Facebook Book Marketing for Beginner’s
A huge obstacle for writers is selling their books. I self-published my novel, What Goes Around Comes Around in 2017, and I still finding ways to market it. When I finished my first draft I danced around my room with relief. I felt like I had given birth. I didn’t realize the hard part, which is marketing, needed to start.
Money was an issue for me, as it is for so many self-published authors. When a writer goes through the traditional route, the publishing company helps with marketing costs. As a self-published author, I had to pay for my marketing out of my own funds. I wanted to make sure that I was using my money effectively so I looked to others who had been successful in marketing their books.
I met Rick Gualtieri in a writing group. He has written more than 30 novels in the “Humorous Fantasy,” “Horror Comedy,” and “Horror Literature and Fiction” categories and sold thousands of books. (Please check out our previous collaboration, Marketing Tips from an Amazon Bestselling Author.) One of the things I like about Rick is his willingness to share information. Rick said that using Facebook pages and ads is a great way to connect with readers.
Why Facebook?
Social media marketing has the ability to reach many more people and Facebook with its millions of users is a powerful online marketing tool. Rick prefers Facebook over other social media channels, because he says Facebook users have money to buy books.
First Things First: Set Up Your Author Page on Facebook
All writers should have a Facebook author page as a way to connect to readers. It doesn’t cost anything to do this, unlike a website that could cost hundreds of dollars to set-up and maintain. Creating a Facebook author page only takes a few minutes to set up, and having one is a good placeholder until an author website can be completed.
I have a personal webpage where I share photos with friends, but on my Facebook author page, I include information about my book such as blog posts, signings, and release dates. I encourage engagement by getting people to like my page. People who engage with my page are more likely to see my posts and other updates. I keep these two pages separate because the audiences are different. Facebook is very interactive and is a great way to connect with potential readers and network.
Set Up Facebook Ads
The Facebook ad platform has a lot of great tools to help an author reach readers, giving the author control over ads. The benefits of Facebook ads include control of ad costs and duration, metrics that can be seen in real-time, and the ability to create the visual for the ad. Another perk is that Facebook advertising can be done at home. Due to restrictions as a result of this COVID-19 pandemic Facebook ads and author pages have become extremely vital in reaching audiences.
An author can test the effectiveness of an ad through A/B testing. A/B testing allows authors to run two ads at the same time and track it and see which ad does better.
How to Measure CPC
When tracking ads on Facebook an author should look for the lowest cost per click or CPC. For example, if one ad cost 25 cents for engagement and the other costs 50 cents they should use the ad with the lower cost. Checking metrics, setting small ad budgets in the beginning, and using A/B testing will help an author reach readers to increase traffic, gain sales, and get email addresses.
Take Time to Learn About Facebook Ads
There is so much to learn about Facebook ads, but it is well worth the investment. There are numerous Youtube tutorials, Lynda.com video, and Facebook Business Basics courses to help you get started.
With these tips you can be on your way to becoming a successful author!
Candace Waller is a Christian fiction author. Her novel What Goes Around Comes Around can be purchased on Amazon.