in the work with ad testing, as he recommends, which is why I believe I'm seeing such good results. I also got a BookBub Featured Deal (International only) on my FIRST attempt with a $0.99 book discount, and I'm about to apply for another one to promote my fantasy series. I've begun exploring Facebook Ads, and it will be interesting to see how this platform works for me. Thanks so much, David, as always, for such USEFUL and clear explanations!
Your Irish eloquence is a delight. Your content and its delivery is an even greater delight. In a world filled with Bull’s Dust, smoke and mirrors , you are way above the rest because I cannot see it any of that. I am now a fan and will be reading your books forthwith. Well Done Mr Gaughran.
"Kirkus reviews--they cost several hundred dollars and are a total waste of money." THANK YOU. I never understood why so many authors drop $400+ on a Kirkus review that may or may not be positive.
I loved your video! I'm American, but my family and I are moving to Ireland and we're really excited for the big move! I'm an indie author, and I really appreciate your advice!
What David says about media is spot on. Around 2013, I was interviewed by the Daily Mail. I waited for the sales to come flooding through as a result. Seven years later... I'm still waiting.
Daily Mail is read by Tory voters. You know soulless egoists who vote for things like Brexit. They don't like parting with their cash. The catch 22 is why they waste their money on the rag devoid of journalism that is The Daily Mail. I guess the lack of journalism doesn't tax their intellect too much.
Thank you for this, David! I have felt overwhelmed and now realize that I am justified! (204 page POD book, $47, non-fiction, small genre of children's grief, first time to publish, limited budget, 77-years-old, and very limited computer savvy) I will start with your videos and building an email list. My book is needed in view of the pandemic. It will get into the hands that need it! I love your knowledge and experience. I do wish that you would speak fewer words per minute. :-)
Just the stuff he mentions (not to do) will save any self-publishing author lots of time and money! I know this for a fact because I did most of those things when I published my first book! 😂
I love, love, love this video! Its like an early Xmas present!!! So very cool, thanks! I already got Newsletter Ninja book, but there is so much more for me to dig into now! Thanks again!
Thank you David. You are a star. I’ve wasted much time and money on Amazon with no return. I hate Facebook; so complicated I couldn’t even set up an ad. After watching your bookbub video I set up an ad and woke up to my results. And I’ve just bought your bookbub kindle. So between promotional sites and bookbub I’m feeling hopeful after months of despair. Thank you again. Kind regards Paul
Thank you, David, for this video. I've got a lead magnet I'm going to release after the U.S. Election, followed by a collection of shorts on Christmas Day, and a the sequel to the Gallowglas. So this is all very timely for me.
Thank you very much for the great content. I have watched almost half of your videos and will probably watch your entire RUclips library. I wish you and myself success in this career.
Used your methods for Facebook ads successfully but need to utilize your suggestions of content marketing and email as well for my self help book. Love your videos!
Hi Simon King. Please feel free to email jess@authorsadshelf.com. I’d be happy to talk about your advertising goals over a conference call and see where I can help : )
I just wanted to say a big thank you. I love your content (videos, books, emails, guest podcasts/presentations etc), and your way of presenting it is always easy to follow. I get a laugh out of your emails every time, but also so much good stuff! While I don't have a question or anything at the moment, I just wanted to let you know how awesome I think it is that you take the time to go through them all and help people. Thanks so much!
Thank you! I so agree with you about not needing to be good at everything...it’s the root of all overwhelm! Having one or two strategies that you can master is a great place to start. I’ve actually had some good luck with Instagram, I think because I love messing about with Canva and enjoy the challenge of coming up with good visuals to represent my books.
Thanks David...I've been indie-published for over five years and am currently publishing my second book in a new genre under a pen name. I tend to flit around and have a huge to-do/want-to-do list...this video really helped me regain focus on effectively prioritizing my efforts!
Thanks David - really interesting from an aspiring 1st time author of a Childrens Story Book here in Carlow - signed a contract with my illustrator during the week, yeh!! Anyways I got a great few takeaways from your video and while all not relevant to parents and grandparents of young kids who will ultimately be my target market I really value your video, so thanks once again!! Brendan
I have one Amazon ad that sat for 5 months doing nothing. Suddenly, it started making sales and has gone from no sales in 5 months to 20 sales and 5500 page reads this month. Not enough to live off, but kind of weird. Now, if only my other Amazon ads would start working. LOL.
It might be worth digging into the ad (if you haven't already) to see what keywords generated those sales and also seeing whether your impressions per click numbers have changed much
@@DavidGaughran Thanks. I won't give up on them. I am bound, bent, and determined to get Amazon ads working for me. Training my stubborn horse taught me patience...huge patience and perseverance. LOL.
Thank you, David; another great video. Good to have an overview of the whole subject with pointers to where more information is available. Off to work through Starting From Zero now.
Thank you so much, Dave. Your videos are really helpful to see clearer -it's so easy to get lost in the ocean of (sometimes contradicting )information. Your Starting from Zero course is amazing!
I understand how profitable it is to have( at least) 2 books on the market and why bookbud would be very beneficial there. But what if you only have one( literary fiction)excellent book with a great cover and no social media following? how would you go abou it then?
