Pick your time to shine ☀️

And make your life easier.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

​ Hey, It's another edition of Decoders - your free book marketing newsletter. Why am I speaking like this is our first date? Well... I was reading this week that everyone gets too many emails, and generally forgets what they have signed up for. This theory suggests that people appreciate a quick reminder of what they are reading, and why, or some such. My gut tells me this is unnecessary, but my gut is frequently wrong. Last weekend, for example, my gut thought that eating raw scallops would be a good idea. Was it, in fact, a good idea? No. Did I learn my lesson? Also no. I would like to hear from you, though: Do you like or need these kind of reminders generally? Do you see them out there in the wild (and appreciate them)? Or is it an unnecessary bit of faff delaying your consumption of the raw scallop content you signed up for? Hit Reply and let me know; I'm strangely curious about this. Emails come directly to me, and I read them all. (Replying to them all is a slower process - I get a lot - but just keep in mind that quick questions tend to get quicker answers and long/tricky questions tend to provoke an existential crisis, which then triggers ill-advised culinary adventures.) But we're not just here to talk about the wonderful world of bivalves or whether I need to re-introduce myself to you every week, like some kind of dotty doorman. We are here to talk about books, how to sell more of them, and why we sometimes(?) screw it up. Specifically, this week, we're going to take a bird's eye view of the book marketing landscape and give you an alternative perspective to consider from the prevailing norm - because I generally do things a little... differently. The last several emails have been quite a workout for you guys, dumping more and more stuff on your endless To Do list. This week we'll slow that down and have a more relaxed chat about the different ways you can put all the pieces together - just giving you something to think about, rather than a dozen more tasks to complete. We're talking strategy, people, and we'll get into that below after a quick word from our sponsor. In partnership with Jotform​ New book by Aytekin Tank ― Automate Your Busywork: Do Less, Achieve More, and Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff ​ Say goodbye to manual work and save your brain for the big stuff. In the book, Automate Your Busywork, SaaS CEO and no-code enthusiast Aytekin Tank provides a guide on how to finally have the time to accomplish your most important work. Order today! ​Order!​ Gaming Your Strategy I've been self-publishing for 12 years now. In that time, I've seen authors try almost anything to sell books, and have a pretty clear idea about what works and what doesn't. As well as a very clear idea about what works for me personally out of all that stuff which can work. I have been experimental myself over that period and I've also been fortunate to work with a range of bestselling authors in a number of genres - all of whom have their own take on this game. And because I write non-fiction books for authors, as well as my own fiction, I always have my ear to the ground and keep in touch with the new things people are trying and the challenges that everyone is facing - like some kind of book marketing Panopticon made flesh. At this point, I have a very specific way of approaching book marketing. I haven't worked with a new client for a couple of years but, back when I did a lot more consulting, there was often a tricky part at the start of the relationship - where I would try to convince them to experiment with my very specific approach. It can sometimes be a complicated conversation when the person you are speaking to has sold millions of books - rightly so. And it can be one with high stakes too. A bestseller might have more money to spend, but they also have a lot more income to lose if you drive the car into the ditch. And if the ad spend is aggressive, a poor launch can come with a hefty bill attached - which is a real kick in the onions. Thankfully, I've never overseen a disaster quite like that, but there have been a couple of times where I was hired to help with a launch and the results didn't reach expectations - and that was usually when I adapted my approach too much to suit the client. To be very clear, this isn't because my ideas are better than their ideas, it's more that I know how to execute my approach well - I don't necessarily know how to implement their strategy to the same level, or some hybrid thereof for that matter. I learned the hard way that it's better for both parties if I can just apply my methods with a free hand, rather than diluting things down, attempting some kind of hodgepodge, or trying to shoehorn my ideas into their existing structure. Without a clear approach, you can often end up in a muddle - doing things at cross-purposes. The goal might be the same for both parties - to sell 10,000 books or to make $30,000, or whatever. But the strategy can be very different. And sometimes adopting mine took a little convincing. My Fundamental Strategy It doesn't matter if it's a small launch/promotion or one with a gigantic budget, my fundamental strategy is usually the same: I want Amazon to take over and do the selling for me. And I do this by designing a marketing plan which aims to sell enough books, consistently enough over a period of time, so that Amazon decides to push the book as well. If the plan is executed correctly, I can stop advertising after launch week and Amazon will recommend the book at high enough level to keep strong sales rolling in for weeks afterwards. Without me running any more Facebook Ads. This doesn't mean I've invented some kind of self-perpetuating ad machine, but that the best approach I've found for maximizing profit is to advertise in bursts. The prevailing wisdom around book advertising