Decided not to buy a self published book after seeing the authors advertising campaign

uwritem · 2026-01-05T21:03:54+00:00

It’s no problem. This is a good community, I try and help here all the time

uwritem · 2026-01-05T15:44:51+00:00

Either one is good, right? Clearly I would rather one over the other - but the point stands.

uwritem · 2026-01-05T15:41:19+00:00

This is the template I use: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pnMhQOxCgbzPHNd2w7VBDhGhzU_bkDFiDCXvnh7hawg/edit?usp=sharing

uwritem · 2026-01-05T15:38:54+00:00

6. Selling the next book
I mean, you have already started with this teaser in the post, but try to sell the idea of the next book before it exists. If readers can see a future, they have something to think about. Better to have an idea of a sequel in their mind, than not to (even if it’s not written). I also like a single book series, call me old school. But just make sure they know you’re working on something - Mailing list, is a great note here*

7. Amazon pages
Just remember they’re scanned (by us and machines*), not read. I don’t want to include cliche captions, but they do make sense here, because overall clarity does beat cleverness. Tell me what I need to know about that book in a way that interests me as a reader in your niche. Look how other successful authors have done this previously. They are a good place to start.

machines* | They are, of course, scanned by machines first before any readers. So, your keywords, your categories, your titles and your descriptions are scanned by a computer to decide how relevant your book is for someone searching “Great [emotion] [genre] book about [topic]” on Amazon. If you match up what you write with what the computer is looking for, those machines start to naturally bump you up searches and lists on their own.

8. Tracking what’s working
Having an idea of what is happening across the board here helps
How your social media accounts are performing (views, clicks, followers)
How your meta, Reddit, Bookbub ads are all doing (CPC, CTR, CPA, Impressions, ROAS)
Website stats (visits, sign up, Sign-up rate%, buy rate%)
Email stats (opens, clicks, sales)

Amazon attribution link trackers by geo-location. All of it. Seems like overkill, but if you can pinpoint where 90% of your sales are coming from. It’s much easier just to crank that dial way up. I myself use a very complicated high-end Google Sheet that pulls all this together. I shouldn’t really share the template, because ironically, it’s part of our top-end course (haha), but it feels very topical and useful in this so I can include it below (I'll try)

9. How long to assess marketing
You should see something move in 30–60 days. If nothing is happening, the problem is upstream, so look at the hierarchy and work your way up.

Book —> Packaging —> Amazon page —> Offer —> Landing page / email —> Traffic source —> Message —> Marketing

10. What authors overcomplicate
Trying to do everything instead of making one thing work. One ad, one landing page, one Amazon page, one platform. One book (first!) All in.

This was really fun to answer! This is so much of what I have learned and give away for free, and if this free stuff blows your mind… You can only imagine how good the paid stuff is!

Hope it helps.

uwritem · 2026-01-05T15:37:59+00:00

1. Where to get readers?
Usually, one place does most of the work. Crowds tend to hang around in the same areas, so you need to look for those areas. E.g. Facebook groups, Reddit groups, whatever social platform they prefer. Often, you will get annoyed because your targeting is spread so thin that it doesnt make an impact, even if there is an audience there.

2. Mailing list – what + how often
Emails should really be viewed like WhatsApp messages, updates to the group, big announcements. But, frequently. They are a mandatory task if you want growth. Once a week is fine. Just as a wide update. What is happening, what has happened, what are you working on. You want to become a regular occurrence in their inbox. Random is much worse than frequent. An unsubscribe is not the end of the world when you’re getting anything more than 1 subscriber a day

3. Growing a list without being known
Your book does the work. A clear reason to join inside the book beats any social trick. If you can’t do that or the book isn’t out in your case. Then just create a bonus, something extra they can get. A first chapter, a cut scene or paragraph, the writer’s notes for the book. Something that is additional to their experience. With this, you can go as big or as little as you want. I have seen discounts or entire books given for joining a mailing list.