David, I'd love to hear you thoughts on marketing a series. I'm feeling so disheartened at the moment, but I've heard that sometimes it's not worth marketing until you have at least 3 books out in the series. I've done deal sites with Book 1 and had 1k downloads as a freebie, but it hasn't gotten any traction in terms of sales (and certainly failed to engage the Amazon algorithms machine). I read Robert Ryan's book, did Amazon Ads using ASIN, and have dipped my toe in the FB waters. No traction while my author friends on Book 1 of their series are having significant sales. So my question is, are my friends outliers? Is it more par for the course to not get traction until at least 3 books are out? I'm planning to do Bookbub ads next, then pull it from KU and go wide. I've bought Newsletter Ninja to improve my subs and NL and will focus on the deal sites more and the ads less for the time being for all books in the series. I'm figuring that most people struggle with getting *any* sales despite doing everything "right," (at least until a few books are out?) and that such struggles just aren't shared the way the success are. Or I just can't find/reach my audience. Thanks for your wisdom and sharing.
Hi, loved your video and I subscribed to it right away. I hope you will reply. I have a question. So I am a newbie and I just finished my 12k word short story and I can't spend any money on either ads or deal sites. So my options are email lists and social media (content marketing). Now I was thinking of writing weekly flash fiction for my Facebook author page, but I'm also confused whether I should use that flash fiction as a lead magnet to my mailing list. How do I do both? Or should I stick to one? But then I won't have anything to give as a magnet if I publish weekly flash fiction on my page. I am bad at all of this or maybe I am confused. I need a solution. Thank you!
Hi David, and thank you! I have been absorbing your content like a crazy person who can't get enough. Here's my question: you mentioned in this video that content marketing is the best strategy for non fiction authors. I have been a couples therapist for 30 years and have just written my first book which is now sitting on my editor's desk. I already blog, guest blog for a famous couples therapist expert, and send out a weekly emails to my newsletter. I was thinking I should add one strategy to my marketing for my book launch. Are you saying that book promotion sites don't have much luck with non-fiction/self help? Would I be better off learning amazon or facebook ads? Even bookbub doesn't seem to have a huge nonfiction following. Many many thanks for all you do to help us with so much FREE content. Best, Laura
Great job on this video! I am a first time self-published author and my book has been out for about 6 weeks. I feel like I am working very hard just to keep my head above water in this world. I had a bunch of my questions answered by watching this video and I have a bunch more. I am glad I found this video and look forward to getting more of my questions answered on your site. I am dumbfounded by trying to grow my email list and you have given me hope!
Glad it was useful! Make sure to check out the description above which has several different resources on email which should be useful for you. Also, not mentioned there, I think, is an eight-part series of emails I did for my list on setting up, growing, and operating your list correctly - which you get access to when you sign up to my weekly marketing newsletter - davidgaughran.com/newsletter - and by signing up you'll get a copy of that book Following, which is full of email tips too.
Thank you so much David for sharing all this info. Love your work and feel relieved to have found someone I resonate with to listen to in this space, as it's been pretty overwhelming. Cheers!
Thank you for all the information on how to market books. That's so interesting to learn how advertising on Goodreads is not a good option for authors. I wonder why Goodreads isn't doing better on ads.
There are probably a whole bunch of technical reasons we could get into about the website itself and the ad platform but I think at a much more fundamental level there was a bigger issue: the readers on Goodreads are hugely protective of the community - which is understandable because they pretty much built it. Advertising and any kind of commercial vibe was not really built into Goodreads from the start and readers seemed to react negatively to any attempt to monetize the site (also not helped by those attempts being quite... sub-optimal). Whereas somewhere like BookBub has had commercial aspects and the business of selling books built into the fabric of the site from Day 1.
@@DavidGaughran I see now how the combination of different factors led to the problem with ads on Goodreads. Thank you for clarifying! It's very helpful for me to understand the reasons behind the way things work (or don't work).
Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. Being a newbie, and having heard you, and others, empathize the importance of having a substantial email list, I have yet to find information reguarding how to get names-outside of hiring a company. Thanks to you, I now know the reasons why, but not the where? Which of your books or videos do you suggest?
Hi Jilean, when you are traditionally published, as I'm sure you know, you run into some pretty tricky arithmetic when looking at many marketing strategies that self-publishers profit from. It's impossible to run things like Facebook Ads and expect to be in the black when you are getting a smaller cut from the sale, probably being paid a fair bit slower, and then almost certainly trying to shift a higher priced book too. I do know some traditionally published authors who have been able to successfully use some of our strategies, but that depends on the nature of your relationship with your publisher, and their open-mindedness, quite frankly. Some author friends have been able to convince their publisher to drop price for a weekend so they can promote the sale and use things like deal sites. Some publishers can respond positively and pay for the deal sites in certain cases. Others won't even countenance a discount, let alone coordinate any kind of promotion. (And in my experience the smaller or more digitally focused the publisher is, the more flexible they *might* be on that front.) Aside from that, your best bet is probably to focus on email marketing and building up your list, as that will be something you can fully engage in without so many limitations. A slower burn, for sure, without the razzamatazz of some of the other options here, but arguably the best thing you can do to future proof your career anyway. A large list of happy and engaged readers is something you can bring with you if you ever change publisher, or something you can really lean on if you ever explore self-publishing. It will help all your future launches, and possibly give you some more bargaining power with publishers as well.
Great video, I enjoyed your no nonsense approach and advice on what to pursue and what to avoid. I am a non fiction writer dealing with metaphysics/spirituality. Do you have any specific suggestions for me ?
Great video. My only query relates to marketing and editorial reviews. Sixteen books were featured in my BookBub email today of which ten had editorial reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and the other usual culprits. This is fairly typical and editorial reviews appear to play a large part in the BookBub selection process. I realize that BB says that "paid for" editorial reviews are disregarded, but excluding romance, 60% + of books chosen have editorial reviews. I think they're worth applying for if you don't have to pay even though the odds are stacked against winning one.
