Marketing Experiments and Learning What Works

As I scientist, I look at many things as “an experiment,” even if they have nothing to do with my laboratory. Without experimentation, I’ll never learn what works best and what fails spectacularly. In the lab, there are set standards I have to follow when attempting something new, but with book marketing… Well, every marketplace shifts and changes as peoples’ tastes change, and keeping on top of it all is a bit overwhelming.

I wanted to write this post to highlight some of my own experiments (many failed, others successful) and what I’ve learned from them. I’m by no means a marketing genius (in fact, marketing is something I dislike so much there are times I forgo it entirely. I know, I know, that’s not good practice and how will anyone ever find my books if I hit pause on occasion? But I only have so much bandwidth and sometimes I really need a break. I’m doing the bulk of this marketing thing solo.)

But anyway, back to the topic at hand: The experiments I’ve run, what has worked, what hasn’t, and things to watch out for.

Experiment 1: Fiverr Promotions

Way back in the dark days of 2020, when I was getting ready to launch my first book, Hunted, I came across a “Bestseller Launch Blueprint” that included tips on advertising. Not knowing much about that part of publishing, I followed it and did everything it suggested, including the various Fiverr promotions it claimed worked wonders for sales. These were all newsletter-based promotions, with claims of email lists in the thousands. They’d share your book details with their vast readership for a small fee (between $5 and $30 depending on the promo.)

Sounds good, right?

While they sent out my information as promised, there was almost zero ROI. I tried using the promos again in 2022 when I rereleased The Moon’s Eye with the same result.

I still have the pdf of the blueprint I used, and after looking at it again for this post, I noticed it doesn’t have a copyright or issue date. I have no idea how old the information I was using really was, but I’m pretty confident saying that these Fiverr promotions no longer work like they once did.

I think it comes down to the growing issue of email fatigue. We’re all inundated with countless emails every day, and who has the time to look at everything they’ve received? I know I’m guilty of skimming subject lines and deleting things that aren’t immediately relevant.

Experiment 2: Facebook Ads

These were hit and miss for me while I was running them. The trouble with Facebook ads is that they require a lot of tinkering and tweaking to get them “just right,” otherwise you’re wasting money. Sometimes my ads would do well. Sometimes they’d do nothing at all. But most of the time, they fell somewhere in between, where I’d make just enough in sales to keep going. I was following the advice of a recommend marketing book, Help! My Facebook Ads Suck by Mal & Jill Cooper, which worked well at the time.

Then came the Great Algorithm Change of 2022 and the ridiculous influx of ads on that site. In order to compete, I had to increase what I was paying in, but I wasn’t getting as much of a return. Around the fall of 2022, they also changed something with ads targeting countries like the UK (previously, I was adding those in addition to US, CA, and AU because my books are written in English and I figured I may as well advertise in as many English-speaking countries as possible.) I know the change had something to do with privacy data and EU regulations, though I’m not clear on all those details. Anyway, I could no longer get any ads approved that targeted UK-based users of any kind. (And it was only after a lot of digging on my end that I even uncovered why my ads were being rejected. Facebook doesn’t give reasons most of the time, and just expects you to know why they don’t like your ad.)

I don’t know if the book I listed above has been updated since 2022, but after that big change, it wasn’t helping my ads any longer. Sad day.

I know that Facebook ads still work well for some authors, but between my frustrations with the rejections and my growing disillusionment with the site as a whole, I stopped running ads there, and eventually left the site altogether. (My author page still exists there but it hasn’t been updated in months. Fun fact: When you delete your account, that deletion does not include pages you may have created.)

Experiment 3: Promo Packages that Rely Exclusively on Social Media

There are more sites and advertisers out there who try to entice the unwary author with the promo packages with claims of 50,000+ Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/Insert Other Platform Here followers. Most look scammy on the surface, so I avoided them, but there was at least one that looked legitimate enough… They had a website and testimonials from other authors extolling their greatness, and another author had actually recommended their services to me.

Back in early 2021, when I was still learning so much about this process and trying (mostly in vain) to get people interested in Hunted, I signed up for one such package. Their website looked professional, I had seen them on social media, and I thought it might be worth a shot. At that point, I was getting desperate for sales.

Their package wasn’t cheap ($295), and while they fulfilled their promised posting on social media outlets for a few months, it resulted in a grand total of zero sales. If any of my marketing experiments truly failed, it was this one.

I suspect the ROI is even worse now. Every social media platform has changed algorithms since then, and it’s doubtful their posts are getting even half the traction they once did.

Experiment 4: Book Tours

Book tours are a lot of fun. Most charge a small fee (they are coordinating with bloggers, reviewers, booktubers, and the like on your behalf, after all, and they should be compensated for that work), and it’s often up to the author to provide review copies to interested tour participants.

I look at book tours as a chance to get my books in front of potential readers, and I don’t approach them expecting a lot of sales. It’s more about visibility in this case, and the more people who see your cover splashed across their feed, the higher chance that you’ll get a few new readers. And it might not be right away—my first book tour landed me with many “want to reads” on Goodreads, but only a couple sales.