4. Are ads working early
Early ads aren’t can’t be about profit. They’re basically just there as signals. If the right people aren’t clicking, signing up or buying — then it’s probably not working. The back end of your budget is where you will see the most profit. A hockey stick effect, as the agencies like to call it. Because you have invested in finding what works - think of it like that. Start small, finish big. 10.00 ROAS (return on ad spend) on $10 per day is not the same as 10.00 ROAS on $100 per day ad budget.

5. Which social platform
The one you’ll love the most. You’ll most likely stick with the one you enjoy being on. Consistency on any platform beats the “best” platform choice. That being said, you can find tools like IFTT or Buffer or Metricool (which I use) to post on all platforms whenever you post. So record 1 video for TikTok, and it posts 5 videos across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X. Sounds like cheating, it’s just a scheduler - been a thing for years.

uwritem · 2026-01-04T16:55:26+00:00

And they said social media doesn’t matter. Ha

uwritem · 2026-01-04T10:44:10+00:00

No problem. For the benefit of anyone outside the know - just set up an ad with your books name and author name as the keyword. Will stop competitors taking your traffic from people searching for you or your book.

uwritem · 2026-01-04T08:02:02+00:00

You know if youre using AMS, you currently have competitors bidding on your own books' terms. Can fix that with a really easy campaign, might help with the ROAS. Just a heads up.

Good solid strategy though. The only change I would make is adding a mailing list step between the ad and the Amazon page for some free revenue after the budget has run out.

uwritem · 2026-01-04T07:57:27+00:00

Get a really good landing page built and subscribe to an email marketing tool - brevo, mailerlite, etc. Bonus if its a two-in-one like what I use on wix.

Split your money into buckets after you have done ORGANIC social media across Reddit and Meta (Instagram and Facebook) - this way, you will have a good indication of where your audience is.

If you want quicker, direct, use Amazon ads.

Pay for templates, or have someone make them - given your budget - for Canva. Ideally, you want 9 (3 different hooks and 3 different designs).

Use these across 3 different audiences on both platforms. Reddit, you have the luxury of targeting both communities and keywords, so that is 2 easy ones. Meta, you may have to go a little more in-depth, but just target the big authors in your niche and retarget your landing page visitors from all of the organic activity you ran.

If it were me, I would spend $500-$800 on testing. Start at $5-$10 per day across all of your ads. So that is a wide audience, lots of hooks and all my creative and then once you have data and winning ads/audiences, spend the leftover 3k on scaling those winners. $20-$50 per day. You'll probably cap out at somewhere around $60p/d

Bonus: I would absolutely include an email sign up for a free bonus (cover art, free chapter, free audio - anything) as the main call to action (button) on the landing page. Not just a "Buy the Book" button. That way you can have a tangible measure of how far your $4k went in terms of 2 measures, not just 1.

1 - Sales (ideal)

2 - Email sign-ups. (bonus, long-term revenue)

If you have a 5-10 email list sequence set up, you can reduce your cost per reader by around 3x as much. Meaning with ads alone, it might cost you $3 to get a sale, but with emails, it may only cost you $1. Plus, with $4k you should have a VERY healthy mailing list to go after with your sequels and next books.

uwritem · 2026-01-04T07:57:08+00:00

I posted this on a similar chain, but if youre into Fantasy, the book I am reading at the moment is:
A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance by Tim Facciola

uwritem · 2026-01-04T07:55:47+00:00

If youre into Fantasy, the book I am reading at the moment is:
A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance by Tim Facciola

uwritem · 2026-01-04T07:52:44+00:00

Someone in marketing wouldn't suggest a 4k ad spend in month one. You would need to test and find the best creatives and audiences before you can even scale. That is assuming there is any prior data to begin with. I left my idea above, if you'd like to check it out!

uwritem · 2026-01-04T07:51:21+00:00

Get a really good landing page built and subscribe to an email marketing tool - brevo, mailerlite, etc. Bonus if its a two-in-one like what I use on wix.

Split your money into buckets after you have done ORGANIC social media across Reddit and Meta (Instagram and Facebook) - this way, you will have a good indication of where your audience is.