I think BookBub favors traditionally published books and traditionally published books tend to have editorial reviews; I don't think the editorial review helps them get picked. I'm also pretty sure that BookBub have explicitly said somewhere that their testing and data shows that readers don't care about quotes from the likes of Kirkus and Publishers Weekly (as those entities are largely unknown to readers), but very much do care about juicy quotes from the likes of the NYT or an author with a "name." Regardless of all that, the point stands: paying hundreds of dollars for a Kirkus or Publishers Weekly review is a terrible waste of money.
@@DavidGaughran David, I agree 100% with you about “paid” editorial reviews but the comments below indicate that “arms-length” editorial reviews from reputable sources can be valuable. However, as I said the chances of getting one are remote but worth the short application process. In an interview with Orna Ross on September 15, 2015, BookBub's Katie Donelan said among other things, “Critical reviews and editorial reviews can be very helpful in the editorial process with our BookBub editors, especially if it’s from a publication they can quote in the blurb we include with the email as we definitely see increased engagement rates in the email when we’re able to include a good review from a recognizable publication. So like a local newspaper is not going to drive as much engagement as say the New York Times clearly. So it should be a recognizable publication. Also, blurbs from other authors especially when the other author again is a recognizable brand can be super effective in increasing engagement.” Another of BookBub’s blogs included the following: “Write-ups from trusted editorial sources can also help our editors evaluate your submission. Submit your book for relevant editorial reviews. Many genres have publications like RT Book Reviews where authors can submit their books for editorial reviews. Keep in mind that some of these publications require submitting your book months before publication, so plan early! Note that our editors do not take paid reviews into account during the selection process.”
@@peterralph9551 I don't think that quote contradicts what I said at all, but the finer points of BookBub's selection process is not relevant here. What is relevant is that paying $575 for a Kirkus review won't improve your chances of selection and is not worth the cost anyway. Same goes for a Kirkus advertising package, a Publishers weekly review, a five-figure PW marketing push, a $10,000 vanity publishing package from HarperCollins, or all the other crap that traditional publishers try to sell to self-publishers. It should all be avoided, and newer authors should not be seduced by the famous name attached - in fact, if the famous name is from traditional publishing and it's a product aimed at self-publishers, I strongly suggest their default position should be extreme skepticism. That's all I was saying.
@@DavidGaughran David, I never disagreed re the "paid" and you're right that BookBub is not directly relevant. On a lighter note, I've used your superb BookBub Ads Expert to launch my first serious BB advertising campaign. I did my testing at $16 CPM (a dollar over the max) and got impressions in excess of 1,000 and results very quickly. I launched my campaign today at $9 CPM ($6 less than the max.) and so far have only gotten 30 impressions ... tempted to increase my bid but will be patient and review in the morning.
@@peterralph9551 Yeah you might need to nudge up that CPM bid. You'll see this yourself after you run a few more campaigns, but the true lever for reducing click costs under CPM bidding is not to skimp on the bids so much, but to increase that CTR. Skimping on bids might eke out a little saving here and there, but can dramatically affect serving if you go too low - and the line is moving all the time so it's not like you can establish a threshold which you can use all the time going forward. Whereas really focusing on improving CTR instead can result in massive improvements in performance and huge drops in click cost.
Hey David! I just finished your Starting From Zero course and recommended it to two friends who are also working through it. It. Was. AWESOME! But it made me sad because I learned I'd done almost everything wrong with my widely published short story. I'm plowing away on my first novel now and so when it launches, I'd like to relaunch the short story. Any advice on how to unpublish my short story? So that I can republish it the right way - your way! - with my new pen name and author platform, etc?
Hey Luke - sorry for the late reply (and apologies for not getting to your email yet - I saw one from you in my inbox but haven't got to it yet!). Can I ask if this short story is connected to the novel you are working on? If it's part of the same "world" or otherwise aiming at the same audience, it might be best to unpublish it completely and use it as a freebie to boost your mailing list - where readers will be much less concerned about length (in can be hard for any author to sell short stories outside of certain niches).
@@DavidGaughran Hi David! No worries about the late email reply - I wasn't quite sure it had sent that's why I double-tapped you. My short story isn't at all connected to my novel. You think I should just leave it be?
This is priceless information and I sincerely appreciate your transparency when it comes to what's worthwhile and what's not. As a beginning author, but one who has 3 books self-published wide (and a fourth one currently on pre-order, third in the series), would you recommend pushing the prequel novella permafree or the the paid first-in-series in order to drum up interest/buzz for the upcoming new novel? Maybe both? Thanks again for your always honest and helpful advice, David!
Great stuff, as usual. Thank you, David! Can you say a little more about writing for children/YA authors not choosing Facebook as a platform for running ads?
Sorry I missed your comment. When it comes to children's books, you are in the unusual position where the consumer is not actually the buyer - one of a few things about the publishing and marketing of children's books which is pretty unique. I recommend checking out this guest post on my blog from successful children's author Karen Inglis - and then scrolling down to the bottom to see all her specific resources for children's authors: davidgaughran.com/marketing-kids-books-children-author-guide/
Thanks again for a terrific, thoughtful video covering these topics. It's interesting to me how things swing back and forth. FB is working really well for me at the moment and the Zon ads are less effective, but six months ago it was the opposite. As always, I wonder how much of that is me (I obviously focused on improving FB) and how much is about the platforms. Just finished Robert Ryan's book (again) and reworking my Zon strategy.
