Author Topic: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)  (Read 2947 times)

JRTomlin

I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« on: July 13, 2019, 04:31:07 AM »
For the first time ever, I have a BB ad that is doing well. No, I can't explain it. I am targeting the same list of authors I always have. It's not the first freebie I've used an ad for. Maybe the ad is somehow magical? It couldn't possibly be simpler, a Canva thing I put together even using one of their backgrounds. It started yesterday and today with 2,000 impressions it has 76 clicks which works out to 3.91% CTR. I am officially gobsmacked.

 
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Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2019, 04:53:08 AM »
I am targeting the same list of authors I always have.

Wouldn't it be more effective to target readers?  :hehe
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JRTomlin

Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2019, 05:17:21 AM »
You'd think so but on BB you target authors in order to get your ads to go to their followers.  grint

This is seriously the first time I've had a BB ad do above 2.0% CTR.
« Last Edit: July 13, 2019, 05:20:51 AM by JRTomlin »
 

Tom Wood

Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2019, 07:18:20 AM »
Congrats!

Anything above a 2% CTR is considered a win, right?

To Dan's question, BookBub ads are built on targeting the 'readers' of specific authors. They define 'readers' as anyone who has interacted at BookBub with anything to do with that author. It's frequently a number that is at least twice as many of the publicly shown 'followers', and the only way to see the 'readers' number is to go into the ad setup system.
 
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JRTomlin

Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #4 on: July 13, 2019, 07:28:21 AM »
So I'm told. Considering how many times I've tried (and lost money on) BB ads, I'm happy to finally have a win. Best of all the Effective CPC is only 29 cents which I think is good on a novel with good sell-through in the series.
 
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Tom Wood

Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #5 on: July 13, 2019, 07:47:02 AM »
I signed up for three categories at BookBub (Young Adult, Thriller, Science Fiction) so I could get the daily newsletter and watch the ads they serve to me. As an experiment, I held off opening the ad until later in the day to see if it serves a different set of ads - under the assumption that the early ads expend their budgets and then let the lower budget ads come through later in the day. My thought process is that the late-in-the-day ads are the ads with lower budgets. I was expecting lower-quality books/ads to serve later in the day, but so far it kinda appears that the reverse is true. The books/ads aren't necessarily worse, but they hold their own against the ads that serve if I open the email in the morning.
 

Vijaya

Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #6 on: July 13, 2019, 09:22:24 AM »
Congratulations!!!!


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notthatamanda

Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #7 on: July 13, 2019, 09:44:17 AM »
Congrats!

Anything above a 2% CTR is considered a win, right?

To Dan's question, BookBub ads are built on targeting the 'readers' of specific authors. They define 'readers' as anyone who has interacted at BookBub with anything to do with that author. It's frequently a number that is at least twice as many of the publicly shown 'followers', and the only way to see the 'readers' number is to go into the ad setup system.

I did not know that, thanks.  So fourteen followers x 2 = slightly less pathetic?

I guess you could start an ad to yourself and see what it gives you.

Edit - and I just did it.  Try it, it's fun.  2881 "followers"  So a factor of 200.
I never did very well with Bookbub ads so I'm not really concerned but I think they should call it something other than followers, if it's not followers.
« Last Edit: July 13, 2019, 10:30:05 AM by notthatamanda »
 

dgcasey

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Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #8 on: July 13, 2019, 11:12:20 AM »
I am targeting the same list of authors I always have.

Wouldn't it be more effective to target readers?  :hehe

That just flew right over everybody's head, Dan.   :doh:
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Jan Hurst-Nicholson

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Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #9 on: July 14, 2019, 04:48:09 AM »
Congrats  :clap:

BookBub ads sound far too complicated for my numerically-challenged brain.  :icon_rolleyes:
« Last Edit: July 14, 2019, 10:41:48 PM by Jan Hurst-Nicholson »

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JRTomlin

Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #10 on: July 14, 2019, 06:26:31 AM »
The ads are not hard to set up. Following to see if you're getting good results, not so much so.

I have to say I wish I knew why this one is doing so well. Still running overall above 4% but 9+% in the UK.  :dance:
 

notthatamanda

Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #11 on: July 14, 2019, 09:40:42 PM »
The ads are not hard to set up. Following to see if you're getting good results, not so much so.

They are very simple Jan, but they burn money like crazy.  If you use their ad template, you can put the price of the book in the button, which I highly recommend.  Some people have said they were able to move full price books with Bookbub ads, I am not one of them.  Whenever I get the urge to try again, putting the price in the button is one way to eliminate people who don't want to pay that much from clicking on it.
 

JRTomlin

Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #12 on: July 15, 2019, 12:47:22 AM »
You can control how much money they burn, but you can go through a lot of money fast if you're not careful.

ETA: I don't like their ad template which is extremely limiting, so I use Canva to make a simple ad. It's easy to use once you get used to it.

And that ad is now running at 4.79% which is definitely in 'that's really good results' territory. I have a BB promotion for the same novel on the 17th so I'm curious to see how high I can get it in the ratings. I have a couple of back up ads on the 15th & 16th as well.

Between all these ads and the books I've ordered this month, yes, I am living on beans for the rest of the month.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2019, 04:50:15 AM by JRTomlin »
 

JRTomlin

Re: I just fainted (Bookbub ad)
« Reply #13 on: July 19, 2019, 11:17:58 AM »
I'm rerunning that ad to slow down the drop off after my BB promotion (which is supposed to help with Amazon's super-secret algorithm *shrug*) It is still performing well above 2% although of course I am seeing a drop off since a lot of the author's whose followers ( 😜 ) I am targeting have already seen it a few times. Still a total mystery to me why it worked so well.