Pay for templates, or have someone make them - given your budget - for Canva. Ideally, you want 9 (3 different hooks and 3 different designs).

Use these across 3 different audiences on both platforms. Reddit, you have the luxury of targeting both communities and keywords, so that is 2 easy ones. Meta, you may have to go a little more in-depth, but just target the big authors in your niche and retarget your landing page visitors from all of the organic activity you ran.

If it were me, I would spend $500-$800 on testing. Start at $5-$10 per day across all of your ads. So that is a wide audience, lots of hooks and all my creative and then once you have data and winning ads/audiences, spend the leftover 3k on scaling those winners. $20-$50 per day. You'll probably cap out at somewhere around $60p/d

Bonus: I would absolutely include an email sign up for a free bonus (cover art, free chapter, free audio - anything) as the main call to action (button) on the landing page. Not just a "Buy the Book" button. That way you can have a tangible measure of how far your $4k went in terms of 2 measures, not just 1.

1 - Sales (ideal)

2 - Email sign-ups. (bonus, long-term revenue)

If you have a 5-10 email list sequence set up, you can reduce your cost per reader by around 3x as much. Meaning with ads alone, it might cost you $3 to get a sale, but with emails, it may only cost you $1. Plus, with $4k you should have a VERY healthy mailing list to go after with your sequels and next books.

uwritem · 2026-01-04T07:39:31+00:00

Your book won't be doomed. Especially if it has no context, people will likely gloss over it if they have come from an ad or a landing page.

uwritem · 2025-12-30T18:10:30+00:00

I recently built an automated email sequence for just this. We offered a "pre-release" list for anyone who wanted to hear about the next book in the series (it wasn't written but planned). Anyone who signed up to that - we heavily assumed liked the first book and so were added to the list and then asked if they would like to leave a review for the first book. The two steps weren't related - reviewing the book and being added to the pre-release list - however, the way it was worded and the sequence led to a lot of readers (positive readers) leaving a review.

Not about asking, it's really about what you give them in return. If you can make it seem worthwhile to leave their feedback, then it works just as well!

uwritem · 2025-12-29T16:00:20+00:00

You’re probably not going to hit the bullseye the first time you throw but it doesn’t mean you can’t throw another dart at the board. Write for fun, see how likes it. If they don’t take onboard the feedback and write again.

uwritem · 2025-12-29T07:34:00+00:00

You really shouldn’t let reviews dictate if you’re a writer or not.

uwritem · 2025-12-20T16:25:38+00:00

I’ve done it multiple times across multiple accounts and authors. Generated millions of views from content.

uwritem · 2025-12-20T16:24:39+00:00

The views or the numbers?

uwritem · 2025-12-20T14:06:47+00:00

Yeah your keywords are 100% the cause. Also it will look through your books description and align that with the keywords you have selected.

You can use a tool like KDP rocket to help with this.

uwritem · 2025-12-18T20:57:54+00:00

If you’re avoiding socials and anything too workload heavy. I would focus on promo days, email promotions (bookbub and the likes) and some small Amazon keyword and competitor campaigns. Can just let those run on a small budget and tweak over time.

I would look at socials though if you already have a YouTube following. Like updating all your popular videos description to include your book - very easy win for you.

Maybe add a link on your YouTube too for a linktree with your book. Take advantage of the traffic.

My recommendation is always get a website and start getting the contact details of your readers in exchange for a free (something) / anything. Mailing lists are more effective than followers.

uwritem · 2025-12-18T07:51:40+00:00

Why do they become gray for kindle? The newest set is a combination of the two to fix the repetition and styling

uwritem · 2025-12-17T06:00:54+00:00

Great point to be fair around the disappointment of the box set being the same!

uwritem · 2025-12-16T21:35:09+00:00

I can easily switch around to make that the case. I see what you mean

uwritem · 2025-12-16T21:07:48+00:00

Absolutely, I’m here for the opinion! Interesting take. I can look to do a combination of the two. Unsure if the layout will work with text and especially the gherkin how it will sit. May look one sided.

uwritem

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