Just speaking for myself, I know I can get into a bit of a rut sometimes - or fall into cognitive traps. Sometimes I need ad performance to dip for me to critically reexamine everything and identify things which are no longer working.
I am relatively new. I have the first novel in a planned series and a free novel to give away for email addresses. Would this be a could plan of attack? Write an additional reader magnet to build an initial email list through Book Funnel etc. Let that simmer for a few months. Plan a release date for the first novel. Pre-book chosen deal sites for the first week of release at 99c and then step out the release to my email list over 2 or 3 days (depending on how many I have on list). Hopefully if the book is enjoyable get further organic signups for the free novel from a landing page on my site? I think this is correct but at the beginning it is a bit of a juggling act getting this straight in my head.
It's a good plan! I might *suggest* a tweak though. While there's nothing wrong with a 99c launch, and I've done it myself a few times with mostly great results, you might consider holding off on putting that book to 99c until you have more books out in the series. If you check out my course Starting From Zero you will see a video (Lesson 4.5 I think) where I break down the pros and cons of launching so quickly in some detail, but here's one thing to consider: it might be better to keep that sale (and those deal sites) for the launch of Book 2, so the discount on Book 1 helps with the launch.
@@DavidGaughran Brilliant! I will do just that. And I will definitely sign up for the course. Just finished Amazon Decoded... all that material is great for a layman like myself. Thank you so much.
David, thank you so much. I love your content and really appreciate your straightforward honesty about the whole experience. What's the best way to be in touch with you?
Email is best - davidgaughran.com/contactfaq/ - just keep in mind I get a lot of email so replies can sometimes be slow, especially if it's not something I can answer quickly.
Hi, Loving the video, very helpful. I was in the business about 10 years ago by way of traditional publishing. I'm very interested in trying to do this the 'proper' way. I've recently managed to create a website and I'll certainly be looking at the recommended books regarding emailing, however, I was wondering the best way to get these lists started. Basically, what is the best way to get people to subscribe to the website and the email list? I'm assuming it's a baby-step process, I know growth in the industry takes time but there has to be a starting point somewhere.
Hi Alice, two resources in the description above - both free - will help you on that front. My free book Following will walk you through it all, which you get when signing up to my list. But if you prefer a video-based course showing you everything, then there's a whole module in my free course Starting From Zero covering all of that (you'll get Following as part of the sign up process as well): courses.davidgaughran.com/courses/starting-from-zero
It takes up a huge amount of time and it doesn't sell books. All that effort and all those words would be much more productively put towards a newsletter instead - which really does sell books.
Thanks David! A good video. Do you have any plans to do a video on content marketing for fiction authors? Your take on that would be really interesting.
But you will get a much deeper dive on those concepts in my course - there's a whole module of the course talking about how to build your platform as a fiction author, and you will actually see my fiction sign-up page, my fiction welcome emails, the regular content in my newsletter, the kind of content I post to my (fiction) Facebook Page, and so on. That might be much more useful for you: davidgaughran.com/startingfromzero
Hi David, if a book isn't selling hardly any copies in the US, should you still look at the deals sites that you list? Asking because all of them are in the US.
Good grief. This is ridunculous good. Two thumbs up, my man. And thank you for shaving that beard. It was getting distracting. Starting to look like some kind of abnormal growth on your chin :-). Just playing. Keep up the excellent work. Made my day going through this video.
What do you mean by "white authors" Is that a transcription error or does it have a meaning I don't understand? Sorry but even when I am listening I hear it as "white authors"
I think that's the automated translation going very very wrong!! It's "wide" authors - as in those with wider distribution, as in not exclusive to Amazon.
![Eminem - Temporary (feat. Skylar Grey) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZaK9Wi5ho0o/mqdefault.jpg)
Brilliant - I agree with every word. Especially that the types of marketing that will work depends on the author and where they are in their careers. In my case, having been in the business since 2012 (though only seriously since 2016), I'm now splitting my books between KDP Select and wide. This has a big impact when it comes to promo platforms, but the foundation is the same: mailing list + website. Everything else has to be built on that, otherwise it's like spinning plates.
I regularly recommend your stuff, and this video is now on the list.
I'm a Kindle Unlimited author, and I advertise exclusively (and successfully) on BookBub. I bought David's book, BookBub Ads Expert, and put in the work with ad testing, as he recommends, which is why I believe I'm seeing such good results. I also got a BookBub Featured Deal (International only) on my FIRST attempt with a $0.99 book discount, and I'm about to apply for another one to promote my fantasy series. I've begun exploring Facebook Ads, and it will be interesting to see how this platform works for me. Thanks so much, David, as always, for such USEFUL and clear explanations!
Your Irish eloquence is a delight. Your content and its delivery is an even greater delight. In a world filled with Bull’s Dust, smoke and mirrors , you are way above the rest because I cannot see it any of that. I am now a fan and will be reading your books forthwith. Well Done Mr Gaughran.
"Kirkus reviews--they cost several hundred dollars and are a total waste of money." THANK YOU. I never understood why so many authors drop $400+ on a Kirkus review that may or may not be positive.
Okay, first there is your accent... Then there is the no filler stuff us Aussies LOVE. Thank you for another awesome video :-)
Thank you for your raw honesty, going over what does and doesn't work, and being willing to help others - much appreciated!
I loved your video! I'm American, but my family and I are moving to Ireland and we're really excited for the big move! I'm an indie author, and I really appreciate your advice!
Gratitude my friend! 🙏 #TOGM
This was absolutely invaluable. Thank you!
