| Hey, We'll get to those pesky men in a moment. Let me first tell you that I started with Facebook ads over ten years ago and began working in what used to be known as online advertising over twenty years ago. The one constant in that period has been change… but the fundamentals never do. It's not so different to writing. I started self-publishing fifteen years ago and while the amount of change in that time has genuinely been crazy the fundamentals of a good story and a sustainable career have remained the same. The 3 Keys to Success with Facebook Ads are the same as they were in 2016 – and you should keep that in mind when navigating the big changes Meta has made recently. Namely targeting (who sees your ad), image (so you stop the scroll), and ad text (to close the sale). I don't get thrown by changes – and don't get seduced by snake oil – because I make sure those fundamentals are kept front-and-center at all times. If you missed my 2026 guide to Facebook Ads last week, watch it now on YouTube.  the problem with men What happens when Facebook stops serving your ad to those who should see it and keeps showing it to people who have no interest in your books? This is the exact issue being faced by Romance authors. Facebook is pretty good at determining what demographics respond better to your ads and I'm mostly happy to let the system have that control and make those decisions for me – one of the few areas where I "trust" the algos. However, as I pointed out in the video, this doesn't work for Romance authors who often attract prurient or insulting comments – typically men who have no interest in the books being advertised. But Facebook's algos can't discern between buyers and trolls – all it sees are clicks and comments, and it classifies them all as interested parties. Meaning the system can then serve the ad to more and more trolls, leaving Romance authors in the invidious situation of paying Facebook to be insulted. Choosing to show your ads to Women-only used to be a pretty effective solution here but, in Facebook's push towards more and more automated systems, this choice is now more of a mild suggestion than a trusty firewall. Which is often overridden by the actions of trolls. You have two solutions here – one of which came from you guys in the YouTube comments (thank you!). value rules I can't go into great detail on this as I'll only begin testing it this weekend myself; it's a relatively new feature, which I haven't had much use for up to this point, called Value Rules. A lot of Romance authors have suggested using Value Rules to prevent showing their ads to men. It's kind of a backdoor solution where you tell Facebook that want to bid different amounts for men or women, and by forcing much lower bids for male eyeballs, you effectively stop serving to them. Because it is a backdoor solution – effectively a gender-based bid cap – then you can expect it to have side-effects, especially around serving. I've heard from some of you that your ads can get stuck for a bit, and then start serving again – but it's certainly worth experimenting with if you are experiencing an over-serving to one gender which you need to rectify. Anyway, here's how you do it: - Go to Value Rules in the first part the Ad Set interface (as per the above screenshot), just below Cost per Result Goal.
- Click the Create a Rule Set button and then click the pop-up window.
- Select the info as suggested in the below screenshot, i.e. select Gender in the first box and then Men in the second. And then Decrease bid by followed by 90% - which is the maximum available.
- Name your rule, then name your rule set in the next window, and then save. You can apply or unapply the rule at any point by ticking or unticking the relevant box.
I'll report back in more detail after more testing. But I'd love to hear from anyone who has been using this. Hit Reply and let me know. automatic adjustments The second thing you should check – and this goes for all advertisers, not just Romance authors, is to make sure you have Automatic Adjustments switched off (some users will see this as Auto Apply). I recorded a short video this week on how to switch it off and it's only 90-seconds long. This is a new format I'm experimenting with; I'd love your feedback on it. Are quick tips like this useful for you or do you prefer the longer tutorials? Do let me know… either here or there! Dave P.S. Writing music this week is Timber Timbre with Demon Host. | 
![[New post] Level Up Your Author HQ With GoCreate.Me](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vRfogvIZs1ek83t0ZF_QUdGIsG-tmXh1ZNiTA-AKArTUjJkkLPUJlF3q3hylqnbgH6rq6cniCm_ByKRGh8tSHQh708Uncn0gNd52C4ntZauDrpl2TOCadFxfVbuZeQC53P-GKQsMJYRrUKlBZrSKh5e1iCMQ2vW5bPgsnbJDxxuo3DqVGudHlbF9CCBFPBCg=w72-h72-p-k-no-nu)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.