But it was fun. I got to interact with readers I’ve never encountered before, met some booktubers, and even got to be on a podcast for the first time through one of these tours.

With some marketing experiments, a good result doesn’t necessarily equate to sales (although the sales are always nice.)

Experiment 5: BookBub Featured Deals

I’m not going to lie: These are tough to get. I make it a point to apply every month, and if I get rejected with one title, I’ll try again the next day with a different one.

Back when I first started with BookBub, I only had Hunted (which to this day has still never been chosen.) Now, I have 10 books to choose from (I can’t feature The Ballad of Alchemy & Steel as it is too short to qualify.) With more books available, your chances of getting a deal are definitely better.

But it is prudent to check out their guidelines before submitting. If your book fails to meet all of their requirements, they will never choose it, and length is just one of the categories. (Their list is here: Featured Deals Requirements.)

They don’t state it, but I believe cover art plays a role in their choices. I get their daily featured deals email, and the covers of every book are always very professional looking. It’s worth paying an illustrator or artist for your cover, if only for the marketing boost.

Anyway… I’ve had 3 featured deals now (all international), and 2 of those were for Exile. The other was for The Moon’s Eye, prior to Exile’s release in 2023, and that title hasn’t been chosen since. People love dragons, what can I say?

I know a big deterrent for many authors is the price tag. BookBub deals are expensive. The international ones I’ve had were $195, but to get a US feature, it’s usually upwards of $600. And you have to put your book on sale (usually $1.99, $0.99, or free. I have only been accepted for $0.99 deals so far, meaning I’m only getting about $0.32 per sale.)

So, the big question is: Is a Featured Deal worth it?

100%, yes.

For all 3 of my deals, the royalties I made on that date and for the week following paid for the feature. (Yes, most retailers won’t pay those royalties immediately and you won’t see them for 2-3 months, but you will make your money back.)

This experiment has been a big success.

Experiment 6: BookBub New Releases for Less Feature

I assumed the new release feature BookBub offers would yield similar results to the featured deals, so when Serpentus was accepted for one in early 2024, I had no concerns. (More about New Releases for Less on BookBub here.)

The new release feature goes out on Tuesdays, so my feature happened to coincide with Serpentus’ release date. Unlike the featured deals, the new release feature doesn’t require a price drop, so any sales you get will give full royalties. It sounded great, and based on my previous 2 featured deal successes, I assumed this would be no different.

Well, friends, I was wrong. The new release feature cost $450, and I got a whopping 13 sales I could attribute to the feature (that equates to about $44.) Ouch.

But this post is about things I’ve learned, and in this case, it’s to be more careful about assuming something will work just because of its brand. Needless to say, I don’t think I will bother with the new releases for less feature again.

Experiment 7: Vendor Tables at Comic Cons and Book Events

This is probably my favorite experiment so far. I love comic cons (even before I started publishing!) and it’s so much fun to interact with the various other nerds who frequent them.

But it wasn’t until late 2023 that I attempted an author table. I did research on this beforehand, and found out a few really helpful things that have since proven true:

1. Sign up to the con’s newsletters as an interested vendor/artist. That way you’ll know when vendor signups become available (and for some, you don’t want to waste time when they go live because they can fill up fast.)
2. If the con has a separate section for “Artist Alley” or “Author’s Row” apply for that. Those slots are much more affordable than the general vendor spots.
3. Get a table cover, preferably with your logo or book images on it.
4. Big, eye-catching banners that draw people’s attention from across the room help a ton. (I didn’t have this for my first con, and I wish I did. You can get roll-up ones that are retractable for easy storage and stable once set up from VistaPrint.)
5. Have lots of bookmarks and/or business cards, and make sure a link to your website or newsletter is on them. Some people will take a card or bookmark, then buy your books after the event.
6. Bring bags. This is something I didn’t think about until after I did my first con, but buyers will ask for them. It’s easier to carry their purchases around the con that way, and you can get plain ones for pretty cheap from Amazon.

Keep in mind, however, that not all cons are created equal. I’ve had great success at most, but one (which the organizers did not promote at all outside of their Facebook page) was a complete flop. It pays to do some research on the con itself before you decide to sign up as a vendor, if only to see how they’re promoting the event and how long it has been running.

Most of the cons I’ve done have been local, which avoids a hotel stay. I’ve only done one that required a hotel, but it also happened to be my most successful con to date, so I still considered it a win. When I made enough at the event to pay for my table, the fuel to drive there, and part of the hotel, I certainly couldn’t complain.

And making in-person sales is so much fun. It isn’t often I get to chat with readers, and fantasy/sci-fi books do pretty well at comic cons. Plus, I’m there to sign their books, which is something they wouldn’t get from buying on Amazon.

To all my fellow authors out there reading this, I hope you found some of this useful.

And to everyone else, I hope I didn’t bore you with this post too much. 🤣