What David says about media is spot on. Around 2013, I was interviewed by the Daily Mail. I waited for the sales to come flooding through as a result. Seven years later... I'm still waiting.
Daily Mail is read by Tory voters. You know soulless egoists who vote for things like Brexit. They don't like parting with their cash. The catch 22 is why they waste their money on the rag devoid of journalism that is The Daily Mail. I guess the lack of journalism doesn't tax their intellect too much.
Super helpful video and fantastic resources in the show notes. Thank you!!!
Thank you for this, David! I have felt overwhelmed and now realize that I am justified! (204 page POD book, $47, non-fiction, small genre of children's grief, first time to publish, limited budget, 77-years-old, and very limited computer savvy) I will start with your videos and building an email list. My book is needed in view of the pandemic. It will get into the hands that need it! I love your knowledge and experience. I do wish that you would speak fewer words per minute. :-)
Thanks for the info. I bought 2 of the books you recommended.
This is the best channel for indie authors. Thank you for providing all this knowledge for free.
Just the stuff he mentions (not to do) will save any self-publishing author lots of time and money! I know this for a fact because I did most of those things when I published my first book! 😂
This is one of the best usages of my time in a while. I appreciate all you do for the community!
Your content is gold.
Mate, your videos have become required watching. Another great episode!
I love, love, love this video! Its like an early Xmas present!!! So very cool, thanks! I already got Newsletter Ninja book, but there is so much more for me to dig into now! Thanks again!
Thank you for your videos. I'm a new author sticking my big toe into the sticky web of marketing my 1st book. Overwhelmed & confident 🧡.
Thanks
Thank you David. You are a star. I’ve wasted much time and money on Amazon with no return. I hate Facebook; so complicated I couldn’t even set up an ad. After watching your bookbub video I set up an ad and woke up to my results. And I’ve just bought your bookbub kindle. So between promotional sites and bookbub I’m feeling hopeful after months of despair. Thank you again. Kind regards Paul
Thanks for sharing your expertise in book marketing. It really was terribly helpful and useful,
Thank you, David, for this video. I've got a lead magnet I'm going to release after the U.S. Election, followed by a collection of shorts on Christmas Day, and a the sequel to the Gallowglas. So this is all very timely for me.
Thank you once again for your advice. Am about to launch my second book and am just pulling together my marketing plan.
Thank you very much for the great content. I have watched almost half of your videos and will probably watch your entire RUclips library. I wish you and myself success in this career.
Used your methods for Facebook ads successfully but need to utilize your suggestions of content marketing and email as well for my self help book. Love your videos!
That was great! So glad I found you. 💚
You’re so lovely. I run ads for authors and feel that keeping up with your channel is essential to my clients success. Thanks lad!
I'd love to know more about the ads you run, Jessica. I have a catalog of 30 books and need someone to run my ads for me.
Hi Simon King. Please feel free to email jess@authorsadshelf.com. I’d be happy to talk about your advertising goals over a conference call and see where I can help : )
I just wanted to say a big thank you. I love your content (videos, books, emails, guest podcasts/presentations etc), and your way of presenting it is always easy to follow. I get a laugh out of your emails every time, but also so much good stuff! While I don't have a question or anything at the moment, I just wanted to let you know how awesome I think it is that you take the time to go through them all and help people. Thanks so much!
Thank you! I so agree with you about not needing to be good at everything...it’s the root of all overwhelm! Having one or two strategies that you can master is a great place to start. I’ve actually had some good luck with Instagram, I think because I love messing about with Canva and enjoy the challenge of coming up with good visuals to represent my books.
What's a wide author? If did I pick you up wrong?
Thanks David...I've been indie-published for over five years and am currently publishing my second book in a new genre under a pen name. I tend to flit around and have a huge to-do/want-to-do list...this video really helped me regain focus on effectively prioritizing my efforts!
Watching each video with interest learning loads, thank you!
Thank you so much for all you do! You are greatly appreciated! ❤️❤️
Thanks David - really interesting from an aspiring 1st time author of a Childrens Story Book here in Carlow - signed a contract with my illustrator during the week, yeh!! Anyways I got a great few takeaways from your video and while all not relevant to parents and grandparents of young kids who will ultimately be my target market I really value your video, so thanks once again!! Brendan
I have one Amazon ad that sat for 5 months doing nothing. Suddenly, it started making sales and has gone from no sales in 5 months to 20 sales and 5500 page reads this month. Not enough to live off, but kind of weird. Now, if only my other Amazon ads would start working. LOL.
Amazon Ads can be exasperating so it's nice for the pendulum to swing the other way sometimes!
It might be worth digging into the ad (if you haven't already) to see what keywords generated those sales and also seeing whether your impressions per click numbers have changed much
@@DavidGaughran Thanks. I won't give up on them. I am bound, bent, and determined to get Amazon ads working for me. Training my stubborn horse taught me patience...huge patience and perseverance. LOL.
@@andrewjchamberlain I haven't yet, but I am going to as soon as I get some spare time. Thanks for the suggestion.
Thank you, David; another great video. Good to have an overview of the whole subject with pointers to where more information is available. Off to work through Starting From Zero now.
Thank you so much, Dave. Your videos are really helpful to see clearer -it's so easy to get lost in the ocean of (sometimes contradicting )information. Your Starting from Zero course is amazing!
I understand how profitable it is to have( at least) 2 books on the market and why bookbud would be very beneficial there. But what if you only have one( literary fiction)excellent book with a great cover and no social media following? how would you go abou it then?