seems to be around what I call an "always-on" model. Authors who invest time and money in learning the various ad platforms seem to have a goal of setting up some kind of ad campaign which is going to run forever - or at least long-term. They might start with a small budget, tinker around with text and images and targeting until results improve, and then start "scaling up" - i.e. slowly increasing the budget, monitoring results, and making further tweaks to maintain performance at that higher level... and then increasing the budget again, and monitoring again, and so on. I don't do that. It's not a bad approach per se, and if it's working for you - great! Not knocking it. But I've always gotten better results when advertising in bursts - and that goes for my books and the authors I've worked with. (And just for the record, I go against prevailing wisdom when scaling up, and turn it right up to 11 - at least with battle-tested targets and ad images. In my experience, if an ad is good... it's good.) By "advertising in bursts" I mean concentrating my ad spend and my promotion around certain key moments over the year, and letting Amazon take over in between, as much as possible. This has the advantage of letting me really choose those moments, concentrate the budget, and blow the roof off. And the best moments are when you have a new release to play with. That's your time to shine. Launch Power The best time to engage in any kind of promotion is when you have a book launch. You have something new and fresh for your mailing list... and those ever-hungry Amazon algorithms. Plus ads just work better for a whole bunch of reasons - not least because your head is in the game and you aren't writing tired ad text for the same old book. Everything is fresh and new again, and you have a pep in your step. I've written plenty about the Amazon algorithms - particularly in this blog post, and in my book Amazon Decoded - but here's the short version. You will be getting a lot of visibility and attention with a new release and it's also the perfect time to run a sale on earlier books in the series. Once you have a few books in your series, you can play with various discounts on one or more books in the series, and promote them all together to both your existing platform, and to new readers you find via ads. With a good marketing plan, you can achieve some real synergy and the sales of each book can spill over into the next in the series - especially if you are running attractive discounts across several books. And if you get series ads really cooking on Facebook, you can often see multiple books in the series clustered together in the Amazon rankings - a clear indication that people are grabbing several books at once. And all that earlier-book action helps the new release too - and the buzz around the new release will send new-to-you readers back to those earlier books, especially if those discounts are compelling. The more you get this working, the more Amazon will support you - like it or not, Amazon only really helps those who help themselves, so you have to get sales going first off your own steam before you'll see Amazon doing anything. So rather than doing a 99¢ sale the month before a new release to bring fresh readers into the series, or a free run on that Book 1 the month after a launch - two things I saw a big publisher do recently - I see much better results doing all those things together. And if that means I have nothing to push in the month before or after a launch... I'm fine with that. Now, to be clear, this doesn't mean I never spend any ad money outside of a launch or some other kind of major promotional moment. Doing lead generation ads on Facebook inbetween launches can be very useful, giving your mailing list a nice boost just before the main event. And if you can get Amazon Ads working, they are perfect for that always-on advertising approach - i.e. advertising constantly at a lower level to prevent rank dropping too much. This can work well in tandem with my approach... if you can get the ads working. Alternatively, some lower budget CPC ads on BookBub can fill the same role, although the inconsistency with the platform these days can make that challenging for Amazon USA and you might see better results in international markets or non-Amazon retailers these days - as with CPM ads. In general though, the lion's share of any ad budget will be focused on launch week and any spend outside of that will be modest enough. This strategy won't be for everyone and I'm not suggesting that it's inherently better than the "always-on" approach to advertising. However, it's an alternative approach I've gotten great results with and it might be worth considering if the "always-on" method isn't doing it for you. I will say that it might suit a Kindle Unlimited author a little more than a wide author - purely because the entire approach is tailored around maximizing sales on Amazon specifically, and the timing of everything around the launch serves that need. But wide authors might find aspects of it useful too. One advantage which might appeal to you is a simple one: with this kind of "burst marketing" approach, you don't have to think about marketing all the time, because you're not marketing all the time. You focus your time and money on those key moments and really make them count - and then you don't have the constant distraction and guilt around how much your books are selling and what you should be doing about it. And if you get really good at this way of approaching book advertising you get to put your feet up at the end of launch week and enjoy someone else doing the selling for you - someone who happens to be pretty good at selling books. (Amazon.) BTW, if this is a topic you would like me to get deeper into, let me know! Dave P.S. Music this week is Ivor Cutler with Beautiful Cosmos. Broomfield Business Park, Malahide, Co. Dublin K36 AT04 ​Unsubscribe | Update your profile​