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Does PPC for Fiction Books Make Sense?

by BellaZee
7 replies
  • PPC/SEM
    • |
Someone suggested I look into PPC ads for marketing fiction books. The idea is that I want to write fiction but I want to take a more scientific approach to marketing said books than most authors do, so I was wondering if anyone has any experience with PPC for fiction books.

I'm asking because it's a bit of a weird area. It's not as cut and dried as driving traffic to an informational site or a site providing products or services. At least I don't think so. I mean I'm pretty sure people don't really search for new "insert genre here" books on Google.

I have a feeling most go straight to Amazon. At least, that's what I do. And I don't even search for a specific genre. I start off with authors I like and then browse through Amazon recommendations of other authors and even go through some of the reviews to see if I can find any recommendations there.

It's very rare for me to look for books directly on Google. Well, not fiction books. The only time I use Google is to search for an author's site to see if they have anything new in the works, but that's only if I really like that author and want to read the next book in the series. I use Amazon to find their other books.

So, do you think PPC would make sense for fiction or does it seem like a waste of time? If anyone has any experience with PPC and marketing fiction books, I'd really appreciate any tips you might have.
#books #fiction #make #ppc #sense
  • Profile picture of the author LucidWebMarketing
    People do search for books in all genres. Not a whole lot but there are some. The cost however in the $1 range may be higher than what you're willing to pay.

    My suggestion to promote books using PPC is targeting sites where your fan-base is. Surely there are book sites that monetize with ads. This should be cheaper and a greater audience. I've advertised many products with PPC but never books but that's what I would do.

    You mentioned, Amazon. Put your book there and any other such sites where book readers buy.
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    • Profile picture of the author BellaZee
      Thank you Lucid for the advice. So, just to make sure I understand you correctly, you're suggesting buying ads direct on these sites, right?

      Dburk, thank you very much for these ideas. I definitely can see how taking a multi-channel approach would work really well. And while CPC might seem a little too expensive for what I want to do, I'm thinking of the long-term. I'm not actually relying on search ads to make sales as much as I want to use them in the beginning, until I get enough sales and reviews on Amazon to push me to the top and until I get a bit of a following.

      So, basically, I'm willing to lose money at first - and I don't consider it a loss but an investment - because I'm not really interested in direct cost per sale from PPC but in driving traffic, boosting exposure and pretty much getting my stuff out there until my "name" has enough weight that I get word-of-mouth recommendations and Amazon starts liking me enough to rank me near the top.

      Okay, did any of that make sense? It made sense in my head but I'm not sure if I explained it right LOL
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  • Profile picture of the author dburk
    Hi BellaZee,

    People do search for anything and everything online. I just checked the AdWords Keyword Planner tool and there are many search terms that have thousands of searches per month related to fictional book genres.

    These 7 search terms alone have over 25,000 searches per month on Google in the US:
    • best fiction books
    • best new books
    • new books 2016
    • new fiction books
    • new romance novels
    • new science fiction books
    • romance novels
    Even better news is that PPC advertising is not just Search advertising. Marketing your book using PPC Display ads is one of the most effective methods available today. Also what works great is PPC Social Media ads, Video Ads, Shopping Ads, and Native Ads. These other PPC channels often provide traffic at a much lower CPC than Search and can be highly effective.

    Digital Marketing today is much more sophisticated than it was 10 years ago. Multi-touch marketing strategies allow you to combine 2 or more channels to get incredible results. There are many strategies that can reduce your costs, and improve your conversion rates.

    While Search advertising may have a higher average CPC, it can also be effective because it can be so targeted and timely. Using a sophisticated multi-touch strategy you can greatly increase the overall effectiveness of your Search PPC campaigns.

    96% of all online shoppers leave your website without making a purchase. However the story doesn't need to end there. A Search campaign can bring you a highly targeted audience list that you can use to remarket to those 96% on Display Networks, Social Networks, and Native Content Networks.

    When you combine:
    • Search ads
    • Display ads
    • Shopping ads
    • Remarketing ads
    • Video ads
    • Social ads
    • Native ads

    You can create a branding and awareness marketing plan that completely saturates your target market segment. Your will have incredible reach and nearly everyone (~90%) in your chosen market segments will have seen or heard of your book within 90 days.
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    * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management |
    *     Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com

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  • Profile picture of the author dburk
    Hi BellaZee,

    Yes, you made sense, and I think you have the right idea.

    Even though you plan to use PPC for Branding & Awareness campaigns, please do track and measure the results so that you can optimize your campaigns' performance.

    Here are a couple of articles to help educate you on branding 7 awareness campaings:
    https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/arti...awareness.html
    https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/ho...isplay-network
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    * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management |
    *     Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com

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  • Profile picture of the author BellaZee
    Thank you very much Don for taking the time to answer and to provide those links. I'm off to read and take notes
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  • Profile picture of the author dburk
    Hi BellaZee,

    You're welcome.

    Best of luck on your book marketing project. Please keep us updated on your progress and let us know if you need any additional advice.
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    * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management |
    *     Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com

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  • Profile picture of the author dburk
    @msigaming

    You've made 6 posts since joining the forum, all promoting the same website.

    Spam much?
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    * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management |
    *     Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com

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