David, I'd love to hear you thoughts on marketing a series. I'm feeling so disheartened at the moment, but I've heard that sometimes it's not worth marketing until you have at least 3 books out in the series. I've done deal sites with Book 1 and had 1k downloads as a freebie, but it hasn't gotten any traction in terms of sales (and certainly failed to engage the Amazon algorithms machine). I read Robert Ryan's book, did Amazon Ads using ASIN, and have dipped my toe in the FB waters. No traction while my author friends on Book 1 of their series are having significant sales. So my question is, are my friends outliers? Is it more par for the course to not get traction until at least 3 books are out? I'm planning to do Bookbub ads next, then pull it from KU and go wide. I've bought Newsletter Ninja to improve my subs and NL and will focus on the deal sites more and the ads less for the time being for all books in the series. I'm figuring that most people struggle with getting *any* sales despite doing everything "right," (at least until a few books are out?) and that such struggles just aren't shared the way the success are. Or I just can't find/reach my audience. Thanks for your wisdom and sharing.
Hi, loved your video and I subscribed to it right away. I hope you will reply. I have a question. So I am a newbie and I just finished my 12k word short story and I can't spend any money on either ads or deal sites. So my options are email lists and social media (content marketing). Now I was thinking of writing weekly flash fiction for my Facebook author page, but I'm also confused whether I should use that flash fiction as a lead magnet to my mailing list. How do I do both? Or should I stick to one? But then I won't have anything to give as a magnet if I publish weekly flash fiction on my page. I am bad at all of this or maybe I am confused. I need a solution. Thank you!
Thanks David - that was good content and simply delivered - much appreciated.
Hi David, a question: are BookBub ads and campaigns generally worth it for debut memoir authors? Thanks.
Hi David, and thank you! I have been absorbing your content like a crazy person who can't get enough. Here's my question: you mentioned in this video that content marketing is the best strategy for non fiction authors. I have been a couples therapist for 30 years and have just written my first book which is now sitting on my editor's desk. I already blog, guest blog for a famous couples therapist expert, and send out a weekly emails to my newsletter. I was thinking I should add one strategy to my marketing for my book launch. Are you saying that book promotion sites don't have much luck with non-fiction/self help? Would I be better off learning amazon or facebook ads? Even bookbub doesn't seem to have a huge nonfiction following. Many many thanks for all you do to help us with so much FREE content.
Best, Laura
Outstanding - thanks for the efforts - much appreciated!
Great video, David. Thanks for the advice and tips.
This is great David! Go raibh maith agat mo chara!
Thank you sir, your information are very helpful.
Great job on this video! I am a first time self-published author and my book has been out for about 6 weeks. I feel like I am working very hard just to keep my head above water in this world. I had a bunch of my questions answered by watching this video and I have a bunch more. I am glad I found this video and look forward to getting more of my questions answered on your site. I am dumbfounded by trying to grow my email list and you have given me hope!
Glad it was useful! Make sure to check out the description above which has several different resources on email which should be useful for you. Also, not mentioned there, I think, is an eight-part series of emails I did for my list on setting up, growing, and operating your list correctly - which you get access to when you sign up to my weekly marketing newsletter - davidgaughran.com/newsletter - and by signing up you'll get a copy of that book Following, which is full of email tips too.
Thank you so much David for sharing all this info. Love your work and feel relieved to have found someone I resonate with to listen to in this space, as it's been pretty overwhelming. Cheers!
Thank you for all the information on how to market books. That's so interesting to learn how advertising on Goodreads is not a good option for authors. I wonder why Goodreads isn't doing better on ads.
There are probably a whole bunch of technical reasons we could get into about the website itself and the ad platform but I think at a much more fundamental level there was a bigger issue: the readers on Goodreads are hugely protective of the community - which is understandable because they pretty much built it. Advertising and any kind of commercial vibe was not really built into Goodreads from the start and readers seemed to react negatively to any attempt to monetize the site (also not helped by those attempts being quite... sub-optimal). Whereas somewhere like BookBub has had commercial aspects and the business of selling books built into the fabric of the site from Day 1.
@@DavidGaughran I see now how the combination of different factors led to the problem with ads on Goodreads. Thank you for clarifying! It's very helpful for me to understand the reasons behind the way things work (or don't work).
Really sage advice. Spot on, Dave!
Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. Being a newbie, and having heard you, and others, empathize the importance of having a substantial email list, I have yet to find information reguarding how to get names-outside of hiring a company. Thanks to you, I now know the reasons why, but not the where? Which of your books or videos do you suggest?
What if you are with a traditional publisher so you don’t control the price of the book. How you still use the deals?
Hi Jilean, when you are traditionally published, as I'm sure you know, you run into some pretty tricky arithmetic when looking at many marketing strategies that self-publishers profit from. It's impossible to run things like Facebook Ads and expect to be in the black when you are getting a smaller cut from the sale, probably being paid a fair bit slower, and then almost certainly trying to shift a higher priced book too. I do know some traditionally published authors who have been able to successfully use some of our strategies, but that depends on the nature of your relationship with your publisher, and their open-mindedness, quite frankly. Some author friends have been able to convince their publisher to drop price for a weekend so they can promote the sale and use things like deal sites. Some publishers can respond positively and pay for the deal sites in certain cases. Others won't even countenance a discount, let alone coordinate any kind of promotion. (And in my experience the smaller or more digitally focused the publisher is, the more flexible they *might* be on that front.) Aside from that, your best bet is probably to focus on email marketing and building up your list, as that will be something you can fully engage in without so many limitations. A slower burn, for sure, without the razzamatazz of some of the other options here, but arguably the best thing you can do to future proof your career anyway. A large list of happy and engaged readers is something you can bring with you if you ever change publisher, or something you can really lean on if you ever explore self-publishing. It will help all your future launches, and possibly give you some more bargaining power with publishers as well.
