You’re probably here because you’d like to market a product on the Internet. Personally, I only have experience with books, but a lot of these ideas can work for almost any product. If you don’t have time to weave your way through this entire piece, just remember this, you will get exactly what you pay for.
Over the years I have tried hundreds of different types of online marketing. And there are honestly things out there for every single budget. However, I have found the best course of action is to pick a few, more pricey advertisements, than pay for a bunch of cheap ones. Usually, the market reach is better and you’ll get more sales. Either way, make sure you research any marketing opportunity before you buy.
Let’s start with the obvious; if you publish your book on Amazon.com, the obvious course of action is to advertise with them. And it can be worth it. Amazon offers two courses of advertising, one where you pay by the click, and another where the site will place your product higher in search results for a number of days. No matter which one you choose, these are both pricey options. Expect to spend at least $100 on any Amazon ad campaign and that is just the starting point. When I tried one of their ad campaigns, I did see an increase in sales. Was it worth the $100? Not quite, as I only make $2.53 for every book sold on Amazon. I would have to sell 40 books to break even. This doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. I have plenty of author friends who swear by Amazon marketing, but many of them have higher margins than I do, which means they only have to sell 25-30 books to break even on a campaign. If you have a product that is not a book, I highly recommend this option for you.
Now I know a lot of you out there are on a budget, so let me tell you about my favorite, and most effective, budget marketing. Facebook. You heard me right, Facebook has advertising campaigns where you pay by the click (usually a few cents each) and you can start with a budget as low as $10. You just set your budget on their website, enter your payment info, pick your advertisement, and Facebook will run your ad until the money you specified runs out due to people clicking on your ad. These ads usually cost me $1-$2 per day that they run. I like this because I’ve done a number of $30 ad campaigns with Facebook and I’ve seen enough returns to just barely break even. I like the set up that you only pay for clicks, because when someone clicks on my ad, there is a large chance they are going there to buy my product. Facebook also offers ads that can be displayed on their sister site, Instagram. These ads tend to be more costly, and therefore I’ve never personally tried them. But I would expect similar positive returns to the Facebook offered ad campaigns.
A few other campaigns that are book specific, but highly effective, are websites such as Goodreads, BargainBooksy, and BookBub. I don’t have the space to go into details about these websites individually, but they all have large reader bases and can drive sales. There is a caveat however—most of the ads on these sites you have to offer your book for a discount, or free, in order to qualify, and then you pay money on top of that. Seems a bit counter-productive right? A giveaway of your book on Goodreads will cost you $119 (as of 2019) and although you are giving those copies away, you are generating buzz about your book in exchange. Most giveaways on Goodreads have about 800-1000 entrants; so basically, 800-1000 people are seeing your book during the course of one giveaway! Of course this doesn’t mean they will buy, but I think it’s a fun way to get your name out there. It’s difficult to measure returns made from these websites, as people who use them often buy through Amazon.com and it is difficult for me to gauge where the traffic originates. Either way, I often use these websites myself to offer my kindle for free or at a discount, and it definitely generates interest.
Some of you are probably feeling very disheartened looking at all these large numbers following the dollar signs. And yes, there are cheaper ways to advertise, but personally I’ve never known them to work. One way is by using Fiverr(just search for marketing or book promotion). Now some authors swear by Fiverr, but during my campaigns with them (and I’ve used various people on their site) I didn’t see any sales. The average advertisement or campaign with Fivver will cost you $7-$15 depending on what person/option you choose. There are people who can send your book out to their followers, email lists, or post on their blog. Make sure before you pay for anything, you read the reviews left by other users. Also ask if you will be able to see the delivery (if not, you should probably reconsider) by this, I mean if someone is sending you out in an email, ask to be included in the list. If they are posting you on a blog, ask for a link to the post. Of the four people I’ve used on Fiverr, only one was unable to show me delivery (he claimed he was posting to a private Facebook group) and while this could be true, I never saw any sales and felt I wasted my $7. If you are going to use Fiverr, I recommend specifically looking for people who will post you to a blog or website. These will have the most long-term returns (if any) and you may be able to monitor the progress. Personally, the $60 or so dollars I’ve given to Fiverr seem like an absolute waste, but you may find different results.
Now here’s were things get a little sketchy. As you’re advertising, you’re going to find you need reviews of your product in order for strangers to buy. I’m not telling you to buy fake reviews. Google and Amazon can filter these out no problem and it will hurt you more than it will help you. But there are ways to get honest reviews with money. One idea is to post on a website like Fiverr or Upwork, asking people to read and review your book for say, $30 a piece. I know $30 a review sounds pricey, but these websites often take a cut and people don’t want to read your book for nothing. You can also giveaway your product for free in exchange for a review (hence why I paid money to Goodreads). Now if you don’t have the money for a massive Goodreads giveaway, you can ask family and friends to review your book after they receive a free copy. Sometimes this works. For me it did not. I gave out 10 free copies of my first novel and asked for reviews and I never saw a single one. Maybe your family and friends are more reliable than mine, but I definitely wouldn’t spend too much money on handing out free books to them. At least when you do the Goodreads giveway for $119, they do send a reminder email asking readers to review. Who knows, if you giveaway 100 copies you could end up with 50+ good reviews!
Tired of the dollar signs? Marketing a book isn’t free and it is definitely not easy. You are dealing with one of the most saturated markets out there and becoming known is not simple. If you’ve done any combination of the above advertisements, your wallet is probably feeling a little slim. Here’s where we get to the (almost) free advertising. The first and most obvious of course, is social media posts. Host a giveaway, run a contest, post cute pictures of your book—whatever works for you. I get a lot of my sales from social media and this is what I believe to be the most effective form of free advertising. Another good inexpensive way is to host book signings. Find a local bookstore or coffee shop and ask if you can use a table for a couple hours and have people come in to buy your book. I recommend messaging 5-6 places, as almost half of them will say no. But for the ones that say yes, pick a date and start inviting people. Make a Facebook event, run a special deal (i.e. buy two of your books for $18 instead of the normal $20), or offer a special gift to the first person to arrive. I almost never get rich on book signings. Sure I make around $50 each time, but they’re really not worth your time. It’s more about getting out there and being seen. And there is a small cost, as usually, if you’re at a bookstore or restaurant, you will want to buy something while you sit there for two hours. And of course, encourage your guests to support the business as well by purchasing something while they visit you. The final way to advertise for free is by word of mouth. This is you telling people about your book and hoping they will tell their friends. I also recommend starting a blog or paying for interviews on someone else’s blog—both of these are good options for generating talk about your book or product. This will get your name out there but may or may not necessarily drive sales.
I certainly did not cover every single aspect of Internet marketing in this blog post. Of course there are hundreds more sites and ways to advertise. These are simply the easiest, and most direct forms I have found. I don’t guarantee that any of these will work for you like they did me, but part of marketing is evaluating the cost to risk ratio. And as I said in the beginning, don’t just go for all the cheap options, because when it comes to marketing, you really do get exactly what you shell out.
If you have questions about Internet marketing, feel free to leave me a comment or message me on my website HopeEDavis.com
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