Goodreads ending self serve adverts.

[Tonyonline]

Signed in to Goodreads today and saw this...
"Goodreads will be ending support for all Goodreads Self-Serve Ad campaigns on February 4, 2020. We are therefore no longer accepting new funds for this program."

I don't often use the service but it's always been handy as an extra promotion tool. I don't think I've had many sales from it, but I've always seen an increase in page reads when running an ad.
So, that's another source of promotion closed to me

The reason I signed in was to chuck a few $'s at my horror book, as I haven't for a while now, and while there, check I could remember how to set up an ad to run when I release my new book next month.
I note, when looking at where they say to, maybe use instead, they say Amazon.

------ A side whinge 

As a newbie, with few books, looking to promote, there are few promotions I can go with. I've all but given up with most book promoters. Paying around $25 for a lower tier promotion and getting next to no return, let alone any info on what you get for that money, like something as simple as how many they have on their mailing list, just isn't attractive. And the better promoters want reviews I haven't yet got. I have none on Scream saver, at least not on Amazon, but two, a two and a five star on Goodreads, which I collected when running an advert!

Looks like I'll be chucking much of my promotion money for the new book at Amazon...Unless you nice people , can point me to any book promotions you've used and were happy with 

I will defo use Barginbooksy. They have been quite good and when they wasn't, one I ran was miserable, they returned my money without even asking, after filling out their questionnaire. Now that's a decent book promoter 

[TimothyEllis]

I will defo use Barginbooksy. They have been quite good and when they wasn't, one I ran was miserable, they returned my money without even asking, after filling out their questionnaire. Now that's a decent book promoter

I've just had the same with Freebooksy.

The downloads were way down on expectations, since I've not done one in 18 months, and after filling in the feedback, they told me the downloads were below expectation, and made a refund without me asking. The flow on into the series is pathetic compared to the last time I did one.

I was also surprised at how bad the reads were this time.

I'm beginning to wonder if the promo services are past their use by date now. I certainly haven't actually clicked on a Freebooksy book in ages now, and just unsubscribed to it. They just don't seem to be attracting anything I want to read.

Or maybe the promos are now only attracting people who want a free book, and have no intention of paying for sequels.

[Tonyonline]

I'm beginning to wonder if the promo services are past their use by date now.

...maybe the promos are now only attracting people who want a free book, and have no intention of paying for sequels.

I think you might be right.
When I look for a book promoter now, I want to know, as far as possible, what I'm getting for the money. I'm now fed up with just handing over $'s with no real idea what they can do for me.
But as I said above, I can only go with the lower tier promoters, so when I look at a list like this Free and Paid Book Promotion Services in 2019, which has some info about the size of their mailing list and how many people visit their site, although not how many of those visitors click on a link and buy a book or how many on the list actually open the emails, which would be nice to know, I can't actually use most of them to promote my book
However! I can instead, pay per click, no restrictions, and see exactly what I'm getting for my money.

As for free.
I do not, and will not, pay a promotion company to give my book away. I know it works for some people, but I'm just not doing that. I'm in KU, that's as near to giving the book away I'll get.

I dunno! What is an author to do ...

[Simon Haynes]

I wonder whether Amazon will ever introduce tagging (bet not), where you can add any tag you want to a product link and it'll show up in the sales reports.

If they did that, we'd all know where our sales came from. And there'd probably be half the promo services out there the next day.

[Tonyonline]

I wonder whether Amazon will ever introduce tagging (bet not), where you can add any tag you want to a product link and it'll show up in the sales reports.

If they did that, we'd all know where our sales came from. And there'd probably be half the promo services out there the next day.

I don't know what tagging is, without searching, but it sounds interesting. I wonder why Amazon wouldn't do that?

[Maggie Ann]

I wonder whether Amazon will ever introduce tagging (bet not), where you can add any tag you want to a product link and it'll show up in the sales reports.

If they did that, we'd all know where our sales came from. And there'd probably be half the promo services out there the next day.

Oh, please don't remind me of the tagging frenzy from several years ago. We spent half our time tagging other peoples books to get tags on ours. I actually got to the top of my category and brought down the wrath of the Zon forum posters on my poor book.

I know what you're talking about is different and probably very useful, but that word brings on a headache.

[Simon Haynes]

Wow I'd forgotten all about that kind of tagging!  Yes, I remember those round robins now.

No, I just meant tags like the amazon affiliates ones, only without the income. e.g. if freebooksy had a FBY tag, then you'd go to the dash and say 'show me all the sales tagged with FBY' - and voila.

They'll never do it because people would want an AMS tag .. and might then cancel one or all their ads.

[Vinjii]

They'll never do it because people would want an AMS tag .. and might then cancel one or all their ads.

This would definitely show us if FB and other ads are much more effective than the AMS ads we're running, even if they don't offer an AMS tag, and I don't think they'll ever want that.

[Marti Talbott]

This is why I never stack promotions. One at a time and I can get an idea of what works and what doesn't and where the sales are coming from.