Really helpful and well presented. Thank you.
God bless you!
Great video, I enjoyed your no nonsense approach and advice on what to pursue and what to avoid. I am a non fiction writer dealing with metaphysics/spirituality. Do you have any specific suggestions for me ?
Great video. My only query relates to marketing and editorial reviews. Sixteen books were featured in my BookBub email today of which ten had editorial reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and the other usual culprits. This is fairly typical and editorial reviews appear to play a large part in the BookBub selection process. I realize that BB says that "paid for" editorial reviews are disregarded, but excluding romance, 60% + of books chosen have editorial reviews. I think they're worth applying for if you don't have to pay even though the odds are stacked against winning one.
I think BookBub favors traditionally published books and traditionally published books tend to have editorial reviews; I don't think the editorial review helps them get picked. I'm also pretty sure that BookBub have explicitly said somewhere that their testing and data shows that readers don't care about quotes from the likes of Kirkus and Publishers Weekly (as those entities are largely unknown to readers), but very much do care about juicy quotes from the likes of the NYT or an author with a "name." Regardless of all that, the point stands: paying hundreds of dollars for a Kirkus or Publishers Weekly review is a terrible waste of money.
@@DavidGaughran David, I agree 100% with you about “paid” editorial reviews but the comments below indicate that “arms-length” editorial reviews from reputable sources can be valuable. However, as I said the chances of getting one are remote but worth the short application process.
In an interview with Orna Ross on September 15, 2015, BookBub's Katie Donelan said among other things, “Critical reviews and editorial reviews can be very helpful in the editorial process with our BookBub editors, especially if it’s from a publication they can quote in the blurb we include with the email as we definitely see increased engagement rates in the email when we’re able to include a good review from a recognizable publication. So like a local newspaper is not going to drive as much engagement as say the New York Times clearly. So it should be a recognizable publication. Also, blurbs from other authors especially when the other author again is a recognizable brand can be super effective in increasing engagement.”
Another of BookBub’s blogs included the following: “Write-ups from trusted editorial sources can also help our editors evaluate your submission. Submit your book for relevant editorial reviews. Many genres have publications like RT Book Reviews where authors can submit their books for editorial reviews. Keep in mind that some of these publications require submitting your book months before publication, so plan early! Note that our editors do not take paid reviews into account during the selection process.”
@@peterralph9551 I don't think that quote contradicts what I said at all, but the finer points of BookBub's selection process is not relevant here. What is relevant is that paying $575 for a Kirkus review won't improve your chances of selection and is not worth the cost anyway. Same goes for a Kirkus advertising package, a Publishers weekly review, a five-figure PW marketing push, a $10,000 vanity publishing package from HarperCollins, or all the other crap that traditional publishers try to sell to self-publishers. It should all be avoided, and newer authors should not be seduced by the famous name attached - in fact, if the famous name is from traditional publishing and it's a product aimed at self-publishers, I strongly suggest their default position should be extreme skepticism. That's all I was saying.
@@DavidGaughran David, I never disagreed re the "paid" and you're right that BookBub is not directly relevant. On a lighter note, I've used your superb BookBub Ads Expert to launch my first serious BB advertising campaign. I did my testing at $16 CPM (a dollar over the max) and got impressions in excess of 1,000 and results very quickly. I launched my campaign today at $9 CPM ($6 less than the max.) and so far have only gotten 30 impressions ... tempted to increase my bid but will be patient and review in the morning.
@@peterralph9551 Yeah you might need to nudge up that CPM bid. You'll see this yourself after you run a few more campaigns, but the true lever for reducing click costs under CPM bidding is not to skimp on the bids so much, but to increase that CTR. Skimping on bids might eke out a little saving here and there, but can dramatically affect serving if you go too low - and the line is moving all the time so it's not like you can establish a threshold which you can use all the time going forward. Whereas really focusing on improving CTR instead can result in massive improvements in performance and huge drops in click cost.
Great video.
David, have you hear of Booksniffer? I'm looking at it but find it confusing. It is very new.
Hey David! I just finished your Starting From Zero course and recommended it to two friends who are also working through it. It. Was. AWESOME! But it made me sad because I learned I'd done almost everything wrong with my widely published short story. I'm plowing away on my first novel now and so when it launches, I'd like to relaunch the short story. Any advice on how to unpublish my short story? So that I can republish it the right way - your way! - with my new pen name and author platform, etc?
Hey Luke - sorry for the late reply (and apologies for not getting to your email yet - I saw one from you in my inbox but haven't got to it yet!). Can I ask if this short story is connected to the novel you are working on? If it's part of the same "world" or otherwise aiming at the same audience, it might be best to unpublish it completely and use it as a freebie to boost your mailing list - where readers will be much less concerned about length (in can be hard for any author to sell short stories outside of certain niches).
@@DavidGaughran Hi David! No worries about the late email reply - I wasn't quite sure it had sent that's why I double-tapped you. My short story isn't at all connected to my novel. You think I should just leave it be?
This is priceless information and I sincerely appreciate your transparency when it comes to what's worthwhile and what's not. As a beginning author, but one who has 3 books self-published wide (and a fourth one currently on pre-order, third in the series), would you recommend pushing the prequel novella permafree or the the paid first-in-series in order to drum up interest/buzz for the upcoming new novel? Maybe both? Thanks again for your always honest and helpful advice, David!
Great stuff, as usual. Thank you, David! Can you say a little more about writing for children/YA authors not choosing Facebook as a platform for running ads?
Sorry I missed your comment. When it comes to children's books, you are in the unusual position where the consumer is not actually the buyer - one of a few things about the publishing and marketing of children's books which is pretty unique. I recommend checking out this guest post on my blog from successful children's author Karen Inglis - and then scrolling down to the bottom to see all her specific resources for children's authors: davidgaughran.com/marketing-kids-books-children-author-guide/
@@DavidGaughran No worries. I'll check out the blog post. Happy New Year!
Thanks again for a terrific, thoughtful video covering these topics. It's interesting to me how things swing back and forth. FB is working really well for me at the moment and the Zon ads are less effective, but six months ago it was the opposite. As always, I wonder how much of that is me (I obviously focused on improving FB) and how much is about the platforms. Just finished Robert Ryan's book (again) and reworking my Zon strategy.
Just speaking for myself, I know I can get into a bit of a rut sometimes - or fall into cognitive traps. Sometimes I need ad performance to dip for me to critically reexamine everything and identify things which are no longer working.
Hi, I notice you didn't mention Instagram. Is that because you don't rate it for book marketing purposes?
I am relatively new. I have the first novel in a planned series and a free novel to give away for email addresses. Would this be a could plan of attack? Write an additional reader magnet to build an initial email list through Book Funnel etc. Let that simmer for a few months. Plan a release date for the first novel. Pre-book chosen deal sites for the first week of release at 99c and then step out the release to my email list over 2 or 3 days (depending on how many I have on list). Hopefully if the book is enjoyable get further organic signups for the free novel from a landing page on my site? I think this is correct but at the beginning it is a bit of a juggling act getting this straight in my head.
It's a good plan!
I might *suggest* a tweak though. While there's nothing wrong with a 99c launch, and I've done it myself a few times with mostly great results, you might consider holding off on putting that book to 99c until you have more books out in the series.
If you check out my course Starting From Zero you will see a video (Lesson 4.5 I think) where I break down the pros and cons of launching so quickly in some detail, but here's one thing to consider: it might be better to keep that sale (and those deal sites) for the launch of Book 2, so the discount on Book 1 helps with the launch.
@@DavidGaughran Brilliant! I will do just that. And I will definitely sign up for the course. Just finished Amazon Decoded... all that material is great for a layman like myself. Thank you so much.
David, thank you so much. I love your content and really appreciate your straightforward honesty about the whole experience. What's the best way to be in touch with you?
Email is best - davidgaughran.com/contactfaq/ - just keep in mind I get a lot of email so replies can sometimes be slow, especially if it's not something I can answer quickly.
@@DavidGaughran amazing, thank you very much. Looking forward to being in touch!
Hi, Loving the video, very helpful. I was in the business about 10 years ago by way of traditional publishing. I'm very interested in trying to do this the 'proper' way. I've recently managed to create a website and I'll certainly be looking at the recommended books regarding emailing, however, I was wondering the best way to get these lists started. Basically, what is the best way to get people to subscribe to the website and the email list? I'm assuming it's a baby-step process, I know growth in the industry takes time but there has to be a starting point somewhere.
Hi Alice, two resources in the description above - both free - will help you on that front. My free book Following will walk you through it all, which you get when signing up to my list. But if you prefer a video-based course showing you everything, then there's a whole module in my free course Starting From Zero covering all of that (you'll get Following as part of the sign up process as well): courses.davidgaughran.com/courses/starting-from-zero
@@DavidGaughran You're the most helpful person on here I've come across, thank you so much for your help, it's greatly appreciated.
@@AliceJohnsonauthor 👊
Great vid. Thanks. I'm curious though, why you said fiction writers shouldn't blog?
It takes up a huge amount of time and it doesn't sell books. All that effort and all those words would be much more productively put towards a newsletter instead - which really does sell books.
Thanks David! A good video. Do you have any plans to do a video on content marketing for fiction authors? Your take on that would be really interesting.
I touch on it a little here in this video: ruclips.net/video/15c90ZmnqJI/видео.html
But you will get a much deeper dive on those concepts in my course - there's a whole module of the course talking about how to build your platform as a fiction author, and you will actually see my fiction sign-up page, my fiction welcome emails, the regular content in my newsletter, the kind of content I post to my (fiction) Facebook Page, and so on. That might be much more useful for you: davidgaughran.com/startingfromzero
And then you should also check out what Joanna Penn is doing for her fiction - she's a great content marketer. ruclips.net/user/thecreativepenn
But I'm sure I'll cover it more directly here also! There you go - four answers for the price of one.
@@DavidGaughran Thanks again! I've just started watching the build a platform video.
Hi David, if a book isn't selling hardly any copies in the US, should you still look at the deals sites that you list? Asking because all of them are in the US.
Absolutely - it's the best way to get your sales going in the US.
Good grief. This is ridunculous good. Two thumbs up, my man. And thank you for shaving that beard. It was getting distracting. Starting to look like some kind of abnormal growth on your chin :-). Just playing.
Keep up the excellent work. Made my day going through this video.
What do you mean by "white authors" Is that a transcription error or does it have a meaning I don't understand? Sorry but even when I am listening I hear it as "white authors"
I think that's the automated translation going very very wrong!! It's "wide" authors - as in those with wider distribution, as in not exclusive to Amazon.
Really good. You're an island of great advice in a sea of bullshit.